The Medium Writing Ecosystem

Summary

The article satirically outlines the hierarchical and self-referential nature of writing on Medium, where success is often determined by writing about successful Medium writers or trending topics like Elon Musk.

Abstract

The Medium Writing Ecosystem is humorously dissected in a five-step process that begins with Elon Musk's influence on cryptocurrency and ends with lesser-known writers earning minimal income. The process illustrates a cascading effect where top writers like Sean Kernan capitalize on trending topics, while subsequent writers cover the levels below, often writing about the writers above them. The article suggests that writing about Medium itself is a niche strategy, as it targets the platform's writers and readers, potentially leading to financial success despite the high competition. The author uses the example of their own successful article about Medium's one-clappers phenomenon to demonstrate that writing about the platform can indeed be lucrative.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the difficulty of competing with top writers when writing about popular subjects like Elon Musk.
Writing about other Medium writers, such as Sean Kernan, is seen as a less competitive but more niche approach.
The article posits that writing about Medium is a valid niche, as it appeals to the platform's community of writers and readers.
There is a belief that most Medium writers produce low-quality content, creating an opportunity for better articles to stand out.
Top writers tend to avoid writing frequently about Medium, as they can earn more by appealing to a broader audience.
The author suggests that engaging with the community on Twitter is where the real enjoyment and potential for success lie.
The author implies that financial success on Medium is not solely determined by the quality of writing but also by the choice of topic and the ability to resonate with the Medium audience.

Trust me — I’m a top writer in satire.

This is the 5 steps process of almost any Medium article:

Elon Musk ‘disrupts’ the cryptocurrency markets and makes $ millions.

Sean Kernan writes (brilliantly) about Elon Musk and makes around¹⁰ $1,000.

Hogan Torah writes (brilliantly but less carat) about Sean Kernan and makes enough to cover his cellphone bill for the month.

Smillew writes about Hogan Torah and makes $0.43. He doubles down and writes about Medium, featuring a picture of Hogan Torah, and make $4.72. Overall, Smilew makes enough money to pay for one month of membership⁴².

Liam M writes (brilliantly —since it’s) about Smillew and makes $0.01 because I’m the only one who read it.

But you’re writing about Medium now; it makes even less sense!

Wrong.

Writing about Medium is niche because it interests only the writing-readers here. But there are a lot of them, so it’s a valid niche.

There’s a lot of competition because every Medium writer writes about Medium from time to time. But most of us are shitty writers, so we produce shitty articles nobody really reads. Also, top writers like Sean have too much self-respect to write more than one or two articles a year about Medium and writing. Meaning there’s space for us.

Fun fact: The main reason top writers like Sean don’t write about Medium is that they can make much more money writing for all readers, not only writing-readers.

Proof that you can make money writing about Medium

I recently wrote an article about one-clappers. I don’t think you can get more Medium than that; every writer on the platform has an opinion on how many claps one should give.

And yet.

It’s my most clapped article by far: 9,260 claps from 391 people. It also made $74.02 to date.

Screenshot of proof by Author — It’s always a bit sad to see how fast the roller-coaster ride ends.

Fun fact: As you can see in the comments, the article, although about Medium, reached non-writing readers, which explains, partially, the high $ amount.

Takeaway

I read a tweet and wrote this article. Join us on Twitter, that’s where the fun is.

Smillew is a Medium writer who writes mainly about social justice, his Medium newsletter, and his Medium referral link. No need to follow him; he’ll show up in your feed.

Footnotes: ¹⁰Author’s estimate based on number of claps and clappers. ⁴²Just wanted to write another footnote (also everyone knows 42 is the answer to the meaning of life. Thanks to Demeter Delune for this side note)

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SATIRE

The Medium Writing Ecosystem — Explained

Trust me — I’m a top writer in satire.

Why not write about Elon Musk then?

Why not write about Sean Kernan then?

But you’re writing about Medium now; it makes even less sense!

Proof that you can make money writing about Medium

Takeaway