I Only Have 56 Followers but I Made $0 Last Month

Summary

The author humorously outlines their unsuccessful attempt at monetizing their Medium blog, despite the platform's high earning potential for most users.

Abstract

The article titled "I Only Have 56 Followers but I Made $0 Last Month — Here’s How I Did It" provides a satirical take on the author's lack of financial success on Medium. The author contrasts the expected success, with 94% of Medium users projected to become 'Big Earners' and potentially millionaires, against their own experience of earning nothing. They attribute this to not being part of Medium's partner program, ineffective self-promotion, the absence of a traditional job, using filler content, and not adhering to a strict morning routine. The piece is laced with irony and self-deprecating humor, suggesting that following the author's habits can lead to similar outcomes of minimal income.

Opinions

The author implies that the success rate on Medium is extremely high, with a tongue-in-cheek estimate that nearly all users become 'Big Earners' quickly.
They express a belief that Medium's partner program and having a substantial follower count are key to earning money on the platform.
The author's approach to self-promotion is depicted as both humorous and ineffective, highlighting the challenges of gaining traction on social media.
There is a suggestion that having a traditional job could provide financial stability and a different perspective on blogging as a 'side hustle.'
The use of filler content is criticized as a potential reason for the author's lack of success, implying that quality content is crucial for engagement and earnings.
The author pokes fun at the idea of a strict morning routine as a path to success, hinting at skepticism towards the productivity advice commonly found in self-help literature.

And how you can do it too!

Not making money doesn’t have to be hard!

It shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody who has spent a considerable amount of time on Medium to learn that an estimated 94% of its users are projected to be Big Earners within the first month of their blogging career.

Although Medium does not release the details of its algorithm, reliable inside sources report that anybody making over $5,000 a month is considered a Big Earner — with 41% of those going on to become millionaires within their first year of blogging fame.

With those odds stacked so wildly in our favor, you might be curious to know how I managed to buck the trend and make $0 for the entire month of January. All your questions will be answered here, as I share five of my most cherished habits.

Even though I pay for a Medium membership, I am not part of their lucrative partner program. Cynics might say that’s because I don’t have 100 followers yet, but what really motivates me is a deep-seated love for the community and a passionate devotion to the craft.

My self-promotion is ineffective. There are only so many times you can send self-deprecating tweets about how equally hilarious and pathetic it is that you’re aggressively self-promoting your article about self-promotion before even close childhood friends catch on and block you.

I don’t have a real job. This means that not only do I have to hope my cat will continue to share dinner with me, but even worse — I don’t get to use “side hustle” to refer to my blogging career!

I use a lot of filler content. Like this.

I sometimes wake up after 7 a.m. This means I fail to greet the day early with a smile, some exercise, and a mug of coffee so large I actually manage to forget about what lies ahead for five minutes. Not only that — I also miss the chance to read seven books that will change my life before 7 a.m.!

I hope you have enjoyed this small peek behind the curtain. If you want to be like me and make absolutely no money, follow my lead. We’re all in this together.

MY MEDIUM JOURNEY

I Only Have 56 Followers but I Made $0 Last Month — Here’s How I Did It

And how you can do it too!