MAKING MONEY ON MEDIUM
9 Habits of Successful Medium Writers that Can Help New Writers
What I’ve learned as a new writer on Medium
My Medium history
As a reader
I was first exposed to Medium much like many others. For a few years, I would come across Medium articles in my Google searches for information, and I would read them.
Then one day, I got blocked from reading an article with the message that I had used all of my free reads and to become a member to continue reading Medium articles.
It was just 5 bucks and I really wanted to read the article, so I signed up and paid my $5.
I soon began reading more Medium articles because I kept seeing titles that were of interest to me. And, Medium articles would still often come up in my online searches.
As a writer
While perusing my Medium profile one day about a year ago, I took notice of the Medium Partner Program (MPP) and wanted to get a writer’s view of it, so I did a search and saw a story by Casey Botticello about Medium Partner Program Earnings FAQs. He explained everything I needed to know about becoming a paid writer on Medium.
I signed up with MPP in September of 2019 and submitted 1 story about chronological vs. biological aging, which has gain 10,000 views so far (as of the time of this writing).
Well, I got sidetracked with life and I ended up posting only 17 more stories, mostly poetry. None of these stories gained traction like the most successful one, so I ended up not writing anymore and closed my account.
I reopened my Medium account almost a year later in August 2020.
This September 2020 is when I decided that I wanted to put more effort into writing on the platform, because I was still an avid Medium reader and I was really interested in the idea of earning an income while doing something that I absolutely love — which is writing.
Since September 2020 (as of 11/28/20), I’ve written 40 stories, gained 369 followers, been accepted to 10 publications, and I’m averaging 5,000 views a month — so far and counting.
(Update: As of 12/28/20 I have 710 followers and been accepted to 18 publications)
I’m also enjoying reading at least 20 stories a day — commenting, clapping, highlighting, or responding to at least 20 stories a day — writing everyday — and publishing 3–5 stories a week.
I’m putting in the work that I was not putting in a year ago, and I’m loving it!
Which is what it takes if you want to be a successful writer on Medium.
What I’ve learned as a new writer
After making the decision to take my writing more seriously and my desire to have my contributions taken seriously because I have much to say on many subjects, the success just started to unfold.
And I’ve learned that success as a Medium writer is not just about the money you can make, but about having a platform to share your work or content where it can actually be seen and appreciated.
And it’s rewarding as well to have so much incredible content on the platform from so many talented, gifted, and inspired writers to appreciate as well, which can only feed you with knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment, entertainment, inspiration, and enhanced creativity.
Success habits of Medium writers
- Passion. If you’re not passionate about writing, I must say that it will be difficult for you to make it as a successful writer on Medium. If you love what you do, you’re going to be good at it, and if you’re good at what you do, you’re likely passionate about it. If there’s no passion for writing, you will soon give up, which is not indicative of a habit for writing success on Medium.
- Consistency. As I explained in my history above, I was not consistent at first and I got very little results. Top writers on Medium are highly consistent with writing and publishing stories. Some publish 1–3 stories every day, some 3–5 every week. These are the consistency in quantity requirements for success that I have seen, and it has been my experience as well.
- Study. There are countless stories on the platform written by successful Medium writers that offer advice and pertinent information on how to be a successful Medium writer. Study and learn from those who are having success, take notes, and apply what you learn. Medium writers are very generous with information that can help you. Just do a search for the keywords “new writers” and you will find somewhere to start.
- Quality. Don’t cut corners on the quality of your writing. Your writing needs to have substance and offer some value to the reader. Whatever your topic, be sure to write so that the reader learns something or is enlightened, entertained, inspired, or intrigued. Also, be sure that your writing is easy to read without missing or misspelled words, bad grammar or punctuation, and make sure the formatting is eye-catching.
- Fact Check. Be sure to cite sources for information that are not common knowledge or from your research, including copyrighted images, videos, or audio. Plagiarism is a violation of Medium’s policies and guidelines for content on the platform. Infringing on another’s copyright is not tolerated. This includes other writers’ stories on Medium. Be sure to acknowledge another Medium writer with the @andtheirname, linking to their content, or copying and pasting their story within your story and referencing any information used. Do the same with any outside sources.
- Network. Success as a writer on Medium includes interacting with other writers by regularly reading their work, engaging in conversations on the platform and leaving thoughtful comments, clapping for stories that you find interesting, making highlights in stories when something moves you, sharing others’ stories, and responding to feedback that you receive. Remember, it’s not just about you. We are all in this together. And, besides, I’ve found it to be a lot of fun engaging with other writers and reading so many stories about pretty much whatever you can imagine.
- Follow. Be sure to follow writers who you find interesting, follow topics that interest you, and follow publications that interest you. This will ensure that your daily feed shows you stories that you are most likely to enjoy the most.
- Apply to Medium Publications. Writing for publications gives added value to your profile when you have some stories curated by the publications. Curation gets your stories out in the front of more readers so that they have a chance to be seen or maybe even go viral. When you follow publications, read their About or How to Submit pages to learn how to go about becoming one of their writers.
- Be Encouraging. Always be positive and genuinely encourage other writers after reading their work. Much of the writing on the platform is written from personal experiences as well as from non-personal perspectives on various topics. But either way, writers appreciate it when there work is noticed and has touched or influenced someone, so let them know. I love being enriched by someone’s work.
The main takeaway
The main keys to success that I’ve noticed are definitely being consistent with writing/publishing stories and networking, if I had to name just two. But everything I’ve touched on is important for success on Medium.
And, of course, you gotta love it and don’t give up!
