My First 100 Medium Stories: Stats, Earnings, And Learnings

This is my 100th post. Yay, I did it!

Let’s jump straight to it. Here are some thoughts, learnings, starts, and earnings from writing 100 stories on Medium.

As a data-oriented person, I hate the lack of transparency in my life.

Writing on Medium is no doubt a mental health tool for me. But it sometimes adds some layers of anxiety. And transparency, well, it’s not always there.

To promote transparency, I’m sharing some insider views on my journey so far.

The Newbie effect + Views + Reads

Why are new writers [with non-edited stories that I can hardly understand] claiming to be getting thousands of views within their first month and reaching 3 figures on their earnings?

Does my writing stink?

So I reviewed my stats and realized things are not so bad after all..

These were my stats from my first month…

I completely forgot that I was given the same opportunity as a newbie.

Unfortunately, back then, you needed 100 Followers to start earning.

A month later, I started a new job, and I stopped writing for over three months. I needed that break to mentally adapt to a new life. But that break destroyed my momentum. Gone.

I guess the algorithm saw me as unreliable and stopped promoting my stories so much. Fair.

What happened though during the months I wasn’t publishing?

I kept getting views, but to a lesser extent, of course. When viewing the charts below, keep in mind that I wrote a few posts in October, but nothing consistent.

When things calmed down in my life in early November, I decided to start publishing more consistently.

Given that the newbie momentum has not favored me in this second attempt, I think I should be happy about my progress.

In November, I doubled my reads. And so far, I have doubled them again in December.

What did I do? I started being more consistent about publishing daily, if possible. I also engaged more with other readers. Which I think it is key when nobody knows you.

Followers

Here are my numbers when it comes to followers:

At least, I can report that my follower count matches the effort I’ve put into the platform.

This makes me feel better about my progress, to be honest. I’d hate to know that I’m only at the algorithm’s mercy. I like having some control over outcomes, even if not as spectacular as it is for some new writers out there.

I know I’m not the best writer, and the language barrier will always be there (I only learned English 12 years ago). But my years as an academic are paying off. I get positive and encouraging messages from my followers, and that means the world.

My Niche

After publishing 100 articles I’m starting to see some common topics I keep writing about consistently.

First, I love writing about how I changed my career twice in one year, almost tripling my salary. That couldn’t be more true.

I have been contacted by a number of students and peers interested in knowing how I did it, so I may as well write about it and make it available to the greater public.

On top of this, I enjoy sharing my mental health and professional journey as a mother of two toddlers. Sometimes I give it a different angle and explain how these things may be experienced differently as an Expat European living in the US after years in Australia.

Yes, I say “enjoy,” because it is very unlikely that I write something I don’t enjoy writing about.

Because of that, I’ve tried a few other topics, but I don’t feel like writing about them that often.

Earnings

I know this is probably what you came here to see. I don’t blame you, money moves the world and is a common motivation for many to write. So, without further ado…

I was able to join the partner program at the end of June, right before I took my break. While not actively publishing, I made a total of $2.36.

After I started taking it more seriously, I made a total of $7.15 (October + November).

And this month, after publishing consistently, I’ve made $45.71 so far. I have more than x10 my earnings from the past month, but I think the launching of the Friends of Medium Program totally helped me here.

I have mentioned before how, inherently, people who become “Friends of Medium” are more likely to get reads and views. So I’m not going to imply many causations from correlation here. I will wait and see what happens in the future.

However, I am happy that my earnings from one month may pay for almost 4 months of the Friends of Medium membership (if paid annually, as I did… I like taking risks!).

My feelings

How does all of this make me feel?

To be honest, I’m having SO MUCH FUN. I feel energized, I’m always thinking about new article ideas, and I’m, for now, able to write them carefree and almost effortlessly.

I’m aware though that I’m in the honeymoon face of writing on Medium, as I took it for real quite recently. I’m already thinking about how to keep showing up once the novelty fades away and I don’t feel like writing that much.

I have the advantage of having used writing and journaling as a mental health tool for 24 years now, but I need to be prepared. Nothing is a given, especially in the algorithm and emotionally driven social media.

The Ugly

As many others have commented here, I wished there was more transparency in Medium. Understanding how your earnings are truly calculated shouldn’t require a Ph.D. in Calculus. Or maybe a career as a medium (funny right?)

Since the new stats were launched, I saw a dip in my views by more than half or more. I’m talking about the past days with hundreds of views that now show less than 30 views.

On top of this, I have stories published a few days ago that despite having highlighters, commenters, and claps from multiple followers, show no reads. And of course, no earnings.

It’s a bit discouraging to not have our hard work pay off, but well. I guess it is what it is.

On top of this, I don’t understand why people with unedited and impossible-to-understand stories get any views (and exposure) at all. I know I’m not perfect, but I strive to have polished manuscripts when I hit submit.

Medium claims that quality is something that they consider when promoting an article, but I don’t see it being implemented sometimes, to be honest.

Final thoughts

I’m enjoying the time I dedicate to Medium way better than I have ever enjoyed any other Social Media platform. And among all, I feel like I’m making some friends.

In an attempt to promote transparency as a means of encouragement, I started this publication. I’d love to add you as a writer, so leave me a comment if you also want to share your Medium “Stats and Feelings” with the community.

I aim to see stories from the super-successful as much as from those who are taking baby steps or just enjoying their time here. I think it’s important to have realistic expectations and relatable stories no matter what your writing goals are. We all need to feel represented.

Looking forward to connecting with all of you!

Hey there! I hope you enjoyed my story. If you did, why not give me a follow and subscribe to my publications? That way you won’t miss any of my quirks in the future. Thanks for reading!

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