Summary

The author reflects on their successful December earnings on Medium, attributing the improvement to writing stories with viral potential, focusing on topics like earning money online and personal development, and they remain optimistic for future growth on the platform.

Abstract

The author is pleased with their Medium earnings for December, anticipating joining the "$100 club" before the month's midpoint. They attribute this success to crafting stories that resonate with readers, particularly those interested in online income opportunities and personal life improvements. The author notes that some stories, initially slow to gain traction, have later become more popular, suggesting that timing and relevance play a significant role in a story's success. They also emphasize the importance of writing stories that offer value and help to readers, sharing that their most successful pieces combine authoritative advice with personal insights. The author encourages fellow writers to analyze their work, maintain consistent formatting, and clearly articulate the value of their content to readers. While acknowledging that the end-of-year period may influence readership, the author is hopeful about the potential for sustained success and advises writers to revisit and enhance their previous stories to increase their value to readers.

Opinions

The author believes that writing stories with a viral appeal, even if they don't immediately gain traction, can lead to increased earnings over time.
They suggest that topics related to earning money online and personal development are particularly appealing to readers, especially during stressful times.
The author posits that the end-of-year holiday season may contribute to increased readership and earnings due to readers having more free time.
They advise against obsessing over statistics and instead recommend focusing on the quality and presentation of the content.
The author is optimistic about the future of writing on Medium, encouraging writers to remain persistent and to refine their stories for better engagement and earnings.
They highlight the importance of providing specific value to readers and suggest that this can lead to stories becoming more successful over time, potentially even going viral.

My December Earnings: An Awesome End to 2022!

Are your Medium stats finally improving or was it just a really good month?

Photo Provided by Author — via Canva.com

Am I seeing things when I check my stats, or are Medium earnings really starting to soar for the future?

Although we haven’t even reached the halfway part of the month of December, I’m watching my earnings seem to get off to a great start.

This month I’ll make it to the coveted $100 club before we even reach the 15th of December! Cool.

Not only will this be an awesome end to 2022, but I’m beginning to wonder what’s in store for 2023.

Is anyone else feeling optimistic about the way their Medium stats are improving?

I sense that some positive changes are happening on Medium, but then again, perhaps I’m just having a particularly good month.

Here’s what I’ve noticed so far…

Learning to write stories with a viral appeal

I think I’m finally learning how to write stories that seem to have a viral appeal.

Not that they’ve actually gone viral, at least not in a typical sense. But I’ve noticed several of my titles have earned relatively more money in a shorter amount of time.

For instance,

My story I published in November about the Marker website accepting submissions only made a couple of bucks that month.

The submission call for “holiday” stories included Thanksgiving, but I guess no one wanted to write about that particular holiday.

Story Submissions Urgently WANTED!

Do you have Thanksgiving and Christmas stories you want to get paid for?

medium.com

But suddenly, in December, the story took off. So far, the story has earned $38.84 cent.

One reason is that “Christmas” is a more popular topic and apparently more interesting holiday to write about.

The other possibility is that this is around the time that more and more people are taking off from work and other pursuits. They have more time on their hands to read and discover our Medium stories.

MY POINT: Just because you have a story that doesn’t do well out the gate, you never know when readers will find the time or make the time to read it.

Of course, the primary reason that certain stories have done well, is because they relate to the subject of earning more.

Not just earning more money with their Medium stories, but other places on the internet.

People are desperate to know more about different ways to generate an online income and create a side hustle that can help make ends meet.

Besides the desire to learn how to make money online and start improving their finances, people also seek help in other areas.

Some of my other stories that have done well, tend to relate to topics that help folks cope in their: Personal lives, romantic situations, family life and more.

The entire world has gone through some of the most stressful situations in the past couple of years, that it’s almost unreal.

So people are seeking ways to cope with different situations. Readers take time to notice stories when writers share content about their own lives or about helpful remedies to common problems in life.

MY POINT: If you’re writing stories that could potentially help someone else, it pays to share valuable facts, along with your personal experiences and viewpoint.

I notice that my most successful stories along these lines, are stories where I try to offer helpful suggestions based on authoritative comments, BUT, I also share my own first-hand view.

And remember, these may not necessarily be the stories that seem to do well right away, but these are the stories that readers will always benefit from, whenever they read them.

And you never know when they may take on a viral appeal.

My plan to create many more good months

Although I haven’t really written much about the specifics of my stats in a while, I decided to share this information, and offer writing advice to those who might be discouraged.

Just like most writers on Medium, I know all too well, how easy it is to get caught up on your stats, and the amount of money that you are, or are not earning on Medium.

But I find that things tend to work out much better, if you find something else to obsess about.

Instead of worrying about stats, shift your focus to:

Analyzing the type of stories you write, and determine why some perform better than others
Stop fooling around with haphazard formatting, and find an EFFECTIVE style you like using, then stick to it.
ALWAYS include statements that points out the specific value to your readers, and why they should be interested in the content.

Final Thoughts

If you’re reading this information and feeling good about your own stats that seem to be improving — KUDOS.

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be able to determine if things are really looking up, or if the typical end-of-the-year routines helped increase our earnings.

BUT — if you happen to be a writer who is feeling a little down about your own stats, stop fretting.

I’m earning more, but relatively speaking, my read ratios and “read time” is not necessarily increasing significantly.

I don’t think the credit goes to more reads — as in more people reading
I believe it’s about more read time — as in the people who read, spending more time with a story.

That means that you still have time to browse through some of your previous stories, and see which ones you can tweak, adjust, or enhance.

Maybe, by doing so, you can turn one or more stories into one that readers will find to be of more value, especially now, while many people have a little more time on their hands for reading.

After getting off to such a great start this month, I can’t wait to see what my month end total will be. But whatever it is, I know it’s going to be a great way to bring an end to 2022!

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