What I’ve Learned (and Earned) in 3 Months on Medium

This is not a story of instant success

Happy 3-Month-Medium-Anniversary to Me!!!*

I’ve been avoiding writing anything Medium related since I joined under the paid program on April 27, 2020. Today, on my 3-month paywall Anniversary, I want to share some of my ups and downs on the platform and hope that I can help some new people to acclimate.

First things first

It seems everyone wants to know about the money. So, I’ll give you a breakdown. First, let me remind you that if you’re brand new to Medium you must publish your stories through Medium’s paywall to get paid. I learned this the hard way.

Earnings so far

In May, I made a $16.51-$5.00 Medium subscription-taxes….so, about $6.00 net pay. I posted 40 stories — these included poetry, a monologue, and creative nonfiction.

In June, I made 19.63–$5.00 Medium subscription-taxes….so, about $8.15 net pay. I posted 31 stories — these included humor, fiction, poetry, how-to, creative nonfiction, and essays.

In July, I’ve made $46.69 so far. I’ve posted 38 stories — these included personal essays, poetry, fiction, and opinion pieces. I hope to make the $50-or-more mark by the end of the month.

Highest Earning Story to Date Most Clapped Article to Date

Total Articles to Date: 109

Curated Articles to Date: 23

Set realistic goals

My goal is to increase my earnings each month. That’s it. Would I like to be the Medium writer raking in $1000s? Of course! But, I’m not banking on it. And, neither should you.

Good thing I’m not in it for the money! Medium is a great place to grow your writing wings, connect with other writers, grow your following, and strengthen your writing portfolio. It is worth investing in your time in this way!

I came to this platform checking it out in March 2020 for my mom, INFJ Elder, who wanted to start a blog and was having difficulty navigating WordPress. I joined as a non-paying member in March 2020 and on April 27 I chose to become a paying member.

The Medium platform is appealing to me as a writer. I’m not a designer. And, Medium is a good-looking platform. With a bit of googling and asking around, you can figure out whatever you need to know.

Things I wish I’d known from the beginning

Always, always, always caption all images, including videos — anything that is an image — make sure you caption it or you will be taken out of contention for curation. Make sure that you use five tags and use them in relevant topics. Self-publishing is a sure way to be buried under everything else in the beginning.

Publish with publications when you are starting out, especially. It’s worth the time to find the publications that match your style of writing and the genre/s in which you write. Casey Botticello created this helpful style guide for writers.

Title Case and Headline Analyzer tools are free and will come in handy when you’re putting the final touches on your stories before hitting the submit-to-publisher button.

I discovered the Grammarly plugin (thanks again, Mom!). I highly recommend the free version. I have 2 degrees in English and still find this highly useful. It’s less useful for poetry and I don’t pay much attention to its tone-ratings, but I do heed its grammar advice. On everything but poetry, I aim for a Grammarly score of 90 or above.

Along the way, I discovered Zulie Rane videos on YouTube. Thanks for the tip, Mom! These videos are helpful. Zulie Rane is a very successful contributor to the Medium platform and gives us the straight scoop on how things work around here.

Publications

It’s also a good idea to start your own publication. I avoided doing this at first. At the beginning of July, I decided to jump in and I’m glad that I did. I wish I’d taken Zulie’s advice and done this from the beginning. You can find/follow/contribute to my publication, Age of Empathy, here:

Medium Magic

I came to Medium to check it out for my mom but discovered that it is a great platform for gaining exposure and connecting with other writers and readers. As of July 27, 2020, I have a following of 672 which I am happy with. I participate in Facebook groups such as Medium Writers, Medium Magic, and Medium Mastery. There are many more groups you can access on Facebook for shared support. I also often post to Twitter. Promoting your writing is part of the formula to success on Medium.

This month, I am set to make more than I did the previous two months but it doesn’t look like I’ll make the Hundred Dollars Club (top 5–7% of Medium Writers, historically) that I have been hoping to make since I started writing under the Paid Program. I have not been super successful with curation. I’ve noticed that when I publish under large publications my articles get almost immediately curated. When I publish under smaller publications, my work often doesn’t get curated. This brings me to wonder how much Curation speaks to the quality of work that is being put out.

Many writers on the platform will tell you Curation is important. I think that’s true. But, there are always exceptions to rules. My most clapped article is not curated.

Know why you’re here

Don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Follow good writers who write content that you’re interested in. Read their stuff. Don’t waste time reading stuff that you’re not interested in. Take the time when you can to read others’ work — clap, highlight, and engage in the comments.

If a publication messages you after you’ve submitted a piece of work and gives you suggestions for edits, say thank you and work on revising your story.

If a publication says your piece isn’t a good fit, shake it off and submit somewhere else. Don’t take the rejection personally. Sometimes, your topic really isn’t a good fit.

Do not let your ego get in the way it is lucky to have editors assisting and making our work even better — for free. I can’t emphasize this enough.

There are a lot of people on Medium who do not speak English as their first language. I enjoy their content and I cut them grammatical Slack and I hope you do too.

What’s Next?

I have committed to being on the Medium platform for a year minimum. I believe that this is the minimum amount of time to see what your stories can achieve on the platform.

If you feel like your Medium side-gig is off to a slow start, please know you’re not the only one! It takes time, effort, and luck to rake in the big bucks on the platform. And, for many, money is not the top reason for being here.

As many other successful writers on the platform point out, you are earning a passive income no matter what — and, what’s not to like about that?!

My advice to you (and myself) is to work through those days, weeks, and months when we are frustrated. Here’s the formula to continue working as you explore how to make this platform work for you: Read writers whose work inspires you; promote your work outside of the platform; and focus on putting out quality stories. Your following will increase as you follow this formula.

*Want more? Here’s my 6-month anniversary update: