Last Month Was My Best On Medium. I Earned $46. Here’s 3 Things I Found Out.
Yes, everyone can earn money on Medium.
Surely all of us have wondered whether they could really earn some dough while writing on Medium. When I paid my first subscription fee of $5 a couple of months back, I knew that there was some kind of a Partnership Program through which you somehow got paid. I didn’t know how it worked and honestly — I didn’t care, at all.
My initial idea was to spend 4/5 of my time on Medium reading other people’s articles and spend the rest 1/5 writing my own ones. When I started publishing I had no idea what my niche would be, so I started with all sorts of topics: personal stories, opinion, interviews, and so on. I was all over the place.
My first month (April) I earned exactly $8.24. It was a whopping amount for me; and still is, though. I was quite happy with my myself — people were reading my stories and I was getting paid for that!
My second month (May) the sum rose to $29. A 251.9% increase! Surely, by then I had found my niche — psychedelics & mental health, and the complex connection between the two.
As for June, dear reader, I earned the $48 just from writing articles and topics I’m interested in. I know that the amount is not life-changing, but it sure is mood-changing, in a way that you feel your stories are being appreciated. The more people read and interact with them, the more you get out of it.
I know how hard it can be to see that nobody reads your article, on which you had spend a couple of days writing. It happens. Really often. However, the past couple of months writing on Medium taught me some valuable things about the craft. Here’s three that are probably the most important and valuable for me (and hopefully for you):
Your Article Has To Offer Something To The Reader
I’m not taking about sweets. Not even pure information. Your articles should be crafted in a way that they resonate with your reader. A good article on Medium usually brings a lot of reads, claps, and comments, thus meaning your audience is truly engaged. How to do that?
My experience has shown me that the more personal you get in the story, the higher the chances are it will be more relatable to the reader. I assume people don’t enjoy reading full personal stories from beginning to end, that’s why it might be a good idea for you to add bits and pieces of your life throughout your articles.
I’m not saying that personal stories are not interesting for the wide audience. Rather, if you want it to be a successful article, you should be brutally honest with your reader about who you are and what your story is about. People will notice if you’re not being genuine, trust me.
I have noticed that the more I write about personal traumas, experiences, and the like, within my articles, the more engaged my readers are. Also, by doing so, my stories become more trustworthy, as people see that I’m human, just as they are.
It’s OK If You Haven’t Written In A Couple Of Weeks.
It happens to each one of us. As I’m writing this article, I’m thinking that for the past 2 weeks I published only 3 stories. I’m OK with that.
The realization that you write primarily and most importantly to and for yourself is a revelation per se. On Medium, you are not stressed by deadlines. So, why should you set tasks like writing one article each day. That’s nearly impossible, if you ask me. I’ve tried it and only made it to the 3rd day. Then when my brain overheated and felt that I’m losing the pleasure of it.
That’s what happens when you set strict deadlines on Medium — you don’t give yourself enough time to write good articles. Yes, you can even write a one-thousand-word story in two hours, but I bet that it would be less well thought-out than one that has sat in your mind for at least one day, after the final draft has been finished.
That’s why you need to give yourself space and time when it comes to writing. I’d always prefer to write two good articles in the span of a week, rather than seven decent ones for the same period. On Medium, productivity (writing the biggest amount of articles in the shortest amount of time) is probably not a good strategy.
What I try to do is write down all the ideas that go through my mind on a daily basis that I can convert into articles. You can always use your phone notes, no matter where you are, it’s easy and fast.
Don’t worry if you have ran out of ideas and haven’t written anything for the past week. It happens and sometimes we feel gutted. However, if you’re curious enough about yourself and the world around you, and if you’re stubborn enough not to give up after each hurdle, ideas will surely come.
Your Best Stories Might Never Be Read.
Do you ever get the feeling, after writing about an interesting and compelling topic, that your article ought to be read by everyone on this planet? You spent days on it, found tons of research, and did lots of hair pulling. The end result? Ten views in the first month.
I still haven’t figured out how the Medium staff decides to curate your articles. However, I feel that the stories I spent the most time on and did the most research of, have never been published, and have been read by only a handful of people. Why’s that? No idea.
My expectations are not always met, especially when it comes to story views. What I learned from all this is that you should treat each and every of your articles as the one. In this way, you will know that you have given the best you’ve had, and will be less frustrated when the final judgment comes.
I usually expect every 10th article to be a hit. By that I mean, articles that generate at least $10 in their first month.
Final Thoughts
On paper, every member in Medium can earn money, even if it’s only a couple of cents. However, the difference between earning $0.30/month and $30/month is huge. In the end of the day it all comes down to dedication and stubbornness.
You might think: “Well, some people earn hundreds of dollars, even thousands in Medium.” My comment on that? It’s totally fine if you usually aim for the big cash, however, even a few bucks could be the enough for you to feel like your stories make an impact. The feeling is great.
Thank you for reading!
If this article was interesting for you, go check out my profile for more stories on topics, such as psychedelics and mental health.
