MONTHLY INCOME REPORT
I Made $ 440.36 on Medium in October
Here’s a detailed breakdown of my metrics and earnings.
My Medium earnings saw a 395.5% increase between the months of September and October.
During that time, I’ve learned a few helpful lessons about what works for me in terms of growing a newsletter on Medium and I’m extremely happy with my progress so far.
In the spirit of transparency, I offer you a behind-the-scenes look at my metrics, earnings, and overall strategy for continued growth on the platform.
Enjoy ;)
1. My Content Output
In October, I wrote a total of 25 articles compared to 18 in September.
While the volume wasn’t significantly more, the 7 extra articles definitely helped keep my momentum going strong.
The great thing about Medium is that older articles can suddenly pick up steam out of nowhere. If you have an older article that isn’t getting the traction you feel it deserves, link to it from a newer piece of content.
One of the biggest things I noticed was that my best-performing article for October propped up one of my other articles just because I linked to it.
It’s a simple strategy, but it seems to work.
2. My Views
Over the last 30 days, I managed to triple the amount of views I received.
This was due to two important factors:
- I leveraged publications like “Practice in Public” and “New Writers Welcome”
- My newsletter subscribers are sent a link to almost every article I publish.
Because I’m using this platform to grow my newsletter, many of my subscribers are Medium members. This means every read from an existing member contributes to my monthly earnings.
If you’re writing on Medium, this strategy is an absolute must.
Only 11 people subscribed to receive my stories directly from Medium’s subscribe feature, but nearly 400 subscribed to my actual newsletter.
So if you’re not including a link to your newsletter at the end of your articles, you’re literally leaving money on the table.
3. My Follower Growth
In terms of followers, October was my best month ever on Medium.
My previous best month saw an increase of 383 followers exactly one year ago back in 2021.
This was largely from ONE article that went mega-viral:
This time, however, I beat my record by 13 followers.
While follower count is the metric I pay attention to the least, it’s still a good indication that my content is resonating with readers and it lets me know I’m on the right track.
If you notice people aren’t following you despite the fact that you’re producing a lot of content, it could mean they’re not finding that content particularly valuable. If that’s the case, you should consider adjusting your content strategy.
4. My Monthly Earnings
My monthly expenses associated with running my newsletter are ridiculously low:
- Carrd Pro — $ 3 USD per month.
- ConvertKit — $49 USD per month
- Medium — $5 USD per month.
In the end, it only costs about $60 per month to run my newsletter.
That’s not too shabby when you consider my Medium earnings this month:
The compounding effect is REAL when it comes to writing on Medium.
Consistency is the name of the game.
Ultimately, every penny adds up and contributes to your income goals.
5. Newsletter Alchemy
To be clear, my newsletter made much more than $440.36 due to Sparkloop earnings, my digital course sales, and affiliate promotions.
But I'm only including my Medium income for a couple of reasons:
- To show what’s possible in a short period of time.
- To show what’s possible with just ONE simple monetization method.
If you build a complete newsletter funnel and incorporate other money-making strategies, there is really no ceiling on how much you can earn long-term.
Using my atomic newsletter approach, I can leverage platforms like Medium (or YouTube down the road) to take advantage of their respective revenue-sharing models. Neglecting them would be foolish.
In terms of growth, last month I ruthlessly deleted a bunch of cold newsletter subscribers and knocked a few hundred people off my list.
Yesterday, right before the month was over, I managed to crack 1,000 members for the second time this year.
While I don’t have a massive list, when you consider the fact that 367 of those subscribers were added in the last 30 days, it’s not hard to feel good about my progress. Especially since I feel like I’m just getting started.
Going forward, my focus will be on growing my newsletter strategically while continuing to double down on what has been working.
I can’t express my appreciation enough for everyone who has taken an interest in what I’m building and followed and/or subscribed to my newsletter.
I’ve got some big things planned in the coming months and I’m excited to share my 17 years of marketing knowledge with each and every one of you.
If you enjoyed this Medium income report and would like to see more in the months ahead, join my newsletter here to stay in the loop.
About the Author
My name is Evan. I’m a happily married father of three boys who likes to drink black coffee and read Jack Reacher novels. I also love everything about newsletters!