Medium is More of a Social Network Than You Think

Just got an email newsletter from my old Medium buddy, Todd Brison and it got me thinking about the good ol’ days when Medium was raining down dollars for writers.

Todd said he knew several writers who had made several hundreds of thousands of dollars from Medium.

But the unpredictability of these payouts is why Todd ended up leaving.

Here’s a bolded quote from his newsletter:

I quit Medium because I needed to break my addiction to a variable payout completely outside my control.

Journey Back to the “Medium Gold Rush”

Hearing about writers making that much money on Medium is a tad irritating to me because I was actually around back in those days.

I had a few pieces go “viral” though I didn’t make much money from them, — I don’t even think they paid anything back then.

Fast forward to today, my lifetime earnings on Medium aren’t a jaw-dropping figure. Why? Because I’ve been here longer than lifetime earnings have been a thing.

Go Beyond the Medium Articles Themselves

Sure there are still writers who make a few thousand dollars per month on Medium. Good for them. Perhaps I’ll get there someday.

However, that’s not my main goal.

In fact — I don’t see Medium primarily as a money-making machine anymore.

Instead, it’s a potential gateway to other offerings. It’s a way to introduce readers to products that could then make you money or help you build a business.

Think about:

• Books
• Courses
• Templates
• Communities
• Consulting / coaching
• Other products you want to sell
• Other paid newsletters (like Substack)

Why Medium is More Like Social Media

In that way, Medium is more like social media. The articles serve as a distribution channel for your ideas and then connect you to “offline” offerings.

Sure, it takes a bit longer to write an article than a social media post — but not that much longer (at least not for me, I enjoy the long-form format).

Medium doesn’t have some of the features that the other social media platforms do, but it has a lot of positives in its favor. Here are a few of them:

1. The discovery algorithm is good.

Their “More from…” algorithm seems to be very helpful for bringing articles to more readers.

Want proof? Dive into my article on the 2/1 method, and you’ll find suggested stories spanning weeks, months, and even years ago.

I’m not exactly sure why Medium picked those particular stories, if they’re based on topics, or keywords, or some other factor I don’t know about.

But it’s one of the few places where you can get that range of dates in one place.

2. The responses are generally thoughtful

Forget the Twitter trolls and Instagram drama. Medium is where thoughtful minds converge. Readers here aren’t just spectators; they’re collaborators.

Most of the time, people read the story on Medium and then offer a thoughtful comment. Not all the time, but often.

It’s rare to get truly insane comments on Medium. Sure, a bit of spam sneaks in — but is that any different than Twitter (X), Facebook or Instagram?

3. The stories get impressions

A lot of times my tweets are best friends with the crickets.

A lot of chirping on my end, but silence on the other.

It can be the same with LinkedIn, though I’ve had more success there.

Not every Medium article I write is gangbusters, but I get enough claps and views to hear faint whispers of support.

The past few months I’ve gone from just over 1000 views per month to between 4500 and 5000 views. It’s not amazing, but it is progress.

4. You get paid more than other “social media” sites

Medium doesn’t just feed your ego with likes; it actually pays you.

I’ve never made a dime from Twitter itself. Until recently, you couldn’t.

I’ve never made any money from LinkedIn, only the courses and connections it’s helped me make.

Instagram has never paid me and neither has Facebook.

But Medium has paid me. Even a few dollars here and there. So even though it’s not the same as it was, it’s still more than most social media companies pay you.

That seems like a good deal when it’s framed that way. Medium doesn’t pay the same as before, but it’s still more than most social media giants offer.

Turn that mess in your head into well-organized articles people want to read. Here’s how.