How to find Medium publications in the Boost Nomination program
Get to know a few of the folks nominating stories for Boost
One of the big questions people ask about the Boost Nomination Pilot iss who the nominators are and which publications are participating. So, let’s taco ‘bout it! 🌮
First, let’s review how all this works
Medium’s Boost Nomination Pilot is our experimental program to work in collaboration with independent publication editors on Medium to nominate high-quality stories for Boost.
- The program’s goal is to incentivize independent publication editors to help us find the new, niche, and unknown stories on Medium.
- Nominators can nominate stories in their topical focus, regardless of whether the stories are in their publications (or any publication)
- These nominations are reviewed by Medium’s internal curation team to see if they line up with Medium’s Quality Guidelines.
- If a nominated story is selected for Boost by our curators, it gets higher priority to be distributed in readers’ feeds.
- Nominators may also get financial compensation up to $900 US per month.
- Nominations from Boost Nomination Pilot participants account for only about half of the stories selected for Boost. The other half of Boosted stories are sourced directly by our internal curation team, which organically reviews hundreds of stories from all across Medium all day, every day. (You can read more here about what happens to your story after it’s published on Medium, and if you’re curious about how our curators assess stories, you can read their training manual.)
- Boosting is just one way that stories get distributed across Medium. Every month, there are five times more stories that reach large audiences that have NOT been Boosted.
- The goal is to eventually integrate these functions into the Medium Partner Program, and open to door to hundreds (or even thousands!) of nominators.
Browse the publications that can nominate your stories for Boost
As of June 2024, there are over 150 people participating in the pilot program.
Before I share a link to where you can see them all listed, I want to be clear about something, here: The publications and nominators that we list have all consented to be public with their involvement in this program. This is important because some program participants have chosen to remain private.
Browse the list of publications in the Medium Help Center here.
We update that list monthly!
Reminder: friends don’t let friends take Medium advice from randos. If you see lists of nominating publications floating around Medium, always double check what you see against our official Help Center list.
Let’s hear from nominators about what they love about nominating
For those of you curious about the motivations of the editors in the Boost Nomination Pilot, we wanted to share what some of them have said they’re most enjoying about being a “nommer.”
I love getting a chance to promote intercultural stories from hidden readers in the Medium-sphere! There are so many wonderful stories about culture and connection that need to be heard and celebrated and I am glad to be able to give them more visibility. — Maria Garcia, A-Culturated
I love looking for hidden gems and new writers and helping them get discovered and encouraged! I’m learning to REALLY appreciate them, because finding them is anything but easy. — Sinem Günel, Better Marketing
Our editors love the challenge of taking an above-average sports memoir piece and editing, suggesting, and enhancing it to be a Boost-worthy story that both the writer and editing team are very proud of. We work diligently with our writers to enhance their pieces, often taking several days and back-and-forth feedback to get it perfect. The writers are really open and enjoy the insight and learning so many skills to the craft of great story-telling. Mike Butler, Beyond the Scoreboard
I most enjoy highlighting quality niche stories that would otherwise be lost in the sea of new content dished out daily. I have boosted stories about fantasy, book collection, and reading that would never have made it past 100 views, and supported authors making their first $50. — Anangsha Alammyan, Books are our superpower
The Boost program has helped clean up the Medium feed in a major way that I didn’t think possible, and has empowered actual writers to take ownership of the process. I hope that Medium continues to invest in this program as there’s nothing like it in the creator economy currently. — Sean Kernan, Corporate Underbelly
There is a nice warming feeling in the soul when you help a writer get the recognition they deserve. I might be sitting at my desk alone, but I find myself fist pumping the air when a writer tells me they got the Boost. — Malky McEwan, E³ — Entertain Enlighten Empower
I’m delighted to have a role in amplifying talented writers, and I love attracting new contributors and readers to our publication. Being part of the Boost program supports our overarching goal of creating community and advancing equality for women and other disempowered groups. We’re particularly proud of attracting both readers and writers from different cultures from around the world. — Patsy Fergusson, Fourth Wave
I’m enjoying the opportunity to reward writers with more views and engagement, which incentivizes them to write more, and better. The nomination bonus has also been beneficial, as the role of an editor and publication owner ordinarily goes unrewarded — so I’ve likewise been incentivized to ensure standards are kept high and articles look their best. — Dan Owen, Frame Rated
The project has helped me focus on exceptional writing. I have learned a great deal from participating in the Boost Nomination Pilot. I have also come in contact with some dedicated and supportive writers. — Rodrigo S-C, Full Frame
Discovering writers, elevating stories that I love, mentoring people. I love that Boost nomination humanizes the process of content distribution. It makes me feel less powerless in the face of the largely algorithmic digital ecosystem of the internet. — Jacqueline Dooley, Grief Book Club
It’s an honor and a thrill to work with writers by offering encouragement and support. What I most enjoy about the Boost program is that it makes the curation process more inclusive and interconnected. It’s not just some mysterious force at work. It’s our own fellow writers who are scouting out the best quality writing on Medium. I just find it all so crazy exciting! — JoAnn Ryan, Globetrotters
It has been particularly satisfying to find new writers with great stories to tell, and provide them with a supportive platform to build an audience here on Medium. — Matthew Clapham, Iberospherical
Being rewarded to hunt down the best writing and give it a shot at elevation is what makes the Boost Nomination Pilot amazing. The best part? Uncovering and nominating the hidden gems by actual writers (not the clickbait masters) that’d NEVER have gone viral in Medium’s old system. — Neeramitra Reddy, In Fitness And In Health (IFAIF)
I’ve been a member of the program for over a year and the joy of patting a writer on the back for a job well done has not diminished. That’s the absolute best part. One writer said she cried when she got her first Boost. How do you not love that? Being able to uplift writers that way, it’s the absolute best part of this program. — Linda Caroll, The Interstitial
Want to get involved with the Boost Nomination Pilot?
If you edit a publication, you learn more about what we’re looking for in the program. The goal is to be up to 300+ nominating publications by the end of 2024, and eventually 1000! We want Medium to be a place where anyone can start a publication about their niche, and get involved with nominating quality stories for our curation team to see.
One of my big goals is to be as transparent as possible about this program, so if you’ve got questions… ask away!