What Happened When I Published the Same Story on Both Medium and News Break
One Story, Two Platforms. And The Winner Is…
I’d been happily writing on Medium for 19 months when I was invited to start writing for News Break. As on Medium, I could post (and get paid for) both previously published and original content. Both platforms would (or would fail to) drive traffic to my work on the basis of mysterious, incomprehensible algorithms, and would deposit money into my bank account each month.
Having nothing whatsoever to lose, I signed on, and was soon recycling stories that that had previously run on Medium onto News Break. The results? Since they keep changing their payment terms and I’m not allowed to disclose them anyway, I can only say that publishing on News Break has paid a lot more than publishing on Medium. And will probably continue to do so until News Breaks changes their payment rules again. (Or Medium changes theirs.)
I recently departed from my usual practice of recycling Medium content onto Newsbreak and began simultaneously publishing new work on both platforms.
On March 12, I posted this story (illustrated with the same photo) on both Medium and Newsbreak. (The Medium version was published in P.S.I Love You and curated.)
I was curious to see what difference there would be in terms of readership, earnings and comments.
Six days later? The News Break version has been read by 75 people, has received one comment, and has earned $25. The Medium version has been read by 91 people, has earned $5 and has received 25 comments, all of them friendly, and interesting, and insightful, and sometimes funny — and most of them from Medium writers who I follow and whose work I enjoy reading.
The difference between the two platforms? The value of Medium is that I’m part of a community of writers who read and comment on my work, and whose work I can read in turn. That sense of community is important to me.
I also make some money here.
There is no community on News Break, and most of your comments, if you get them at all, will be from readers, not fellow writers. And, unlike on Medium, there’s a vicious and vigorous gang of trolls who are eager to rip your work apart and insult you personally.
But, with a few exceptions, the stories I post on News Break consistently make more money.
So if you’re in it to reach engaged readers, Medium is the right place for you. And if you’re in it for the money, check out News Break. But you don’t have to choose between the two. Like me, you can post everything on both platforms and enjoy the best of both worlds.
Until the algorithm changes again.
Writing Coach Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s ros with an “S,” not a “Z.”)
