Medium Lets You Reward Writers (It’s an Excellent Feature!)
ATTN: BLOGGERS AND WRITERS WHO USE MEDIUM.COM (Or might be thinking about using this publishing platform.)
My relationship with Medium.com goes back several years. But it is relationship that I am very happy with and have no plans to ever severe our ties.
I started with Medium.com because a friend told me they accepted republished content and that it was a good way to redirect traffic to my stand alone blogs. For years I published only republished content on this platform. Then one day, I decided that since the website is highly respected by search engines, why not publish my original content there too, i.e. my content that appears nowhere else on the web. My archived articles date back to 2014.
What do I like about Medium.com?
I like that the owners and admin staff are always looking for ways to make the platform better!
One of those ways was to set up the Medium Partner Program. Since Medium does not display advertisements in order to generate ad revenues, this is a way for the writers to earn from their content. As soon as this feature was offered to me, I signed up. The major complaint or criticism about the Partner Program is the fact that it uses the Stripe payment processing system and Stripe is NOT available in certain countries.
It looks like the owners and staff took this criticism to heart because they are now allowing TIPS! The beauty of this rewards system is that the writer creates the payment link and if the reader wants to reward their content, they just click the “Give a tip” button at the bottom of the article and they are directed to where they can make the payment. In other words, Stripe is NOT needed, and you can still earn from your content.
Another surprise? The TIP button also appears at the bottom of your responses to articles.
Go into your profile Settings and find this wonderful feature. Writers direct readers to PayPal, Patreon, Ko-fi (or whatever works for them).
- EXAMPLE: I send my readers to ko-fi.com/cmoneyspinner to buy me a cup of coffee. The system is currently in Beta mode, i.e. it’s being tested. I am not sure if the tipping system works with a crypto wallet address.
It’s free to create a Medium account. In fact, you can create multiple accounts. I have three (3) Medium writer profiles:
~ medium.com/@chopsueyblogging
Here is some quick advice for newbie writers on Medium.
1) When you create your account, test the waters first with republished content. Hold off on publishing your original content until you get followers.
2) If you want to participate in the Partner Program to earn you need 100 followers. However, you don’t need followers to put the “Give a tip” button on your articles.
3) You can read 3 stories a month for free. If you want to read more you have to pay for a subscription. Hold off on subscribing until you’re ready. Or … don’t subscribe. Hey! You are not required.
4) Promote / Share your posts on social media. By the way, use the Friend Link. As stated in Number 3, readers are allowed to read complimentary articles. After that, no more. UNLESS, you share a Friend Link. This is a Medium feature that ensures that the reader can still read your content, even if they have used up their free reads for the month.
5) For your profile, don’t forget to embellish your About page. (Just view mine as an example. Introduce yourself to your readers. You can brag a little bit! 😃)
6) Create a Medium publication. It’s free. There are 2 reasons why you should create a publication. For one thing, it displays your content in a much nicer format than the way it appears on your writer’s profile, The other reason is that you can collaborate with fellow writers by adding them as contributors. Your articles get double attention because readers can find them by scanning your profile or view them via your publication. Adding other writers as contributors also gives them a boost!
I also have three (3) Medium publications.
~ medium.com/express-yourself (General topics)
~ medium.com/foodie-luv (Food-related)
~ medium.com/my-sageuk-addiction (Korean historical period dramas)
FINALLY,
7) Let me know your profile link so I can follow you and show my support. ❤️️
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One Last Note ~ Just thought I’d mention this if you write to earn income: Everybody wants in on the tipping game these days. Even Tumblr.com now allows tipping. I have had long relationship with this platform as well. Read more. Are you active on Tumblr too?
