What My 1 Cent Medium Payout Taught Me

The Epiphany That My Low Earnings Inspired

1 cent. 1 measly cent.

That’s all I earned from Medium during the month of October 2023.

To be fair, it makes total sense that I earned only 1 cent from Medium because I only published 2 articles last month, both of them on October 18th. Even though I published only 2 articles in October, earning one cent from my work still doesn’t feel great.

It feels disappointing actually. Because I worked hard on those articles.

And to make matters worse, the articles collectively only racked up a total of 7 views and 3 reads. 7 views, 3 reads, and 1 cent.

This is the struggle of trying to earn money from Medium.

This is why even though I joined the partner program in 2021, it has taken me a full 2 years start publishing articles here, to start taking this Medium seriously as an avenue to earn income from.

I’ve struggled to find the inspiration to get going with this. Because it’s hard to find the motivation to write articles for Medium when you know that you aren’t going to see the results that you’re looking for, at least initially.

Putting in time, effort, energy, and work and then not seeing results? Unless you are truly passionate about something, that can be a serious motivation killer.

The majority of us have other careers, dreams, and goals that we’re pursuing. We’ve got other commitments personally and professionally that we need to spend our time on.

Writing articles for Medium every week, or everyday, requires a lot of time that we could be spending elsewhere. So when we as writers spend our time, effort, and energy here — expecting to get some views, reads, and earnings — only to wind up getting barely any views or money, it’s very demoralizing.

It is motivation-crushing.

This struggle for Medium writers to find motivation to do the writing and publish our work, despite the lack of attention and results, is most likely the reason why only 6% of Medium writers make more than $100 per month.

94% of writers on here are earning less than $100 per month. And most of us are earning much less than $100.

It isn’t because the 94% don’t have the talent to succeed. From what I’ve seen, the majority of Medium writers simply are not putting out enough articles consistently to earn income from this.

This lack of motivation is killing our chances.

Becoming a part of that top 6% of Medium earners requires a ton of work ethic, productivity, and articles published. Finding the time and motivation to write and publish 10–30 or more articles per month with the promise of maybe earning $100, is not easy at all.

Myself, I have written 11 screenplays in the past 3 years, which is super time-consuming. Screenwriting is my thing. I enjoy it, I’m good at it, and I’m making progress with it. So if I’m going to spend time away from my day job, away from screenwriting, and away from other time-commitments, I want to see results.

I want to earn money from this! And I at the very least, I would love to have more than 3 people reading my work.

But recently, when I saw that 1 cent payout hit my account, I had an epiphany. I’ve realized that in order to become a top writer, I must change my mentality about Medium. I must adopt the winning mentality.

In order to become a top Medium writer, I must attack this work with the same winning mentality as YouTubers, music artists, film-makers, authors, actors, screenwriters, or other artists who are having success in the entertainment industry.

As aspiring entertainers, we cannot be too attached to the results of each individual project that we put out. Becoming offended by lack of results can be the kiss of death in industries, like the writing world, where there is no guaranteed success.

We must put the work in. Write the articles. And give our best effort with attention-grabbing posts and captivating writing. But we can’t be too attached to the results of each individual article. You have to:

Enjoy the Work. Don’t Become Too Attached to the Results.

The disappointment from my 1 cent payout, from low views, and low earnings stems from being attached to the outcome of each article. Disappointment happens when reality falls short of expectations.

So it’s important for us to give it our best effort with each article. But after we hit that publish button, just move on to the next article.

Don’t get offended, hurt, or too demoralized when your writing doesn’t receive the views, reads, and earnings you feel that you deserve.

Fall in love with the process, not the earnings.

Once you fall in love with the process, you will find the motivation you need to take your Medium writing career to the next level.

Learn From Mistakes & Make Improvements as You Move Forward

My second takeaway from my 1 cent October Medium payout is that I should learn from my mistakes, identify areas that need improvement, and make necessary adjustments to my writing.

In particular, I do think that my choice of topics and of titles in the past could have been better. Moving forward, I will be making sure to focus on topics and titles that are more relevant, timely, popular, and attention-grabbing for better results.

When you have sub-par earnings, it’s important to avoid beating yourself up too much. But at the same time, seek to improve your work for better results. Ask yourself this question:

What could I have done better to attain more views, reads, and earnings?

A mentality of constant self-improvement is best for long-term growth and success on your journey to becoming a top writer.

Be Grateful for the Small Wins

With so many popular writers getting hundreds and thousands of views, claps, reads, and dollars on here, it becomes hard for the up-and-comers to feel gratitude for the wins that we do have. We focus too much on the gap between where we are and where we want to be as opposed to appreciating how far we’ve come since we started.

Even though I started this article off by complaining, I am actually very grateful for the results that I already have on Medium.

Before I ever joined the Medium Partner Program, before I ever took this seriously as an avenue for income, I had over 100 followers. And even though I’ve only published 5 articles in the past month, I’ve gained more than 40 followers!

That is progress. That is incredible and encouraging! Medium is a very positive community full of writers and readers who are willing to show their support with claps and follows. And I am very grateful to have 180 followers and counting as we speak.

I’m grateful for the 7 views and 3 reads that I did get on my October articles. And yes, I am grateful to have earned 1 cent from my Medium articles so far! 🤑 Woohoo!

The Winning Mentality

The winning mentality is a combination of passion, work ethic, constant self-improvement, and gratitude. It is the mindset that we Medium writers must adopt to stay motivated and to get the views, reads, and earnings that we’re seeking.

When you enjoy this work, fall in love with the process, work hard on pumping out your articles every week, spot out weaknesses in your writing, make adjustments to improve, and show gratitude for the small wins, you will be on your way to big success on Medium and big wins in life.

My name is Mbugua “Bo” Muchoki. I am a Kenyan-American screenwriter, music artist, aspiring author, and creative. Follow me for more articles about my Medium journey, screenwriting, creativity, sobriety, self-improvement, music, movies, shows, & life.