Expectations vs Reality: Medium Earnings

Getting paid to write on Medium isn't all that it seems.

Introduction

You’re a newbie on Medium and you’ve seen some of your favorite writers make money from the platform. You want to get in on that action too! You write, edit and publish your first post. Then you wait for it to blow up. But it doesn’t happen. A few people read it, but not many — maybe even just one or two. You start getting discouraged and ask yourself: What am I doing wrong? Why isn’t anyone paying attention? I thought this was supposed to be easy! Well, friend, these are just some of the questions we all faced when we first started out here on Medium. And while this post won’t answer all of them (sorry), it will shed light on some common misconceptions about making money here as well as give you practical tips for growing your audience so that someday soon you’ll be able to quit your day job!

The expectations vs reality as a newbie on Medium with 100 followers

You don’t have to be a huge influencer to get started on Medium. You can start right now and build your following alongside a community of other writers.

The expectations vs reality when you are just starting out on Medium are:

• You may find yourself writing for an audience of about 100 followers, which is still pretty cool, and all you need to get monetized and start earning money when viewers read your posts!
• The more time you spend with your community, the more likely they will be to follow and engage with your content.

The expectations vs reality of making money on Medium

When you sign up for Medium, the first thing they want you to do is to write a post. This can be intimidating because if you don’t know what to say or how much money you can make, it can feel like a lot of pressure on your shoulders. But if you take a look at their earnings page, there are some pretty clear examples of what most people earn as writers. According to them (and I agree), the average writer makes $1 per week writing articles on Medium. That doesn’t sound like much!

The expectations vs reality of paid writing on Medium

Expect to work hard. You’ll be writing several pieces a day and sending them out into the void.

Expect to get paid a little bit of money per post and/or per month, especially in the beginning. If there’s one thing I can tell you from experience: don’t expect this gig will make anyone rich overnight — especially if they’re just starting out! It can take several weeks before getting paid anything substantial at all (if ever), but once again — don’t let this discourage anyone from trying out Medium because it’s still worth doing even if only for fun :)

Don’t expect to make money right away, but be grateful for every follower and dollar you earn.

It can be frustrating to work hard and not see any results, but it’s important to build up your audience and following before you start making money from your posts. You should always be grateful for all of the support in your life — and never forget how lucky we are to have such an incredible platform at our fingertips where we can share our thoughts with people all over the world!

Conclusion

To close out this post, I want to remind everyone that it’s important to keep a level head and not get too down when you don’t meet your expectations. Instead, focus on the positive things in front of you — things like the fact that you’re on Medium at all or even have 100 followers!

If you enjoy reading my stories and want to support me as a writer, sign up to become a Medium member. It’s only $5 a month, and it will give you unlimited access to all stories on Medium including mine. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you. Be sure to check out my other posts on side hustles, entrepreneurship, marketing, and more.

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Thanks For Reading!