avatarWalter Rhein

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Abstract

dium.com/i-had-my-first-10-day-on-medium-3af528fdefc"> <div> <div> <h2>I Had My First 10 Day on Medium</h2> <div><h3>Was it an anomaly, or a sign of things to come?</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*1Xs7QwbwSVt0iM611GeDMA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="56c4">On its best day, my trending story made 135 in one day all by itself.</p><h1 id="0b12">A new perspective</h1><figure id="cc98"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Oe8Fxn_mhVMIEyp0Ibd2Hw.jpeg"><figcaption>Image by Walter Rhein</figcaption></figure><p id="dbbd">This trending story has changed my approach to Medium. I used to write more Medium related stories (like this one). However, those stories are not curated, and I’m much more interested in pursuing the trending lottery now than I was at the beginning of the month.</p><p id="3e73">I’ve changed my formatting slightly because of the advice I received from the editor of this story:</p><div id="c66b" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/a-thousand-little-acts-f4ae85ba1012"> <div> <div> <h2>A Thousand Little Acts</h2> <div><h3>The racial angst of international travel during the Trump administration</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*8U_SU6dAm6ONh06EEXsXrA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="6d6d">I used to use pull quotes to highlight passages, but the editor informed me that might prevent a story from getting curated. He seems to be right since ‘A Thousand Little Acts’ was curated in 5 categories, and I’ve seen an uptick in the number of my stories that are selected to be curated since I adopted his advice.</p><h1 id="7a1e">29 curated out of 70 stories</h1><p id="05df">I feel that 29 curated stories for the month are pretty good. I’ve had the sense at times that my writing is on somebody’s radar and that is gratifying to know. That being said, there are still moments when a story that I feel is very good gets passed over. Like this one for example:</p><div id="c8c6" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/6-ways-republicans-steal-from-the-middle-class-5565d70c17b4"> <div> <div> <h2>6 Ways Republicans Steal From the Middle Class</h2> <div><h3>They won’t stop until they’ve taken everything</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*PsFWIq_ErH9bed6Nw07fbA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="7ef1">One thing I’ve discovered this month is that it’s possible for imported stories to get curated. I’ve been bringing in a lot of my stories that were originally published on other platforms, and sometimes those get curated two or three weeks after they’re published. Also, one of these previously published stories got the attention of <a href="https://medium.com/curious">Curious</a> and they added me as a writer and requested that I submit it. You can read that one here:</p><div id="9ffe" class="link-block"> <a hr

Options

ef="https://readmedium.com/airport-counter-fees-are-theft-e2fb15448a4c"> <div> <div> <h2>Airport Counter Fees Are Theft</h2> <div><h3>The industry preys on the exhausted, bedraggled traveler</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*aV4BCXhxuV4fgeik.jpg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="139e">I think it’s likely that at least one or two more of my stories will be curated for August, but that remains to be seen.</p><h1 id="ed8a">Earnings without the trending story</h1><p id="1b24">My total earnings for August amounted to 858 with 613 coming from one story. That means my other stories earned me 245. I think that’s interesting because it’s almost exactly my prediction for the month of August.</p><p id="4161">It’s not unreasonable to assume that the trending story was a bit of a fluke, but it’s good to know that I still showed solid earnings from all my other stories. Without the top story, my earning progression for the last three months is 53, 145, 245. Based on that, I would expect my earnings for September to be in the neighborhood of $350.</p><p id="b26f">While it’s great to have a trending story, it’s important not to become disappointed if you see a drop off the following month. It’s more important to cultivate a baseline of steady earnings than it is to rely on the “hail Mary” passes.</p><h1 id="d5f5">Approach for September</h1><p id="479b">My approach for September remains almost the same as the one I used for August. I want to write 2–3 quality articles a day and hope to get curated. The main difference is that I am more focused on the format and topics that are most likely to get curated.</p><p id="e041">Trending stories really do make the difference on this platform, but it’s really hard to predict which of your stories will be the most popular. The best tactic is to simply have a lot of lines in the water. The more lines you have, the better chance that one of them will get a strike.</p><p id="4eb8">Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or comments. Also, please let me know if you’re interested in contributing to either of my publications. Best of luck to all of you in September!</p><div id="e0e8" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/write-and-review"> <div> <div> <h2>Write and Review</h2> <div><h3>To request a book review, sign up for a free account on Medium and follow this publication. Send an email with the…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*GFwNhT7ItMdOBiOx-V5njw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="289c" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/cross-country-skiing"> <div> <div> <h2>Cross-Country Skiing</h2> <div><h3>Cross-country skiing is a life sport that provides nourishment both for the body and the spirit. This publication…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*3NMio2sfpClGNaX_Wxq2QQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

I Made $858 in My Third Month on Medium

A trending story can be a mixed blessing

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

I’ve been doing a monthly recap of my experience working with Medium and it’s interesting to go back and see what a difference a month makes. This platform provides a lot of opportunity both for direct earnings, exposure, and freelance work.

At the beginning of August, I predicted that my earnings for the month would most likely be between $200 and $450. Although it’s gratifying that I almost doubled my high-end prediction, it’s important to go through the numbers and arrive at a better understanding of what happened. For September, I think it’s almost certain that I will have a regression, and it’s important to have reasonable expectations so as to avoid disappointment.

Here’s my recap for July:

One trending story

August represented the first month where I had a story trend. There are a lot of articles on Medium about how to write a popular story, but I don’t think the majority of them provide useful information. There were a lot of stories that I wrote in August that I thought was superior to the one that got all the attention. In fact, my most popular story was something I rattled off one morning in response to an insulting comment.

You can read it here and make your own assessment of its quality:

That story was published with An Injustice and curated in Politics and Election 2020. For the first few days, it didn’t do much, but on the 4th day after it was published it earned 1.5k daily views, and on the fifth day it had risen to 3.4k. As of this writing, it’s at 13.3k total views.

It’s kind of comical that early in the month of August, I wrote a story about how I had a $10 earning day.

On its best day, my trending story made $135 in one day all by itself.

A new perspective

Image by Walter Rhein

This trending story has changed my approach to Medium. I used to write more Medium related stories (like this one). However, those stories are not curated, and I’m much more interested in pursuing the trending lottery now than I was at the beginning of the month.

I’ve changed my formatting slightly because of the advice I received from the editor of this story:

I used to use pull quotes to highlight passages, but the editor informed me that might prevent a story from getting curated. He seems to be right since ‘A Thousand Little Acts’ was curated in 5 categories, and I’ve seen an uptick in the number of my stories that are selected to be curated since I adopted his advice.

29 curated out of 70 stories

I feel that 29 curated stories for the month are pretty good. I’ve had the sense at times that my writing is on somebody’s radar and that is gratifying to know. That being said, there are still moments when a story that I feel is very good gets passed over. Like this one for example:

One thing I’ve discovered this month is that it’s possible for imported stories to get curated. I’ve been bringing in a lot of my stories that were originally published on other platforms, and sometimes those get curated two or three weeks after they’re published. Also, one of these previously published stories got the attention of Curious and they added me as a writer and requested that I submit it. You can read that one here:

I think it’s likely that at least one or two more of my stories will be curated for August, but that remains to be seen.

Earnings without the trending story

My total earnings for August amounted to $858 with $613 coming from one story. That means my other stories earned me $245. I think that’s interesting because it’s almost exactly my prediction for the month of August.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that the trending story was a bit of a fluke, but it’s good to know that I still showed solid earnings from all my other stories. Without the top story, my earning progression for the last three months is $53, $145, $245. Based on that, I would expect my earnings for September to be in the neighborhood of $350.

While it’s great to have a trending story, it’s important not to become disappointed if you see a drop off the following month. It’s more important to cultivate a baseline of steady earnings than it is to rely on the “hail Mary” passes.

Approach for September

My approach for September remains almost the same as the one I used for August. I want to write 2–3 quality articles a day and hope to get curated. The main difference is that I am more focused on the format and topics that are most likely to get curated.

Trending stories really do make the difference on this platform, but it’s really hard to predict which of your stories will be the most popular. The best tactic is to simply have a lot of lines in the water. The more lines you have, the better chance that one of them will get a strike.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or comments. Also, please let me know if you’re interested in contributing to either of my publications. Best of luck to all of you in September!

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