Five Ways to Profit from Medium that Have Nothing to Do with Monthly Earnings

How to kick it like the writers who are here for fun

They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the mountain. Nowhere is that more true than on Medium, a sprawling platform now serving upwards of 80 million paying monthly users (thank you, pandemic!)

Suggestion Box readers are here to make money.

We have bills to pay and responsibilities to tend to; we toil at the keyboard day after day to meet those demands.

Here’s what the greener grass looks like on the other side:

It’s called, “My passion bought me a Starbucks.”

Passion-Medium writers write for the fun of it. They log on, pull up a clean story page, and set off, musing or venting away.

They’re playful. They make friends on the platform. They begin to reap the benefits of Medium the moment they pull up the home page.

What’s more, at the end of each month, low and behold, this odd little platform cuts them a check in return. For some, it’s enough to cover the $5/month membership fee; for others, it’s not. Maybe it can even cover an extra frothy beverage or the Sunday Edition of the New York Times too.

Note: You can’t be successful on this platform if you’re not a paying member. It is first and foremost, a social media platform. You have to interact to succeed, and you have to pay the $5/month fee to interact.

The money is a pleasant surprise for passion-writers, no more.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we too, who are here to earn money with our skills, could enjoy even just a hint of the carefree pleasure of those who write here for fun?

Here are five ways to profit from Medium that have nothing to do with your Monthly Earnings Report:

Positive Reinforcement: Stats, dopamine hits, etc.

As a platform, Medium is designed to be an excellent motivator. That’s what 21st-century algorithm-based technologies are, first and foremost. As a writer, you can benefit from the built-in positive reinforcement mechanism of reads, claps, and responses by using them as a motivator to push you to write every day. Think of it like pulling the lever on a slot machine in the casino and having your words come pouring out.

Immediate Feedback Loop

Writing on Medium is the most immediate and effective means I know of to gain real-time feedback on your work. When you publish, you send your words out to interact with millions of potential readers. Some will offer you direct feedback in the form of responses, but you can learn a great deal, even from those who don’t.

Just yesterday, I had a story published with a major publication in the niche and immediately selected for distribution. I had drafted, taken time to craft the right title and subheader, run it through a paid grammar check, and given it a day finished in my drafts list, so that I could edit with my own fresh eyes. I felt good about the piece and wasn’t so surprised when it was selected for distribution.

Do you know what happened when it went live?

It earned an 8% read ratio in its first hour. 8%!! The first ELEVEN people that opened the story opted against reading it.

It doesn’t matter how many advanced degrees I have or how much my story fits with the tone and target market of the selected publication. The Medium stats demonstrated without a doubt that the piece was not finished. So, I went in, changed the subheader (I have a subheader handicap…) and added a more heartfelt introduction, and watched the stats climb above a 40% read ratio.

The best market research firm can’t buy a feedback loop that immediate, clear and effective.

Networking

Medium is a Social Media platform whose activity is blogging. It is Twitch for writers. The most successful writers are the ones who wear their hearts on their sleeve, and even if you don’t, you can form genuine connections by letting other writers know how their words have touched you. Having found a home here, I now feel that in some ways, members of my Medium community know me better than my neighbors in the real world do.

Social networks (the old-fashioned kind, not the 21st-century digital ones) are the most potent agents of change in human communities. They raise and topple governments. They make fortunes and change minds. For writers, they sell books or services.

Medium is an online social network for deep thinkers and amateur writers. The value of the real relationships you can form here is beyond measure.

Build a Following

Last week, top Medium writer Shannon Ashley shared that she does not yet see herself as a strong enough writer to publish a book. Setting aside the fact that Shannon’s monthly Medium earnings exceed the sum many writers make on their books, if they turn a profit at all, can you imagine the impact of the blog post that Shannon will one day push out to her 36K followers and counting asking them to review her first memoir on Amazon? The loyal following she has built up on Medium will translate to sales, positive reviews, weeks on “Best Sellers” charts, regardless of the quality of the book itself.

It is a network strong enough to justify self-publishing and enticing enough to many publishers that she can turn it into a book deal if she so chooses.

It is more valuable than even the highest monthly Medium pay-outs on record.

(Shannon, can you tell that I think you’re ready to write that memoir?)

Hone Your Craft

By far, the most valuable asset you can cultivate on Medium is your skill as a writer. It’s your skills, not any given story, that will support you for a lifetime. The skills a writer hones on Medium can be applied to writing copy, ghostwriting, marketing, community building, speech writing, and more.

The best way to become a better writer is to write.

On Medium, that’s what we’re here to do. The following, network, immediate feedback loop, and positive reinforcement built into the platform all come together in a perfect storm that drives you to become the best writer you can be.

Cashing in on the benefits that are beyond a monthly paycheck

After writing about sexuality for the year on Medium, I am now in the editing stage for a book on the topic. These are stories that I wrote because I was inspired to do so, and I’ve already earned thousands of dollars from them.

I didn’t set out to write a book on sexuality when I started. I was just blogging on Medium. However, thanks to the positive reinforcement, immediate feedback loop, improved writing skills and following I built up here while I was writing, a book happened. I’ve even connected with the awesome subject-area editor I want to hire for the project, thanks to my Medium network.

For me, Medium doesn’t buy me my bonus Starbucks each month. I don’t have that luxury. I write to support my family and pay my bills. But, the monthly income I earn here is not the greatest value the platform offers me. Medium helps me to invest in my skills and my network while having fun along the way.

I am the value. Medium is the tool. The paycheck is the bonus.

Happy Writing!

How about you? What inspires you to write and keep writing on Medium? Where do you find the joy, even when the paycheck is less than you might hope?