You Can Still Go Viral On Medium
Despite what other top writers say, 3K per month is possible
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of writers complain about Medium. Top writers like Zulie Rane have suggested that the possibility of going viral with one or more articles — even with a large following — has been hit hard by the recent changes to the algorithm regarding curation, distribution, tag updates, and the removal of topics.
I can certainly see the effects of these changes. Views are down for a lot of people. So are reads and earnings.
But wait, here’s hope
Let’s not get carried away just yet. It is still very possible to go viral on this platform. Making a couple of thousand per month is not out of the realm of possibility.
The best example of this is Jenn Leach. Despite all recent changes, Jenn managed to increase her earnings by 630% in October alone. Going from $433 — which is already a fantastic amount — in September to more than $2775 in October. Moreover, 2 months prior, in August, she “only” earned $30. And before that $3.
Jenn increased her Medium earnings in the midst of all Medium changes and controversies from $3 to almost $3000 in 3 months. That’s a lot of 3s.
How did she do it
In Jenn’s own words, she achieved these astonishing numbers with a simple philosophy:
I treated my writing on Medium like it was my job. — Jenn Leach
Her goal was to at least write 2–3 stories per day. Her whole output for October was 52 stories.
Very importantly, she did also manage to get into some of the biggest Medium publications with her stories, like Better Marketing or Start it up.
Finally, she had 2 articles go viral. One hit over 100K views, the other in the ten thousands. With a few more crossing 5K views.
The bottom line
These are mind-blowing numbers and don’t get me wrong, they are extremely hard to achieve. Jenn is also fantastic at two aspects of Medium success:
- Nailing the perfect headline
- Keeping the stories short and precise without fluff
These are two key aspects because a) headlines will make or break many stories because it’s the first (and often only) thing readers will read and b) too many writers think that writing longer stories is better than short stories, when in fact, for many topics and niches, the opposite is true. Readers manage their time carefully. That’s one reason why shortform publications are on the rise.
To close, yes, it is possible to earn big-time on this platform and go viral with multiple stories. Even after the recent changes.
Has it gotten more difficult? You bet.
Is Medium a lost cause? Hell no.
What do you say?
P.S.: First of all, you should get my posts in your inbox. Do that here! Secondly, if you like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it supports us, writers, greatly, and you have the chance to make money with your writing as well. When I started, I made $3000 in 6 months. By signing up with this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won’t cost you more. If you do so, thank you a million times!
