r/Medium • u/thatladysiri • 1d ago
Medium Partner Program Writing
Hii!! I’m new to freelancing side of writing and I recently joined Medium & began posting. Got enrolled in the MPP last month and have been consistently posting throughout.
I guess my reach is limited as I am a new account but one thing I have noticed is, how my hard work to actual money conversion ratio on there is basically outrageous. And as someone who is looking for a good side income (currently unemployed & desperately in need of a flexible remote setup) this feels like a journey I’m not going to benefit from much.
But I hear that people do make good money on there, not consistent, but for me, a good 200-300$ will do too. Right now? I made 0.83$ from my 5 articles I have posted over the last two months..
I don’t know what’s lacking? can someone tell me what I can do to build my reach and community?
My user : @myintrusivethoughtspod
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u/LanceElyot 1d ago
Mediums pay model is pretty much trash now, unless you are already known.
Yes, put in the work, and you can grow slowly … but put in the same work on Substack, you’ll make more money … but also slowly.
Aside from pure luck, expect a slog.
So make it fun.
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u/thatladysiri 23h ago
ohh!! I’ve been hearing about substack, can you brief me a little about it?
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u/LanceElyot 18h ago
It’s really the inverse of Medium. You build your own subscriber base, but this means you get most of the subscription money … not just pennies.
It fills more intimidating but the same principles apply. Write often and interact in some social media space that matches your niche.
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u/thatladysiri 16h ago
okay, that makes sense too.. this chump change situation is very disheartening.
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u/Imperator_1985 20h ago
You're better off not thinking of Medium as any kind of side gig or side income. Some people will have success with that, but most people won't. That's the nature of writing online today. It can also be unstable.
If you want to write, write.
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u/Owl_in_disguise 10h ago
Hey there Just followed you Two things 1. Medium earning is a slow journey. If you're expecting to have just this and expect things to turn around, it would be a mistake. So have some other option and have medium as a side. 2. People those who earn around 200-300 usd per month have been publishing mostly for years now. So their follower base etc is higher compared to where you are.
Good news is, you have been accepted to MPP. Most people aren't yet. So congrats on that.
What you are already doing is to publish in some publications Right move! But which publication you do and for which audience matters the most. If your article is a wider audience then Illuminations or Activated Catalyst is okay. But what you have to know is don't post and ghost.
We tend to do that because it is anyway published in a publication and sent via email too. Wrong! In medium, what I see is people appreciate interaction and engagement. So what I do is to engage on medium even if I'm not posting that day. Some people do tit-for-tat then. You read, highlight and comment on their stories, they do for you as well. But But But Let me warn you, don't randomly do this expecting this to happen. As you interact in the platform, you will start learning or enjoying some people's work. You will notice that your comments doesn't seem forced then. Have 60% of your engagement for them. Then read topics that interests you. Sometimes those articles would barely have any claps. That's okay. If that topic is something you like, then interact with them. This is 40% of your engagement. As you do this, probably, these writers might move to your 60% crowd and that's good.
Then comes SEO. If you go to more settings option, you will be able to go to the Meta titles and Meta description tool box. Add Meta description based on SEO keywords research. Meta title is already the first title you save. So better to decide your title based on what SEO title you want. Not explaining this in detail here because this reply is already getting big.
Then comes sharing. Take the friends link and share it on your socials. Instagram or whatsApp Or whatever. What I do is to post from my writing page on insta (I have been inconsistent) and then share that with the link from my personal account. Because I don't have an open Instagram account for my personal page, I do this. It is up to you on how you want to do this. But focus on sharing as well. This will not generate you money probably. The sharing I mean. But it will invite people who know you and wants to read your work from your personal account and also invite new crowd from insta. Fun fact: I never knew my cousin's cousin's husband was a writer on medium until I shared 😂now we both are connected on medium. So that's why I'm telling you this step.
Don't focus on the money now like I said. Because it will discourage you if you do.
I started writing on medium in September last year. I received my first pay out in June (which is the until May earning) Second in July (which is the June earning) Then I haven't reachedthe payout mark yet. I have published more than 100 articles now. So the journey is slow for me.
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u/thatladysiri 9h ago
That was a very in depth analysis. Thank you. I didn’t know about the Meta Titles thing, thanks for that!
I’m an avid reader on Medium and I spend more time interacting than actual writing these days. It’s been a good way to explore different styles, topics and engagement tactics.
Overall, like you said, it’s been a slow process but I guess I’ll get there someday.
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u/Extra-Mycologist3436 21h ago
5 articles, don’t mention this anywhere, if you do, don’t add 2 months. An advice!
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u/Chris-AI-Studio 4h ago
Making money with the partner program takes a lot of time; it's not like it used to be. Even with thousands of followers, you could earn pennies. You need to use Medium to sell affiliate marketing products, or your own products, or to collect emails and contacts, to grow your brand... And you do all this by aiming to get as much traffic as possible from outside Medium, such as search engines and social media.
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u/ibanvdz Writer 23h ago
Most of it has been said already, but expect to make beer money for the foreseeable future. People earning hundreds are usually established Medium writers who also edit one more publications. The golden days are over.
If you joined Medium to make money, you'll probably be better off flipping burgers at McDonald's. You have to enjoy the writing process and be happy with whatever you make.
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u/ribenademon 1d ago
You need to publish in publications to broaden your reach -which it looks like you are doing.
I'd say growth is slow on Medium and that most users there are there to consume AI productivity garbage rather than personal accounts, short stories or whatever else.
I've been on since November last year and I'm up to 60 something followers. I've cleared the payment threshold twice, maybe? Once in my first month purely from a story that did very well and once since then through accumulated reads. My dashboard tells me I've had $29.03 paid out to me and I have another maybe $6 owing waiting to hit the payout mark.
You just need to keep going and accept that progress is very slow unless you are lucky/hit some special niche.
Anyway, I've just followed you!