It is always about how to drive traffic and that will always be part of the game, whatever you are writing for. Good long form ideas might have a place, but most people are not interested in that type of information let alone that type of format. You can have something interesting to say that may benefit many people, but without marketing to get your ideas out, it becomes a rather "personal" endeavor. You can try different form of marketing (like click-bait titles and other gimmicks) to get your ideas out there, but ultimately if you don't have the cash to fund the campaign to promote your own site, you will be relying on sites like medium.com or whatever blogs of your choice to have a hand in spreading your message.
If you truly believed you were writing things that people will want to read, long form or not, you SHOULD be willing to invest in marketing yourself to promote your own site. At least enough to justify your "risk vs reward" balance.
Taking out a Facebook ad for your local area is not as expensive as you might think and I honestly believe the whole Google Ads and Facebook Ads have allowed the little guys to buy ads and distribute them to the specific target they want. The tools are there, what is lacking is the will and confidence to follow through.
If you truly believed you were writing things that people will want to read, long form or not, you SHOULD be willing to invest in marketing yourself to promote your own site. At least enough to justify your "risk vs reward" balance.
Taking out a Facebook ad for your local area is not as expensive as you might think and I honestly believe the whole Google Ads and Facebook Ads have allowed the little guys to buy ads and distribute them to the specific target they want. The tools are there, what is lacking is the will and confidence to follow through.