The Sad Truth About Writing On Medium

“How much did that article make you?”

Some people make close to 6-figure incomes just by writing Medium articles. It’s truly incredible to witness some people experience that type of success.

They’ve inspired many people to give writing a shot. However, let’s also call a spade a spade.

Most Medium articles don’t make much money from the Partner Program. For some people, it’s a bitter disappointment.

Put an hour of your time towards an article that will make $10 if you’re lucky. That’s not as inspiring as those 6-figure case studies, yet this scenario leans closer to most writers’ realities of writing on this platform.

I wrote multiple articles each day and even detailed my approach for anyone who wants to give it a try. However, those days wrapped up a while ago. I’ll explain more about that soon.

One of the steps in that process is having a reason to write. For most writers, their reasoning boils down to a mix of love and money. They enjoy the act of writing and need enough money to cover expenses.

Writing that captures both of those perks is true bliss. Writing that only captures one of those perks is a tug-of-war within your mind. Writing that captures neither of those perks is painful.

Medium is a place where you can achieve true bliss by writing articles that provide enough money to cover your expenses. Many writers on this platform write about what they love but don’t make a full-time income from their work.

If you treat Medium as a part-time side hustle rather than full-time work, that is completely fine. You won’t stress as much about the algorithm or hoping you make a full-time income from the Medium Partner program.

If you write about something because it’s trendy rather than for the love of writing, you won’t make it. Writing becomes unenjoyable at that point, and each assignment feels like writing an essay due the following day. Not fun.

Writing on Medium and elsewhere gives you location independence, so moving to a lower cost of living area is quite feasible. It’s also a great personal finance strategy in general. Location-independent workers get to pull it off more easily.

Viral Articles Do The Heavy Lifting

If you look at any top Medium writer’s earnings, you’ll notice a small number of articles doing the heavy lifting.

An article I wrote months ago still finishes as a Top 3 earner each month. It’s earning more than my new articles.

This article went viral and got 1,000s of daily views in its heyday. The article doesn’t generate nearly as much traction, but passive income is better than no income.

Most articles die out quickly. They get 1–3 days in the spotlight and lose relevance as readers look for new content. It’s rare to write an article that stays relevant on Medium for months, but when you do, you know you hit a home run.

Each time I write an article, I ask myself if it’s got a good chance of earning more than $10 and possibly going viral. It’s the way you have to think to thrive on this site. I write the occasional hobby piece without considering if the algorithm will eat it up, but I write most articles with the intent of them making money.

If I don’ believe a particular topic will do well in the algorithm, I almost always scrap it.

The Silver Lining

Most articles don’t make much money, and you’ll need a few viral pieces before having your first $1,000 month from Medium. If you exclusively rely on the Medium Partner Program, your journey on Medium will be stressful.

You’ll constantly be at the algorithm’s mercy and continuously adapt yourself to a moving target. Medium can change its algorithm anytime, and let’s be honest: no one knows what the Medium algorithm likes. We all take educated guesses and hope for the best.

The great strength of a resource like Medium is that you get to build your brand. At the bottom of my articles, I invite readers to join my newsletter. It’s not part of some ruthless funnel with dozens of emails asking you to buy the $2,000 course.

Like any marketer, I want to make money (imagine that). A newsletter helps with that objective. It’s the one place I can always communicate with my audience without worrying about rule changes.

As for why I don’t write two Medium articles per day anymore: it’s because I’m getting more freelance writing clients. Writing a bunch of Medium pieces builds up your writing portfolio. Some Medium articles will be better than others, but you can lead with your best content first.

Viewing Medium as a portfolio of my work for potential clients inspired me to run Grammarly on more of my articles. Sometimes I forget, but most of the time, I remember to use Grammarly for these articles. They come out a lot better after running them through the software.

Some of my clients require that I use Grammarly for my articles, so I might as well use it for these articles. That was the logic.

If you only see monetizing Medium as the Partner Program, you will get stressed. Your income will be inconsistent and largely depend on if you produce viral articles and how long they stay viral. The less you rely on the partner program, the more enjoyable your writing experience will be.

Use your Medium samples to build up your portfolio and approach freelance clients who will pay you a lot more than $10-$15 per 1,000-word article. Medium gets your foot in the door.

I’ll continue writing Medium articles. It’s an excellent place for writers looking to get started or build their existing business. Writing daily articles has its place, but I’ve phased out of that stage.

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This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.