Medium Earnings

Is the Medium Partner Program Worth It?

Some thoughts on writing for Medium’s Partner Program

Even though I’ve written a pretty detailed post on Medium earnings, I still frequent get asked:

Is the Medium Partner Program Worth it?

I’m assuming people are really asking how writing on Medium compares to other writing platforms or how it compares to other creative and entrepreneurial ventures I could be working on instead.

This is actually not a bad question. Understanding why you are doing something is often as important as what you are doing.

Financial Perspective

I started posting on Medium around the time Medium introduced its Partner Program. The idea was never to make money from writing, directly or indirectly.

I just liked to document various things that I had experienced or learned. While I have had a number of self hosted websites before — Medium was a no brainer, given that it was free, ranked well in search engines, and even had a large built in audience. It was a different way to be creative besides photographing abandoned places or developing new business ideas (my main hobbies).

So for me, the decision was easy. Yes — it was advantageous to write on Medium in whatever limited free time I had.

However, for many writers on Medium, it may not be a worthwhile use of their time, given their goals.

Many Medium writers are frustrated by their earnings. I constantly get messages from Facebook and my Medium publication, Blogging Guide, asking me how X writer is able to earn so much money. I usually try to explain how claps and Medium earnings actually work, but most do not really listen. And they fail to take the steps necessary to learn more about content marketing.

Part of the key to earning more on Medium is viewing your writing more broadly as content. People who get hung up on the fact that they are “an author and not an internet marketer” might give themselves an ego boost, but they are missing the bigger picture. Marketing is not a dirty word. Effective marketing requires excellent writing.

So if you’re goal is to make money writing but you are not looking to expand your skill set beyond sharing your latest prose— then Medium is probably not worth it.

Regardless of what some Medium self help gurus claim, it takes months if not years to earn, what most people would consider, a sizable amount of money, consistently, month-to-month. Even then, there are no guarantees. Medium is a constantly evolving platform.

Exposure

A lot of writers talk about wanting exposure. But usually, what they really mean is they want the attention of people higher up in the publishing or literary world. And this can occur through Medium’s platform.

But if you truly want broad exposure — I just want someone to read my work and for it to have some sort of impact on the reader, even if I may never know it-type exposure— then Medium may be the perfect place for your writing.

I still get messages through LinkedIn or my company website, on nearly a weekly basis, from people who read my very first Medium article, How to Form a Super PAC. I am happy that it has well over 10,000 views, but I am more proud of the fact that I played a small role in helping at least four different groups become more involved in the political process.

If you set out to become a famous writer who quickly gets a six figure book deal using Medium, you are probably wasting your time. Medium, and writing in general, is about what you give to others. The value you provide. It is not about boosting your ego.

So if high earnings and exposure as a writer aren’t good reasons to write on Medium, what are?

Reasons to Write on Medium

• You enjoy writing and would still be publishing content, even if there was not an easy way to monetize your writing (The Medium Partner Program did not exist). If money is not your primary concern (but a nice bonus, if and when it does come), then Medium is the perfect platform for you. It provides a massive audience, opportunities to collaborate with other writers or create your own publications, and it makes publishing content incredibly easy, trough its user friendly interface.
• You want to become a better writer and realize that it is hard to grow as a writer without publicly sharing your work. Medium is a fantastic place to get feedback from both readers and fellow writers. The platform is meant for anyone, regardless of their experience writing. And although there might be the occasional troll, it’s pretty rare that people are unnecessarily critical (certainly does not devolve into personal arguments/attacks at the same rate Twitter or Facebook posts do).
• You want to develop a portfolio. This is what I consider one of the best reasons to write on Medium. Writers get a chance to showcase their writing skills on a platform that indexes very well in major search engines. And people who have unique experiences in a specific area (start up founders, people dealing with personal loss, or experience overcoming adversity, etc.) can showcase their perspectives and insights.
• You enjoy writing, but realize how hard it is to make money through writing, period. Even as someone who has ghost written a number of books, I know first hand how hard it is to monetize writing. The Medium Partner Program gives authors an easy way to do that. You may not make enough money to live off of, but it encourages many people to take a chance writing, who would otherwise not do so.
• You enjoy interacting with and learning from other people. A large component of Medium is the social platform it provides. Most writers are also Medium readers, and the platform allows writers to not only express their own thoughts, but encourage others to as well.

So, it the Medium Partner Program worth it? For many people, I think the answer is yes. But as with anything, it is important to moderate your expectations and take the time to understand how the platform works and who it caters to, as opposed to just trying to mold it into something that it is not.

What do you think? Is the Medium Partner Program worth it? Has writing for Medium been a worthwhile endeavor for you personally?

— Casey Botticello

Thanks for reading this article! Leave a comment below if you have any questions. Be sure to sign up for the Blogging Guide newsletter, to get the latest tips, tricks, and news about writing on Medium and to join our Facebook group, Medium Writing, to share your latest Medium posts and connect with other writers.

If you liked this article, here are some other articles you may enjoy:

Casey Botticello is a partner at Black Edge Consulting. Black Edge Consulting is a strategic communications firm, specializing in online reputation management, digital marketing, and crisis management. Prior to founding Black Edge Consulting, he worked for BGR Group, a bipartisan lobbying and strategic communications firm.

Casey is the founder of the Cryptocurrency Alliance, a Super PAC dedicated to cryptocurrency and blockchain advocacy. He is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. in Urban Studies.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or by following his Medium publication, Blogging Guide.