I Made 10 Cents On Medium

And How You Can Do It As Well

End of last year, while having multiple mental breakdowns in Covid isolation, I decided to start writing again.

Apart from my short personal journal entries, I didn’t write a word that was lingering in my head for 15 years. Back then I used to write and read all the time. Now, I would rather daydream all day long, dreaming of being a writer and fearlessly publishing thousands of stories and books.

As soon as I would try to sit down and write something, I would quickly get discouraged, stop what I was trying to write and instead escape into the depths of my mind again.

But after I had finished crying for the 20th time in two days, I decided it was time to pick up my writing again.

I was a member on Medium for quite a while and enjoyed reading articles from other members. I thought to myself, what they can do I can do. What did I have to lose? I made a plan to write one article a day for the next month. And I really wanted to stick to it.

After writing 2 articles and publishing them within two days my motivation vanished. I was back escaping in my dream world. Rather dreaming than actually living my dreams. It was just easier and there was no judgment for anything I was doing.

But wait, this was an article on how to make 10 cents on Medium. Why is this woman talking about her writing struggles? You’re right. I just needed an intro to my story and I got carried away.

Moving back in time — after publishing both of my articles in December 2021 I was able to make 10 cents within a week.

My articles have been viewed 14 times and have 4 reads within a week. But only one of my articles generated money. However, since then I have not been able to generate more views or reads.

But what did I actually do to make 10 cents on Medium? How was I able to do that? And what can you do to do the same?

1. I published an article in a publication that allows new members to publish

This allowed me to get more views for my article.

To be precise — I was able to get 12 views for the article in a publication (compared to only 2 views for my other article). Only 2 people were actually reading this article. Luckily, they were members on Medium and I could actually make money.

2. After making 10 cents, let your fears and doubts get hold of you and stop publishing more articles.

Writing, as with any other creative thing I do (such as photography or drawing) comes with a huge fear of getting exposed as an imposter. This fear comes in handy when you want to keep your earnings at 10 cents. It protects you from putting yourself out there. It’s like the wise old woman, that whispers in your ear and knows what is good for you. Trust it, it will help you to stay where you are.

3. Alternatively to the last point, take any distraction you can get or get deeply lost in daydreams instead of finishing that article.

Facebook, Instagram, emails — check them. Like every few minutes. Don’t stop. You might miss an important message or that picture of Jane, posting bikini pictures on the beach. Does your house need to be cleaned? Sure, you haven’t been cleaning in weeks and you didn’t care about it at all before, but now seems to be the right time to do it. And after you finish, you should probably watch an episode of your favourite series. It has been exhausting cleaning the whole house. The article can wait.

4. Only write when you feel like it.

Kinda goes with the points stated above — if you don’t feel creative, blocked by fears and doubts or you feel more like spending your time with other things, then don’t pressure yourself. Go with your feelings and maybe a few weeks down the road you feel inspired again to write another 10cents worthy article.

I have started writing on Medium to just get back into writing. Having already earned 10 cents with it is actually more than I would have hoped for.

My native language is not English and I feel a bit rusty. I have no idea whether or not my writing is actually good. I write what comes to my mind and try not to think too much about what other people might think. This works sometimes better than other times. Especially struggling for me is to find a suitable title. This has always been a problem — from the stories I wrote as a child to titles for my photographs.

I guess I can only get better with time and more writing. Knowing that there are at least a few people out there, who are interested in what I have to say, is deeply encouraging. And making a bit of money on the side is not the worst thing either.

Now you know how I made my first 10 cents here on Medium. If you made it until here, you should be able to start your journey as a writer and get your first 10 cents in no time.

Good luck!

Edit from the author: I just realised my stats state that I have only earned 1 cent. Somehow 10 cents ended up on my bank account. I should mention that I receive Australian Dollars instead of US Dollars, but the exchange rate should not be 1:10. Whatever was going on here, somehow the stats do not reflect the actual money I received.