WRITING TIPS

NewsBreak & Medium Are Very Different Writing Platforms

Whether you are looking for a side hustle or a way to share your story, Medium, NewsBreak, and other paid writing venues have pros and cons.

NOTE: I am being told only US residents are allowed to sign up for NewsBreak. You should check to see if it is available in your country.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on a link and buy the product, I make a small commission, which does not change your price.

I will share a few comparisons to show you what is possible on NewsBreak and Medium. Although I do write for others, like Simily, Vocal, Pulisher0X, I have not had much consistent success there.

For instance, I paid $99 for an annual premium membership on Vocal. Media. After one year, I earned $90.64, mostly from bonuses and one third-place contest finish.

So technically, I lost $9.36. Then when I tried to withdraw my money, Stripe declined my payment from them. I fought with them through email for nearly two months before I finally gave up and wrote it off as a loss (Yes, on my taxes, I wrote off the $99 membership) and canceled my membership.

Two years later, I am up to $6.14, again. Yeah, it still shows that I withdrew $90.64, even though I never received it. I could “supposedly” withdraw at $35, but I won’t bother with it.

I prefer to spend my time writing on Medium and repurposing those articles on Newsbreak or vice versa — though most local stories and restaurant reviews that work well on NewsBreak, don’t do much on Medium.

How to Join NewsBreak

BTW, if you want to read local news stories for free? Download the NewsBreak App — Sign up using my referral link.

If you’re interested in making a side hustle from writing about local news, sign up using my referral link, and we can both make more. Don’t forget to use your link when you write.

The Statistics from Three Articles on Medium and NewsBreak

Estimated Earnings for Those Three Articles on NewsBreak

Stats for “The Man No One Knew Was a King”

Medium statistics for “Who Is This $15 Billion College Dropout”

Medium statistics for “Cancer Screening: Who Should Get Which, When”

As you can see, it earned $2.37. Not a lot, but more than on NewsBreak, where I made 14 Cents.

I did add another article on Short Shot City about cancer screening during the pandemic to try to push people to get their screenings done, despite COVID concerns. It made 23 cents.

Cancer screening and early detection save lives. Unfortunately, due to COVID concerns, cancer screenings are down 90%. Get screened and live.

Let’s compare this one I wrote about NewsBreak for Medium writers.

Here are the Medium earning statistics.

Screenshot of earnings from Are you Using Newsbreak as Another Income Source — NewsBreak

Another article I wrote about NewsBreak, “My Top Tricks for Getting a 5+ on NewsBreak Articles” has made $29.64, and it continues to make money even though they don’t use the “CV Score” methodology anymore.

Then, they paid a standard rate to lure writers and keep them producing, though, after about eight months, they figured out it was not sustainable, I guess.

If you received a 1–4 CV score, you earned $25, and a 6–10 CV, you earned a flat rate of $60, plus pay-per-view. Now they use only PPV.

I think a lot of it has to do with the continued curiosity of many writers looking for other opportunities to earn.

This was my subtitle: “You don’t have to do much to repurpose your Medium articles to add local SEO, receive a CV score of 5–10, and get paid $60 or more for it. Here’s what I do.”

However, I did discuss the process I use, and I think that is still valid on NewsBreak. Although, I don’t use the same checklist I included in that article anymore.

Even though I published it on 7 MAR ’21, it is my second highest-paying Medium article this month, and “Are You Using NewsBreak as Another Income Source” is third.

There must be a renewed interest in writing on NewsBreak. I just went over $100 there yesterday for the first time since they stopped paying the flat rate, and I received payment for two referrals.

You just have to try different things and see what works for you. I can tell you that “True crime” stories, especially recent local or even national stories do not pay very well on NewsBreak.

One story I wrote, “Trump could be tried for Felony Murder in 48 States” has nearly 150,000 views, but only made $14,78, which is still $10.87 more than it made on Medium.

They said it was because it was a “news” story that had already received a lot of coverage, but the more views I got, the lower the RPM got. That tells me they want these stories; they just don’t want to pay a lot for them.

Oh, BTW, if you don’t know this already, don’t read the comments on that type of story if your ego is easily bruised. That article had 3,685 comments, and only a few were favorable. On the other hand, only a few actually know what felony murder is.

You can literally be charged with felony murder if your partner breaks into a house, while you wait in the car, and the homeowner has a heart attack and dies. It’s the law in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Jeepers, I don’t write the laws, so “don’t shoot the messenger.”

Final Thoughts

It really depends on what you want to write about whether you use Medium or Newsbreak. I prefer Medium because I can write about whatever I’m feeling.

Sometimes, I am able to repurpose it and publish it on NewsBreak. Sometimes, I even make a decent amount of money.

The thing is to have many “irons” in the fire. I also have six websites that I use for Google AdSense, e-Commerce, and Affiliate marketing. So, don’t limit yourself. “If you write it — they will come!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on a link and buy the product, I make a small commission, which does not change your price.

Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Also, a Top Writer in Nutrition, Investing, Travel, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, and Short Story.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Reddit | Ko-fi | NewsBreak | Simily

If you want to make money writing online, start by signing up for a Medium Membership Today!

It only costs $5 per month, I’ve made money every month since I became a paying member, and you can too. Thank you.