How I (finally) Surpassed the $100/Month Barrier
Medium goal update for February and why it’s important to celebrate small wins
On February 18, 2024, I wrote an article about my goal and trajectory toward breaking the $100 barrier on Medium.
It seemed like a reasonable goal on the 18th day of a short month, based on where I was at that time. It was scary putting myself out there. What if I didn’t make it?
*I believe one of the reasons I made it is because I made my goal public.*
When you want something, all the Universe aspires to help you achieve it. — Paul Coelho
So many of you cheered me on, and have even checked in to see if I achieved my goal. That makes my heart warm and encourages me so much that I am also setting a goal for March.
Some have unlocked the keys to success on this platform early on, and their momentum has skyrocketed. Others, like myself, have struggled for one reason or another.
As I worked to overcome the $100 barrier that had seemed insurmountable in January, I gave serious thought and introspection about the reasons I’ve struggled and my strategy for overcoming those obstacles.
I used to blame others, the algorithm, the system, and the social media monster that made us slaves to performing all day. I now know those were just my limiting beliefs because I wasn’t taking responsibility for my goals and actions.
Frankly, I was putting out bad energy, how did I expect to receive good energy? I’ve been working a lot on growth mindset, releasing limiting beliefs, and money mindset — all articles for another day.
The update for February looks like this!!
I made my goal and surpassed it! I also added 76 followers during the month of February, which brought me just shy of the 1,700 I had hoped for. However, as of the morning of March 2, 2024, my follower count shot up to 1,711!
It wasn’t hard. I just needed to apply myself, let creativity flow, not overthink things, and adapt to the laws of Medium and social networking.
Learn the system and then follow it
Louise Hay says that life is like a computer system. You can’t make it do what you want, but you can learn how the system works and then change your behavior accordingly.
In other words, I saw results once I got on board with what works on Medium. Does this mean there won’t be ups and downs? Of course not, I am still learning — which by the way was part of my strategy: being willing to be teachable and learn from others.
Medium algorithms do seem to be shrouded in mystery at times, but the onus is on us as writers to do the work.
To test the market and figure out what readers want to read. To hone our craft and spin compelling stories that keep readers reading to the end and engaging with our writing. Not pleading “please read for at least 30 seconds so I get paid” at the top of our articles. Lord, if I start doing that, just shoot me now!
I think it’s important to celebrate the wins, no matter how small or big they are, as Christina Piccoli is teaching me. I don’t like to be a name dropper, but her micro-newsletter and transparency about her journey and progress have helped me more than any writer I’ve followed.
You know how you get hooked by those articles that promise ALL the SECRETS to success and deliver cursory advice like “write more” and “read that book by Stephen King”? Ya, that’s not Christina. Her advice is legit.
Everything is energy, and what kind of energy we put out matters.
In hindsight, I now understand why my articles remained hidden, even though I believe much of my best writing was done early on in my Medium career. I didn’t believe in myself and wasn’t willing to do the work. I was uninspiring and lazy.
It’s that simple. It may look like others find instant success, but like the old iceberg adage reminds us, you only see the tip. None of us know the work or sacrifice that goes into “success.”
I am not looking for “instant success,” but I am looking to accelerate. I’ll keep putting in the under-the-ocean effort and look forward to more success above the ocean.
I am by no means an expert on what to do to be successful on Medium, but I am going to share and celebrate my wins because it gives others hope and a glimmer of light to keep going.
I’ve analyzed February’s results, and here are my takeaways.
Again, this is just my analysis, you may have other insights for me and I welcome them. Medium is a unique platform in that I think there are many ways to measure success as well as different ways to be successful on the platform.
Top 5 articles for February
What pleases me is that two of these articles fit within my niche of decluttering and intentional living. And only one is about Medium — I certainly have no intention of becoming a writer who only writes about writing on Medium. Can you say echo chamber?
But, it’s obvious to me that writing about different topics that can entertain, inspire, educate, or inform is a worthwhile strategy, even if those articles fall outside your main niche.
4 key takeaways and what I’ll try to replicate in March
1. A mixture of submitting to pubs as well as my own. In addition to building my own publication, The Decluttered Soul, I submitted to five different publications in February.
2. A mixture of writing from articles in my niche, like February Decluttering Prompts, and articles outside my niche. I wrote about being unemployed, launching a membership, and this tongue-in-cheek article called Panty Purge encouraging women to reflect on how what we wear affects our self-image and self-confidence.
3. Lots of engagement. As I stated in my last article about February’s goals, I followed three new writers every day. I plan to ramp that up to five. I also leave 50 claps on every article I completely read, highlight and/or comment. I am involved in three Facebook groups that share Medium articles and do my best to reciprocate as much as possible.
4. Writing every day — this is also what I consider a win. Even if an article bombs or gets buried, as a writer, it is important for me to write every day. I created this image in Canva to remind me that consistency trumps complexity every day of the week (this is part of my not-overthinking strategy).
5 wins I am celebrating
- This article about my husband micro-dosing magic mushrooms is my highest performer for February. It’s not in my niche, but it’s an article that can help people. YourTango.com has requested that I republish it on their site. They have 31 million unique monthly viewers and 2 million Facebook followers.
- I’m torn about this. The exposure sounds great, but do I want to let someone else make money off my work? I was talking to a TikTok influencer today, and she forbade me to give my work away for nothing!
- With that kind of reach, she says, they should be paying me $5,000 for that article. Her response showed me that I still have to work on my money mindset! What would you do?
2. I surpassed my February goal by $27.88, but what’s better is that my earnings are up $90.88 from January.
3. I gained 76 followers during the month of February.
4. For March, I am on track to earn $270 if the numbers coming in now hold steady and if I can replicate some of my success from February and unlock additional strategies. I don’t know how to set goals for exponential growth, but $270 sounds like a sound goal, along with 100 new followers.
5. It wasn’t hard, and I didn’t burn out. Check back with me next month, and we’ll see if this pace is sustainable. Since I am currently unemployed, I don’t see why it won’t be. I always used to say that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, so I now have my wish!
For the record, I am not looking to Medium for all my streams of income.
I host a membership that helps women declutter to make room for what matters.
I do some affiliate marketing. This article about setting up internet service while traveling in an RV has made me almost $300 in affiliate income. The article itself has only brought in $8.76 lifetime because most of the reads were from non-Medium members. I shared the article a lot in RV-ing Facebook groups, and it paid off with the affiliate income. I need to do more of this and update my strategy. More to come on that.
And longterm goals include decluttering coaching, Substack, and Etsy for ebooks, printable journals and more.
There you have it. Nothing earth shattering but I hope it was informative and encouraging. Tell me more about your goals and strategies to achieve them.
Mary Gallagher teaches women how to declutter to make room for what matters. She is the founder of The Decluttered Soul, a thriving Facebook community and membership. After decades of striving, she’s finally found her peaceful, decluttered writing space in a tiny home in the White Mountains of Arizona where the elk sleep under the Milky Way in her backyard. You can connect, stay in touch, and get support on Instagram, Pinterest, and The Decluttered Soul publication.