I Almost Quit Medium Before Earning $2,000 in 30 Days
6 tips on how to bounce back when things aren’t going well
No one read my stories on Medium.
I was frustrated and I quit Medium. Then my article went viral. I have 1,807 fans and got 218,989 views in 30 days. I earned more than $2,000 in the last 30 days.
I did it and so can you!
The Struggle
I didn’t enjoy writing, as I often find it difficult to express my thoughts in foreign words. English is not my native language. I’m busy with my work and my life. I’m bad at writing. Seriously.
I started writing on Medium on Boxing Day 2018 despite all those excuses. I had some ups and downs, mostly downs, but it has been one heck of a journey. I have since published 22 articles and 18 comments (or 40 ‘stories’) across six publications in a wee bit more than a year.
Writing is frustrating. You spent hours crafting your (not-so-)perfect articles, only to get rejected by major publications, or to receive one clap from your only loyal friend. That was brutal.
Fun fact: you can clap up to 50 times per post! Now you know.
Writing for a living is more frustrating. I earned $3.76 in the first month (i.e. Jan 2019). No one read my posts. My earning ‘peaked’ in the second month (Feb 2019) with $37.97, following by many low earning months. I stopped writing in August 2019. I quit.
While I didn’t expect myself to become a full-time writer and be able to pay my rent solely by writing, I wasn’t satisfied with a single-digit passive income. It was a failed attempt.
Side note: this post is not about some never-give-up clichés.
It was then Christmas and I stayed at home despite it being the end of a decade. I decided to have a go one last time before quitting for good. It turned out to be a wonderful way to end a decade.
The Miracle
Some of my colleagues kept asking me questions regarding Python, a programming language. I realised that many people need help with that and they often spend hours trying to learn and fix their code.
I then decided to summarise five Python features that I wish I had known earlier, and hopefully, no one else would learn them the hard way as I did. After publishing the article, I moved on.
Well, not quite. You see, Medium spams you whenever someone highlights one of your sentences, becomes your fan, responds to your stories, and so forth. I know it was supposed to be a no-email holiday. But hey, someone was spamming me. I had to check.
Wow! That was surprising. It really gained traction and was even translated into Chinese! I received many constructive feedbacks and compliments from people across various social media.
But why?
The Learning Curve
Let me see what kinds of articles are the most profitable:
And what about the least profitable ones with lifetime earnings of $0.14 so far (shameless me):
It was like conducting an experiment on how to gain tractions on Medium. And, to be frank, the learning curve is steep. I analysed my one-year experiment, and I was able to come up with six tricks on how I bounced back from a single-digit to a four-digit. In a year.
A Patience Game
1. Find your niche
I have to stress the importance of finding your niche. I tried writing about various topics, from programming to writing, from life to science. It takes time to explore the space. Ultimately, I settled on the ones that are popular.
It seems like the audience likes my Python article. OK. I like writing them. I’m going to write more about Python, then.
2. Write more
When I really enjoy reading someone’s articles, I stalk them. I browse their profiles, read their tweets, and so on. I read other stories they wrote. I become a fan of theirs.
I believe you should write more once you’ve found your niche. If the audience really likes your story about minimalism, chances are they would love to read your piece on how to stop procrastinating. You get the idea.
So when one of your articles attracts traffic, the audience would stay and read other posts of yours.
A Traffic Game
3. Use half-clickbait titles
When will I click on a Medium post? I’m a busy person, and so are you. I only click on a title if it’s catchy and I’m interested in it. After all, writers are entertainers to a certain extent.
Making half-clickbait titles really helps as you’re emphasising why people need to spend their precious time reading your stories. Use numerals in your titles wisely. Don’t ever lie or even exaggerate, since if you do this, you’ll lose credibility.
4. Publish on popular publications
The algorithm behind Medium determines what stories I see. Many people don’t even know about the existence of your recently published article.
Publish on popular publications, not just any publications. And I’m speaking from experience. For example, there are many publications that talk about data science. Pick a popular one as you really want to maximise the exposure of your well-crafted masterpieces.
5. Share on social media
Again, maximise the article’s exposure. By sharing your articles on social media, you’re also building your own profile such that fans can follow you on those platforms. Ultimately, it’s about establishing a loyal fanbase.
A Game of Attention and Retention
At the end of the day, it all boils down to two aspects: attention and retention. You want to attract people to click on your links and keep reading them.
But what about your own attention?
Are you sure that you won’t be distracted by all the fun things happening in your world? Will you be committed to writing more and better?
6. Find a motivation or purpose
What keeps me writing is that I found a purpose. You need a purpose to do something. Money can be a driving force, but it can also be a kind of pressure. I need something else to motivate me.
After all, there are so many ways to earn money these days, but you wouldn’t try them all. Taking paid online surveys is not my thing. But I do enjoy writing because I can really learn more about myself by writing.
I become a better communicator. I record my thoughts. I write to find out what I think. I write with purpose, or to find one.
The Takeaways
It’s not the endgame, and I still have a lot to do to retain traction. It was a mild success, and I’m still learning. Do you have a similar experience? What’s your story? Feel free to share your own in the comment section! I would love to learn more from you. You can also sign up for my newsletter to receive updates on my new articles.
Have a good day on Medium.