How To Write A $100 Article on Medium (Without Getting Boosted)

Plus, let’s bust some myths I saw in the comments.

Let’s face it.

Everyone on Medium wants to make money with their writing.

I know people say they like to write just to write, but I’m sure they’re not turning down the chance to make money at it too.

And if you’re reading this, then I’m sure you also want to start raking it in.

Let’s pick apart some $100 articles to see if we can find some patterns that you can replicate.

(I’m also selfishly doing this because I have a challenge from Evan Kelly’s Newsletter Alchemy community to create a $100 article this month. So I need to figure it out again, too!)

First, I’ll start with a few of my own. Then we’ll look at a couple of other writers’ successes.

$100 Article #1

This article about starting a mini newsletter is my best performer so far.

Even though I wrote and published it in November, it’s still getting saved to lists today. That’s because it’s evergreen content, or content that doesn’t get old.

If you write about your Christmas traditions, people will most likely read that around the holidays. It’s seasonal content.

But topics like making money, self-improvement, and relationships will always be important, no matter the time of year. That’s evergreen content.

A few important notes from this article:

• Comments = 50
• Views = 3.5k
• Reads = 2.4k
• Read ratio = 69%

Engagement is an important part of getting paid by Medium, so the more engagement you can get on an article, the more you will get paid.

Read ratio is also important. This is the percentage of people who read your story for at least 30 seconds. You want to shoot for a read ratio of at least 70%. (This article’s read ratio has gone down a little over time.)

How do you get people to stay on your article? Formatting, teaching people something, and curiosity are key factors.

$100 Article #2

This was a silly 2-minute article I put together on a whim, but it’s my second-best performer.

You can see this one has way fewer views and reads than my #1 article above, but the read ratio is much higher. It also has almost double the amount of comments.

This article wasn’t about much of anything except to say I’m working on my side hustle as a housewife and mom while Eve is doing it as a young, single 9–5'er. It was a simple comparison article. But it must have been relatable because people seemed to like it.

There might have also been a bit of luck with this one. It’s a good idea to factor luck into any algorithm.

(Almost) $100 Article #3

I decided to include one more because it’s only $1.36 from hitting $100. It’s this one about making mistakes on Medium.

It didn’t even hit 1k views, but it’s got a 76% read ratio and it also has lots of comments.

What’s funny about this one is that almost all of the earnings came in the span of about a week.

While the first two articles I mentioned above have made money over a fairly long period, this one was read a bunch all at once— and then dropped off completely.

Such is the life of a Medium writer!

Again, I assume it’s the algorithm at work. It’ll keep you on your toes!

Now let’s take a look at two other writers’ $100 articles.

$100 Article #4

ASAD EDUCATE posted an article here saying that this article made over $100.

Let’s look at some important factors:

• The headline. Makes you curious to find out what happened.
• The subhead. You know you’re going to learn something that will help you get more views.
• Publication. ASAD has posted this in a publication (Illumination) to help get more views.
• Engagement. There are almost 5k claps and an impressive 113 comments
• Read ratio. In the follow-up article, ASAD shows that the read ratio for this article is 68%.

This article is a 4-minute read and it’s formatted nicely. It also teaches you how to get more views and earnings from your article. This is a topic that most Medium readers are interested in! Ding, ding, ding!

If you want to have higher reads, engagement, and earnings, you need to write about topics that a lot of people care about. On Medium, people want to know how to increase their reads, engagement, and earnings. I know it’s circular, but that’s just how it is on a writing platform.

(By the way, his #1 tip to get more views and earnings is also my #1 tip. I’ll tell you a little later…)

$100 Article #5

Eve Arnold is practically a legend on Medium. Here’s an article she wrote about the time this article made $100.

Let’s take a look at some of the key factors of why this article did so well from my point of view (then we’ll see what Eve says…):

• Headline. Creates curiosity.
• The subhead. We know we’ll learn something about following our dreams.
• Topic. Evergreen content that a lot of people are interested in. Everyone has dreams and wants to know how to achieve them.
• Engagement. It has over 4k claps and 78 comments.
• Publication. This was published in Making of a Millionaire, which is followed by 27k people.

Eve is also extremely good at formatting her articles so they’re easy to read. Very important for read ratio!

Why does Eve think her article did so well? Here are the main points she mentioned in The Anatomy of a $100 Article:

1. Mass appeal. This is the same point I mentioned above. Everyone has dreams. Everyone.
2. Curiosity. What is the quickest way to achieve our dreams and why don’t we want to hear it?
3. Tap into a big idea. Eve says to tap into the way people feel but can’t articulate.
4. Tell your story. People love to hear how someone went from point A to point B.
5. Feelings. Humans are emotional creatures. If you can connect with someone about the way they feel and they can relate to it, you’ll have a winner.
6. Speak about your failures. It’s hard to relate to someone whose life seems perfect. When you talk about what you’ve done wrong, or things in your life that aren’t perfect, it helps others relate to you. (That’s why I love talking about my cats puking and my dirty basement floors.)

Let’s bust some myths

As I was doing research for this article, I came across a few comments that contained myths.

Time to bust ’em.

I think it’s true that many people don’t make $100 per article. Medium has over 100 million users per month. Most people don’t even write articles! And many of the ones who do aren’t actively looking to see how to write $100 articles.

The myth I want to bust is in the second part of the comment. You do not need to be boosted by Medium to get to $100. None of my articles (at the time of this writing) have been boosted.

A boosted article is a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have.

I think this 1% number is made up, but that’s not what I want to bust. I’m busting the myth that your articles need to be long to make money. I proved that wrong.

Again, there are 100 million+ users on Medium every month. I guarantee almost every writer has not shared how they’ve made $100 on the platform.

The algorithm might feed you these types of articles because it knows that’s what you like to read, but this statement is a big, fat myth.

Also, you should never let these types of articles demotivate you. Find out why people are making money and emulate them. If they can do it, so can you!

Also, a public service announcement:

Please stop using AI for your comments! It’s so terrible!

The complainers are the best teachers

I love the complainers on Medium because they’re the people I learn the most from.

While I was researching for this article, I saw one person complain about not making enough money, and I saw a couple of issues right off the bat:

1. No consistency with writing/not writing enough.
2. She didn’t respond back to people’s comments when they commented on her articles. I just think it’s good practice to do this as much as possible.

She later admitted:

1. She was writing low-quality articles using AI.
2. Once she started writing more, she started gaining traction.

The only thing better than a complainer is a complainer who’s learned their lesson and improved.

Final Thoughts

If you want to create articles that make $100 you can do it! Here are a few key components:

1. Write consistently. But even better, write often. (This is mine and ASAD’s #1 tip!) It gives the algorithm more chances to show your work to more people.
2. Engage with others. When you engage with other writers, they often want to engage back. This is good for everyone.
3. Format your articles nicely. In order to have a high read rate, your articles need to be easy to read. Make sure you use lots of white space, bullet points, subheaders, bold text, and images. (And don’t use big fancy-pants words. Keep it simple!)
4. Write about topics that a lot of people care about. Eve writes about emotional issues, especially as it relates to writing and her side hustle. ASAD teaches about getting more article reads and views. Find out what the most popular topics are in your niche (and the most relatable) and write about those the most.

One word of caution…

Don’t steal someone else’s work. (And don’t be so lazy as to not even use a different image!)

Your brain is smart enough to come up with its own ideas.

Have you had a $100+ article? If so, what do you think was the #1 most important factor for it doing so well? Let me know in the comments!

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted book nerd on the outside, and a raging metalhead on the inside. 🤘 I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, the band Chevelle 🎸, and murder mysteries 📖.

I also love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.