Anyone Writing for Medium?

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   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   The Medium platform sounds great. Writers' income does not come from advertising (yay!) but  from a chunk of the membership fees. But here is the catch: As a non paid up member you are only allowed to read three articles per month for free. After that, if you are interested in a topic and want to read more about it via an internal Medium link you get this message:
   
   
   
   Sorry Medium writer I was interested in reading your article but not for $5 p.m. So that poor Medium writer  just lost me as a potential reader. As a business model, that sounds to me like a snake trying to eat itself by its own tail. Correct me if I'm wrong.
   
   What is your experience as an active paid up Medium writer?

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      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      That's interesting. I read articles on medium all the time.I do not have a paid account nor do I have a free account. I read while not signed in. Are there some categories or pieces that can be accessed only when signed in?
      
      Glenn writes on Medium. Hopefully, he chips in.

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      promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I'm what's called a "lead writer" for one of the topics on Medium. I have about 30 articles on the site and learned a few lessons:
      
      - Your article must be "featured" by the editors to get any views or money. Otherwise, it gets buried on the site far deeper than here and receives almost no views or income.
      
      - The editors place a heavy emphasis on original themes and points of view. They seem to like more of an essay approach to major life topics.
      
      - Less than 10% of all Medium writers make more than $100 a month. If you hit a home run, you can make a lot of money from just one article. But getting a home run is very difficult.
      
      - Even "featured" articles don't seem to rank well with Google, maybe because of the subscriber paywall.

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         Sue Adamsposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Deleted
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         lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Makes me wonder if more than 10% of the writers here earn more than 100 USD a month. I have a feeling it's not the case. Medium does sound like a good place to publish non-evergreen articles that are not intended to get traffic from search, do you think I'm right or partly right with this opinion?

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            Sue Adamsposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Well, I actually discovered Medium via a Google search for something or other.

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            promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I think you are right.
            
            I also think Medium is a good place to write if you have some goals other than just income.
            
            For example, I'm writing a series of articles on a single topic that I hope will lead to a book. I also get some value out of links in the articles as well as a stronger SEO profile.

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               lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               I should look into it for the SEO benefits in addition to writing on some non-evergreen topics. Let's see if I get to it. Good luck with your series and eventual book.

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2. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   As a writer on Medium you have a choice of labelling articles as "free or unlocked" (for anyone to read) or "locked". Only the locked articles are eligible for earnings and they can only be read by paid up members. So an unlocked article gets far more views but no income and vice versa.

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   1. 91

      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Oh wow. Now that I know this, I would think that the free version also gives people some earnings if the paid members hit clap. At least that would be the logical thing to do.
      
      I've read a lot of Glenns work, so I wonder how he does there. If he does not respond here, I will write to him and point him to this thread.

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3. 79

   psycheskinnerposted 5 years ago

   Subscription models work to the extent that people subscribe, so I would want some idea of their user base and pay per view from them before trying to jump in.

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      Sue Adamsposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You get paid every month based on reading time and applause ("claps" ="likes") from members.

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      promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I think it's quite a big larger than the HP network. I suspect it has grown quite a bit since the 2016 stats below.
      
      https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/14/medi … -visitors/

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      1. 79

         psycheskinnerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         But the thing is, visitors don't pay you, only subscribers.  Some really really popular media sites failed when they tried to put in a pay wall.  So the number you need is the subscriber number.

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4. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   No, Brendon, the free version doesn't give any earnings. Obviously the articles links are beneficial.
   
   I am tempted but it is seems a lot of work.
   
   "Tom Kuegler tom@findingtom.com via n.convertkit.com
   3:19 PM (1 hour ago)
   to me
   
   Juliette,
   
   DO THIS:
   
   Post 5 x a week - can be min 600 wrds.
   
   On a separate piece of paper, write down "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday" side-by-side. Now write down 5 "topics" you want to write about continuously from here on out.
   
   After that, make each day a different "topic," and ALWAYS write about that topic on that day from here on out. This gives you some variety to write about a lot of different things.
   
   ONE MORE THING: Before you publish, make sure to use some of the more popular tags on Medium for your article. Here's a Google Doc with the list.
   
   Tune in tomorrow for literally the best piece of Medium advice anybody will ever give you.
   
   Tom Kuegler
   
   Editor of The Post-Grad Survival Guide"

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5. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   "Even "featured" articles don't seem to rank well with Google, maybe because of the subscriber paywall."
   
   I can image! Who in their right mind would want to pay for reading an article when the information searched for is so readily available elsewhere for free.

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      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      The NY times shows up in search some times but they have a 5 article limit. I therefore think Medium is a place where experts collect and share information on non-evergreen topics.
      
      I know for a fact that the blockchain has a lot of people who post only on Medium, so if I were looking into blockchain news and stuff like that, Medium is the place I'd go to. News sites that do have articles too, are usually rewrites by journalists and not experts.
      
      Ignore the grammar and punctuation typing while walking on my phone.

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      promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Medium editors place a heavy emphasis on both originality and quality of writing that people may not get elsewhere. The subscription model may work for that reason.

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6. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   
   
   
   

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7. 79

   psycheskinnerposted 5 years ago

   I found this interesting: http://studyhall.xyz/blog/2018/6/12/med … journalism
   
   It seems there is zero transparency about why people are paid what they are paid, the algorithm for views/claps to dollars is secret.  I don't think I would sign up to that.
   
   If it stayed at tens of hundreds of dollars it might be fine but those numbers are back from when paid partners were all invited.  I bet it looks a bot different now.
   
   Bottom line: before I sink effort into something I want to know what the deal is, exactly,  Been burned too many times....
   
   Googling around generally does not show anyone celebrating the open paywall as creating a great place to write for profit.

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      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You may find this interesting: https://writingcooperative.com/can-you- … 565989d599 seems like it may not be worth your while.

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   elayne001posted 5 years ago

   I wrote for Medium and soon found that it is not the place to make any significant money. I now write for Smarterparenting.com for which I get paid for per article. I also have written travel articles and beyondhonolulu, http://www.euroradialyouth2016.com/trav … -kongaika/ and Hubpages.

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9. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 5 years ago

   Thank you everyone. I think I'll give Medium a miss after all your input.
   
   The worst thing about them is that they give many beginners a $100 incentive bonus, in the hope that those new writers will write wonderful things about Medium to promote the site to more naive potential members.

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      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Wow.

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10. 90

    Lovelli Fuadposted 5 years ago

    I received pay out from Medium, but it doesn't work like a regular publication:
    
    You don't get paid per view, even if paid members viewed your articles. You get paid per interactions: claps. Eligible claps are from paying members.
    
    How much money you get per claps depend on how many other people receives claps from the paying member. If one paying member claps only on your story, you get all the money.   
    
    There are many publications that publish Medium writers. Some of these publications pay you per article IN ADDITION to publishing your content.
    
    To get paid from Medium you need to join the Medium Partner Program.
    
    I hope this late response is useful )

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11. 94

    Glenn Stokposted 4 years ago

    I just stumbled upon this thread now. Sorry I’ve missed it as I see Brandon had mentioned me a few times. Thanks, Brandon. I can’t imagine how I missed this! A lot has happened with Medium since the last post here.
    
    I’ve experimented with Medium for a year now, so I have some thoughts to include, and a response to comments others have left. Here goes:
    
    Sue Adams said, “Who in their right mind would want to pay for reading an article when the information searched for is so readily available elsewhere for free.”
    
    That is an important consideration. It’s better understood when you compare it to the way people pay for magazine subscriptions. They pay because they want to read quality content that can’t be found elsewhere. They also pay to avoid seeing advertising scattered all over the page.
    
    Medium attracts many impressive writers. For the most part, they are well educated, they write well, and they share thoughts in an expressive way that makes one think. I was hooked in the first month.
    
    After reading three articles, I reached the free limit. But I continued reading posts that were not behind the paywall or where “friend links” were available. I found so much useful content that $5 to unlock unlimited reading for a month was a no-brainer.
    
    After the first month, I received a little over $5 for my revenue on just one article. So that motivated me to buy a year’s subscription at the discounted price of $50. I felt I’d earn that back with my posts, and I have, with more where that came from.
    
    Promisem said, “Medium editors place a heavy emphasis on both originality and quality of writing that people may not get elsewhere. The subscription model may work for that reason.”
    
    My experience with Medium was nowhere are good as HubPages. Some of my posts on Medium went viral with Google traffic. But I got nothing for it since we only get paid when subscribing members read our articles.
    
    As Promisem indicated, quality counts the most. Medium curators give special treatment to articles that meet their standards. Those articles are shared with readers via email announcements and placed on topic lists on the site. That brings more readers who are paying members.
    
    On October 28th, Medium changed the payment algorithm in a way that I feel will benefit quality writers more than before. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.
    
    The old method was based on how many readers applauded by pressing the clapping hands icon. I noticed in my stats report that some people clapped without reading.  I also saw that I didn’t get paid for those claps, as far as I could tell. Of course, that made sense.
    
    Unfortunately, many readers don’t think about clapping. My stats showed a good percentage of full-reads, but few claps compared to the number of views.
    
    The new method solves those problems. Claps no longer count but are still used to indicate value. Payment is now a function of reading time and scrolling. The actual algorithm is a secret, as it should be, but they do admit that scrolling is used to determine actual read time.  If one were to leave the page open and walk away, the failure to scroll negates the time on the screen.
    
    Another consideration for Medium: The growing number of people with ad blockers can hinder income on platforms that use advertising revenue. That is not a concern with Medium.
    
    I wrote several tutorials on Medium that are under the paywall, but I have free access friend-links to them in my author site (home-icon on my HP profile).

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       Kierstin Gunsbergposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       What a helpful post, thanks Glenn

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       lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting.

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12. 94

    jansharesposted 4 years ago

    Thanks Glenn and promisem for the thorough explanation of your experience. And thanks to Sue for posting this. I'd love to hear any updates from you or anyone else on this thread who has tried Medium. I've been getting Medium since the pandemic and now am seriously thinking about writing there. I find the platform intriguing and look forward to the email every morning to scroll through for interesting articles.
    Glad I found this forum post, couldn't recall who posted it. I went through a bunch of forums to find it.

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    1. 94

       Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Jan, that was nine months ago when I posted in this thread. A lot has changed since then with Medium. They keep getting better. I'm glad you decided to start writing there.
       
       As you know, there is no cost for publishing. It's a different audience, and I discovered that some topics do much better with paid subscribers than organic traffic.
       
       I keep my reviews up to date, so if you want to see what's new, go back to my author website again for my updated tutorials.

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          jansharesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks, Glenn, will do. I'll keep you posted.

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13. 83

    Solarasposted 4 years ago

    The few articles I have read on Medium were well written and well worth the read.  It is a solid platform, and $5 would not discourage me from joining. However at some point I would feel the need to downsize on my subscriptions, and many Americans may be needing to do that sooner than later.

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       jansharesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Good point. Thanks, Solaras.

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    Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

    One thing to note with Medium, I think, is that the kind of articles which earn well on HubPages won't work on Medium, and vice versa. 
    
    That's a good thing because the two sites aren't in competition with each other - which is one reason I feel comfortable discussing Medium on these forums. 
    
    For me personally, it's not such a good thing, because I don't think I could write the kind of material Medium wants...

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       OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       I like writing for Medium precisely because it allows me to write about topics that wouldn't do well here on HubPages.  I maintain two accounts on Medium, one for my political opinion pieces and the other for more personal memoir type pieces.  Neither of those topics would work here.

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          jansharesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          After looking through Medium, I'm now understanding what you and Marisa mean with different types of genre. I'm working on something currently that I don't think would do well here. Thanks, Old Roses.

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       jansharesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks, Marisa.

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15. 71

    Danny Fernandesposted 4 years ago

    Yes, one of my friends tried to write for Medium sometime back. They have a model wherein you earn by the number of reads. First, it was clappings received, but they have changed it now with reads.

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       Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       It’s based on read-time, so if you keep a reader engaged through the entire article, you earn more.

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    Danny Fernandesposted 4 years ago

    Yes Glenn, you are correct - read time

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