avatarWam

Summary

An author reflects on their experience writing 25 articles on Medium, sharing insights on content performance, earnings, and audience engagement.

Abstract

The author of the web content, who joined Medium in November 2023, shares five key lessons learned from posting 25 articles over 2.5 months. They highlight that the highest-earning content does not necessarily correlate with the number of views or reads, nor does it depend on the read ratio. Articles with detailed, value-driven titles tend to perform better, suggesting that the promise of value in a title can increase engagement. The author emphasizes the importance of delivering on the title's promise to avoid clickbait accusations. They note that providing value consistently leads to increased followers and earnings. The author also challenges the notion that submitting to large publications is essential for success, citing their highest-earning piece was published in a smaller publication. The article concludes with an encouraging message to fellow writers to persist and grow together on the platform.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the financial success of an article on Medium is not solely determined by the number of views, reads, or even the read ratio, but rather by the quality and perceived value of the content.
  • They suggest that a detailed and value-laden title can significantly improve the likelihood of an article being read, as long as the content delivers on the title's promise.
  • The author posits that consistent delivery of valuable content is key to gaining more followers and increasing earnings on Medium.
  • They express that smaller publications can be just as effective, if not more, in helping writers earn more and grow their audience, as demonstrated by their own experience with the publication "Write A Catalyst."
  • The author conveys a sense of community and mutual growth among Medium writers, advocating for continued effort and collaboration in the writing space.

I Wrote 25 Contents on Medium and Here’s What I Learned

I learned these 5 things after posting 25 entries for 2.5 months on Medium

Author’s own photo

My wish on my birthday is to give back to this community, my neighbors, for helping me go back to writing, earn from it again, and even learn more from it by publishing this simple post about what I have learned so far, according to what I’ve experienced on using this platform, Medium.

That day for this wish is today.

1. Highest-earning content doesn’t rely on the number of views and reads

I sorted my Story Stats from the Highest earnings to the lowest, and here’s what it looks like.

Author’s own photo

My 24th entry, “You Have the Capacity to Be a Good Writer Through Neuroplasticity, Here’s How It Works,” earned $3.77 from only getting 13 views and 7 reads, with a read ratio of 54%.

On the other hand, my 18th entry, “What You Know About Depression is Wrong. Let Me Tell You About This Other Perspective and Alternative Solution.” only earned $1.90 from getting 347 views and 160 reads, with a read ratio of 46%.

2. Highest earnings don’t rely on your read ratio

My highest read ratio is 78% for my 22nd entry, “If You Think Medium Is the End of the Road, You’re Mistaken. These 5 Tools Can Help You Potentially Earn More as a Writer,” but it only earned $1.87 after 9 days of getting published.

Author’s own photo

The second highest read ratio I got is 59% for my 21st entry, “How I Dealt With My Broken Heart Today,” published on Valentine’s Day.

Author’s own photo

And neither of these is the highest earner among the 25 pieces of content I’ve posted on Medium. Go back to number 1 on this post to see the highest earner.

3. Posts with longer, more detailed titles performed better

Your click rate, or the chance your audience will more likely open your article, depends not only on your featured photo but also on your title.

I learned here that on each title you write, you’ve got to include the “value” your audience should expect to see in your article.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

And, of course, once you’ve established that, you’ve got to keep your promise. People don’t like “click baits.” If, on your title and subheading, you told them you would give them this particular value on your content, you’ve got to stick to it. Show them the value they are looking for!

Once you do that, you won’t only get more claps but also earn more followers.

4. People appreciate “value,” the more you give it to them, the more followers you get

I joined Medium in November 2023, and my first entry was posted on December 9th. Back then, I was doing a lot of wrong things, and one of them was I didn’t know that you have to tick “Members only” before you publish to start earning on Medium.

Imagine that. Back then, I knew nothing about how Medium works at all.

I only started to learn more about it once I began to consume more articles on it.

And then, every time I learn something from other Medium writers, I apply them.

Once I started writing more and more while adding specific value to each title I posted to make the reader anticipate that value when they read my post, my monthly growth increased.

Author’s own photo

From 1 follower in November, having posted nothing at all, it grew to 2 followers in December after posting 6 entries. In January, I posted 10 more entries, which gained me 16 more followers for a total of 18.

Back then, I was already feeling pretty good. I also started earning, and even if it was just less than a dollar per post, I began to think that this was going to work. So, that drove me to write more entries.

As of now, nearing the end of February, I wrote 25 content, that’s 9 additional posts from the previous ones, and by doing that, I gained 55 more followers for a total of 73 so far.

5. You don’t have to submit to publications that have 3000 followers in the hope of getting high-performing Medium entries.

For example, I wasn’t expecting that submitting my 24th entry to “Write A Catalyst,” a Publication with only 696 followers so far, would get me my highest-earning content.

Note: I submitted this post to two other publications, one with 1k+ followers and the other with 3k+ followers, but the review is taking so long. When I tried to submit it to Write A Catalyst, Bin Jiang published it immediately. In less than a day, I got six comments from it, which is the highest number of comments I have received among all 25 contents I have written so far.

Do you know why this is awesome?

This means we can all help each other by submitting to new publishers yet still earn more from it. In return, both you and the publisher would grow together.

My fellow online writers, it’s still too early to give up. Let’s continue to grow together!

Your neighbor,

Wam

The highest performing Medium entries I’ve mentioned in this post:

Writing Tips
Writing
Writing Life
Personal Development
Medium Partner Program
Recommended from ReadMedium