Oftentimes online writers complain that Medium isn’t paying them what they’re worth.
Medium’s new CEO Tony Stubblebine has a clear opinion on that.
In one of his interviews on YouTube, he states:
“We have an audience for you that sustains you or not.”
Medium is not an employer for (new) writers.
It’s a content mill and publishing platform.
Therefore, Medium does not pay us.
Its members pay us with their reading time.
How Medium writers are getting paid through Reading Time
Reading time is the actual amount of time people spend actively reading your story.
On the Story Stats page, you can see…
the ‘lifetime member reading time’ = the total amount of time Medium members spent reading your story in the selected time period
Here’s an example:
Medium will also pay you for reading time from non-members if they become paying members within one month after reading your story.
The good news is: at least you get paid for writing.
The bad news is: the pay is terrible. Ouch.
That’s why there are a lot of “starving artist” writers out there. haha.
However, you get paid quickly - even if it’s only $1 or $10.
At least you get paid for writing online!
Plus, you can win referrals ($2 per referral) and will soon also get paid for external views (there’s already a test group earning money).
The pros of writing on Medium
Besides the (quick) money, what I love about Medium is that you can test your writing in public, try different topics, build an audience, and finally earn a decent amount of money.
If your goal is to gain freelance clients, get a job as a writer, or win coaching clients, Medium is also a great place to be.
Within 25 months on Medium, I went from…
zero followers to 8K
zero views and reads to hundreds of thousands
zero earnings to 1K+ on average
zero hits to several hits
Plus, I got offered freelance jobs, brand deals, affiliate campaigns, started a Medium Kickstarter Boot Camp, sold online courses, created my own videos online, won hundreds of coaching clients, and got exciting job offers.
You have to think beyond the money!
You can…
🗸 build your reputation online
🗸 become discoverable with your author bio and stories
🗸 build authority and establish yourself as a professional.
🗸 have much room for creative freedom
🗸 write around other commitments such as family or work
🗸 learn to be productive and don’t overthink and overedit your work
🗸 set your own schedule
🗸 connect with people around the world
🗸 grow your email list
🗸…
Last but not least, you don’t have to show up if you don’t feel like it ^^
Medium has 147M views
According to SimilarWeb data, Medium generated 147 million visits in January 2023.
See?
No matter what topic you’re passionate about and writing about, there’s a space for you on Medium.
You can attract much more attention than with your own blog.
My secret:
“I’m committed to becoming a person of value on Medium.”
Keep in mind:
Your value isn’t defined based on the paying customers on Medium but it can grow your own self-worth in regard to writing online.
It can boost your confidence and open new doors with every new story you publish.
I hope this makes sense to you. I am ready to answer any question you have about Medium!
👍 Trending on Medium:
🔥 News
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I think the biggest benefit to still writing on Medium may be the SEO benefits you get.
I’ll be interested to see how the external views part works. I always get a huge uptic in readership when I share my work on FB and IG but alas, no extra money!