avatarAlvin T.

Summary

The author argues that Medium remains a valuable platform for writers due to its algorithm that supports new voices, low barriers to entry, built-in audience, and networking opportunities, despite claims of its decline.

Abstract

The article "Why I Still Write on Medium and You Probably Should Too" refutes the common narrative that Medium is no longer a viable platform for writers. The author, who has been both a reader and writer on Medium for less than two years, believes that the platform's algorithm, while opaque, provides new writers with visibility that might otherwise be overshadowed by more established creators. Medium's ease of monetization directly through writing is highlighted as a significant advantage over other platforms, where monetization often requires additional services or products. The platform's existing reader base and the option for writers to bring their own audience through Referred Memberships are seen as key benefits. Furthermore, the author emphasizes Medium's community aspect, where writers can network, practice their craft, and potentially get discovered for paid opportunities. The article concludes that despite the challenges and criticisms, Medium continues to be a thriving environment for writers to publish and monetize their work.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the narrative of Medium's decline is overstated and that the platform still offers significant opportunities for writers.
  • The algorithm's role in giving new writers a chance is defended, with the understanding that some form of view throttling is necessary to maintain a fair playing field as the network grows.
  • Medium is praised for being one of the quickest ways for writers to get paid directly for their work without needing to sell additional products or services.
  • The author acknowledges the inherent inequality in the creator economy but points out that Medium's low barrier to entry and monetization potential through the Medium Partnership Program make it accessible for new writers.
  • The presence of an engaged reader base on Medium is seen as a major advantage, providing writers with a built-in audience and the potential to attract their own readers through Referred Memberships.
  • Networking, practicing in public, and the possibility of getting discovered for commissions are highlighted as additional benefits of using Medium.
  • The author suggests that Medium's paywall contributes to a less toxic environment compared to other social platforms, making it a safer space for writers to develop their craft and handle criticism.
  • Despite the ever-changing nature of

Why I Still Write on Medium and You Probably Should Too

The reports of Medium’s death are greatly exaggerated

Is it still worth it writing on Medium? Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

One of the most common genres one commonly comes across on the Medium platform is what I refer to as the “Medium is dead” essay.

Whatever the intents and motivations of the author, almost all of these stories follow a predictable 4-part narrative structure:

  • The writer declares that they have been here a long time.
  • The writer proceeds to declare that “the good ol’ days were glorious!”
  • But, those days are gone and the Medium algorithm is dead.
  • There are better platforms, follow me there.

The biggest question that everyone who writes on Medium.com encounters at some point:

Is it worth writing on Medium? Should you still bother with Medium?

I have been only on this platform for slightly over a year as a reader, and under a year as a writer, so take my words for what they are worth — my two pennies’ worth.

In my experience, the reports of Medium’s death are greatly exaggerated.

1. The algorithm is opaque — but it gives new writers a chance

Many are quick to blame the algorithm.

“Views are down.”

“Curation doesn’t matter.”

There are also accusations that Medium is throttling views and reducing virality compared to the glorious days of yore. To put this in perspective, this is the problem every social network needs to deal with.

Imagine: If there are only 1000 users on a social network, the probability of you being seen if every user has an equal chance of being seen is 0.1%.

Not bad. But consider that when the network grows another hundred-fold to 100,000 users, the probability of being seen greatly diminishes to 0.001%.

In the real world, things get more complicated. Writers are not all the same. The most prolific creators might write 30 stories a month and you might only have 6. And that’s not even accounting for quality or the writer’s skill in crafting headlines and finding topics that readers want to read.

We know that the creator economy is highly unequal.

Now, given all of this, if Medium did not throttle views (or at least, do something to that extent), new writers to the platform would never have a voice.

I’ve been there too.

I’ve had months where nothing I wrote seemed to stick. And then, out of nowhere, something I write becomes far more popular than I expect. Sub-hundred views, 300 views. On occasion, some stories have exceeded a thousand views, and even more.

So, perhaps virality is dead.

Perhaps the algorithm is a mystery.

And yet it seems to be doing just fine serving some of my stories versus others (surprise, my poetry and fiction don’t do well!) … I guess it must be because readers want to read certain kinds of stories versus others, and Medium has to cater to the reader.

2. There are almost no barriers to entry — it’s still the quickest way to get monetized directly as a writer

I still remember the day I saw $0.04 in my account. I was being paid something for stringing a bunch of words together. For telling a story, even if that story was a personal one.

For all the complaints that have been levied against Medium, I still think that it is the quickest and simplest way to get monetized as a writer.

Writers just want to get paid for writing. Not for selling a product. Or an over-priced course. Or whatever. Your words are the product.

Yes, you might go viral on LinkedIn — that platform is built to make posts go viral — but the path towards monetization is less straightforward on LinkedIn. You might need to get consulting gigs. Freelancing gigs. Ghostwriting gigs. And so on.

Let’s be honest with ourselves.

The truth is that most people have some kind of resistance to paying to read. It took years to convince people to pay for music and video streaming, and people have largely accepted that — but writing, especially “online writing?”

For most people, words are cheap. Music? Some people are willing to pay for it. Video— ok, most people believe that’s worth paying for.

For written media, things still don’t look so rosy.

I regularly share my articles on Facebook using my friend link. So, there is no real reason why anyone in my immediate circle needs to sign up for a paid account to read my work. Or the work of others.

Because I get it. I truly do. Most people expect to read for free. And many of the writers on Medium — including myself — are not even full-time “professional” writers, for better or worse. The quality of the articles on this platform can be hit-or-miss.

But this is also one of the few places that will literally pay anyone to write.

There are no gatekeepers.

And it only takes 100 followers to apply for the Medium Partnership Program to get paid. How much easier can it get? Sure, the money isn’t much when you’re just starting out, but to someone who is just starting up, the difference between nothing and something is like the difference between heaven and hell.

One caveat, of course. Medium pays writers through Stripe. And many countries are not on the list — I assume due to institutional reasons. That indeed does seem to be a setback, and I wonder if Medium (and or Stripe) are working on this.

3. You get a built-in audience, or you can bring your own via Referred Memberships.

The most beautiful thing about Medium is that there is already an engaged reader base here. The readers willing to fork out $5 a month to read all kinds of stories that are likely not found elsewhere are already here.

Stories about success, failure, and life. Opinions on current affairs of the day. And stories that take us to different times and places and are often found nowhere else — because they are told from a personal rather than professional or journalistic voice.

And that is why the “professional writers” sometimes feel so disgruntled about it. Anyone with a modicum of writing ability (and perhaps even those without) can set up shop here and write. With a beautiful, minimalistic UI — no less. In less than twenty minutes, anyone can be on their way to publishing their writing on the Internet.

I like to think of it as setting up a store within a department store. You don’t need to bring your own traffic. The other brands and the department store itself are helping to draw the traffic for you.

(Now I’m beginning to sound like a Medium shill.)

All you need to do is to make sure you stand out when the crowd is here.

You don’t need to worry about finding your audience. You only need to hook them.

But — if you’re already an established writer — of any kind, with an existing audience, even better for you. You can bring your own audience through Referred Memberships. You just need to give your readers a reason to read your work.

But that is the same whether you are writing on Medium or elsewhere.

Now, is this going to last? I don’t know. As with everything on Medium and in life, the only constant is change.

4. It’s a great place to network, practice in public, and perhaps even get discovered for commissions

Ultimately, Medium is not just a platform, but a community. It took me a while to figure that out.

You’re not just writing and sending your text out into the infinite ether, but discovering the works of others, and engaging with them.

You might even discover a few writers you admire. You might try to emulate their style. There’s something you can learn from the best. Others will do the same with your work.

Plus, you get very quick feedback from your stats and comments.

Publish. Feedback. Review. Move on. Write again.

That’s why when you write on Medium, your reiteration cycle is quick. Just like a startup. And startups learn fast.

One of the biggest lessons you’ll learn from putting yourself out there is that people will disagree with you. Some of my Medium stories have been called clickbait many times on Facebook — and by my friends — no less. It hurts, but every writer should get used to being called some nasty and hurtful things at some point.

In my experience, Medium is a lot less toxic than platforms like Facebook or Twitter. That makes it a relatively safe place to practice writing online. A less toxic environment doesn’t mean that Medium is troll-free, but Medium’s paywall does help to manage them.

Finally, if you’re lucky, you might even get scouted for work. That’s certainly a happy story that I have come across multiple times in my time here on Medium. Perhaps an editor will chance upon your work— as it happened with my Medium friend Yuko Tamura — and you might get offered a writing gig.

The possibilities are endless.

So, if you think of Medium as a place where you get paid to practice writing while building up a formidable library of content, Medium is still one of the best places to write.

I’ll still be writing on Medium for the foreseeable future.

Because Medium is not dead.

Far from it.

The author is an editor of Japonica, a Japan-focused publication, but also writes on a wide variety of topics. His key topics of interest are society, culture, modern work, creator economy, and cryptocurrency, with the occasional fictional story, creative piece, or personal essay. Discover his most-read stories here.

Writing
Medium
Social Media
Stories
Creator Economy
Recommended from ReadMedium