I Gained 100 Followers. So Can You!

EDIT: I wrote this piece when Medium required writers to have 100 followers before applying to the Partner Program. Thank goodness, we no longer have to chase 100 followers! Instead, writers must pay the membership fees to enroll in the Partner Program.

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First and foremost, a massive thank you to the first 100 writers who helped me reach my goal.

A special shoutout to Margie Willis for including my article on Maria Schneider in her Pure Awesomeness List. Thanks also to Sadie Seroxcat for featuring the piece in Counter Arts.

I have intently read about the “Follow for Follow” method. I know people are divided on the topic, but it worked in my case. Albeit not overnight and not without consistent engagement.

What works?

• Writers new to Medium do read articles on how to get 100 followers (doesn’t it sound cultish?). They often use the comment section to ask for followers. I obliged. They followed me back.
• As a newbie here, I noticed that following and engaging with writers who have very few followers yields better results. The odds of someone with fifty thousand followers following you back is pretty slim.
• That being said, it took following roughly 300 writers to get the coveted 100. I don’t begrudge those who don’t follow me back. I’m content.
• Clapping: I had no remote idea that clapping was a thing. Neither did I know that you could give 50 claps to help a story get visibility. I’ve become quite generous with my claps when I appreciate someone’s writing.
• But Medium, please, could you give us a 50-clap button or a “golden buzzer”? Any tool that doesn’t require clicking 50 times will be appreciated.

It is, of course, immensely gratifying to reach 100. Now, my audience is growing more organically. The more I engage with writers, the more the audience grows.

The Medium Partner Program

Having cleared the biggest hurdle, I was able to apply and get accepted into the Partner Program.

Nonetheless, I have a gripe with Stripe since not every writer in the world can apply to the program. In fact, only a minuscule list of countries is eligible. I wrote more on this at this link:Medium and Stripe: A Neo-Colonial Partnership? | by Radia Hennessey | Aug, 2022 | Medium

Stripe also wants comprehensive access to your banking information. It can be unsettling at first. Transfers do work though.

Earning Money on Medium

I have made a dazzling total of 0.43 cents on the only story I have published. It’s silly, but when I saw my first two cents, I beamed with pride. Not so much because of the earnings, obviously, but rather that total strangers read my article.

What I know now, and I believe is important for new writers to know, is that you can only earn money if a paying member reads your articles.

As a paying member myself, I help fellow writers earn income when I read their content. After gaining my first 100 followers, it was a joy to spend time reading instead of “chasing” followers.

There’s something truly humbling about people willing to write and publish here on Medium. To keep taking those risks and publish. I get a front-row seat to slices of lives that would otherwise never see the light of day. A back and forth with people who don’t share my opinions is equally rewarding.

Conclusion

All in all, anyone can reach the 100 followers mark. Pick the method you’re most comfortable with and keep engaging with writers.

If your goal is to earn money on Medium (and goodness knows I’m ill-placed to dish out advice on that), writing content is not enough. Publishing 100 pieces that nobody will read is pointless. Make sure you advertise your writing. Engaging with other writers on Medium is a great way to do that.

Do you have other tips to help fellow writers? Please share in the comments.