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on a new niche blog.</p><h2 id="722d">Audience building</h2><p id="bb98">Medium connects readers with writers. Even if you only publish a few stories a month, the platform gives you the potential to find new readers and grow an audience.</p><p id="f862">Since Medium is a community, readers show up to support writers they like and keep coming back. You’ll find your followers and email subscribers will grow on Medium because of a few posts every month.</p><h2 id="8937">Traffic redirection</h2><p id="d595">Another great thing about Medium is that it works as well…a medium.</p><p id="38cf">Maybe you’re not a brand new writer, but a writer who’s already published an e-book, course, or newsletter. You can send the audience you’re building to your other online homes using Medium! The platform works great as a redirector to other online platforms.</p><p id="2b32">I’ve sent tons of readers to <a href="https://sidehustleclub.substack.com/">my newsletter</a>, which provides more details about my writing and work.</p><p id="e3f6">In 2023, using Medium to redirect traffic is just as valuable as earning money from writing.</p><h1 id="23bc">Starting your own niche blog in 2023</h1><p id="e244">On the other hand, starting your own blog gives us writers complete control — of everything. Meaning, you can write about anything you want with no backlash, you don’t have to worry about any platform updates and you have more options to monetize and earn money.</p><p id="c525">Figuring out how to create a blog is not rocket science. It’s more difficult than signing up for Medium, but also a skill that can be picked up and improved upon.</p><p id="0d42">For example, once you learn how to buy a domain and hosting plan and then set up a Wordpress site, you’re basically good to go. It might take you a day or two to figure it out, but there are enough YouTube videos to guide you through the process. Trust me, I’ve done it a few times now and have started to even <a href="https://readmedium.com/i-just-got-my-1st-niche-blog-payout-heres-how-long-it-took-50f89cf1f737">get paid from my blogs</a>.</p><p id="28c0">After setting up a niche blog, the next hurdle will be getting traffic to your site. The amount of traffic you get determines how much money you can make and ultimately how much your site is worth if you were to ever sell it — yes, you can sell your own niche site!</p><p id="fa32">Basically, as a niche site owner, your entire battle will be with Google, or as many people call it, Big G. Good writers who <a href="https://readmedium.com/blog-consistency-an-seo-essential-to-ranking-high-89eb5e338882">publish consisntly</a> and <a href="https://readmedium.com/evergreen-seo-tricks-that-search-engine-gurus-dont-want-you-to-know-d8b864c6729a">optimize their posts for SEO</a> could start to see success within the first 6 months of starting their niche blogs. Keyword: <i>could</i>.</p><p id="4e12">Many of us — especially on our e

Options

arly blogs — don’t get lucky enough to see success within the first years of a new niche blog. In the past, Google has <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-blog-just-cost-me-150-and-the-opportunity-to-earn-more-ec91d73d1ed8">banned me for no reason</a>, affiliate sales have fluctuated tremendously and I’ve thought about selling all my niche blogs.</p><p id="3b9a">However, the versatility of monetization is what keeps my niche blogs going in 2023.</p><h2 id="e946">Affiliates</h2><p id="072e">Affiliate sales are comisisons that come from referrals. Blogs are great places to make affiliate sales if they have traffic and you have items to recommend.</p><p id="cb87">I use Amazon for my affiliate sales and have earned some decent money before. But usually, it’s not much. And it’s pretty out of my control as I con’t control the spending of readers.</p><h2 id="97aa">Display ads</h2><p id="2af7">A more common way to monetize a blog is through display ads. But, I was banned from Google Adsense for literally no reason, so now I use a different platform to earn from, <a href="https://beta.publishers.adsterra.com/referral/SD6wEFsiDW">Adsterra</a>.</p><p id="2a8c">Additionally, ads slow down your site and make it harder for Google to use, thus lowering your rankings. Even Google’s ads negatively affect site status and speed, which I don’t understand at all.</p><h2 id="8ab4">Digital products</h2><p id="626b">Rememeber those writers with e-books and courses already? Promoting them on a blog is a great way to get more sales. Period.</p><p id="6a84">I can personally attest to the strategy working as many of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CPRGHGN">my e-book</a> sales come from my own site.</p><h2 id="246e">More</h2><p id="882b">There are other ways of monetizing sites as well. As I previously mentioned, you can build a site just to sell it. Niche blogs are valuable assets that hold equity, kind of like houses.</p><h1 id="5cc4">Who wins the 2023 blogging war?</h1><p id="5335">Us writers win.</p><p id="7e98">Whether you start on Medium, Substack or create your own niche blog, the writers are winning in 2023. There are so many great options and routes for us to take that weren’t available before.</p><p id="6adb">Choose wisely when deciding which route is best for you, but you can’t go wrong.</p><div id="b9cc" class="link-block"> <a href="https://sidehustleclub.substack.com/embed"> <div> <div> <h2>Sign up for the Side Hustle Club newsletter </h2> <div><h3>Read more stories like this by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter!</h3></div> <div><p>sidehustleclub.substack.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*3hbT4eEypJ5RuLe2)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Owning Your Own Niche Blog vs. Writing on Medium

Which pays better in 2023?

During a writer’s journey, the idea of owning one’s own blog will cross the idea table more than once. So much flexibility comes with owning your own niche blog that it’s a hard option not to consider.

However, while digging down the rabbit hole of niche blog ownership, you might’ve stumbled across a well-known platform called Medium. On the platform, you can earn money from your writing almost immediately. Also, you don’t have to learn how to set up a website, pay for hosting or any other technical detail. You just pay a small membership fee and start writing.

If you’re anything like me, what you just read was how I discovered Medium back in 2020. Soon after, I started my own niche blogs and am developing a niche blog portfolio.

It can be hard to decide whether starting your own blog or writing on Medium is the best move in 2023. Both have their own ups and downs.

Here’s what I recommend.

Writing on Medium in 2023

Medium has a pletorha of great things happening right now.

A recent update announced that writers from more countries could join the Partner Program and earn money. In addition, the 100-follower threshold to start earning money from stories has disappeared as well. Two great updates that will allow more writers to start earning money on the platform quickly.

So, if you’re a new writer — and I mean new as in never have been paid from your writing before — Medium is a great place for you to start in 2023!

You don’t have to sweat any of the technical details. No worries about hosting worries or buying a domain. You just sign up and start writing.

While the simplicity of Medium is definitely one of its biggest draws, there are other great reasons to publish articles on the platform in 2023.

SEO

Medium ranks high on Google. Stories don’t even need to be correctly optimized for SEO to claim the №1 search spot. Google trusts Medium as a platform and therefore, ranks articles from the publication higher than others.

New writers can start getting their work viewed by Medium and non-Medium members because of how high the platform is ranked on search. Something that would take years to build on a new niche blog.

Audience building

Medium connects readers with writers. Even if you only publish a few stories a month, the platform gives you the potential to find new readers and grow an audience.

Since Medium is a community, readers show up to support writers they like and keep coming back. You’ll find your followers and email subscribers will grow on Medium because of a few posts every month.

Traffic redirection

Another great thing about Medium is that it works as well…a medium.

Maybe you’re not a brand new writer, but a writer who’s already published an e-book, course, or newsletter. You can send the audience you’re building to your other online homes using Medium! The platform works great as a redirector to other online platforms.

I’ve sent tons of readers to my newsletter, which provides more details about my writing and work.

In 2023, using Medium to redirect traffic is just as valuable as earning money from writing.

Starting your own niche blog in 2023

On the other hand, starting your own blog gives us writers complete control — of everything. Meaning, you can write about anything you want with no backlash, you don’t have to worry about any platform updates and you have more options to monetize and earn money.

Figuring out how to create a blog is not rocket science. It’s more difficult than signing up for Medium, but also a skill that can be picked up and improved upon.

For example, once you learn how to buy a domain and hosting plan and then set up a Wordpress site, you’re basically good to go. It might take you a day or two to figure it out, but there are enough YouTube videos to guide you through the process. Trust me, I’ve done it a few times now and have started to even get paid from my blogs.

After setting up a niche blog, the next hurdle will be getting traffic to your site. The amount of traffic you get determines how much money you can make and ultimately how much your site is worth if you were to ever sell it — yes, you can sell your own niche site!

Basically, as a niche site owner, your entire battle will be with Google, or as many people call it, Big G. Good writers who publish consisntly and optimize their posts for SEO could start to see success within the first 6 months of starting their niche blogs. Keyword: could.

Many of us — especially on our early blogs — don’t get lucky enough to see success within the first years of a new niche blog. In the past, Google has banned me for no reason, affiliate sales have fluctuated tremendously and I’ve thought about selling all my niche blogs.

However, the versatility of monetization is what keeps my niche blogs going in 2023.

Affiliates

Affiliate sales are comisisons that come from referrals. Blogs are great places to make affiliate sales if they have traffic and you have items to recommend.

I use Amazon for my affiliate sales and have earned some decent money before. But usually, it’s not much. And it’s pretty out of my control as I con’t control the spending of readers.

Display ads

A more common way to monetize a blog is through display ads. But, I was banned from Google Adsense for literally no reason, so now I use a different platform to earn from, Adsterra.

Additionally, ads slow down your site and make it harder for Google to use, thus lowering your rankings. Even Google’s ads negatively affect site status and speed, which I don’t understand at all.

Digital products

Rememeber those writers with e-books and courses already? Promoting them on a blog is a great way to get more sales. Period.

I can personally attest to the strategy working as many of my e-book sales come from my own site.

There are other ways of monetizing sites as well. As I previously mentioned, you can build a site just to sell it. Niche blogs are valuable assets that hold equity, kind of like houses.

Who wins the 2023 blogging war?

Us writers win.

Whether you start on Medium, Substack or create your own niche blog, the writers are winning in 2023. There are so many great options and routes for us to take that weren’t available before.

Choose wisely when deciding which route is best for you, but you can’t go wrong.