Making Money On Medium: or Where’s The Money Honey?
Can You REALLY Make Money On Medium?
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The short answer is YES. Then there is a big
BUT …
The reality is, Medium can be a side hustle for you, making a few extra dollars a month, it can become a regular part of your income stream OR is can be a MAJOR source of income.
It can also drive traffic to your Blog or to your Amazon book links (which in turn makes you more $$$).
BEFORE you get caught up in “instant millionaire” thinking. The COLD HARD REALITY is that most writers on Medium make less than $100 a year.
From all the stats I’ve seen only 5% of all the writers on Medium make $100 a YEAR. Doesn’t sound very encouraging, does it!
On the other end of the spectrum there are the 1% who make from $10,000 to $40,000 a MONTH … yes you read that right … A MONTH. So how do you reconcile less than $8 a month with more than $10,000 a month?
YOU DON’T!
Medium “used” to publish money making stats but they stopped doing that over a year ago. Many suspect it is because the low earning numbers outweighed the high paying numbers causing many writers to quit before they started.
But what is “MOST” and what accounts for the low numbers? MANY writers get started because of their “get rich quick” imaginations. YEP there ARE writers on Medium making up to $40K+ a month BUT (big BUT) you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Actually I think you only need to engage ONE finger for the $40K.
So the “get rich quick” thinking gets optimistic writers signing up and starting. THEN reality enters.
EEEEEEEK! Once they get started, the “get rich quick” writers figure out:
- They actually have to WORK.
- They actually have to WRITE articles, figure out how to post them.
- They actually have to build their own audience … unfortunately no one else will do this for them and even more unfortunately …
- Building an audience involves MORE work.
The instant millionaire seekers are gone as instantly as they arrived. These people skew the earning numbers downwards. They earn $5 in their first month and then $0.00 in the months thereafter. We have NO idea how long Medium keeps factoring in their zeros.
Then there are those writers who have done their research. This will be YOU I hope!
These writers join Medium because they want to write, because they want a voice and because they want interaction. They are willing and committed to spending the next year or more (whatever it takes) getting there …where ever “there” is.
Whether they subscribe to the one article a day “method” or several long articles a week “method,” they commit to it and actually LIVE their commitment. Part of their commitment is their learning curve. Whether they learn as they go … or take a course or two or three (different perspectives) to ramp up faster is their choice. They know their learning curve is built in and is NOT a choice.
Many authors (non-fiction and fiction) have loads of extra material they can post. Not enough for a book but enough for a steady stream of articles. Most poets have dozens of poems handing around that didn’t make it into a book (yet). These writers may not has aspirations of a steadily increasing Medium income … but a few extra dollars would be welcome … and who knows!
So where do these folks land on the pay scale spectrum?
My easy answer is … anywhere from $100 a month to $10K a month. And the easy-answer is actually my only choice because what you make depends on many factors.
How often and what you write. The audience you build and how your articles resonate with that audience. Some writers come into Medium with a huge audience already in place … they introduce their audience to Medium and ramp up really fast. Other writers take years to build a solid, unstoppable audience.
So while it is POSSIBLE to make $10K + a month, realistically it is not PROBABLE.
Decide what number … which IF you get there … makes the work worth the effort it will take to get there. Many people are thrilled to make $500 or $1000 a month. Are YOU?
Where Does Medium Money Come From?
There are three sources of money on Medium.
1. First and foremost is the money that comes from your metered stories.
There are two types of stories published on Medium: free and metered.
Free stories can be read by anyone. Free users can also read up to three metered stories per month. IF they want to read more metered stories they need to upgrade to either $5 a month or $50 a year. https://melanierockett.medium.com/membership
Metered stories are hidden behind Medium’s Partner Program — commonly known as the paywall. Metered stories are only available to Medium members who pay the monthly access fee. You can easily see the difference between paid and free members — paid members have a green circle around their profile image.
Writers are PAID by determining the length of time people spend reading a paywall article. Many people have tried to figure out the exact algorithm Medium uses … good luck with that if YOU want to try!
2. The second way Medium Partners are paid is though “referrals.” They get paid a 50% portion of the $5 per month or $50 per year membership fee of NEW Medium members who sign up through their referral page. This payment is ongoing until the member quits.
This is MY referral link and if you decide to join I would really appreciate it if you used this link: https://melanierockett.medium.com/membership
And finally,
3. BONUSES: This is by far the hardest way to make Medium money, but if you get a bonus, the extra dollars can make a huge difference in your month’s income.
Bonuses are based on the performance of trending articles. The incentives are a nice perk for those who publish stories filled with great content.
Top 1000 writers receive a $500 bonus
Top 1001–1500 writers receive a $100 bonus
Top 1501–2000 writers receive a $50 bonus
So that’s it. Three different ways of making money on Medium, that add up as your efforts add up.
Some writers get to the $100 mark in their first month … others can take a year or more to get there.
How I Got Started On Medium.
I’m including MY Medium journey so you can see a real life story of what it takes.
One day a friend mentioned making $$ on Medium. She wasn’t talking big money but her comments sparked my interest in Medium so I investigated.
At first it didn’t interest me because the money was in my opinion chump change. BUT I saw the possibility of sending traffic to my Blogs and THAT helped me make the decision to give it a try.
At this point in time I was pretty gun shy over trying new “schemes” of any kind. I actually thought this could be — would be a flash in the pan. I was very slow and cautious getting started.
Then AKKKKKK I bought a course. I was SURE it was going to go the route of rapidly discarded Shiny New Objects.
Here are the details of my Medium Story, including updates:
The BOTTOM LINE for me was not the $$ it was the exposure to a huge audience. It was to drive traffic to my website.
Once I got started a BIG part of the “staying” factor was the amazing interactions with my audience.
And YES I made money. I achieved a high of $500 a month, then “life circumstances” caused me to STOP for almost two years.
The really surprising thing was that in those two years I continued to make money month after month after month … doing exactly nothing!
Have I Sparked Your Interest?
If you are ready to find out if YOU can make money on Medium it’s time to do some research. Take a look at what writers are posting and the reactions they are getting.
This article has made me over $50 a month for several years and still going! To tell you the truth I would never have guess this would be my TOP earner.
Here’s another steady winner … and another BIG surprise. Turns out I am terrible at guessing which articles will money makers and which ones would be duds.
What about THIS one? Yeah, who would have thought!
Do you think you can do that? If you are snorting and saying “Oh YEAH” it’s time to get serious with a $5.00 purchase. This will unlock an unlimited number of articles for 30 days. If you are really serious, you can get a full year for $50.
You can also take a look at my Top 10 list here.
Here are the stories of several writers who represent the spectrum of possibilities. You’ve already seen MY story. I think I am probably somewhere in between low and middle.
My “plan” is to ramp up in the next year but I won’t hold my breath. My MOM is getting older every day. I am too! Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Here are five Medium success stories … from smallish to BIG time!
Here is a fun … in the middle success story from Shannon Pie:
Shannon Ashley is a BIG TIME Medium success story. She worked darn hard to get to the top:
David O is one of the most popular writers on Medium. Here’s one of his start up stories along with some how-to tips:
You’ll love Megan Holstein’s story because it is a major lesson in sheer determination and bull headed perseverance.
It took Kristina God (yes that’s her name) just over a year to be earning BIG TIME.
Are YOU willing to spend the time and effort to getting there?
If you want to get started FAST … here’s how:
Melanie Rockett has been a freelance writer for over 40 years. Over those years she has written dozens of books, thousands of articles, and hundreds of video scripts. She has also developed over 200 websites along with SEO services. Her clients have ranged anywhere from solo-entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. She is now semi-retired and works exclusively with freelance writers and kindle authors.
Do YOU want to become a well-paid freelance writer, or sell more Kindle books? You can find her website here melanierockett.com. You will also find her on the Freelance Writing Zone on Medium. https://medium.com/freelance-writing-zone
