How to Earn Full-Time Money from Part-Time Writing on Medium

Wether you have a job or not, Medium is still a great place for extra cash

The framework is simple, but the execution is hard. Not every writer who attempts to make money on Medium will earn it. But those writers who ignore the destination and focus on their daily work process, will position themselves for some solid monthly income off their part-time Medium stories.

How do I know this?

Over the past year I’ve earned over four figures a month from my part-time Medium stories.

I’m nobody special, just a guy with a plan, and I stick to it. Every day. Whether my stories do well or not. In a previous story I mentioned only 25% of my stories make money in a given month. That means 75% of my work earned nothing.

Yes, the 25% thing can be discouraging for writers, but those stories which do earn, do really well.

This is the key to Medium. You can only publish your best work. You can’t predict which stories will do well in advance. You can’t decide how much money you will earn.

The best you can do is develop a daily workflow that works for you, and repeat it. Then repeat it agin. And again. No matter how frustrated you get, or how good or bad your stories do in a particular day.

Full-time money

Seasoned Medium stories earn you money while you’re not writing. This is a great advantage for writers, who much of their day, must trade hours for dollars.

By linking to old stories, following trending topics, and studying your old posts that work, you too can make full-time money from part-time writing.

How long will it take to get there?

This depends on your daily effort. When you first start on Medium you’ll have no views, no claps, and no audience. Rightly-so. You’ve got to earn it. You can’t read a couple tutorials and start earning money tomorrow.

But you can develop your work process.

I think this is where a lot or Medium writers get hung-up. Not only do you need to find followers — fast, but you also need to create yourself a publishing schedule.

Think about the Medium platform. It’s open 247365. Medium has a world-wide readership. It took me three months to get my first four-figure month and I haven’t looked back. But I also never stopped writing here.

The Medium algorithm loves a consistent writer.

If there’s anything I can share today, it’s that. Stop writing a couple days and you’ll lose your momentum. Keep moving, no matter what, and you’ll see your results increase.

• You can batch your work and publish daily without writing daily, using the scheduling tool.
• You can apply to multiple publications and try to get your writing before a bigger audience.
• You can create your own publication and double-dip with the power of subscribers and direct email to your readers.

Yes, you’ve got to start from zero and that alone will weed-out 95% of the writers who aren’t willing to put in the up-front work to build momentum.

But once you reach a bigger audience, your workflow will slow down a little. You can write for an hour a day (or less) and keep your four-figure income steady.

What do you write about?

Here’s where the groans come-in. I get it. And if you’re a purist and you also want to earn money on Medium, you’ll have a real spiritual dilemma on this platform.

I get the feedback a lot.

My clients email and ask me how they can earn more here, without selling out.

The answer is simple, but it might hurt your creative ego: You’ve got to write stories your audience wants to read — stories they’re searching for.

If you write for you — to express your individual, creative freedom, come hell-or-high-water, and if-they-don’t-like-it-they-don’t-have-to-read-it, guess what? They won’t read it.

Medium isn’t a great place for selfish writing.

I choose selfish topics occasionally. I might have a rant to get off my shoulders, or some title I want to try. Every time I do this, readers revolt. Yours will too. Medium is a great place for everyone, but if you’re the type of writer who wants to earn great money here, you’ve got to write for the reader.

The choice is yours, but the outcome is too.

No one is coming to save you.

• Write more of what has worked for you in the past
• Write more on the topics that are trending now
• Write more about solutions that will transform your readers’ lives

But the real secret lies outside Medium

Not only do I earn full-time income from Medium, but the best income comes outside the platform. As a Medium writer, which also mean you own a tiny publishing company, you should be building a list you own and control.

The best-kept Medium secret is email.

Medium changes the rules and their focus all the time. Right when you think you’ve got it all figured out, something new happens.

Medium owns the platform. They control the traffic. We writers are guests.

While the monthly income is great, this is also a fantastic place to build your email list. With email, you can sell your off-Medium writing, books, and courses automatically, as new readers enter your list.

With this huge, international fanbase, Medium is a great collection of like-minded people, with which you can build a strong list. I’ve got clients from 70+ countries now. There’s no way I’d be able to do that so quickly, without paying for advertising — but I did. And I have this platform to thank for it.

You can build a great list too.

If you build your reader’s list now, you’ll have a pre-built, rabid audience ready when you launch your next book (or re-launch your last books). This should be a list you own (instead of relying on social media or some other big-business platform). Tap the link below. Enroll in my Tribe 1K indie email masterclass. I’ll show you how to get your first 1,000 subscribers (and your next 1,000) without spending one hot nickel on ads.

We’re waiting for you.

Enroll in my Free Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers

August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indies how to make work that sells and how to sell more of that work once it’s created. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.