Medium Is More Than A Publishing Platform
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Most of us arrive on Medium with the hope and dream of making money writing about what we know.
We read the myriad of articles written by people making $100 a day or $4,000 a month and anywhere in between, thinking to ourselves, “I can do that!”
Then we put together a plan that hinges on the very knowledge that if we write great articles, publish daily, submit to multiple publications, and get curated — we, too, can make our big dreams come true!
But then we publish our first article that we’re sure is going to be a winner and… nothing happens. Okay, well, it’s just our first article, so that’s fine. Moving on. We’ll do better next time.
So we write our second article and publish again, confident that this is the one that will drive traffic to our first article, increase our follower count, and engage readers. But… for some reason, the numbers aren’t there. There’s 1 view, 0 reads, and we still haven’t made any money.
Alright, that’s fine. Everybody is saying it takes both quality and quantity.
So we grind out articles for a week or two, trying to figure out a strategy that works for us. We look at our stats in the morning and again at night, frustrated that nothing is happening. We’re following all the steps that the moneymakers are suggesting, but for some reason, we’re only getting a few views every now and again, and slowly they’re making a penny here and there.
But what if Medium were about more than making money?
I came to Medium for a different reason. I wanted to find a home where I could read about investing and finance from people who’d actually done it and found success. I wanted to read bite-sized true crime stories. I wanted to find the occasional inspirational story that motivated me to achieve my dreams. I stopped finding articles like that on my usual hubs and Medium kept popping up as an alternative: articles written about people, by people, for people — that was a hook I could buy into, for $5 a month!
The publishing aspect of Medium is a great addition, but it’s not my prime focus. I was on Hubpages back in the day before they started adding additional websites and a real editing team. I remember making money and writing articles just like all the movers and shakers here. Those articles attract attention because we want to be just like them. But while I’m curious about the potential to make money on Medium, I already write to make money on Amazon. It would be a nice addition, but I’m not going to make it my primary focus.
Somehow I’ve made a cool $0.13 this month from talking about writing erotica and blogging about my life. I’d like to grow that $0.13 a month to $5 so that I can cover the cost I put into my subscription. But if I don’t, that’s fine, too, because I’ll continue to pay for it.
For the women who talk about starting their own business…
For the love and relationship advice that sometimes I need…
For the business and finance tips I can’t get in my real life…
It’s $5, and for the month of January, I’m subsidizing that with my $0.13 earnings. If that’s all I make, I’m not mad. I’m glad I only paid $4.87 for unlimited access to words and content I never would have otherwise found. I haven’t been inundated by politics or conspiracy theories because I have the ability to control what my homepage looks like based on what I want to see.
And, every once in a while — when I’m feeling wordy and want to hear myself speak — I have the option to write my own story.
This kind of customization and freedom… for only $5? And you have the ability to earn $0.13 (or possibly more) to cover that cost?
I think I’ll stay.
