My Two-Month Journey On Medium

Some Important Things I Have Learned

I started my journey on Medium back in December 2023. Before that, I was just a casual reader, only able to read a couple of articles per month as a non-member. After watching some YouTube videos about Medium, I decided to become a paying member to start writing and sharing my own stories.

When I first started, my goal was to write two articles per day (please don’t laugh, yes! I was so naive!) I soon realized that producing high-quality, genuine writing at that rate was nearly impossible! So I scaled back to one article per day instead, and even that can be a challenge sometimes.

In the beginning, I earned just a few pennies for my work — literally less than a dollar each day. In my attempt to gain more readers, I started promoting my articles on Facebook groups for Medium writers. This helped initially — I connected with some great writers and saw my earnings tick up to a few dollars here and there.

But soon it felt like I was just posting into the void.

Many people who read my work in those groups weren’t genuinely interested in my writing. They just wanted me to read their posts in return. And don’t get me wrong, some of them are sincere and they are great writers, but others were just pasting AI-generated content without putting in real effort.

Just out of the blue, I also started getting random private messages on Facebook from people inviting me to “read-for-read” groups. I joined some, not fully understanding the negative impact this would have on my earnings (I plan to write another story about it, but I’m still conducting an experiment to confirm my theories, so I’m letting time work its magic). By the end of December 2023 when I reached 100 followers and became a FOM, I thought I would see my income increase. But despite having many FOM readers, I have not seen the expected 4X boost in earnings… so yes! I’m still trying to figure out how FOM works because even when I know the rules, the truth is that I’m not seeing the impact I was expecting. Are you a Friend of Medium? What’s your experience so far?

These were my results for January, in case you want to take a look: My January 2024 Earning Report! (not bad, but it can improve!).

Changing The Strategy Moving Forward

Moving forward, I have decided to take a different approach to improve my Medium experience. I bravely left the unproductive read-for-read groups and joined some quality reading clubs instead. This allows me to read amazing writers and follow people I truly resonate with.

Also, here are some tactics that are working better for me now:

• I start each day by reviewing notifications and reciprocating genuine engagement on my stories — if someone takes the time to read, clap, and comment thoughtfully, I’ll read and engage with their content too. But I don’t reciprocate fake or AI-generated comments (I used to, but not anymore).
• I prioritize reading stories from my reading clubs early in the day so I have more time to write later on.
• In the evenings, I spend time writing new stories for my profile and I’m also working on submitting some stories to different publications.
• Every two hours, I check for new notifications from my cellphone or laptop and continue engaging with those who have read my stories during the day.
• I still use Facebook, but only share my stories on those groups a couple of times a week now, and I block “clap and runners” who are just trying to get a benefit from me while hurting my read ratio (Sorry guys! but I’m not interested in having this kind of “readers”).
• I’m selective about who I follow, only following writers I admire rather than automatically following all of my followers.

In my experience, I have seen a good amount of people that started following me and as soon as I followed them back, they unfollowed me. Come on guys! This is not Instagram, what’s the point of doing that? What kind of game are you playing? That is why I am now very selective with the writers I follow.

Please note that If I’m following you it’s because I really like what you write, otherwise, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not a great writer, but there are a few topics I’m not interested in reading, like coding, politics, economy, or history.

Do you remember that song from Billy Joel “Just The Way You Are”? The lyrics say: “I don’t want clever conversations, I never want to work that hard”… well that’s me! (but applied to reading).

By being more intentional with how I spend my time on Medium, I’ve seen my experience and engagement improve significantly. While it continues to be a journey, these tactics have helped me connect with genuine readers who appreciate my writing and hope they can help you too. Don’t be afraid to be yourself when writing!

Now, a couple of months later, my daily earnings fluctuate wildly, from a couple of dollars on slow days up to $15 on a very good day. While this journey has been filled with ups and downs, I remain committed to improving my writing and connecting with readers and writers who appreciate my work. My experience has taught me that patience and perseverance are crucial as I continue sharpening my skills as a Medium writer.

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to share about your Medium experience in the comments!