This Is A Breakdown Of My First $1000 Story

An unplanned and unexpected win

Upon joining the Medium Partner Program, my goal was to get to earn at least $50 per month. After all, I get to write about what I want and I don’t have a boss to tell me which keywords to use.

Earning money out of writing is definitely a privilege for someone like me. I have no degree in communications or journalism. I just enjoy reading and writing.

You can imagine my surprise when, only after 2 months, this article on dating started gaining traction.

Suddenly, my views and reads increased significantly. My earnings for that month — January — did as well.

I want to replicate this so I looked back at how this article was structured. These are the possible reasons why thousands of people read this article and the lessons I learned.

The points were separated with spaces in between.

As a reader, I like consuming content that’s easily digestible. Looking at a chunky paragraph with long sentences turns me off.

Lesson: Time is precious. Make it easy.

The article talks to the reader and was not about me.

Although this article was written out of my experience in dating, you will notice that it was written as a guide — something useful for whoever decides to read it.

Lesson: The purpose of writing is to give.

While this was written as a guide, I was telling my story.

The person that I was describing is real that’s why it was so easy to write.

Lesson: Share a story that’s yours.

This was written without any intention of going ‘viral’ or ‘popular’.

I remember looking at the handwritten draft of this article. There’s nothing special about it! My goal in writing this was to describe my boyfriend who is now my fiancé — that’s it.

Lesson: Write from the heart.

The featured image is from Unsplash.

It’s my go-to website for all of my Medium articles.

Lesson: Choose a relevant featured image.

There are links to a book, a relevant article, and an external source.

Aside from explaining points further, links to other sources help to establish credibility and give credit to those who deserve it.

Lesson: Give fully. Give credit to other artists and share their work with your readers.

I never saw writing as a job. I feel lucky to have found Medium at the time when I was moving from one job to the next.

Writing in Medium became my way of expressing myself to the world. Earning in Medium is the fuel that makes me want to write more.

Here’s an encouraging quote from Gary Vee:

True success — financial, personal, and professional — lies above all in loving your family, working hard, and living your passion. In telling your story.

Now is the time to tell that story.

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Odyssa writes, practices Ashtanga yoga, and works remotely. Subscribe to her monthly letters here.