Summary

Christina, the author, shares her experience and lessons learned from earning her first payment of $1.59 on Medium after six months of writing, emphasizing the importance of patience, consistency, networking, and enjoyment in the process.

Abstract

Christina's journey on Medium began in January 2023, culminating in her first payment in June 2023. Despite the modest amount, she considers it a significant milestone, reflecting on the value of persistence and quality content. She highlights that wealth isn't immediate in writing, drawing from her experience of earning while only genuinely focusing on a fraction of her 35 articles. Christina also underscores the necessity of dedicating time to Medium, inspired by successful writers like Eve Arnold, who consistently posted content and found her niche over time. Lastly, she advocates for having fun in the process, suggesting ways to enjoy writing on Medium, such as engaging with the community, using gifs and emojis, and letting one's personality shine through.

Opinions

Writing on Medium is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it requires time and dedication.
Quality over quantity: Focusing on creating valuable content can lead to earnings, even if it's a small start.
Consistency and experimentation are key to finding one's niche and growing a following.
Engaging with other writers and the community can enhance the writing experience on Medium.
Personal expression and enjoyment are crucial for maintaining motivation and producing authentic content.
Plagiarism is unacceptable; there are ample words to use creatively without copying others.
The first payment, no matter how small, is a cause for celebration and an indicator of potential growth in writing income.

I Earned My First Medium Payment! Here are 3 Lessons I Learned

Be proud of your payment, no matter how big or small.

Check out my latest earnings update. See how much I made in November 2023.

I started on Medium in January 2023, and I got my first payment on June 7, 2023.

I made $1.59.

In 6 months.

Before you slam your computer shut and swear off writing forever first let me tell you the three important things I learned about this process.

Lesson 1 — You won’t get rich overnight.

I just posted how it took me 6 months to make $1.59. Now I’m rubbing salt into that wound. But wait! Don’t close your computer just yet.

Here’s the interesting thing…

When I got that payment, I only had about 35 articles posted. And the first 23 were posted when I was doing the Ship 30 for 30 cohort, so they’re not even truly optimized for Medium.

I had only put real effort into about 12.

So I think the fact that I’ve already gotten a payment is really good.

The more you focus and get quality articles out, the more money you will make. Other writers have proven this to be true.

Which brings me to lesson #2.

Lesson 2 — You have to put time into Medium.

I currently have 41 published stories. Now, let’s have a look at someone who I follow closely — Eve Arnold.

Eve has 21k followers and 900+ articles. She’s been a member since March 2020. That’s over 3 years of writing articles and growing followers.

She didn’t find her niche until year two, and that’s when she really began to grow:

She’s “put in the reps” as the cool kids say, by posting an article almost every day. Eventually, she got the snowball rolling and started growing her followers quickly.

The key point here is to keep writing and experimenting until you find what resonates with people.

Lesson 3 — Have fun.

As we learned, it takes time to start rolling in the dolla’ dolla’ bills, yo.

So you might as well have fun while you’re here. Here are some ways that I add a bit of fun Medium:

Connect with other people. You can learn a lot from others who have already come before you on this platform. The best way to connect with others is to follow the people whose articles you enjoy and give genuine comments on those articles.
Add gifs and smileys to your articles. Everyone may not agree with this, and I don’t do it all the time, but I think it’s fun to add gifs and smileys to your articles. It breaks them up, adds color, and makes them a bit more entertaining. Hell yea. 🤘
Let your personality shine through. No one wants to read articles from someone who sounds like a robot. It’s easy to get into the trap of copying the style of other successful people because you also want to have that same success. You can copy their structure, but make sure to add your own unique flair to your words.

(Also, I can’t believe I have to say this but don’t copy someone else’s words! That’s stealing. According to the internet, there are 171,476 English words in use. There’s almost an infinite number of ways to mix and match those words. You don’t need to copy someone else.)

To Sum it Up

When you see that you’ve gotten that first payment from Medium, be proud! Shout it out to the world. Even if it’s only $1.59, it means that you are able to make money with writing. And you can grow that income month over month.

Just remember to be patient, be consistent, connect with others, and most of all, have fun!

Little by little, you’ll get that snowball rolling just as Eve did.

And when you do get that payment, remember not to spend it all at once. 😆

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.