On Medium
Why Are You on Medium?
From making money online to building your audience. Know your ‘why’ and set yourself up for success.
In the last four months, I’ve come across different types of users on Medium. I used to think that everyone was here for the same reason; to just write. But after going through hundreds of profiles, I realized that I was wrong.
We all have different reasons for writing on the platform.
Knowing why you’re on Medium is very important. It keeps you focused on your goals, so you don’t get distracted. Getting distracted will make you worry about things that didn’t matter to you before, leading to frustration.
There were times when I felt a lot of pressure from all those writers who said they made a lot of money on Medium. I ended up worrying about things beyond my control. But once I reminded myself of why I was really here, I got right back on track and stopped worrying.
Don’t get me wrong, I love money. But that’s definitely not why I’m here. If that were the case, I wouldn’t even be here at all since I’m not eligible for the Medium Partner Program.
I’ll tell you why I’m on Medium in the latter part of this article. But for now, here’s the million-dollar question:
Why are you on Medium?
I assume that everyone on the platform is a reader, so this question is for writers.
Why do you write on Medium?
Reason #1: You’re here to have fun or express yourself
You may be on Medium simply because you want to write for fun. Or perhaps, writing here is a way for you to cope with trauma. To you, Medium is like your personal diary and all you want to do is express your desires, hurt, pain, joy, and all that you are.
To you, there’s no monetary gain involved so you go about this at a leisurely pace.
If that’s why you’re here, then by all means go ahead. Write for fun. Unleash your inner creative genius. Be a blazing inferno of imagination and creativity.
Success, in your book, is writing as much as you can whether people read it or not.
If you’re on Medium simply for the fun of it and not because you want to make money, then do just that and don’t lose sight of it. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the follower game and all those endless income reports.
When you’re bombarded with so much information about that, you may lose focus of why you’re on Medium in the first place. Eventually, you start to convince yourself that you want more money and more readers when that’s not what you really want at all. Before you know it, writing is not fun anymore. All it does is fill you with dread until you quit.
When those thoughts take over, remember why you came to Medium and silence them. If, however, your goals change, and you genuinely want to start making money or whatever new goals you have, then be certain about it before making the necessary mindset shift to achieve them.
Reason #2: You’re here to make money
You came to Medium specifically to make money. Relax, I’m not attacking you.
Some people will call you a sell-out or whatever just because you admit you want to make money from writing. Wrong mindset. If you can make money from something, then why the hell not? Luckily, Medium allows writers to earn money from their writing. This is fucking amazing, and everyone should seize the opportunity if they can.
That being said, not everyone can earn on Medium, of course. The Medium Partner Program is only available to people living in certain countries. If you live in such a country, and you came here to make money, then by all means do it. We need money. It makes the world go round.
But be honest with yourself that this is why you’re here. Once you do that, come up with a winning strategy that helps you conquer your goals.
If you want to make money on Medium, yet you only write when you’re in the mood, as though you’re simply writing for fun, then you won’t make much progress. You’ll earn a few dollars at most.
Some people even publish a lot and still make little money. Imagine what it will be like for you if you aren’t consistent.
This is why you need a system in place to help you achieve your goals.
Strategy to earn money on Medium
Strategy #1: Forget about the money
What? How do you forget about the money if you want to make money? That makes no sense.
Trust me, this makes a lot of sense, and it’s incredibly important if you’re still a newbie. One thing that kills your motivation faster than any bad habit is romanticization.
Beginners love to romanticize shit. I’ve been there before, where I once thought that becoming a blogger will suddenly open the floodgates of dollars in my bank account. Hell, I thought so much about all the things I’d do with the money that I completely forgot about all the hard work I’d have to put in before I made my first dollar. Yeah, not my finest moment.
If you’re on Medium to make money, you know about the Medium Partner Program. You’ve heard about how people are making thousands of dollars every month just by writing on Medium. So you think to yourself, “Hmm, I too can make that kind of money.”
Well, you’re not wrong. You can make that kind of money. The problem is that you think you can make it in two or three months. Sorry to burst your bubble, but no. You won’t make six figures after six months of writing on Medium. Try six years, then now we’re talking.
“Yeah, what do you know?” you ask. “You’re not even making money on Medium. Who are you to tell me how to make money?”
I hear you. But numbers don’t lie. Listen, less than ten percent of writers make $100 a month on Medium. No, I didn’t just pull this out of my ass. This is a fact. Ask Medium. I’m even being too generous with 10%. It’s more like 1%.
Obsessing about money is counterproductive. Yes, the money will come, but not after you’ve put in all the work later.
When you forget about the money, you rather focus on producing your best work that readers find valuable. Ironically, you make more money in the future because of this.
Strategy #2: To niche or not to niche
Now that you know that you won’t be raking in bazillions of dollars in your first month, we can go ahead and do the things that will actually bring you those bazillions of dollars over the next few years.
One word you’ll hear a lot online is Niche. What the hell is a niche? To put it simply, it’s what you write about. It can be general, like fitness, or very specific, like goat Yoga for stay-at-home mums in Beverly Hills.
On Medium, you earn money based on how long Medium members read your stories. This means that what you write about is very important — if people don’t like it, they won’t read it. Period.
And that’s probably why we often hear this advice:
Pick a niche.
It’s not bad advice at all. But if you’re a beginner who’s still unsure of what to write about, this is terrible advice.
As a beginner, you haven’t written enough to know what you really want to write about.
You probably already have some topics in mind, and you believe this is what you want to write. That’s great, really. But trust me, you won’t know that’s what you want until you actually write it for at least three months.
I came to Medium, in the beginning, to write about writing. Then I started writing and saw that I didn’t even have enough experience to give advice about writing. So, my niche narrowed down to my personal writing life. For that, I had more experience without having to regurgitate everything I heard from other experts.
Then I wrote some more and found out that I also loved writing about self-productivity. Specifically, habits that improved my life. I continued writing and branched to personal essays. The more personal essays I wrote, the more my storytelling skills improved, and the better I got at writing fiction, which also led me to write about writing. Whew, what a mouthful.
My niche at the time was all over the place. Okay, it still is. But now, I know exactly what I enjoy writing about. And luckily for me, my readers enjoy reading them too. It’s a win-win.
If I strictly had to pick one niche, I would stick to writing speculative fiction. That’s it. But on Medium, after trying so many things, I ended up writing more non-fiction, and to my surprise, I liked it. If I hadn’t tried it, I wouldn’t have known. I would just call myself a fiction writer. Medium taught me that I was more than that.
So about that niche. Do you choose it or not? If you know what to write, then go with that. But remember, you’re writing to earn money, and you can’t earn money if no one reads your stories.
Make sure your niche is something readers give a crap about. At the same time, it should also be something you give a crap about, you know, something you genuinely love writing about. It’s a fucking conundrum, I know. But with lots of experimentation, trial, and error, you will get it right. I promise.
If you’re just starting out and still confused about what to write. Don’t worry. Write whatever you want. The topic doesn’t matter. However, make sure that it offers value to your reader. If you’re uncertain about what value means, don’t worry. I’ll talk about that in the next strategy.
For now, here are ten topics you can choose from:
1. Self-development
2. Productivity
3. Writing tips
4. Fitness and health
5. Food
6. Relationships and love
7. Making money online
8. Entrepreneurship
9. Personal essays
10. Politics
Strategy #3: Create value
I love reading comics. I read them on Bilibili Comics and I don’t mind spending money to unlock chapters of a comic. Now, why will I even do that? Why spend money on comics? Simple, I love them so much I don’t care if I have to pay to read them.
Comics give me value for my money. And what kind of value can a comic book possibly provide?
Entertainment. Pure and simple.
I bring this up to tell you that making money is easier than you think. Seriously, think about it. When was the last time you spent money on something? Why did you spend money on that? Chances are you found it valuable.
In the most basic terms, something has value to you when you find it useful. That’s it. You define how it’s useful to you, and whether others agree with it or not doesn’t matter. This is why there’s a market for everything under the sun. OnlyFans, anyone? Exactly.
Apply the same principle to writing and you’re well on your way to getting paid. To create value, come up with things people want to read about, things they’d find useful. Their hopes, dreams, and fears, probe deeply and solve those problems.
When I buy a comic book, I don’t just buy a comic book. I buy an escape into a fantastical world of cultivation in Ancient China.
When you write an article on self-productivity, you’re not just writing about self-productivity. Rather, you’re inspiring your readers to change their lives and be the best versions of themselves.
That’s value.
Remember how I said you can write whatever you want if you don’t have a niche yet? Well, you can do that only on one condition; that you create value. Don’t info dump on your audience and treat them like your personal diary. Or therapist. If you only write for fun and aren’t interested in making money, then by all means go ahead and write like that.
However, if your strategy is to earn money, then whatever you write must perform at least one of three things; educate, entertain, or inspire.
If you’re skilled enough to combine all three, then over time, making money will just be a walk in the park. After all, you’re giving people exactly what they want.
But…
As a writer on Medium, none of these matter if no one clicks on your story. So work on your headline skills. Write headlines that force people to click on your stories. I’m not talking about clickbait, please. Your headline should not deceive the masses. Do that and people stay away from your stories.
Also, work on your storytelling skills. This is what keeps readers hooked to your stories like crack.
Don’t just write and publish. Edit your work before you hit the publish button.
I talked about all these in more detail right here. It’s a long-form article and may take you some time to get there. But it’s a delightful read, full of gems that will help you. So yeah, read the whole thing. Okay?
Reason #3: You’re here to improve your writing
Okay, now’s time for me to tell you why I actually came to Medium. I did it for two reasons, and one of them is to hone my craft and become a better writer.
My dream is to become a full-time writer someday, specifically a novelist. However, for the longest time, I wasn’t actively working on this goal. How do you become a full-time writer when you’re not even writing? I wanted to change that so I came to Medium.
And indeed, it was a real game changer.
Medium taught me how to write consistently. It also taught me the power of storytelling and how I could employ it in my own writing.
Perhaps, you’re also here to improve your writing. I assure you that you’re in excellent company. There are so many amazing writers on Medium to learn from. I learned from brilliant people such as Ayodeji Awosika, Matt Giaro, Biliz Maharjan, and so many more.
Strategy to improve your writing on Medium
Strategy #1: Read a lot
This is a no-brainer. If you want to learn to write, you have to be an avid reader.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of great writing here on Medium. Find writers you admire, follow them, and read as many stories as you can from them. Analyze their stories and identify why you resonate so much with them. Look at how they use words, structure their sentences, and organize their ideas.
The more you read, the more you start writing like them until you eventually adopt your own style.
Strategy #2: Practice, Practice, Practice
Learning to write via reading is all well and good, but like any craft, you can’t improve if you don’t actually practice it.
Whatever you learn, put it to the test and practice it. If you read articles on Medium on the writing craft, practice them.
But remember, writing advice is never universal. Of course, there are general guidelines that apply to all writing, such as good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In blogging, you’re told to use storytelling. These are all good advice.
But many other writing tips are subjective. Still, it makes no sense to ignore the advice of successful writers. They’ve tried and tested it and it’s worked for them. It may not work for you, but you won’t know until you try it. If it doesn’t work, move on to something else.
The more you write, the better you become.
Strategy #4: Take a writing course
If you can afford a writing course, then do it. It’s one of the best investments you can do for yourself. I completely trust Ayodeji to give you what you need to become not just a better writer, but to even make a living on Medium.
I signed up for his free five-day email course on writing on Medium, and it’s been life-changing. Give it a try and see what I mean.
Strategy #5: Don’t be afraid to suck
You will suck.
Everyone does. But as you keep writing, you’ll eventually get better. So don’t overthink stuff. Write the best you can, edit it, and publish. If you keep at it for years, you’ll have no choice but to improve.
Don’t dwell too much on how terrible your writing is. Everyone starts from somewhere, and some of the best writers on Medium today will be the first to tell you that they were some of the worst writers back then. So, keep calm and keep writing. You’ll get there eventually.
Reason #4: You’re here to build an audience
I did say I came to Medium for two reasons, didn’t I?
Well, the second is to build an audience. In other words, I came here to grow a loyal following for my writing.
As a writer of fiction, I used to publish my stories on Wattpad, then later on Inkitt. I hardly got any reads on these sites. Even if people read it, they wouldn’t leave any reviews so I had no idea if my stories were engaging or not.
I also used to blog on WordPress a few years ago. Back then, it felt like I was talking to myself in the vast empty cosmos. It was pretty depressing.
Then I came to Medium and everything changed. Here, people actually engage with my writing. They read, clap, and leave comments. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Medium turned out to be the best place for me to grow an audience of readers. I’ve even managed to get some people to read my novels.
My only regret is that I didn’t start writing on Medium sooner.
For those of us who can’t apply for the MPP, building an audience is the best way to go. With the right strategy, you can build an engaging audience who will buy your products. This is a long game that’s only possible with the right mindset and a lot of patience.
Strategy to building your audience on Medium
Strategy #1: Create value
Everything I talked about on how to earn money on Medium applies here. The major takeaway is this: create a lot of useful content for your audience.
Even if you’re not on the Medium Partner Program, you still have to make sure that you’re producing the best content that readers find valuable. Educate, entertain, or inspire them and you’re well on your way to growing your tribe.
Strategy #2: Join publications
If you’ve been on Medium for more than a week, you’ve probably heard of publications.
Writing for publications exposes your stories to a wider audience. You tap into the reader base of the publications and people who weren’t following you before read your stories for the first time. If they like the way you write, they become fans of your work.
I got my first 100 followers between November 2022 to January 28, 2023. I wasn’t writing for any publication at the time.
On February 3, 2023, I joined four publications. At the time, I had only 124 followers. A few days later, I submitted to Illumination and then a few more stories to other publications.
In less than a month, my followers doubled.
It took almost three months to get my first hundred followers. Yet, it had taken me far less time to double it once I began writing for publications.
If you’re seeking to grow your audience, I highly recommend them.
Publications are amazing. Find those that suit your needs. It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie. Many of them, like Illumination and New Writers Welcome, encourage new writers to join them.
Strategy #3: Build your email list
As an online creator, email lists are invaluable. It doesn’t matter if you’re still new. Don’t wait until you have a large following before you begin. Start now.
Fortunately, Medium makes it very easy for you to collect emails. Sometimes people forget to subscribe to your newsletter, so remind them to do so if they want to get an email as soon as you publish.
Okay, I guess this is me reminding you to subscribe to my newsletter. Great, let’s move on.
Other than Medium, you can also use an email marketing service like ConvertKit or Substack.
The point is to find a way to collect the emails of your readers. As they say, the money is in the list. This is one of the best things you’d ever do for yourself as an online writer.
With an email list, you cut the middleman (Medium, Substack, Twitter, or any online platform) and deal directly with your fans.
Strategy #4: Create a lead magnet
If you’re asking why anyone will sign up for your email list, then you’re absolutely right.
Sometimes, it takes more than just writing blog posts to get someone to subscribe to your newsletter. People need a reason to give you their email which is personal to them. Why should they just give it to you if you aren’t going to give them something equally important in return?
That’s where lead magnets come in.
A lead magnet is simply something valuable you create for free in exchange for an email. It can be ebooks, podcasts, YouTube videos, email courses, short stories, novellas, novels, or anything creative. As long as it’s free and valuable to people, they’ll gladly give you their email in exchange.
This is one of the fastest ways of growing your audience on Medium or anywhere online, for that matter. Once you get people on your email list, you can export that list to whatever platform you like. So even if you’re no longer on Medium today, you can always have your audience with you and interact with them whenever you want.
Now don’t panic about how to create a lead magnet. If you’re a prolific writer who has many articles on a certain topic, say self-productivity, simply compile the relevant articles into a PDF. Then using Canva, create a book cover for your ebook. It’s that simple.
That’s how I wrote my first ebook.
Do you have a useful skill you can teach? Create an email course and get people to sign up for it.
If you’re just getting started, don’t worry about lead magnets for now. Focus on writing as much as you can. Later, when you have enough content, you can repurpose them as ebooks, email courses, YouTube videos, podcasts, or whatever format you like.
A word of caution though.
When you get your subscribers, don’t sell to them immediately. That’s a huge turnoff, and most of them will unsubscribe. Instead, keep providing them with free content regularly. It doesn’t have to be every day, but it should be regular enough that they don’t forget about you. Personalize your emails so they feel like they’re the only ones you’re talking to.
Build their trust in you. That’s the key.
And then one day, when you have something sell, they trust you enough to actually buy from you.
In the long term, this is a much more sustainable way of earning money as an online creator.
If you want to earn money on Medium, but aren’t eligible for the Medium Partner Program, then this is the way to go.
Final thoughts
There’s a place on Medium for everyone. Whether you’re here to just read, write for fun, make money, learn to write, or build your audience, everyone is welcome.
Just never lose sight of why you’re here. Focus on what’s important.
If you’re here to simply express yourself and pour out your musings to the world, there’s no need to be distracted by things like the number of followers, views, and amount of money you make.
If you want to improve your craft, concentrate on learning every day and writing as much as you can.
If you’re here to make money, but still a beginner, know that the money won’t come now. It will take years of hard work to get to more than four figures of income. Online writing is a long game. If you want to make it too fast, you’ll only bully yourself into quitting. Give yourself time to grow. Success doesn’t happen overnight.
Finally, if you want to grow your audience, start building your email list today. It’ll be your greatest asset someday.
Have you come to terms with why you’re on Medium? Great. Now work toward it and don’t get distracted. Follow your system diligently and success will follow.
All the best to you.
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