Summary

The author's fourth article on Medium went viral with over 9,300 views but only earned $0.85 due to not being enrolled in the Medium Partner Program initially, and later due to a VPN-related IP issue that delayed the earnings process.

Abstract

The author's Medium article titled "4 Red Flags of Terrible Developer" unexpectedly went viral, garnering over 9.3k views and 100+ followers within a week. Despite the impressive viewership and a high average reading time of nearly 75 hours, the article only earned the author $0.85. The discrepancy between views and earnings was primarily due to the author not being part of the Medium Partner Program at the time of publishing, as they did not meet the follower requirement. After the article's success, the author attempted to join the program but encountered an issue with their IP address being flagged due to VPN use, which is necessary for their work. After resolving the issue with the help of Medium Support, the author was accepted into the program, but a significant portion of potential earnings from the viral article had already been missed. The author reflects on the experience, acknowledging that while the article did not directly yield substantial income, it provided the opportunity to earn money through the platform in the future.

Opinions

The author believes that Medium is generally generous in compensating authors of quality content.
The author emphasizes that views alone do not equate to reading time or earnings, and that clickbait content without value to readers is a "dead-end" for writers.
The author expresses gratitude towards Medium Support, particularly an individual named Steve, for assisting in resolving the IP issue and facilitating their acceptance into the Medium Partner Program.
Despite the initial lack of earnings, the author considers the viral article's outcome as positive, as it opened the door to future earnings and opportunities on the platform.
The author encourages readers who enjoyed the article to follow them and applaud their work, indicating a belief in the value of community engagement and support.

Why My Viral Story With 9k+ Views Earned $0,85

Future success requires sacrifices

My 4th article here went viral. I did nothing special or on purpose, but still, Medium hyped my piece.

Here is the article itself.

4 Red Flags of Terrible Developer

How to hire a good developer? And not to hire an awful one :(

medium.com

Thanx to this thing I got 100+ followers in a week. It was a success. I was shocked by the numbers. Take into account that my previous articles got 10–20 views, mostly from my friends.

Now it has 9.3k views.
Average reading time of 2 minutes and 52 seconds.
Earned for me $0,85.

Wait, what? $0,85 per 9.3k views? What the heck?!

Medium is pretty generous and usually pays more to the authors of great pieces. What was wrong this time?

Investigation

If you stay long at Medium, your first thought could be about reading time.

You are right — views do not equal reading time.

Clickbait titles and images can generate a lot of views. But for an awful article with grammar and spelling errors, or without any value for the readers, it makes no sense. These views won’t convert into reading time.

Tricking readers is a dead-end for any writer.

But it isn’t the case. The article is well-written based on statistics. Member reading time is almost 75 hours. As for me, that number is enormous.

Also, reading time correlated with views in an obvious way. Same ups and downs as you can see comparing these 2 charts.

So what was the issue? Why did such a successful article make such a tiny amount of money?

Confession

Well… I was the main reason.

I wasn’t part of the Medium Partner Program at the moment of publishing. I couldn’t be. I had only 2 followers, which is not enough to enroll and get accepted.

My viral article was my ticket to the Medium Partner Program. It gave me 100+ followers. My hands weren’t tied anymore.

I applied as soon as it was possible.

But I was canceled…

Due to a stupid IP check while enrolling. You have to have an IP address from the Medium allowed countries list. But I needed to use a VPN for my work. So it was turned ON and killed my first attempt.

Then I started communication with a fantastic Medium Support.

Thank you, Steve! You saved my time and earnings!

On my second attempt, I got accepted. Next, all my stories became eligible for earning me money. My full stats look this way now.

It was yesterday, so actually, $0,85 is income for the whole day. It is not a lot. I missed the picks, and most revenue from this article is lost for me.

But it was worth it. That article didn’t give me money. It gave me something more important — the opportunity to earn them.

I like this deal!

I’m pretty sure that some of my following articles gonna go viral, too.

P.S. If you liked this thing, follow me and clap a couple of times. Good luck!