From $1.83 earnings on Medium to $833 a month
Is it just a stroke of luck or is there more to it? Thorough analysis and tips for writers.
There’s no doubt that writing on Medium can be a great way to earn some extra cash.
But how much can you really make?
That is the question everyone asks.
I am guilty too because I read the articles about writing and earning on Medium.
After 2 years of being on Medium and writing for the past 5 months consistently, I analyzed my latest earnings, topics, and stories.
Writing on Medium depends on a few factors, including the quality of your writing, the topics you write about, and how often you publish.
According to Medium, the top 5% of writers earn an average of $100 per month.
However, it’s important to note that this is just an average. Some top writers make much more than $100 per month, while others make less.
Of course, these are just averages. But as I mentioned above, your actual earnings will vary depending on several factors, including the quality of your writing, the topics you write.
I write on Medium since March 2020 and maintained a relatively consistent style of writing during that time. For those four months, I wrote almost all the 39 pieces, earning the most money ($20.68) and the least money ($3.74). But I only made $83.39 throughout the entire year 2020.
The entire year, not even $100.
See my chart below:
It was devastating to see the numbers after so many pieces were published. Later, I realized that just 1/3 of those four months were curated in 2020.
In 2021, I only published 11 articles and made $869. For 10 months I have written zero and two in November.
In December, I made most of my earnings for the year $833, with 9 published articles.
In 2022, I published 29 articles and made $2166.56 so far (from January through March).
Curation still matters:
As you can see from the chart below, curation or distribution matters. In December 2021, all of my 9 articles were curated on different topics from travel to health.
The 3 best-performing articles and their lifetime earnings
Published in December 2021, it was the most controversial, but received more criticism than praise.
It pays off to have negative comments. It was curated on Travel.
Published in January 2022, this was one of the most popular listicles, and it was curated on health.
Published in November 2021, this one was again an article about Spain and it was distributed on travel.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can see that distribution matters, but writing every day does not. Another thing to consider is the topic of your post. For me, travel and health are the most popular subjects. Climate change and sustainability aren’t among them.
I have a twice-a-week publication schedule, so consistency is critical. In addition, I only work with Illumination. Thank you, ILLUMINATION Editors, and Dr Mehmet Yildiz.
You can take extended time off and come back. It doesn’t matter.
You won’t have to start from the ground up. You’ll be able to maintain your audience. It will again come down to which subject is most popular on Medium.
When I got back last year and restarted to publish on Medium again, I had close to 600 followers and now I have close to 1.8k. But the followers don’t matter because maybe 15% of them read my stuff. I focus more on the reading time from internal viewers than anything else.
I’m sure there are other things to consider, but these are the most important ones that come to my mind.
If you’re thinking about earning money on Medium, I say go for it. It’s a great platform with a lot of potential.
Just be aware that it takes time and effort to build an audience and make money. Don’t forget to be consistent.
FYI: I used for this analysis, the Medium Distribution and Earnings extension, and Fractions. You can add them to your Chrome browser.