First 5 Months on Medium — What I’ve Learned and What I’ve Earned

Spoiler: I’m not a millionaire yet

I published my first stories on Medium on August 8th, 2023. Some people take their time over the decision to try something new, carefully considering all the angles and possible outcomes. They will meticulously explore the new opportunity, weighing up the costs and possible benefits, and gauging potential pitfalls. Only after evaluating all the possible angles will they finally come to a decision that is logical and evidence-based.

Reader, I am not one of those people.

I had vaguely heard of Medium before August and had seen results from the site pop up in search engine results at times, but I hadn’t understood anything of the vast resource that resides here. My friend had posted links to a couple of their own Medium stories on social media, which I’d read and always enjoyed. Then one day they mentioned that they’d earned their first bit of income from the site.

Income? As in actual legit £, not site stars or something? Interesting. So I clicked through to the site homepage and started reading some of the information and how-tos. Five minutes later I was signed up as a member. As I continued to browse, the education, entertainment, and sheer accumulation of human experience and knowledge took my breath away. How did I not know this existed? I considered £5 a month to be a bargain.

Adding stories of my own was the next step. I’ve been writing my whole life, but more pertinently on Substack for some months, so I had a bank of posts I could port across, once I’d checked that the site rules didn’t preclude cross-posting. It was a short step from that to joining the Medium Partner Program, as I’m lucky to live in a country where this is supported.

I’ve learned a lot in the last five months: the art of a good Medium Title and Subtitle is just the beginning! I post one or two stories most weeks, and I’m still writing the same mish-mash of thoughts as I had been on Substack — culture, parenting, friendship, relationships, women’s football, and generally on living life while aiming not to be a dick.

Looking at my top-performing stories, it’s interesting that those that have been most read are not the same as those that have earned the most. The value calculations are fairly opaque, so it’s fair to say that I never know when I publish a story whether it’s going to earn a few pence or several pounds. I choose to view this as injecting mystery and intrigue into my writing life, rather than causing me stress, and believe I may be happier as a result!

My most read story has been this one comparing my experience as a writer and reader on both Substack and Medium:

The higher reads, I believe, are due to the fact it has been shared a couple of times by ILLUMINATION where it was originally published — though it is still sitting under a hundred views. I hope it provides value to anyone looking to compare the two platforms. I do need to update it now to include the new Friend of Medium tier — that’s a job for the festive break.

Two other very different stories have seen a decent amount of reads, one about what the Good Guys can do rather than shouting Not All Men:

and another sharing a review of a lovely Christmassy read set in Edinburgh:

I find that my views and reads always increase when I spend time engaging with work from other writers, which is great news as reading is one of my favourite things to do.

In contrast, the stories that have earned me the most money have been either humorous pieces,

or those where I remind myself and others to look for the calm and the joy in the midst of busy lives. My biggest earner is this story,

and that’s likely due to the fact that it’s pinned on my profile — I’d encourage anyone to review your most successful stories on a regular basis and refresh your pinned items accordingly.

Show Me the Money

So down to the income. I’m very fortunate to have a full-time contract that brings in enough to cover the bills and leaves enough to fund a significant book-buying habit, so anything I earn here is just a bonus — I don’t take any of this for granted.

The main thing for me is that every month I have at least covered my monthly membership fee. During the period I was paying £5 a month, I have made the following:

• August — £8.57
• September — £7.66
• October — £5.43
• November — £12.71

I’ve enjoyed the writing process, so it’s nice to come out of it a little bit. If I were to account for my time, though, the hourly wage is probably around 12p — so as I indicated in the subtitle, I won’t be retiring quite yet!

In December I upgraded my membership to Friend of Medium, on an annual payment of £150 (I’m a sucker for that wee heart icon), so my bar for breaking even on costs has gone up to around £12.50 per month. I’m just about there for December if my currency conversion calculations are correct.

I have another few stories planned while I’m on leave from my main role for the festive break, so I’m hoping that will at least pay for some of my Christmas Baileys consumption. Maybe one day I’ll even have a story Boosted, and attain the dizzy heights of hitting three-figure earnings?!

The other area that might be of interest to some readers is the publication I started — Between Mountain and Sea: New Writing from today’s Scotland. Running a Pub has given me a greater appreciation for the time and effort that many Medium users put into collating and curating the best writing out there, setting and keeping standards high.

There’s too much to cover here about my experience of starting a Pub, but do let me know if that is something that you’d find useful or interesting if I wrote about it in a separate story.

I wasn’t sure I would write about my first few months on Medium, but I know I found this type of story super helpful in the early days when I was just finding my way around — so maybe it’s been useful for you. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to know more about.