avatarBrian Lamacraft

Summary

Writing about personal experiences with sleep apnea on Medium led to unexpected paid writing opportunities for the author with prominent health sites like WebMD and Health Union.

Abstract

The author of the article shares a personal success story stemming from their decision to write and publish an article on Medium about living with sleep apnea. Initially, the author wrote on Medium sporadically since 2019 and faced the common challenge of seeing little reward for their writing. However, the unexpected happened when an editor from WebMD reached out after reading the author's article on sleep apnea. This connection resulted in a monthly writing gig for WebMD, which in turn led to another opportunity with Health Union. The author emphasizes the importance of persistence in writing and the potential for Medium to serve as a platform for attracting significant writing opportunities, even when immediate financial returns seem low.

Opinions

  • The author believes in the value of persistence and patience when writing on Medium, despite the initial lack of financial reward.
  • They express surprise and delight at the unexpected opportunities that arose from a single article they almost didn't publish.
  • The author advocates for branching out beyond platforms like Fivver and Upwork to find writing opportunities.
  • They suggest that Medium can be a platform for showcasing one's writing to potential clients or editors.
  • The author encourages new writers to continue writing on Medium, as it can lead to unforeseen writing gigs and community engagement.
  • They highlight the personal satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from helping others through writing about personal health conditions.

How Writing For Medium Can Land You Paying Gigs

I Did Nothing!

Photo by Xavi Cabrera on Unsplash

Lots of us struggle here on Medium, and it's frustrating to write and see the little reward. I’m patient and keep writing to build up my content. Little did I know that my writing efforts would pay off by writing something I never thought would amount to anything.

I've been writing on Medium since 2019, mostly off and on. Something happened to me last year that was quite shocking. I never expected this to happen AT ALL. It all started with that one small article I thought was meaningless on this site.

One morning I awoke to a message in my email from WebMD. You know, that health site EVERYONE knows about? I frowned at the message for a minute, and my finger hovered over the delete button.

Must be spam

Nope. It was the real deal. It was a writing opportunity for the site. The editor had viewed my piece on sleep apnea which is a condition I suffer from. I was completely shocked by this as I hadn't contacted them or done anything. There was no pitch, no cold call, no emails.

The thing is, I wasn't going to write this article in the first place. It was a split-second decision I made. The individual piece hasn't made much, but it's brought me great opportunities I wouldn't have had a not pulled the trigger and published it here.

Now. I write a monthly article about sleep apnea on the site. All this from one Medium article I randomly wrote about my health condition!

Wait.. there's more…..

Late last year, I received another email from Health Union's site. They found one of my articles on WebMD and wanted to know if I'd write content for them.

So, now I write for two health sites about my sleep apnea condition. I love doing this as it helps others that suffer as I do, and there's great community involvement.

Keep Writing

I've struggled bid time the past few years and never got any real traction. I stayed too long on Fivver and Upwork and never branched out. Medium allowed me to put down my thoughts and has landed me two writing gigs that help keep my head above water.

Individual articles here may not earn a lot, which can be frustrating for new writers here. Given time, there's no limit to the possibilities and the new writing opportunities that may come your way because of your Medium writing. Your work may be seen by those wanting your services.

Keep writing.

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