Earning Money to Write Can Be Your Reality

Sign up for the Medium Partner Program and start raking in the dough.

Hey there, newbie. Welcome to Medium, and thank you for joining The Orange Journal. I am so happy you are here! If you have come across this article, you may be nearing (or surpassed) the top of the 100 follower Medium mountain. Yay! That’s great, and now it’s time for you to make money from your written art form.

When I started on Medium, things were much different. There was no follower minimum to start earning. You just signed up for the Partner Program and you got direct deposit via Stripe. (If you reside in an eligible country.)

While Medium is constantly transforming, (for some better and for others, not in a great way,) it’s important to stay on top of your earnings. After all, nothing is free in life, so why should your writing be?

Surpassing the Uncomfortable

I remember when I made my first five cents. I published my first article on the last day of January with zero followers, and I was simply honored to know that a stranger found value in my voice. 5 cents was all it took to skyrocket my passion into a career. It’s scary, but it’s possible.

If you write for fun, that’s great — all the power to you. If you are worried that you aren’t good enough to earn, stop it right there. You are. We all are. If you want to earn, but aren’t sure where to begin, start here.

Writing is not an innate, God-given talent that some people are born with and that’s it. It’s a skill, just like painting, drawing, cooking, sewing, athletics, makeup, engineering, whatever. It is an (extra)ordinary skill that is improved through “perfect” practice — careful and conscious repetition mimicked from masters in their field.

As you surely know, Medium has implemented a new policy that makes it a little harder to start earning. You have to have a minimum of 100 followers to even be eligible. But once you pass this, and maintain it, you have to have at least one published article. Then you can apply.

Here’s how.

Unfortunately, there are very few countries that are currently eligible for The Partner Program or MPP. Despite hundreds of consistent complaints from creators around the world, it doesn’t look like Medium is going to change its policy anytime soon.

If you are a creator from a country that isn’t accepted, but you still want to write on Medium, consider asking for donations in your CTA (call to action) at the bottom of your piece.

You can use websites like ko-fi or Buy Me A Coffee.

Accepted

Once you get accepted and add your payment information, congrats! You are now a paid writer, with a whole new world of accessible income at your fingertips.

When you are ready to self-publish or submit your draft to a publication, simply select “Meter My Story.” If you have email subscribers, you also have the option to send it over to them, too, once published.

How Much Will You Make?

The Medium algorithm is a one-of-a-kind wildly unique beast. You want curation and distribution, and sometimes when you get it, articles without curation perform better.

Articles you spend hours on may tank. The ones you spent ten minutes on may soar.

It can be very confusing, and at times disheartening to not hear back from major pubs. This is especially true when you see work being produced that is of lesser objective quality than something you had submitted.

Claps do not earn you any money whatsoever, as they did back in 2018, to my knowledge.

Member read time is what determines your income. As Medium members, we pay $5 per month to retain a subscription. This allows us unlimited access to any article on the site.

Without membership, you are limited to three free articles per month. This is not enough to actively network with other writers, read submission guidelines for pubs, and grow your audience by leaving thoughtful responses that prove you actually read something.

It is very difficult to grow as a writer here from scratch without being a member.

My Experience With Membership

When I started on Medium, I was a monthly member for a full year. When I started working full-time for the first time post-grad, I was barely producing five articles per month. This was almost a year into my Medium journey.

The membership wasn’t worth it because I didn’t make time to read others’ work or network. As you could imagine, my earnings and statistics tanked, and all of my hard work basically went to dust.

I learned the hard way, and now I am working hard to make a real income on Medium, which is 100% possible. The top writers prove this regularly. (And while they do admittingly have abundant advantages, like auto-curation, and close ties to top pub editors, they started at the bottom, too).

Do yourself a favor, and become a Medium member. If you are serious about making money from your writing, then it is worth it.

Consider signing up with my referral link for no additional charge to you.🍊

Earnings

Your earnings will fluctuate. So will your statistics. That’s okay and normal. Keep striving to do better. I don’t claim to be a Medium guru because my goal is to make $2,000+ per month on the platform, and I am far from that. I know it will take time, and most importantly consistency.

That’s the mistake I made the first time around, and I will not do it again. I hope you won’t either.

Get rid of the limiting beliefs that tell you it’s impossible to make it as a writer. It most certainly is not, so go ahead and apply for the Medium Partner Program! What are you waiting for?

Are you a member yet? Consider signing up for just 5 bucks a month to get access to millions of fantastic stories. Get yourself a DIY-degree in just about anything by reading from talented writers on Medium. Please use my link at no additional cost to you. I will earn a small commission. Thank you!

Tap into positivity at Live Life Now, my new blog✨

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