My First Month on Medium

A tale of 90 hours of work, 27 stories and 2.77 dollars.

March 16th, 2020. Exactly four weeks ago, I published my first story on Medium. I wasn’t sure about what I was trying to achieve as it all started as some kind of experiment. However, only after a couple of days on this platform, I realized it that I needed to stick to Medium. I was still confused but thankfully, I listened to my intuition.

Fast forwarding to this day, I have completed my first month on Medium and I can’t express how happy I am, knowing the fact that I kept my footing and didn’t back out.

After putting almost 90 hours of work, publishing 27 stories and earning 2.77 dollars, I’m feeling quite happy that I made the right call.

Irrespective of the platform, be it Google Blogger or Medium, ‘writing’ has always been my side hustle. It has been the most readily-available creative outlet for me, helping me in telling stories, venting myself whenever needed and allowing me to provide a commentary on a number of psychological, social and political issues.

Almost a month ago, when I wrote my first article, or as they say story, on Medium, I was a bit skeptical about this platform. As I told you in the last few pieces that I was doing a blog before starting on Medium. So, at first, I wasn’t ready to ditch my blog for Medium. It was too big of risk to take. But as they say great things happen to those who take risk and make bold decisions. (Yeah, I made it up!) Thus, I took the bold decision and fortunately, it worked out quite well.

To be honest, I wanted to share the whole journey with you guys but I thought it would be too much. So, without going into the details and repeating the same old (boring) story, I have decided to share what I have learned from my one-month experience on this platform in a honest and a precis manner.

So, let’s cut to the chase and dive right into it.

Takeaways:

1. Consistency is the key

For any content creator, be it a videographer, a photographer, a YouTuber, a filmmaker or a writer, I think the key to success or recognition is consistency.

Take the example of Casey Neistat, arguably the greatest vlogger ever. This guy uploaded a vlog on daily basis for 534 consecutive days. 534! More than one and a half year! And now when I hear vloggers/YouTubers complaining about the lack of recognition or lack of success, I advise them nothing but to make content on consistent basis. That’s all. For me, Casey Neistat is the glaring example of how consistency can help you in achieving success or making a name for yourself. He is epitome of what consistency looks like and his rise to fame speaks volumes for the significance of consistency.

Same goes for all other content creators, be it Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan or any of the greats. They have been making content consistently for the last several years. Seth Godin published a blog every day for more than a decade, Joe Rogan has already done about 1456 podcasts etc. You get my point.

Although I am nowhere near these greats, yet I think even I can see the improvement in my work due to consistency. When I started on Medium last month, I was writing Okay-ish content. I was happy with what I was writing though. However, after writing 27 articles in the last 30 days, I can say with authority that my writing has improved a lot. I am no longer making the same mistakes, avoiding unnecessary things and writing a far more comprehensive and understandable content.

2. Don’t forget to improve your content

One might argue that what if a person keeps creating the same poor quality content with consistency?

Again, the answer lies in Casey Neistat’s work. If you start watching his videos from 2014 or 2015 and then compare them with his videos from 2018, you’ll realize that the gap in terms of quality is massive. 2015’s videos weren’t bad either. However, his content from 2018 or 2019 has a different level of quality. Meaning? If you do something with consistency, there is a great probability that it will get improved.

Thus, it is quite imperative to improve your product. If your articles/stories lack substance or quality, I don’t think writing consistently will help you. Consistent writing will only help you if you regularly improve your writing.

I have tried to follow both these principles in the last four weeks and I can already feel the positive change in my writing. It doesn’t mean that I have become ‘someone.’ Instead, the point is if I keep making the content regularly, it is quite likely that I will be writing ‘great’ pieces soon.

Stats:

This piece wouldn’t be complete(and honest) without a mention of my stats as most of you are curious about how many views I’m getting. So, in the following photo, you guys can see my stats and hopefully, these stats will encourage those who are just getting started.

Apparently, I am doing good. I mean, starting from one view on the first day to average around 90 views per day isn’t bad. Not at all.

I know, people are getting thousand of views every single day . But given that I started on Medium only four weeks ago, I don’t think it’s bad. Yeah, I do think that I should be getting more views per day and I am doing whatever I can to achieve better results. But I’m happy with the number of views I’m getting at the moment.

Hopefully, I’ll be averaging more views in the coming days.

Earnings:

As I said earlier, I’m going to be honest with you guys about my earnings. Therefore, I have attached a photo of whatever I have earned in the last four weeks.

So far, I have earned 2.77$. 2.77$! Ain’t that some amount! For me, it is. I know, you guys might be thinking that I am some kind of dimwit but what if I tell you that a lot of people are not even earning this ‘amount’ on Medium. So, in that context, 2.77$ is a big deal.

Moreover, I didn’t know about Medium Partner Program until I published 10 stories. So, only 17 of my articles are behind Medium Paywall and almost all of them are making me something.

Do’s

1. Keep Writing

This is something which everyone on this platform would agree to. If you’re not getting the results, that you had expected, write more. If your stories are not getting curated, write more. If your stats are not encouraging, write more.

Now, before any of you get it the wrong way, I am not suggesting to ignore all other factors rather I am saying that if you do your basics the right way, it’s more likely that you’ll achieve better results. Got it?

2. Submit your work to publications

Submit your work to publications. I don’t know how to emphasize this thing but if you’re not submitting and publishing your work in Medium publications, you cannot achieve the desirable results.

Once your work gets published in a publication, you will see the improvement in your stats etc. So, don’t hesitate from submitting your work to publications.

3. Share your work

I said in my last piece that you need to share your work as much as possible. Don’t shy away from sharing your work in Facebook groups i.e Medium Mastery, Medium Magic, Medium Writers, etc. These groups consist of Medium writers, just like you, and if not much, these groups will certainly help you in getting more eyes for your content. So, keep sharing your content in these groups.

Furthermore, use Instagram and Snapchat to your advantage and let your friends know that you’re producing worth-reading content on Medium.

Don’ts

1. Save yourself from Curation Jail

Man! This curation jail is a real thing. Believe it or not, once you’re in this curation jail, nothing makes sense.

I mean, when I got to know about this curation thing, I used to check after every couple of minutes that whether my piece had been curated or not.

Nonetheless, after spending two weeks in this quagmire of curation, I stopped giving it attention. And boom! My article got curated. (the following one!)

I am not saying that if you stop thinking about curation, your articles will get curated. No, it doesn’t work that way. What I am saying is, if you stop looking for curation and put all your energies in making better content, your articles will get curated, if not today then tomorrow. It is just a matter of time.

2. Stop checking your stats

‘Stop checking you stats after every two minutes.’ That’s from my inner being, who is actually tired of spending most of the time, checking stats and deducting useless theories.

Your stats doesn’t reflect your performance. No, they don’t. It is quite often that the quality of your work and your stats don’t correlate. There are a number of variables, which play their part in finding more eyes for your content.

So, stop checking your stats. Just keep writing.

3. Forget your niche

Don’t limit yourself, especially if you’re a new writer. You don’t need to worry about your area of expertise, rather you need to write more. Forget your niches and your target audience, just start writing.

I know that these Do’s and Don’ts aren’t enough. I have missed on a number of things. But even if you follow these, you will get more views than me and will earn more money as well.

To conclude, don’t worry about stats, curation or money, just put all your energies in writing more and better content. Your stories shouldn’t be boring, they shouldn’t lack quality and they shouldn’t be limited to a certain audience. Write on whatever topic you like, address any type of subjects which attract you. Forget your niche or your target audience, just write. Also, don’t forget to make healthy relations with the writing community. Keep giving back to the community. Read others’ stories and don’t forget to give them your positive feedback. Help others, push them and you’ll feel better.

Enjoyed these last four weeks on Medium and looking forward to even better time in the future. See you soon!

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