My First 6 Months on Medium: An Honest Reflection
From views to earnings — I discuss my time on Medium, and what I’m doing for the next 6 months.
I began my writing journey back in July of 2021. I wanted to build a career that was 100% online. I began exploring different options to build a career for myself that would survive trying times.
So I have been doing freelance writing for 6 months. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. Since I have started, I have grown my following and income throughout each month.
While some months were better than others, overall the experience was great. I’ve learned from very valuable lessons along that way, that I will use for the next 6 months.
Through every month, I faced setbacks, and challenging life circumstances. But nevertheless, I continued on, and I’m so glad that I did.
Setbacks
Through these long 6 months, I had endured a lot of setbacks in my life. I honestly cannot go into too much detail (but hopefully, I will in the future). Much of the struggle I dealt with was about my narcissist. But that’s beside the point.
In October, I lost my grandmother; I miss her dearly. I stepped back from writing — I needed to grieve. Out of my 6 months on Medium, I really only spent 3 months without needing to take a few weeks off at a time.
I wanted to make sure that I got back up each time I fell. And I realized that my current work situation was not appropriate. I was writing stories the day I wanted them posted; I had no system in place–I was winging it every day.
I spent weeks trying to develop a system that would allow me to write, get ahead, and stay on top of my work. I was so confused, lost, and overwhelmed.
But thankfully, through trial and error, I was able to develop a system that allows me to produce more content efficiently and effectively. I plan to share my writing system in the future, but I still need to work on some of its kinks.
Views
My views have definitely jumped around as I have progressed on this platform. So far, my highest view count to date was 2,800 — but I fell short of meeting that goal of 3,000 views.
In December, my views were shallow. Steadily over time, my view count dropped from 2,800 to 970 — I wanted to give up. I had put in all this hard work throughout the past few months and it all was down the tubes.
I am happy to report that my views are back up to where they once were in October. But now, I need to smash these records and get more ideas.
Currently, at the time of posting this article, my view count is sitting at just under 3,000.
I haven’t reached any new milestones, but I have at least got myself back to my highest view count.
Trial and error really come into play with views. You can’t earn anything — I have to make my content clickable and attractive.
Earnings
Again, my earnings were not great, but they were consistent. I at least got a payout for each month that I have been on Medium. Which I take as a win!
At the beginning of my Medium journey, I made some quick cash–around 100 dollars. I managed to do that two times in a row, but then, my income slowly dropped over time.
So I needed to develop a plan to get to where I wanted to be. I needed to make my posting consistent with at least 3 posts a week — which I have been able to do so far.
So over the next 6 months, I will be writing 5 times per week–and writing specific content for my other platforms. I will cross-post content that can be repurposed for other sites on to Medium if necessary.
My goal is to raise my earnings and make this a livable income.
The next 6 months are going to bring a lot of different challenges that I will need to navigate. There will be continued trial and error, no matter what — I’ll learn to become more adaptable.
As I continue this journey, I will document my progress. I want to do this as a way for me to look back on my progress. During times of doubt, and self-criticism, I want to reflect back on these posts.
Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it! If you would like to support me, you can do so by joining Medium. Get unlimited access to stories for only $5 a month — you can use my link to sign up! Click here to sign up for emails every time I post a new story! Happy reading! 🌞
Stay Connected with This Author: https://linktr.ee/JenniferMarch13
