Is it better to publish on Medium, Linkedin or your own blog?

I was recently asked by a client to write and publish a couple of articles not on their blog, but in my own name on Linkedin and Medium.

It was my first time writing on either of those platforms, and I found some pleasant surprises. I would definitely consider publishing on both sites again, but which is best? Here’s what I found this time.

Recap on Linkedin and Medium

In case you aren’t familiar with them, Linkedin and Medium both allow anyone to sign up and publish. Content is nicely formatted, and the process is just as easy as your own WordPress site.

So, is it time to ditch your own blog? Let’s talk about how the options compare in terms of presentation, reach, and brand value. (I’m assuming your blog is essentially a marketing tool – mine is.)

Round 1 – Presentation

It’s been a little while since I revamped my website, and my client’s blog design isn’t super-hot either.

Linkedin and Medium, on the other hand, made my posts look great. I can’t deny it.

Formatting is lovely, it’s easy to add large images and other types of content, and page design is as good as you’d expect from a Microsoft (they own Linkedin) or Twitter (they own Medium) company.

If you want a place to present your articles beautifully, you have two good options here.

Round 2 – Reach

Here’s where I was presently surprised by Linkedin.

I’m not normally a Linkedin fan, to be honest. I find it wastes my time with stupid notifications, it’s hard to use, and is generally way less value than it thinks it is.

I do have over 500 connections on there, though. By publishing there, I got my article in all those news feeds and achieved a reasonable amount of engagement.

On Medium the results were less impressive, but I haven’t spent any time building up a network there.

I definitely reached a bunch of new people that wouldn’t have read my posts if they’d been published on my own (or my client’s) blogs.

But here comes the downside.

Round 3 – Brand value

Publishing on your own website brings a lot of extra value that Linkedin and Medium don’t.

First, readers of your self-published articles are already on your site. That means they’re a lot closer to contacting you, or buying from you, than if they’re reading your stuff on Linkedin or Medium.

Second, articles published on your own site help build your online presence. They give you long-tail organic search clicks related to your post titles, and search engines like it when you update your site frequently. In short, self-publishing helps increase traffic to your site.

And don’t forget, you can still share your self-published articles on Linkedin and Medium.

Scorecard – Win for self-publishing

I don’t know where this boxing theme came from, but self-publishing is my overall champ. It’s just better long-term value to drive traffic to your own website than to Linkedin or Medium.

If you have enough content to publish on all three though, or you just like the simplicity and good looks of Linkedin and Medium, use them. They’re better platforms than I thought.