It’s crowded at the top, but

Only less than 8% of the active writers on Medium seem to make more than $100 a month, what are your chances?

Hello there, how are you doing? Are you on Medium hoping to make some money writing? Maybe you should read on then.

If you are here to just read the great stuff, fantastic! While this post may not help you a lot, it is still a good read. You are here to read anyway, so carry on.

Welcome to the real world! You already know that this is a brutal world if you’ve spent some time in Medium’s realm.

Let’s get serious if you’re here for the money. Less than 8% of active writers on Medium earn more than $100 per month.

I’m glad if you are having fun earning less than that, but I would like more. I would like my time to have more value than the $32 that I made last month.

I’m here on business. I chose writing because I’m passionate about it. That is what makes it worth it for me, even if it doesn’t pay me so well. I should be spending my time learning more about stocks or cryptocurrencies, but here I am writing.

(Note to self: Please spend time learning about those stocks and crypto that you have been ogling, people say it’s an excellent way to build wealth).

Then comes the next problem. I’m in an ecosystem of competition. Anyone who has ever written a single post on Medium is my competition (sorry, you too).

Besides affiliate marketing, there are only 2 other main ways you can make money on Medium

1- Get more read time from paying members and pray that they didn’t come through referral.

2- Get people to sign up using your link and pray the quality of content in Medium is good enough for them to keep paying. You make about 50% of their membership fee each month.

There are probably a few other ways (buy a coffee, etc.), but I haven’t heard/seen enough to see if they make any difference. I have also heard about random bonus payments from Medium, but nobody can predict if/when, so let’s leave that out.

I’m a big friend of yours in this world, and I’m also your biggest competition. Every minute you spend reading this, I’m getting paid (peanuts, but…) That is if you didn’t become a member using someone else’s link.

OK, that is how you can make money!

And how did the top 8% (making more than $100/month) get there?

That is a big question. Big questions usually have simple answers. In my view, they are very simple. Constant high-quality writing is a given, but in addition

1- Many of the Top 8% are lucky; they were here earlier. They have a bigger audience. The algorithm favours the successful. There is nothing I can do about it. If you don’t believe me, look at some of the successful names and see their first article (if you can get to it). Most of them were here years ago!

2- Most of the Top 8% provide better value, their luck (& existing big audience) helps them continuously. Of course, the more you write the better you get. They wrote a lot, and they have become masters of their trade!

Only few breakthrough to the top 8% even if they joined later. This is for you and me.

So, how do you and I do better than the 92% and breakthrough even though we were not in the early starter group? Is there hope? Yes. Very much!

You might want to watch Jim explain the income potential from blogging before you! There are good rewards if you do make it to the top!

What will set us apart? How do we move from the bottom to the top?

Why will people read you and me? That’s for part 2.

Edit: I have now made it to the top 8%! I have made more than $100 two consecutive months. I will write a more detailed post on how that happened And more importantly, how you can do it too!

A lot of it was down to old fashioned hard work. But it also involved in understanding how Medium works. The article I wrote below helped me refine my approach! Most often than not, I learn from writing!

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Ever fancy becoming a writer? Get rid of all that useless crap from social media, get access to the work of thousands of amazing writers, become an author, and possibly make some money. It costs only $5 a month. Why not give it a go! Use this Link!

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