Why I Would Continue to Write About Medium Even if It Will Never Be Chosen for Further Distribution

My top earner story in 2020 is an Illumination published story. It earned me $18.71, and it‘s all about Medium.

While I love writing, I also would like to be paid. Not only do I have bills to pay, but because I put a lot of investment in my writing.

Time is valuable, and it is something we do take for granted. If there is one thing this year taught me, time is limited. But, don't get me wrong, I‘m not here to tell you that money is everything like you are panning for gold. For the most part, writing did me a lot of good this year, and it saved me.

It comes as a surprise that, Chosen for Further Distribution and I Know Where to Find It is my top earner this December. So far, it has earned me $8.92. It was first published on October 30, 2020. When I checked, it already earned me $18.71.

To some, it may look like nothing, but to us who are new on Medium, it means it can happen. A single-story can bring in money.

Because it has gotten more views, I can see what other topics my readers are interested in. I can use the data to create more stories my readers would like to read.

I can’t thank ILLUMINATION and Dr. Mehmet Yildiz enough. The reason I wrote the story is when I found out my story about Dunkin was curated. But unlike the last time, my story was curated. I didn’t receive an email, and I don’t know which topics or tags the story got curated.

I found out about it when I checked my stat page. Also, this is why we Medium writers need to read other writer’s stories. I read Dr. Mehmet’s story on Medium curation.

While it is true it doesn’t work anymore, Dr. Mehmet Yildiz has a follow-up article about it, Correction for Curation Instructions ( Excerpt from, Chosen for Further Distribution and I Know Where to Find It)

The big change happened when Medium decided to become more relational.

Here are the things I learned from writing about Medium

While Medium says, one of the disqualifying story types is writing about Medium. It means your story will not be chosen for further distribution.

No meta — no stories written about Medium

Writing about Medium can still help you become a top writer, as I did in part because of my Medium curation story. One thing about being a top writer, it can happen with only three stories. But the caveat is there are topics like social media that are too competitive, and you can lose the top writer badge.

This year, one of my writing successes is that I became a top writer in Photography, This Happened To Me, and Social Media ( but I lost the social media top writer badge a few days ago). One has to consistently write about these topics to maintain the top writer badge.

Being chosen for further distribution, being published in big publications, and having top writer badges have nothing to do with your Medium earnings.

I am saying this to help you temper your expectations. Remember, my top earner story wasn’t curated and wasn’t distributed, but it will make me money as long as it is considered evergreen content.

What is Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is search-optimized content that is continually relevant and stays “fresh” for readers over a long period of time — as the name implies. You may think that all online content is sustainable; after all, a blog post doesn’t just disappear after you publish it. But evergreen content is different. It continues to be relevant long past its publication date, with search traffic growing over time.

Anything about Medium can be considered evergreen content for new writers who come into this platform.

Writers in the Partner Program who published their first story — 65,187

In 2020, there are 65,187 new writers on Medium interested in learning to know more about the platform. This is why, if you are looking for ways to earn on Medium, you can start by sharing your experience as a Medium writer, and like myself, I want to share my discoveries.

I know Dr. Mehmet Yildiz is the same. He loves sharing his discoveries on becoming a successful writer on Medium. He also welcomes new writers in his widely circulated Medium publications. Reach out to him if you are starting in your Medium journey.

Medium curation is not a guarantee that it will bring the audience or readers. And one should not fixate about it; I must admit I did in the beginning.

Consider being curated, getting a top writer badge, and even the money we earn from Medium as icing on the cake.

What we should never forget is how we love writing. When we don’t forget the whys, writing becomes more than our passion. It feels like our second skin.

In 2021, keep on writing and share quality stories as that is what Medium is looking for, stories for its readers.