How I Finally Achieved My First $100 Month on Medium
It didn’t just happen overnight
We’re going to overview my journey that led me to finally hit my first $100 month. It all started back in September when I discovered Medium because Gary Vaynerchuk mentioned it as a top-tier platform for creating content in written-word.
Before Medium, becoming a popular YouTuber was my hope and dream. I am a creator at heart, and I can say now that I get so much more of a rush and reward from writing. It’s just different! Staring at that daunting blank page at the beginning of every article is intimidating.
But, I managed to fill that blank page with words every single day since I discovered Medium’s Partner Program (MPP) back in February. I attribute my success to the Facebook group, Medium Writers and Bloggers, the people I’ve met along the way, and my internal motivation to make the world a better place than I found it.
More than half of my earnings is thanks to one article that really took off (80/20 rule), and then a few articles between $1–5, and pennies and dimes from the rest.
This is my journey to $100.
In The Beginning, I Had No Clue What I Was Doing
That’s the beauty of it. I earned my first $100 paycheck from Medium without knowing how to construct an article people would actually read four months ago.
But I kept my head down, watched YouTube videos, learned from the best, and kept reading every single day. It’s important to fill your head with knowledge and inspiration from other phenomenal writers too, because if not, then it becomes easy to quit.
Reading about the success stories of other writers is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’m motivated and optimistic about finding success here. On the other hand, I look at them as superhuman, a type of breed that got “lucky,” when we all know that no one is just born a writing God.
Battling through the nitty-gritty challenges in the beginning allowed me to learn 3–5 new things about the platform every day to eventually start my own publication and become an editor for two others.
If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t walk run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means, keep moving.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
I Wrote Every Single Day
As with any skill that you try and pick up, practice makes perfect. Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hours” rule says that to become an expert or master performer in any field, it takes about 10,000 hours.
By setting aside 2–3 hours every day while I was on deployment gave me something to look forward to. It also gave me the motivation to work on my craft if I wanted to make an impact in the writing world.
I’m not saying you have to write every single day, but if you’d like to see a more steady uptrend in your stats sheets, then it helps to put out more content at first and experiment with new writing strategies.
New strategies include: submitting to new publications, exploring the underdog writers as well as the best, and finding a system that is continuously evolving. I was not an overnight success. Getting here required me to make writing a priority and say “no” to other things in life.
To be an extraordinary individual, you have to do extraordinary things.
Writing Became Too Fulfilling to Quit
It must be said. I cannot quit writing until I am one of the most well-known writers on the platform. I want to leave a legacy I can look back on when I have my grandkids on my lap, and my garden in the backyard becomes my new passion.
Maybe it’s seeing the statistics of how many people actually care about the things I have to say. Or perhaps it’s the support system I have from my family and online communities that I’m part of.
Each day, I surprise myself. I somehow craft together a piece that can genuinely help inspire someone to take some sort of action from it. That is empowering. If I was writing to a wall, I’m not sure if I’d find as much joy as I do while doing it.
But knowing that I’m sending a personal piece out into the world is magical. I don’t know if it’s going to flop or if it’s going to help someone pursue their dreams or improve their lives at all. I just keeping writing. And you should too.
“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment”
Closing Thoughts
It’s been quite a journey Medium family! I never thought I’d hit this milestone as soon as I did. I thought it would take a year even just to earn my first $20. If a guy who knew nothing about writing can string together articles that people respect and enjoy reading, then you can too.
A recap of my journey looked something like this:
- In The Beginning, I Had No Clue What I Was Doing
- I Wrote Every Single Day
- Writing Became Too Fulfilling to Quit
Remember to reach out to your peers and admit when you don’t know how to do something. Self-doubt is a killer that will stop a good dreamer in their tracks, so find your motivation.
Also, remember that top writers are humans too — regular people just like you and I. So take the leap of faith and see where things go from there!
What began as a distant goal, became a reality! Here’s my satire piece on my plead to Medium!
Jordan Mendiola is a top investment writer on Medium, and a soldier in the United States Army. He recently finished his tour overseas and is taking on his new roles working with social media, marketing, and video production, and has a YouTube. You can find him on Twitter @JordanMendiola3 and Instagram @Jordan.The.Mendiola.
