Medium authors are making big bucks
And, it’s not through the Medium Partner Program — Spilling the beans on this
Authors on Medium are making good money. I’ve talked about how there are many ways to monetize your presence here on Medium. The Medium Partner Program is not the only way to make money.
Here are some authors that have talked about their success in making money on Medium outside MPP…
There is a way!
Here’s how you can make money on Medium outside MPP.
The problem with MPP
Here’s why it can be so hard to make money from MPP.
First, you have to have at least 100 followers to be eligible to join.
Next, you make money from member reading time, which is more challenging than if the program were just based on views, I think.
And, my experience has been, to make the most with MPP, you need to publish A LOT!
So, those are the major drawbacks that make MPP out of reach for a lot of Medium authors.
I make around $1,500 to $3,000 per month from MPP (my highest month was just under $6,000 in one month).
To make that much, this is what I do…
- I’m on Medium daily (whether it’s consuming content or writing)
- I try to publish at least 2–3 stories per day
- I publish a minimum of 30 stories per month, most months
- I cross-promote my other Medium articles in my stories (internal linking)
This effort can be like a full-time job in itself, really.
There’s an easier way.
Affiliate marketing!
And, selling products!
How to make money with Medium affiliate marketing
Write your stories on Medium like normal and refer to affiliate products in your writing.
Make sure to review Medium’s affiliate policy to make sure you’re following all the rules.
The main thing is, that you want to disclose that you’re using affiliate links in your content. And, you want to provide value.
Success tips from personal experience
- Promote affiliate offers that aren’t saturated (for example, I think Jasper AI is saturated)
- Write SEO-rich content (use keyword tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and others to help with this)
- Write a lot
- Learn from others who are successful
So first, before starting to write your story and promote the affiliate offer, do a quick search on Medium to see if the offer is saturated on the platform. If it is saturated, you can still refer to it, but, I think it’ll be more challenging, because of the competition.
Example…
Next, if you can write SEO-rich content that can rank on search engines, you have the potential for getting a lot of traffic to your content and affiliate offer.
Writing often is good because the more content you create with affiliate offers, the more chances you have to make money through Medium affiliate marketing.
And lastly, look to pioneers who are doing a great job with Medium affiliate marketing. The ladies I linked up above are great to check out. A favorite of mine is Abena Talks too. She’s a rockstar.
How to make money by selling your products
Another way to make money on Medium outside MPP is by creating and selling products.
I sell two ebooks and a bunch of courses.
I write Medium stories and talk about those products from time to time. It’s helped me make nearly $10K from the ebooks alone!
The first ebook is about how to make money website flipping starter sites (I’ve made six figures flipping sites of all sizes).
The second ebook is about how to monetize your presence on social media with faceless Tik Tok channels. My one-year-old faceless Tik Tok channel is at over 100K followers and makes me thousands every month.
Based on the kind of content you’re talking about, ebooks can be written in a weekend.
You just have to make the time.
Examples of products to sell through Medium:
- Ebooks
- Courses
- Coaching
- Digital planners
- Templates
The sky’s the limit, really.
Success tips from personal experience
- a Mention your product at the bottom of your stories as a closing statement. This is where I put my call to action. I usually do the three dots followed by CTA.
- Write Medium stories about your products
- Link to those Medium stories in your other stories
First, using a CTA (call-to-action) is so powerful. Do it on every story. I refer my products, Substack, and other things.
Next, why not write a Medium story about your products? Don’t overthink this. Just write it. Talk about what inspired you to create the product, who you want to help, why it’s valuable, etc.
Here’s one of mine I’ve written…
Then, internal link to that story in your new Medium stories you are publishing. This is what’s worked for me.
Bottom line
There’s more than one way to make money from Medium. You’re not just limited to MPP.
What are some ways you’re monetizing your Medium presence?
Want to read more stories like this? Check out my Substack where I talk about side hustles, social media, content creation and business.
