Receiving Medium’s Mysterious $500 Bonus for Writers

Summary

Medium has unexpectedly awarded a one-time $500 bonus to 1,000 writers for their contributions in April, totaling an additional$ 500,000 USD distributed among the selected writers.

Abstract

In a surprising move, Medium has provided a $500 bonus to 1,000 of its writers as part of their April earnings. One writer, who received both their expected earnings and the unexpected bonus, initially thought there was a glitch. However, Medium confirmed the bonus through an official email notification. This initiative follows Medium's shift towards a more relational model and editorial changes announced by CEO E.V. Williams in March. The writer, relatively new to the platform, expresses gratitude and curiosity about the criteria for selection and whether such bonuses will continue in the future.

Opinions

The writer was initially confused and assumed the $500 bonus was a mistake.
Upon confirmation, the writer was overwhelmed with joy, feeling that their writing had made

Receiving Medium’s Mysterious $500 Bonus for Writers

Medium has given a $500 bonus to 1,000 writers for the month of April

This morning I woke up, same as always, and checked my personal email which I always do.

I received the standard Medium Partner Program payout email for my earnings in April, but weirdly enough received 2 emails from them. One for $77.91 USD (as I expected) and one for $500 USD.

Screenshot by author

Screenshot by author

It’s safe to say I was very confused about the second email stating that I was sent $500 USD to my account. I definitely did not make that much in April.

I assumed it was a glitch or mistake and that Medium would fix it soon.

Low and behold, I received this email notification only an hour after explaining the mysterious $500 payment:

Screenshot by author

All I could think was “wow!”, I guess this isn’t a glitch. When I checked my Partner Program dashboard, I saw a small green notification letting me know that I’ve received a one-time bonus, along with 1,000 other writers.

I’m rubbish at maths, but that’s a whopping extra $500,000 USD that went out to writers for April.

I am so overjoyed to see that my writing was recognized as being impactful on members in April, however, if anything, this raises so many questions in my mind.

I wonder if Medium will be doing more of these one-time payments in the future? I highly doubt they would happen monthly, but could this be something that happens again?

What were the criteria that determined who received a bonus and who didn’t?

We have all been aware that Medium’s algorithm is changing and that they are adopting what people have called a more relational model. This has been covered by many writers on the platform so I am not going to go into it here, and I also don’t have the historic context to really provide any new meaningful insight.

E.V. Williams, the CEO, also announced the huge editorial change back in March here. Indicating that changes were coming to Medium.

As a newbie writer on the platform (just a little over 4 months), I’m shocked to see this and have never heard of Medium doing something like this. If I am wrong, please let me know, as I’ve said I have not been on the platform for all that long.

I would be really curious to hear from others, if they received this bonus or if they didn’t, or what others may think is happening on Medium right now.

Because I do not have a single clue what is happening.