Summary

The author shares their experience of earning $31.63 in their first week on the Medium Partner Program after eight months of writing on the platform, providing insights and tips for new writers.

Abstract

The author of the article discusses their earnings during the first week of joining the Medium Partner Program, which amounted to $31.63. Despite having written on Medium for eight months, the author's earnings reflect the varied financial outcomes experienced by different writers on the platform. The article offers a realistic perspective on the potential for income on Medium, contrasting the modest initial earnings with the aspirational stories of writers who eventually earn substantial amounts. The author emphasizes the importance of consistency, submitting to publications, understanding that one popular article does not guarantee increased views for others, pinning stories to one's profile for more visibility, and creating one's own publication to facilitate reader engagement. The author maintains a pragmatic and grateful outlook, focusing on the enjoyment of writing and the potential to help others as the primary motivations for participating in the platform.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the allure of writing success stories on Medium but presents a more grounded view of the earnings potential for new writers.
Consistency in content creation is highlighted as a key factor in gaining recognition and success on Medium.
Submitting to publications is recommended for gaining readership, although the author notes that this may not necessarily lead to sustained interest across all of a writer's work.
The author observes that a single viral post does not ensure increased visibility for a writer's other articles.
Pinning stories to a profile is suggested as a method to increase long-term views, particularly from new readers visiting a writer's profile.
Creating a personal publication is advised for ease of reader access and to present a writer's work in a more organized manner.
The author expresses contentment with their side hobby of writing on Medium, valuing personal satisfaction and the potential to assist others over financial gain.

How Much I Earned on my First Week On Medium

Photo by Konstantin Evdokimov on Unsplash

I must say I was kind of hoping I could be like Carrie Bradshaw, you know.

She wrote once a week for a column and earned enough money to live in an extravagant metropolis like New York; with very little time investment she had a nice life.

(Yes, I was dreaming big, I know)

Also, it's kind of hard not to when we see this huge overflowing number of posts about writers and their enormous earnings on Medium.

Anyway, back to the title of my post.

I recently joined the Medium Partner Program, and when I say recently I mean the very first of October.

So from October first until October the seventh I made…Drumrolls, please…

31.63 dollars. Ta-da!

Now a little bit of context here.

I've been writing and publishing on Medium for eight months already. So I am not really "new” to this platform.

There isn't really a normal regularized amount of dollars to gain here. All I can tell you is what I've noticed, and for the record, I am not saying I am absolutely right, (what I know is what I’ve read in their stories), so:

New writers earned less than 10 dollars in their first months.
Then there are these other writers that in approximately six months or so made hundreds of dollars.
And finally, writers who state that after a year they are making minimum one thousand dollars.

Yes, I was hoping I could be in the second category. But, it's okay though, I am grateful.

Here is a brief description of what has worked for me.

(This is for the beginners) but also for whoever wants to experiment.

1. Be consistent.

To be successful at anything, you don’t need to be different. You simply have to be what most people aren’t: consistent.

I mean if there was only one piece of advice I could give you is this: be consistent with your content.

No one in Medium simply became notorious overnight. All of them consistently put in the effort and work to get there.

2. Do submit to publications.

There are two very common pieces of advice regarding this subject, which are:

Submit to pubs.
Create your own pub. (I will explain this one later).

I’ve done both, and yes, definitely submitting to pubs brings you hundreds of readers.

However the vast majority of the time these readers only read that specific piece and not your other stories, and so this is the next thing I’ve learned :

3. You won’t get more views in other articles because of one.

I thought having a “popular article” would bring more readers to previous ones, but that’s just not the case.

As many writers have stated, having one viral post does not make the rest of their posts more successful.

So if you want your stories to have more views then do submit them to pubs.

4. Pin your stories to your profile.

This isn’t a must, so it’s up to you if you do this one or not, however in my case, I’ve noticed that the stories I’ve pinned do get more views in the long term.

For instance, think about a new reader visiting your profile, she or he is very likely to read the pinned stories because all of your content is new to them and they are curious about what you have to say.

In contrast, your assiduous reader, when visiting your profile, will simply scroll down to see what are your new posts, because they already like your content and are familiar with it.

So for me, it’s a win-win.

5. Create your own pub.

Simply put: it seems to me that it’s easier to read and choose what I want to read next from a writer when the articles are presented in the format of a publication.

I personally don’t like to be clicking and clicking on “show more” when I want to see more content. It’s way easier to see someone’s work displayed in a publication.

To conclude.

Writing here is my side hobby, I don't expect to quit my job and do this full time, because I actually like my job and it gives me a sense of purpose.

I have no idea of what my earnings are going to be by the end of the month, and at the beginning, I was very anxious about it, so this week I am trying to remind myself why I joined the platform.

In my case, it's because I enjoy journaling and writing. I like to share my dating experiences and if my advice at least helps one single person then it's all worth it. The money is just a plus.

To anyone reading this right now I know publishing here can be overwhelming at times, so when that happens, try to remind yourself why you joined this platform and don't lose track of why you are here.

Thank you for reading!