How Newsbreak Has Affected Earnings of the Medium Group of Writers

A little competition is good but cut-throat rivalry can be harmful

The sales pitch

“If you write 12 articles, we’ll give you $1000 every month.” That is how Newsbreak announced its arrival. They knew writers’ insecurities.

Newsbreak is not a fraud. They entered the writer’s market with a bang. But their policy was meant to disrupt the writer’s market. They had to do it, or nobody would have paid attention.

Most of the writers worked extra hours to meet the Newsbreak challenge.

You cannot make $1000 on Medium by writing 12 articles — unless you are an excellent writer with a solid understanding of what Medium readers want. Some accomplished writers earn more than $7000 by writing 11 stories in a month.

Most of the writers — who are working hard on Medium — thought Newsbreak to be the golden opportunity for their writing careers. But the Newsbreak sales pitch is essentially flawed.

Medium is a community of writers and readers. Most of the writers were readers first, and then they summoned the courage to start writing. Slowly, Medium became the home for so many writers.

This way or that way?

Psychologists showed kids beautiful toys on the other side of a glass partition in an experiment. The kids threw away their ordinary toys. Newsbreak’s beautiful promises have had the same effect on the writers recently.

They have stopped reading and writing the way they used to in the near past. If you don’t love Medium as its members, then who would hold it in its first place? Who would protect this home of writers?

Newsbreak wanted to break into this home of writers — to steal some of its good writers. Some writers succeeded in getting huge followerships on Newsbreak, and they are earning. That was the plan. Newsbreak succeeded.

But for most writers, it was not a great experience. The majority of the writers feel disillusioned by how Newsbreak is making the criteria harder.

Most of the writers are coming back — to focus on Medium again.

Alexa Ranking Engine

The best thing about Medium is that it has a domain authority that few others can match easily.

On Amazon’s Alexa ranking engine, Medium is at 85, while Newsbreak is on 3773. Newsbreak has a robust mobile app but so does Medium.

Medium’s position is stable, but Newsbreak is going down fast — on the Alexa ranking engine.

Numbers

Medium boasts of more than 100 M users, while Newsbreak has 21 million users. Medium has been around for more than eight years, but Newsbreak is just entering the market.

Scope

Medium is a place for writers to express opinions. Using the words of Ev Williams, “There’s been less progress toward raising the quality of what’s produced [in the blogging world].”

“We are trying to make it as easy as possible for people who have thoughtful things to say.”~ Evan Williams

Newsbreak is not a place for writers. It is a place for reporters; since it is a news app.

“Positioned as a news aggregator focused on local reporting, the platform surged to be the third-most downloaded U.S. iOS app across the board in mid-March this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.” ~ Techcrunch.com.

Clickbait shines on News Break.

Weird stuff and clickbait headlines — Buzzfeed-like headlines — work well on Newsbreak. Low-quality content can rise above good quality.

Medium likes quality content and hates clickbait. The result is that you develop as a writer.

Ultimately it is not the headlines that make you a good writer; it is your content.

World’s best place to find readers

If you are serious about your writing journey, think of Medium as the world’s best place to get beta readers who actually pay you to read your sh*t.

Many of them are writers themselves. Their feedback carries weight.

Newsbreak comments vs. Medium comments

In one article, I read about the comments on Newsbreak. They go like this: “Nah, man. Impossible,” “Oh, no, no, you are mistaken,” “She is good for f******, man.” You get the idea. That is how it is going to be — for all times to come.

On the other hand, the comments on Medium are brilliant. They are so uplifting that after reading a comment, you can sit and write all day:

“Excellent tips. Outstanding stories. What else could we ask from a super editor!” ~ Dr Mehmet Yildiz says.

“Wow. I wish I had 1000 claps to offer. How absolutely fascinating!” ~ Alison Tennent says.

“If you ever decide to become a full-time writing coach — lemme know, I’ll either sign up or become a great marketing manager.” ~ The Maverick Files says.

“Thank you, Dew. You just get better and better! I’ll only use the phrase, “This is your best yet!” ~ GranPa-Festus says.

“Wow, what an article! That was quite something, Dew.” ~ David Majister says.

I can go on, but you get the idea. These comments create everlasting bonds.

Look at their broader goals.

News Break is a VC-funded company. Their primary goal is to earn money. They are not looking for writers who can become the voice of humanity.

The primary goal of Medium is to allow people to say thoughtful things. Writers need money — but they want to earn it by saying something meaningful about the human condition.

A larger-than-life goal is necessary for writers to stimulate their imaginations.

News Break is a news app by China’s media maven Jeff Zhen and Jerry Yang, former CEO of Yahoo! Inc. They have teams in Beijing, Shanghai, Seattle, and Mountain View, CA.

Medium is like a Mac, and Newsbreak is like a Microsoft PC

When someone told Steve Jobs that Microsoft had launched Windows — copying Apple software specs — he didn’t worry. Why? Because he thought Apple had style.

Many people bought a PC and never really understood what they were missing by not buying a Mac — the beauty of Mac’s artistic touch.

When you work on a MacBook, you want to work more. When you are working on a PC, you want to do something else. That is my feeling — you are free to disagree.

But Medium is like Mac. When you are writing for a publication on Medium, you want to read and research more. You want to write more, and when someone claps or comments, your heart is filled with joy. You want to feel more of that.

Newsbreak is not like that. It is like getting hired by ‘corporate bosses’ — who can do what they like. You become a cog in a big machine.

One reason for Medium’s success is that people are free to join, write, and leave. You’ll never feel like you are being forced to do something. You want to write poetry, do it. You are interested in writing fiction, do it. You are bursting with emotions to talk against a politician; go ahead. That is the freedom you enjoy on Medium.

A bright light that blinds you for an instant

Light is good. But when somebody blinds you with a flashlight, you have to look away. It takes some time before you can see clearly.

What worries me is how many of my friends are willing to bury their heads in the sand. I see people writing in praise of Newsbreak’s partner program — I’ll explain the actual offer shortly. However, Tim Denning has already warned:

Many writers are going to get caught with their pants down. ~ Tim Denning

Waste your own time, but don’t waste other’s time. In the next 10 years, Medium is going to be the YouTube of writing.

As a group of honest and intelligent writers, we can expose the ‘purely marketing nature’ of Newsbreak’s deal. We can save our time and the time of our friends on Medium.

Reality of the sales pitch

A sales pitch is a ‘sales pitch.’ Here is the offer behind all that eye-candy:

You get $1000 for the first three months — if you attract 500 followers and get at least 6000 views for your 12 stories — or an average of 500 reads for a minimum of 12 stories every month. After the first three months, you get $4 per 1000 views — or $24 for 6000 views.

Newsbreak is paying more only to attract new writers — for the first three months. After that, it will pay less. GoDaddy attracts new customers like this.

On Vocal Media, you can earn $3.8 for every 1000 reads. If, however, you become a paid vocal member, you will get $6 for 1000 reads.

On Medium, you can make anywhere from $15 to $30 for a 5-minute-read with every 1000 views.

If you do the math, Medium is 3 to 5 times better than Vocal and 4 to 9 times better than Newsbreak.

Medium is 3 to 5 times better than Vocal and 4 to 9 times better than Newsbreak.

If you know better, please share your wisdom in the comments.

Final thoughts

This article is a reminder that we are not forced to be here on Medium. It is our home. The best place in the world — if you ask me. For writers, it is a game-changer, a life-saver.

Newsbreak is not a scam. They have terms and conditions that they can change at any time. Medium can change terms and conditions too. But since Medium is a stable environment, there is little to no need to make dramatic changes. Especially, as long as Ev Williams is in charge, Medium will be a nice place to say what really matters to you — and your readers.

News Break will not make you a successful writer. Sorry. ~ Tim Denning

Newsbreak has the right to upset the market, but you should be clever enough to recognize the truth.

You can read my curated stories here.

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