7 tips for how I made a nickel, yes, .05 cents using Medium

…And how you can too (for Medium newbies like me!)

It was a year-long process but I made a nickel.

A year ago, a friend of mine who was a reader of my blog (gospelof.org) said to me, ‘You should really think about posting your stuff on Medium.’

I was like, ‘Cool, I’ll check it out.’

I’d heard of Medium but hadn’t really ever used it. It looked interesting and I felt like I had a lot to share in my writing that didn’t necessarily fit on my blog platform.

At the same time, I felt I needed to familiarize myself with Medium, learn how to properly curate my presence, and then finally, get some different articles written before I posted anything, hence the year-long wait.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I’m pretty sure I could have started writing immediately and figured it out along the way. Every day, I get new stories from Medium telling me how I can make money, how I can format better, how I can utilize a subtitle and on and on. So I just start adjusting along the way.

I would ask myself questions like, ‘Why do my photos look so bad and misaligned?’ and ‘Why does everyone else’s look so centered?!’

Yep, someone like Elizabeth has probably written about that, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

I made my goal when I started writing on Medium that my stories would encourage at least 1 person. That 1 person could resonate and be lifted up by it.

The first story I wrote was special to me. It was about a dear friend who had lost her husband at the age of 25.

It didn’t make any money, but I got a message from a Pastor friend of mine telling me that he had shared it with a gal who had just lost her husband. That was all I needed, the hope that it had encouraged one person.

Then I wrote another story. I interviewed one of best friends. Within minutes, I was learning things about him I never knew. It shocked me how much you can learn about someone you’ve lived with for 6 years just by being intentional and asking questions. I learned about the challenges he went through growing up with a father who who come back from the Vietnam War a different person.

I was doing something I loved. I was sitting down and meeting with people over a cup of coffee. I was asking questions. And I was writing and sharing stories.

And after my second story, Medium sent me a nickel.

Not bad for doing something you already love to do.

I’m sure there is a lot more I can learn in how to utilize Medium but in the meantime, I’ll do my best to simply stay focused on the process and how I can encourage others along the way.

In short:

1. Start Writing — write about what you love and the things that excite you
2. Become a Member — support others while they support you
3. Read the Stories of Others — you’ll not only read great articles but you will also learn how to do the same
4. Publish Thoughtful Pieces — go ahead and click publish, by my 3rd article, The Startup had noticed one of my articles and added me as a writer, if you put time and thought together with quality writing, you’ll get noticed
5. Seek to Help and Encourage Someone — it’s hard to lose when you make your writing about someone else
6. Share on Your Own Networks — 90% of my views still come from my personal feeds on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, that’s ok, you and me are new here, but we are meeting new people here along the way and introducing our friends to Medium as well
7. Watch the nickels flow in while you’re doing something you love and helping someone while you’re doing it!

Mostly, just have fun and figure it out as you go!