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if you’re not interested in messing around with technical stuff for 10–30 hours, stick with Medium.<h1 id="3ca8">There’s already an audience on Medium</h1>When you create a new website, no one knows about it. And the chances of them finding it by accident are slim. Think of a blind squirrel finding a nut. It happens, but not every day.Medium already has millions of monthly visitors.That doesn’t mean those people are automatically going to find you, but it is easier.Starting out on Medium is like opening a new shop in the middle of a busy shopping center. People haven’t been to your store yet, but they‘re going to places around you and you can easily catch their attention as they walk by.Starting out on WordPress is like opening your store in the middle of the wilderness. No one knows about it. There’s nothing nearby. There are no roads taking people there. You’ll need to do a lot more work to build awareness get people traveling to your new site.It’s also easier to get people to follow you on Medium. You can start building an email list on your own website, but most people aren’t going to follow you or hear about when you’ve posted another blog.<h1 id="d41e">There’s a bigger audience on Google</h1>Even though the audience is easier to connect with on Medium, it’s a bit smaller. There are billions of people searching for content on Google, compared to a few million visiting Medium.You’re also limited to what you can write about on Medium. I’ve seen people writing about a wider range of topics, but the people reading stuff on Medium have their preferences. That’s okay, unless you want to write content outside of the typical preferences on Medium — money, investing, technology, money, marketing.If you love cats, I wouldn’t suggest building a blog about cats on Medium. You can connect with a much larger audience with your own WordPress site.You can use SEO to rank your Medium articles in Google search results, but it doesn’t have a good ROI. You only get paid when paying Medium members read your article, and most (99.99%) people coming from Google aren’t Medium members.This article has been holding a few top spots in Google for 6+ months. People are also staying a while to read it, but it’s earned less than $5. If this article was on my WordPress website, it would’ve earned significantly more from ad revenue or an affiliate link.<figure id="fc83"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Z3hZhpLvqJgcm7okazdbaw.png"><figcaption>Screenshot from author</figcaption></figure><h1 id="648a">Making money</h1>If you want to make money fast, I wouldn’t suggest writing on Medium or a WordPress blog. Instead, go to Upwork and start freelance writing. That is by far the fastest way to make money as a writer.You need to understand that writing on any platform will require some upfront investment. You’ll need to spend some hours researching, writing, and engaging with people.You’re probably not going to make money on Medium for your first 2-3 months.Maybe longer.I wrote 80+ blog posts on Medium and made less than$ 10. If you sign up for Medium expecting to get rich quick, you’ll leave disappointed. You also need to remain consistent if you want the money to keep coming in. I took my foo

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t off the gas pedal and saw my income get cut in half last month.With that said, I think it’s significantly easier to make $500-1,000 a month writing on Medium compared to a WordPress blog. It took 3 months of serious writing on Medium to earn$ 1,000+ and I think that’s possible for the majority of people.Most people won’t put in the work required, but it is possible.On my own blogs, I can monetize every visitor. I can run ads, promote affiliate products, or sell my own products. That means it’s easier to make more money from every person who reads your content. On Medium, you can only get paid when people read your content. But, it’s a bigger challenge to get those people to your own site.So far, I’ve made more money on Medium than I have with my own websites. The websites I’m building are a longer-term investment, and I know that they’ll surpass my Medium earnings at some point in the future.I also believe that websites will be making money for a long time after Medium goes away.If you understand SEO and how to get traffic to your website, the earning ceiling is much higher. It’s probably going to take longer to get to the $500-1,000 per month, but once you have that momentum, it’s easier to maintain it and grow. The posts on your own site have a longer shelf life compared to Medium.If you get a post ranking well in Google, it can stay there for years. On Medium, most of your articles will earn money for a few weeks.Like I said, writing isn’t the best way to make quick cash.Medium is better if you want smaller amounts of money easier and faster. Building your own website is a long-term strategy with much higher earning potential.<h1 id="fbd5">Your WordPress blog is a business. Writing on Medium isn’t.</h1>I’d say the biggest advantage to creating your own website is that it’s a business. You have full control of it.On Medium, you’re essentially working for Medium.Medium pays you based on your individual performance, but you’re their employee. That means you’re subject to any changes they make. They can fire you at any time. And you’re not building any value.With your own website, you have full responsibility, but you also have full control. Instead of being influenced by the changes made by owners, you can make any changes. You can decide to rebrand your website, or change how you’re making money. You can hire employees to work for you. And you can sell your business.A money-making website will sell for 30-35x its monthly profits.You can’t do that on Medium.If I could, my Medium profile could sell for$ 35,000–50,000. But that’s not possible. If my websites start making $500 a month, I have an asset that’s worth$ 17,500+. It takes longer to get to that point, but you can walk away with a significant payout.<h1 id="5b2e">You can do both</h1>If you have the time, you can do both. I do both and enjoy it. If you have a limited amount of time, I’d pick one and go all-in on it.If you have enough time, you can take advantage of the benefits of both opportunities.I’d say that if you want to be successful, you’ll need to post at least 15 times per month in the same place. Whether that’s on Medium or your own website is up to you.</article></body>

Writing on Medium vs WordPress - I Do Both

Here’s what you need to know for 2022

When I started my first blog back in 2017, I wish someone had told me about Medium. I did research and found blogging platforms like Blogger or Blogspot, but I don’t remember Medium being in the mix.

I started a WordPress site because that’s what all of the “how to start a blog” articles told me to do. Unfortunately, I ended up using wordpress.com instead of wordpress.org, but that’s another story.

Eventually, I learned the ropes of blogging on my own websites. Then, in 2020, I finally discovered Medium. I tried writing a few posts, but didn’t take it seriously until late 2021.

Today, I split my blogging time fairly evenly between Medium and a handful of WordPress blogs. Some months it’s a 40/60 split one way, but I put time and effort into both.

Even though these two both involve writing, they’re much different. And if I’d known about Medium back in 2017, it would’ve surely changed how I grew my writing business.

If you’re trying to figure out whether you should be writing on Medium or working on your own website, keep reading. There isn’t a right or wrong answer for everyone, but there are big pros and cons to both.

Here’s the TL/DR

Write on Medium if…

You’re brand new to blogging
You don’t know what SEO means
You want to skip a longer learning curve
You want a simple path to grow and monetize your writing

Create a WordPress blog if…

You know basic SEO principles
You want to grow more, at a slower pace
You want the option to sell your business
You want to write in a niche that’s not popular on Medium

Writing on Medium is simpler

Medium takes care of 99% of the technical stuff. You need to learn about properly formatting an article: designing your profile, adding headlines, linking to some of your relevant articles, adding photos, etc. But all of that is simple.

If I could travel back to 2017/2018, I would’ve absolutely started on Medium rather than creating my own blog. I would’ve made a lot more money and avoided a lot of frustration.

On WordPress, the learning curve is a few levels higher. That doesn’t mean it’s rocket science. You can watch a few YouTube videos and learn how to build a WordPress blog in a couple of hours.

When I created my first blog, it looked awful.

But, everything I was doing back then was awful. My writing, website design, SEO, and marketing were all bad.

Eventually, I followed a friendly guy on YouTube and learned how to build a better website. It was a 2 or 3-hour video and he showed me how to do everything step-by-step. Now I can do it all on my own, and it’s turned out to be a valuable skill.

So, if you’re not interested in messing around with technical stuff for 10–30 hours, stick with Medium.

There’s already an audience on Medium

When you create a new website, no one knows about it. And the chances of them finding it by accident are slim. Think of a blind squirrel finding a nut. It happens, but not every day.

Medium already has millions of monthly visitors.

That doesn’t mean those people are automatically going to find you, but it is easier.

Starting out on Medium is like opening a new shop in the middle of a busy shopping center. People haven’t been to your store yet, but they‘re going to places around you and you can easily catch their attention as they walk by.

Starting out on WordPress is like opening your store in the middle of the wilderness. No one knows about it. There’s nothing nearby. There are no roads taking people there. You’ll need to do a lot more work to build awareness get people traveling to your new site.

It’s also easier to get people to follow you on Medium. You can start building an email list on your own website, but most people aren’t going to follow you or hear about when you’ve posted another blog.

There’s a bigger audience on Google

Even though the audience is easier to connect with on Medium, it’s a bit smaller. There are billions of people searching for content on Google, compared to a few million visiting Medium.

You’re also limited to what you can write about on Medium. I’ve seen people writing about a wider range of topics, but the people reading stuff on Medium have their preferences. That’s okay, unless you want to write content outside of the typical preferences on Medium — money, investing, technology, money, marketing.

If you love cats, I wouldn’t suggest building a blog about cats on Medium. You can connect with a much larger audience with your own WordPress site.

You can use SEO to rank your Medium articles in Google search results, but it doesn’t have a good ROI. You only get paid when paying Medium members read your article, and most (99.99%) people coming from Google aren’t Medium members.

This article has been holding a few top spots in Google for 6+ months. People are also staying a while to read it, but it’s earned less than $5. If this article was on my WordPress website, it would’ve earned significantly more from ad revenue or an affiliate link.

Making money

If you want to make money fast, I wouldn’t suggest writing on Medium or a WordPress blog. Instead, go to Upwork and start freelance writing. That is by far the fastest way to make money as a writer.

You need to understand that writing on any platform will require some upfront investment. You’ll need to spend some hours researching, writing, and engaging with people.

You’re probably not going to make money on Medium for your first 2–3 months.

Maybe longer.

I wrote 80+ blog posts on Medium and made less than $10. If you sign up for Medium expecting to get rich quick, you’ll leave disappointed. You also need to remain consistent if you want the money to keep coming in. I took my foot off the gas pedal and saw my income get cut in half last month.

With that said, I think it’s significantly easier to make $500–1,000 a month writing on Medium compared to a WordPress blog. It took 3 months of serious writing on Medium to earn $1,000+ and I think that’s possible for the majority of people.

Most people won’t put in the work required, but it is possible.

On my own blogs, I can monetize every visitor. I can run ads, promote affiliate products, or sell my own products. That means it’s easier to make more money from every person who reads your content. On Medium, you can only get paid when people read your content. But, it’s a bigger challenge to get those people to your own site.

So far, I’ve made more money on Medium than I have with my own websites. The websites I’m building are a longer-term investment, and I know that they’ll surpass my Medium earnings at some point in the future.

I also believe that websites will be making money for a long time after Medium goes away.

If you understand SEO and how to get traffic to your website, the earning ceiling is much higher. It’s probably going to take longer to get to the $500–1,000 per month, but once you have that momentum, it’s easier to maintain it and grow. The posts on your own site have a longer shelf life compared to Medium.

If you get a post ranking well in Google, it can stay there for years. On Medium, most of your articles will earn money for a few weeks.

Like I said, writing isn’t the best way to make quick cash.

Medium is better if you want smaller amounts of money easier and faster. Building your own website is a long-term strategy with much higher earning potential.

Your WordPress blog is a business. Writing on Medium isn’t.

I’d say the biggest advantage to creating your own website is that it’s a business. You have full control of it.

On Medium, you’re essentially working for Medium.

Medium pays you based on your individual performance, but you’re their employee. That means you’re subject to any changes they make. They can fire you at any time. And you’re not building any value.

With your own website, you have full responsibility, but you also have full control. Instead of being influenced by the changes made by owners, you can make any changes. You can decide to rebrand your website, or change how you’re making money. You can hire employees to work for you. And you can sell your business.

A money-making website will sell for 30–35x its monthly profits.

You can’t do that on Medium.

If I could, my Medium profile could sell for $35,000–50,000. But that’s not possible. If my websites start making $500 a month, I have an asset that’s worth $17,500+. It takes longer to get to that point, but you can walk away with a significant payout.

You can do both

If you have the time, you can do both. I do both and enjoy it. If you have a limited amount of time, I’d pick one and go all-in on it.

If you have enough time, you can take advantage of the benefits of both opportunities.

I’d say that if you want to be successful, you’ll need to post at least 15 times per month in the same place. Whether that’s on Medium or your own website is up to you.