If an article you publish on one platform brings 1,000 views, it might seem logical that publishing the same article on ten platforms could bring 10,000 views.
It would be nice if it worked that way, but it doesn’t. Publishing an article in more places might seem like an obvious way to reach more readers, but it also comes with some predictable problems.
The biggest challenges are deciding where your original content should live, avoiding competing versions of the same article, and finding enough time to promote every platform effectively.
However, multiple platforms can still help you spread your writing further when you use them strategically.
Avoiding the big mistakes
It’s true that attracting organic traffic is becoming increasingly problematic with AI search.
So, I’m sure you’ve read advice about diversifying your writing and publishing across multiple platforms like Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, and Quora.
But using the same content on different platforms creates a few significant problems.
Every page published online carries signals, including its publication date.
Publication dates are one of the signals search engines can use when evaluating similar content. A later publication date can therefore help indicate which version came first, although it doesn’t guarantee that search engines will choose the original.
Another issue is the lack of canonical URLs on many publishing platforms. A canonical URL is the single, preferred web address that search engines use as the master version when multiple URLs show identical or very similar content.
If you use Medium, it can help you add a canonical tag, but it’s a rarity on other platforms.
Even with a canonical tag, search engines ultimately decide which version to index. That might not be your original article, meaning you could end up competing with yourself.
Readers can also become frustrated when they realize they’ve started reading an article they’ve already seen somewhere else.
Fortunately, none of these problems mean you should ignore other platforms. It simply means you need a strategy that gives each platform a different role.
Creating your publishing hub
The purpose of publishing on multiple platforms is not to please the platforms. It’s to help you find more readers for your work.
However, many platforms only reward writers who participate actively, publish consistently, or, in some cases, pay for additional features.
The best strategy for many writers is not about choosing to publish on one platform or many. It’s about having a primary home and using other platforms as discovery channels.
For many writers, a website or blog with its own domain name is the obvious home for published articles.
But it doesn’t have to be.
If maintaining a website isn’t practical or too expensive, free platforms such as Blogger, Weebly, Wix, or even Medium can become your primary publishing home, provided you understand their limitations.
Whichever way you decide to go, it will be the identifiable home of your original articles and writing.
However, you need to be aware that it’s not a foolproof protection mechanism. If you republish an article on another platform, it can still outrank your original.
It’s because major publishing platforms have enormous established authority, which can sometimes be enough to rank higher than your original.
I’ve been caught by this trap a few times.
Some of my older Medium articles still outrank the original versions on my own site, even though I rewrote them, changed the titles, and used different images.
The same can happen with LinkedIn articles, but luckily I’ve escaped that fate.
What this means is that every platform you choose to use should have a clear purpose in your publishing strategy.
The best way is to define your reasons for sharing your work.
Expand your reach without duplicating content
Think of one platform as your home, and every other platform as a pathway leading readers back to it.
When you think about publishing this way, it’s much easier to decide what role each platform should play.
Here are some ideas and tactics you might consider for improving your discovery chances.
Medium – Reach new readers: It’s a very popular site with readers, so it’s a reasonable idea to try to exploit the opportunity.
Rather than republishing complete articles, consider writing shorter or adapted versions with a link to the original.
LinkedIn – Share professional insights: It’s a logical platform for professional articles or opinion pieces.
Focus on ideas that start conversations rather than trying to reproduce your entire article.
Facebook – Announce new content: Your page has more potential than a personal profile. But think of it more like an announcement platform.
Share an engaging introduction or key point with your featured image and a link to the full article.
Newsletters – Build loyal readers: You might have your own email list, or use a platform like Substack.
Your newsletter doesn’t have to duplicate your latest article. Instead, introduce it, share an extra tip or personal insight, and invite subscribers to continue reading.
Substack articles are often featured in search engine results, so duplicate content can be an issue.
Pinterest – Create long-term discovery: Yes, recipes come to mind at the mention of Pinterest. But it is a lot more than that.
Pinterest is a search engine built on images and has a huge user base. To use it well, you need to create image pins that capture the essence of your articles or writing pieces.
Unlike social media, Pinterest pins can continue sending readers for months or even years.
X – Spark immediate interest: Even with its history of ups and downs, X (or still Twitter for some) has a massive audience.
It doesn’t take long to create a post, so it’s always worth the few minutes to share your work.
Treat it as a quick way to announce new content rather than a place to publish complete articles.
You might choose other platforms, including Reddit, Quora, Instagram, or YouTube. But whatever platforms you use, keep your reasons in mind.
Never forget the basics of online publishing
The most important reason to have a home base for your writing is to make it easy for search engines and readers to find you.
Organic traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and many others is a gold-standard source of readers.
You don’t have to fight for attention, but you do have to make sure your writing and content are of a high enough quality for search engines to index and rank your articles.
Direct traffic is also worth its weight in gold. It’s traffic that comes from people who have bookmarked your site, or who type in your URL, or part of it to return to your site.
The only proviso with direct traffic is that bots and crawlers today can mimic real users. I use a rule of thumb that around half of my direct traffic is probably from real users. But that can vary for other sites.
If you add these two traffic sources together, with a discount for direct traffic, it will tell you how well your home site is doing.
It doesn’t matter what analytics source you use to check, but if these two sources account for a large portion of your traffic, you are doing very well indeed.
That’s what I look for when I check my traffic sources. If you’re curious, search engine and discounted direct traffic make up around 75-80% of my traffic on average.
Using other platforms is simply to help get bonus traffic. My traffic usually comes from around 150 different sources each month, but many of them only deliver one or two new visitors. But every little one or half a percent counts, and that’s why diversifying can definitely help.
For me, Pinterest and X do particularly well. But recently, ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and Google AI Overviews are becoming new and regular sources of readers.
That’s why you need a home for your writing. It gives search engines, AI systems, social media platforms, and readers a consistent place to find you and your work.
Summary
Whether you publish on one platform or multiple platforms, it’s your choice. But you should understand the role each platform plays in your publishing strategy.
Publishing on multiple platforms isn’t about putting the same article everywhere. It’s about giving readers more opportunities to discover your writing.
The best approach is to have one publishing home for your original work and use other platforms with a clear purpose, whether that’s attracting new readers, building an audience, or sharing updates.
Always keep in mind that your original work should remain your base. It’s where you want your readers to go, and it’s especially important if you rely on advertising on your site to help cover your costs.
Gaining readers is always a challenge for writers and publishers.
However, by using different platforms selectively, you can create more pathways that guide readers back to your work.
Related Reading: Is Publishing Online Still Worthwhile For Writers?
English teacher, writer, and author. Passionate about grammar, creative writing, and self-publishing. Always exploring new tools and tech to help writers succeed.
