From Making $0.80 to Over $1000 in Less than 3 Months on Medium
My Medium Journey
When I started writing on Medium I could never have imagined that I would be writing about making over $1000 on the platform. I had read about how other writers had made thousands on Medium but I also knew that many writers were struggling to make any real money.
Less than 10% of the writers on Medium make over a $100 each month.
Despite this I decided to start writing on Medium, mostly because I was looking for a platform to get my creative juices flowing and ramble about all the things that mattered to me but I’d be lying if I said the prospect of making money from my writing didn’t intrigue me.
May
I started writing on Medium towards the end of May. In May I managed to make $0.80 from my writing. Although this is a negligible amount I was nonetheless excited because this was proof I could actually make money on Medium. I wrote about my first Medium payout and that story alone made me over $7 the next month.
I watched my Medium earnings increase with each story I wrote. Some stories were major flops (barely getting 100 reads) but I guess that is part of the process. I accepted the fact that not every story I was going to write would resonate with my readers. And, as a new writer on Medium I didn’t have much of a following.
June
In June I manged to get some of my stories curated. The first to get curated was a very personal story. I remember being so happy when I did get the email that my story had been curated and distributed in relationships, family and parenting.
I anxiously watched my stats waiting for the big bucks to roll in and they did, or so I thought they did at the time. The story made a whooping $11.85 in the month of June and as someone who had made less done a dollar in the previous month, this new found “wealth” was exhilarating for me. I was also really happy that the story had done so well because I had bared my soul and shared a piece of myself with my readers. It had been a difficult story for me to write but I wanted to share my story not only as therapy for myself but to also help people who may have experienced similar situations.
I ended up receiving $34.77 in June. This was a drastic increase from the $0.80 I had received in May so I was extremely happy. I treated myself to a nice coffee and cake at a fancy cafe in London with my Medium earnings. At this point I was content with my steady progress on the platform but nothing could have prepared me for what July had in store for me.
July
I was not ready for what happened in July. I have no niche when it comes to writing on Medium, I write about anything I find interesting and in July I enjoyed writing history pieces. I love conducting desk research, writing pieces that have a historical theme combined my love of research with my passion for writing. And so I started writing a few stories with historical themes.
One of my stories with a historical theme made over $1000 in July so just one story made up over 95% of my earnings. I did not expect this to happen but it showed me that anything can happen on Medium.
The story was curated and distributed under history. At its peak the story made over $250 in one day. It also catapulted me to top writer status in the history category, something I never thought I would achieve on this platform.
Often people wonder how people become successful writers on Medium. There is all sorts of advice floating around on the platform. From writing everyday, or perhaps twice a day to perhaps even enrolling in Medium writing courses to make it big.
I do think that writing more and investing in your craft can positively impact your chances of achieving success on Medium.
BUT, making money on Medium is not an exact science.
It is largely dependent on one of your stories going viral, something that we as writers have little control over. Ultimately I made just over $1 200 in July, all because of my one story that went viral.
Although going viral is out of your control there are certain things a writer can do to increase the chances of this happening. Make sure you are writing well and adhering to Medium curation guidelines. Although curation does not always equal big bucks, curation is a necessary ingredient that increases the chances of a story going viral.
I love sharing my Medium journey with my fellow Medium readers and writers. Largely, due to the fact that I also enjoy reading about other writers experiences on the platform. I am definitely not an expert on the platform but I do hope that sharing my candid experiences on this platform helps other writers on their journey.
I’d love to connect with you all beyond the Medium platform. So feel free to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and I would appreciate your support on my new YouTube Channel [on the road to 1000 subscribers].
Please take the time to subscribe and help my channel grow. I am hoping to start sharing my medium journey on YouTube too.
