Surprising Things I’ve Learned Writing on Medium for Over a Year (And earning $2.7K+)
This platform is a dream come true for writers.
If you had told me last year that I would soon be earning thousands of dollars in passive income from something I would gladly do for free (and meet amazing people in the process), I would have laughed.
Seriously.
But that’s exactly what’s happened.
Since publishing my first article on Medium in November 2019, I’ve earned what I consider a healthy amount of money on the platform, especially considering the amount of work I put into my articles and the fact that, for the past several months, I haven’t published anything due to a busy college schedule.
When I first joined Medium, I had no idea how it worked.
I stumbled across the platform thanks to a writing class I was taking at the time, and thanks to several Top Writers, I learned it was possible to earn money here. I also learned that, for just $50 per year, I could have access to unlimited stories from people who were making a comfortable income from Medium alone.
In other words, I could learn the ropes for less than $5 per month.
At the time, that seemed like an incredible deal.
Now, over a year later, I think the $50 membership fee isn’t just an incredible deal — I’m now convinced it’s one of the best things I ever did for my writing.
Now, obviously, I’m no Medium expert — I still have a lot to learn, especially since Medium is continually changing.
But for anyone who is new to the platform or wondering what’s possible, here are some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far:
Relationship building is a must — it’s also incredibly rewarding
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you’re trying to build a presence on Medium is failing to interact with others. Your readers are human beings, after all — not robots.
When you write a touching story or share advice, you’re sharing it with real people. Don’t lose sight of that. Write directly to your reader, and go out of your way to support and discover other writers.
For example, I first started interacting with a fellow writer (who has since become an amazing friend) in response to an article he had written. One thing led to another, and now, we’ve been in touch for almost a year. I would never have expected to make friends thanks to Medium, but I’m so grateful I have.
So, reach out to people. Reply to their stories. Be human. Who knows, you might meet amazing friends, too.
No one owes you anything
This one is pretty self-explanatory, and it might even sound harsh, but it’s also important. Don’t expect editors or other writers to help you or give you pointers.
Don’t email them asking for their “secrets.”
Instead, read their articles and be grateful when you do get help. In my experience, most people on this platform are extremely kind, but they’re often extremely busy. Be respectful of that.
And please, for the love of everything you hold dear, don’t think you’re somehow entitled to earn more than other writers simply because you have an advanced degree.
On Medium, it doesn’t matter if you have a Ph.D. or no degree — what matters is whether or not you can write well enough for people to want to read your work.
That’s what I love about Medium — it’s a great equalizer.
(Case in point: I made my first four-figures on this platform last summer, as a lowly undergrad).
Being consistent isn’t as important as you might think — quality matters more.
When I first got started on Medium, I heard that publishing every day or every other day was critical to success.
So I tried it.
I wrote and wrote, completely burning myself out in the process. Writing stopped being enjoyable because I never felt I could catch a break — I was always hunting down ideas for articles, and my writing quality suffered.
So, eventually, I stopped writing as often. Instead, I started focusing on writing articles that mattered to me, even if that meant spending ten days fine-tuning a 1500 word article.
And you know what? That changed everything.
In August, I pitched an article to P.S. I Love You. To my delight, they published it that very day. And it went viral. And now, several months later, it continues to earn money every month.
I’m not saying this to brag. I’m sharing this because I know what it’s like to struggle, and now I also know the thrill of finding my footing. So, write because you love it, even if that means publishing less frequently — it makes a huge difference.
Work on improving your writing as often as you can
You’re busy — believe me, I understand that. I know it might not be realistic for you to spend two hours a day writing. That’s okay. Instead, try writing short, concise articles. Try whittling down your point to make it as clear as possible. Writing is like anything else — you can’t expect to get better without practice.
Keep track of what works and what doesn’t
If an article blows up, it means you’ve hit a nerve. Now, you’re a writer, not a doctor, so that’s actually a good thing — dissect it and try to understand what factors might have contributed to its success.
For example, was the title clear and interesting? Was the picture you chose of high quality? Was it featured in a well-known publication? Was it selected for further distribution?
All of these things can have an effect on how well your article does. With that said, I’ve realized there is still a lot of randomness when it comes to how well an article does. Even some good articles don’t go anywhere, and that’s okay — it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer.
Pitch to big publications over and over again
I was really fortunate to be published in The Ascent early on. If you’re just starting, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to pitch to big publications. For example, if you’re published in The Ascent, your article will be circulated not only within the publication but in other areas of Medium and in emails, too. Basically, getting into large publications is a good way to get noticed by more people. Also, articles published in big publications tend to stay current, or “evergreen”, meaning people might still be reading your work years from now.
Final thoughts
I didn’t write this article to tell you what to do or not do, or because I know everything there is to know about Medium — I don’t.
I wrote this article because I genuinely love helping people, and I know there are writers out there who could benefit from this advice. If you’re new to Medium and you love writing, I honestly think you’ve come to the right place.
Even with the ups and downs of views and revenue, even with all the rules and the changes and the uncertainty, there is so much to be gained from writing on Medium.
When I started, I thought it was just a writing site, but I was wrong. I now realize it can be so much more than that if you want it to be. It can be a place to meet amazing people, exchange ideas with others, learn from people of different backgrounds, develop your writing, and yes, even earn some money on the side. But the money part isn’t the most important thing.
Medium is a community of dreamers and entrepreneurs and students and dropouts and grads and teenagers and seniors and everyone in between from every background and corner of the globe. And they all have one thing in common: they all write on the same platform.
To me, that makes Medium one of the most interesting sites on the web.