$1000 in My Second Month on Medium

Here’s what I learned and how I broke $1000 in four weeks to become a proud tractor owner.

• From 7th — 31st December 2020 I made just over $6.00 (month one)
• In the last four weeks, I made over $1000 — that’s +16,566% ish!
• 1 article earned over $330 in 2 weeks and continues to earn well
• Many of my articles have been curated (around 65%-70% from January)
• I have 325 followers & I appreciate every single one of them
• I bought a tractor with my earnings— ‘cause why not?!

In this article, I’ll talk a little bit about my journey, run through my stats, and then list a few of my writing practices in the hope that I can help you to buy your own tractor ;)

I joined Medium on 6th December 2020…

I first heard of Medium on the 2nd of December 2020, in a chance encounter with an inspiring YouTube video. The video, by the amazing Zulie Rane, helped me to understand what the platform does, what it stands for, and how to get started.

I’ve always loved to write and harbored the hope that I might bring joy, entertainment, and learning to readers.

I knew that Medium was the perfect platform to try — I would practice in public and discover if I could bring any value to people’s lives.

My mental health had taken a big-blow in September time, and I hoped that writing more would prove positive in my healing process.

I wasn’t in it for the money — the money was simply one of the tools that I used to measure my progress and growth as a new writer.

Admittedly, I’ve been a little addicted to my stats over the past two months.

Ahhh the beautiful little green dot.

I believe that our stats give us great feedback on what our readers enjoy, which headlines capture their interest, even which structures work best for them.

But I check my stats 1,375,286 times per day — approximately ;) Not healthy.

To date, I’m thrilled to have made the progress I have and in this article, I’ll share every little learning that I feel has helped me achieve this growth.

Reviewing My Stats for the last 4 weeks

In this section, I’ll walk through the stats before we delve into some tips that you’ll hopefully find helpful.

In the last four weeks, I made $1000.

The smallest earners were, mostly, my really early articles, although these performed much better in January compared to December.

I became a Top Writer in Feminism — a topic close to my heart — no idea how I achieved this!

My curation rate was about 65–70% — well over half of my January articles were Chosen for Further Distribution.

Ahh, those 4 magic words…

Almost all of the curated articles were ones that I wrote in January, although a couple of my December ones were curated weeks after I’d published them.

My best day was the 24th of January when I had 1811 reads. This was also my best day for views; I reached 3543.

My best performing article received 7100 views, 3600 reads, and 2.3k claps.

You can see it below, followed by my 2nd and 3rd place articles:

and in very close 4th, 5th & 6th place:

What I’ve learned, tried, and tested so far

General tidbits for other writers

1. Aim to bring joy, entertainment, or learning to your reader. This is your value proposition as a writer.
2. Aim to establish credibility, either by being the expert and saying how so, or through strong research.
3. Learn about Medium — but don’t spend all of your time learning about Medium. I strongly recommend that you watch every single video that Zulie has ever made. It’s worth it.
4. Headline. Headline. Headline. Write great headlines! Always. I recommend drafting and redrafting until you have a really mind-blowing headline.
5. Just keep swimming — all good things take time.

The magic words - Chosen For Further Distribution aka Curation

1. Most of us need to write quite a few articles before getting curated — I wrote about 10 pieces before my first distribution.
2. You must read and follow the curation guidelines to stand a chance.
3. Quality over quantity — always.
4. Formatting and visual aesthetics are important — does your article look appealing and manageable for the reader (check desktop and mobile)?
5. Working with great publications increases your chances of curation but self-published pieces can be distributed too.
6. Tag accurately. I tend to choose 3 big curate-able tags and 2 more niche tags but find what works in your topics.

The Writing Itself

1. In terms of the topics I write about, I’ve chosen a few and am trying to build my writing within each niche. For me, that's True Crime, Feminism, Books, Health, Business, and Relationships.
2. Write about what you love — but not about everything that you love — is my personal mantra and that helps me to focus on writing within a few curate-able topics.
3. I follow, read and try to learn from my favorite writers. For me, these include Fatim Hemraj, Shannon Ashley, Zulie Rane, Josie Klakström, and Christopher Kokoski to name but a few.
4. I write every day but only submit/publish when I’m ready.
5. I use Grammarly at all times.
6. I usually write with a specific person and publication in mind.
7. I almost always use very short paragraphs as these present well on mobiles.
8. I cite all sources — I do this by linking these within my articles so that my ‘read time’ remains accurate.
9. I never submit an article the same day I write it — I wait at least a day before I re-read and do a final edit.
10. Contrary to popular advice, I do edit as I write — this is just my method. Find what works for you; is it writing first and then editing or editing as you go?

When and where I publish

1. I no longer submit/publish on Fridays or at weekends. This decision is based on my views/readership stats.
2. I love publications and value the time of their editors; because of this, I always try to submit my best work, no matter how big or small the publication is.
3. I try to vary the publications I submit to.
4. I’m loyal to the editors and publications that gave me a chance. I always read the articles of others in those publications and engage with as many as I can.
5. I write down feedback from editors of each publication and ensure I don’t make the same mistake twice.
6. I try to recap each publication’s submission guidelines before I send in a piece. After a few submissions, I come to know these off by heart.
7. I do have my own publication The Candid Cuppa — I hope to build this over time. Shout out to potential writers! Come join me. Let’s do this thing together.

Marketing my work

1. I would share my work on social media if I had any kind of following — I don’t. In fact, I created a Facebook and Twitter profile only when I joined Medium. I’m so not down with the kids.
2. I sometimes share my articles in Medium Facebook groups. Any engagement I get from this, I always reciprocate.
3. I always fill in my SEO details on each article before I publish. Find out how-to HERE.
4. I always cross-link to other relevant articles that readers might enjoy. Just be sure that they’re all from the same publication if you’re submitting a piece.
5. I try to find time to check out other writers who engage with me or clap my pieces. This takes time but I’ve come across some inspirational writers this way.
6. I have tried to get to know some other writers on Medium, and I truly am starting to feel part of a small community. The writers I look to include Elan Cassandra, Quy Ma, Synthia Satkuna, Myriam Ben Salem, Cinto, Aigner Loren Wilson, Aliyan Shaikh, Ella Pearson, and Muhammad Nasrullah Khan to name just a few and I’m ever so grateful for their support and companionship on this journey.

Things that I need to get better at

1. Driving my tractor — I nearly dug up a gas pipe yesterday. Eeeeek.
2. Letting my personality shine through my work. I’m quintessentially quirky in real life but I sometimes feel that this doesn’t come out in my writing. Even with topics like True Crime, I hope that I can bring an element of me to the story.
3. Managing and growing my publication — holla back fellow writers!
4. Moving my writing up to the ‘next gear.’ We mainly drive stick-shifts here in England so you’d think that I’d nail this ;) I can feel that my writing is on the verge of progressing to the next level, but I need to strive for this.
5. Avoiding my comfort zone — I need to have the courage to experiment endlessly with my craft.

Takeaways

I truly hope that some of my findings from the past two months can help you on your Medium journey.

If I were to summarise all of the above in one sentence it would be this one:

Succeeding on Medium is about forming great relationships.

Great relationships with your readers through brilliant writing.

Great relationships with curators, editors, and publications by creating consistently strong art.

Great relationships with other writers who will broaden your experience, share their knowledge, and inspire you.

Thank you for reading me,

Jess x

Sources all linked within the article.