With the announcement of restructuring at Medium, I feel that it’s a good time to point out some of the caveats of “free” services.
Getting eyes on your content is an issue. Websites like Medium will get more exposure for you for little to no cost except for your time. This is great, except for when they decide to shutter their service and you end up wondering why you put all of your eggs in that one basket.
This is why I always recommend that your website be the center of your marketing. All things ( Facebook, Instagram, Medium, Twitter, etc.) should be focused on getting eyeballs back on your website. Your content should have it’s ultimate home there. It should not be left to the mercy of bearded guys with VC funding and no business plan.
No one is immune to failure. Facebook, Instagram, Google… they can all be gone in an instant. Remember Altavista & AOL? Soon Yahoo is going to join their ranks and others can just as easily follow. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use them, but use them for your own benefit and have a plan for when they die.
Because eventually, they all will.