HubPages vs Medium Name

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   WriterJanisposted 8 months ago

   I'm still hanging in there on HP editing and writing, although my writing has slowed down due to the current circumstances here. Like many other writers I've signed up for Medium. I know how important interaction is on the site with other writers so if you let me know what name you go by on Medium, I'll stop by and visit. My name there is Janis Masyk-Jackson. Hope to see you there!

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      SerenityHaloposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Medium account: AndreaLawrence2468
      
      I’m also in the early stages of building a Medium publication called Wine & Home. It focuses on wine, food, interior design, and gardening. I’m finagling with how it works before making it more public.

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         WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         I think I found you. Does your profile picture have cats?

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            SerenityHaloposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Yes! That’s me.

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               WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               Following you.

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                  SerenityHaloposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                  Following you right back!

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      angelic0818posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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      angelic0818posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      My comment was deleted for some reason. My name is Serafina-angelic0818 at Medium. I followed you.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 8 months ago

   I will follow you there! (I'm at medium.com/@paul-goodman)
   
   Although to be honest, I've been struggling to write much at Medium recently.
   
   I prefer the HP system of earning through search engine traffic and ads, as you can earn from old articles.
   
   With Medium, even when I earn a reasonable amount from publishing an article initially, the earnings diminish quickly, typically within a week or two.
   
   I do have some Medium articles that consistently get a lot of views, but as the views come from search engines or social media sites like Pinterest, I don't earn any money from them.
   
   That's the frustrating thing about Medium for me, articles can rank well in Google, but you don't get any money from the search engine traffic.
   
   It's also a site that's in decline. The earnings have been getting less and less generous over the years that I've been there and many of the most successful writers have left.
   
   I wish I felt more positive. I really enjoyed writing there initially.

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      WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thank you so much Paul!
      I found you there. You really have some insightful looking articles there.
      I understand what you mean about getting views from search engines and not making any money.
      
      It looks like in order to be successful at Medium and make money you have to do a lot of interacting. I see where you have 3k followers. Wow!
      
      I'm going to see how the next few weeks go. So far it looks like I will make more money there than on HP with just a handful of articles compared to over 100 here.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Unfortunately, having 3K followers looks impressive but it isn't all that useful. You would think that it would result in more views but it doesn't appear to help much.
         
         As for interactions, I've written about that below in my comment to Glenn...

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            WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Thank you Paul.

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      Glenn Stokposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I have the same feelings and experience with Medium as you, Paul. Honestly, I have to say it's worse than HubPages. At least, I still earn from old articles with HubPages, although those earnings are minimal compared to Pre-Maven/TAG days.
      
      As you said, articles on Medium only earn income in the first week or two. I've noticed that, too. It's frustrating when I see an ongoing increase in views from Google because we don't earn from organic traffic with Medium.
      
      I stopped paying attention to my Medium account but recently tested it again with a few new articles, only to discover the same problem—earning only in the first week or two and then nil.
      
      So, I plan to move my articles to my website, where I earn income from Google AdSense and Amazon. Medium is not worth the struggle.
      
      The only people who do well on Medium are those who keep posting new content every day to keep the flow of views coming to older articles. I realize a lot of money can be made with that method. But that's not for everyone.
      
      Personally, I could never write an entirely new article every day, non-stop, which is required for success on Medium. Most of my type of content requires research, which takes time. That's why HubPages used to be the best platform for me. Unfortunately, that is no longer true.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Yes, Glenn, quantity generally seems to count for more than quality over at Medium, nowadays, whatever Coach Tony espouses.
         
         This is especially true if the writer engages in/receives a lot of interaction. As with social media, articles are boosted by the number of likes and comments and will earn you more.
         
         Some Medium folks do well by focusing primarily on securing interactions by whatever means and are less worried about the writing.
         
         I've considered churning out a lot of material and indulging in securing maximum engagement but I don't think it's my thing. I don't believe I could sustain it, regardless of whether I was earning more. For similar reasons to you, my heart just wouldn't be in it.
         
         Medium went through multiple revolutions in the past, so if you didn't like something it didn't seem to matter, as all you had to do was wait for a few months and there would be another radical transformation.
         
         However, all seems more settled under Coach Tony. He seems to prefer to tinker rather than make major changes. I therefore don't expect any big systemic alterations to happen anytime soon.

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            Glenn Stokposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            It’s not my thing either, Paul. You and I have similar values as to what we write about. We put a lot of time and research into writing informative content, rather than just churning out content every day to keep followers engaged.
            
            And as you eluded to in your reply to Janis, most followers are not active. I think many people follow on Medium just in hopes of getting a follow-back. I’ve noticed that most people who follow me on Medium had never read an article prior to following.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

               As far as followers go, I think you're right about activity levels, but I was thinking more in terms of the Medium algorithm.
               
               You'd think that your articles would get increased exposure with more followers but I'm not even sure that the algo takes follower numbers into account.
               
               It's quite possible that often most of your followers never even see that you've published something new because of underexposure by the algorithm.
               
               The Medium algorithm is less complicated than the Google one but there's still an element of mystery.
               
               Just as the Google algo is the king of HP world, the Medium algo is the ruler of the other. Please the algo and you will always do well. Fail to impress the algo and you're doomed because your work won't appear in enough peoples' feeds to have any chance.
               
               For sure you can set your feed to a different setting in Medium. But even when you're in the "follower" setting, I think the "invisible hand" of the algo is at work.
               
               Plus many followers, perhaps the majority, will have their feed set to the default, and any new articles will just get lost in the crowd.

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                  hclpdposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                  The only way around is to form a group of at least 30-40 people. I see some people are already doing that over there. But then again, I wonder if it's against Medium's rules.

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         WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         I'm curious. When you say you stop making money on Medium articles after a week or two is it because Medium cuts you off or because members just aren't reading those articles anymore?

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            Glenn Stokposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Medium doesn’t cut you off but we are limited to earning only from subscribers, and that’s a limited resource. I continue to see an increase of views from Google, but they don’t earn revenue as they do on HubPages.

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               WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               OK. Gotcha!

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                  PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

                  The Medium algorithm typically gives you the most views in the initial days after publication but then that gradually fades. As views are linked to earnings, earnings follow a similar pattern.
                  
                  Some articles continue to earn after that but it's usually peanuts. Some articles can briefly come back to life at a later stage but it's usually relatively mild and it's always temporary.
                  
                  I'm talking about internal traffic here. Views from search engines or social media can continue or increase but they don't earn you anything of course.
                  
                  Generally speaking, you have to keep running on the hamster wheel and continuously produce new articles to keep earning.
                  
                  It's not like HP where you can take breaks or even stop writing and you'll still earn the same.

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                     WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                     I see what you mean by the hamster wheel. I'm only a week in and so far, I am enjoying reading different articles everyday. We'll see what happens after a month. I really appreciated all of your insight here.

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                        PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

                        I'm giving Medium another go after a long absence.
                        
                        The nature of Medium has changed, though, compared to when I joined, mainly because of the way that they calculate earnings. A lot more depends upon likes and comments nowadays.
                        
                        Most of the writers who are successful now often seem to have an "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" approach to likes and comments.
                        
                        It could be argued that the "social" side has become more important than the writing.

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                           eugbugposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                           Sometimes republishing stories and bumping them up so they're more visible generates new reads.

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                           WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                           I have to agree with you Paul. I haven't done anything on the site for the past couple of days and without the interaction, my views plummeted.

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                              PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

                              The algo gives you a little exposure to start with for a few days. If you get a lot of likes and comments, it can extend to a week or more of higher exposure.
                              
                              Of course, the subject matter and tagging matters too, especially if you're trying to get traffic organically (i.e. without lots of friends who will like and comment on your work whatever).
                              
                              There are essentially around twenty topic areas that work on Medium, if you're chasing views and earnings, which is limiting. It's another reason why I always preferred HP.

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                                 Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                 PaulGoodman, I hear you. What are then the 20 'topic arears' that work?

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      Eric Cauncaposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      When your articles no longer generate revenue there, you can unpublish them and republish them here.

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   Miebakagh57posted 8 months ago

   I would follow you, and  Paul Goodman there at  Medium.                                      But I'm yet to register with www.medium.com                             The problem seems to be at  gmail.com endside with my gmail.                                             Any time I login with my correct user name and password, my gmail inbox couldn't not be load. I even wait for an hour. It baffled me, as I've not experienced anything like it. Is anyone out the having the bad taste? How d' you get over it? Thanks.

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      theraggededgeposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      There's no username and password log-in at Medium. You just enter your email address and they send you a link.

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         Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Sorry Bev. You failed to get me correctly.                                          The psoblem's not with Medium. But with gmail. The question is my gmail inbox is not loading. They may be an issue at their endside, it seems?                                        Now, if I request registration with Medium with my correct gmail, and Medium sent a link to my gmail, while it's not loading? That link may be a confirmation link. How d' you see it? That's the challenge. Thanks.

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      WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Miebakagh,
      
      Please let me know once you have everything taken care of.

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         Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Okay, WJ.

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   Miebakagh57posted 8 months ago

   I know a Canadanian who likely fit the description. But why is he not at Medium?

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   Carb Divaposted 8 months ago

   I'll follow you. I'm Linda Lum on Medium.

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      WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I found you!

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   Carb Divaposted 8 months ago

   And I found you too! Following and subscribed.

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   Jodahposted 8 months ago

   I found you and followed too.

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   Miebakagh57posted 8 months ago

   Today...I mean in the morning I reconsider signing up with medium.com                                     I just click 'get started'.                                               In the 3 option given, I go with my email. Waiting.                                    Seriously, whosoever I found here, and is also at Medium, I'll follow.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      As with other members, I plan on making the transition as well. Currently, I am reviewing their "rules of the road," so to speak, in order to make that change as smooth as possible. Given the slow demise of HP, it's time to look for greener pastures. Good luck, everyone.

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         Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

         A lovely afternoon folks. My gmail doesn't respond well. I try another option facebook.                       Seriously, my Network carriers are in a 'fix' but I'm nearing Medium. Perhaps next week. Have a nice time everyone.

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            WriterJanisposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Fingers crossed for you.

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               Miebakagh57posted 8 months agoin reply to this

               Thank you.

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            Miebakagh57posted 7 months agoin reply to this

            My network 'fix' is still being upgrade. When done, I'll sign up with www.medium.com                                 Much thanks to PaulGoodman, for enlighten us about the basic link to the Stripe account, which is basic to signing up,

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   PaulGoodman67posted 8 months ago

   I think the time to be writing at Medium was during the Evan Williams period. He was pumping vast amounts of money into the site. It meant high earnings and a lot of top writers were attracted.
   
   It's run by Coach Tony nowadays and he doesn't appear to have the luxury of pumping in vast amounts of money. Consequently, earnings have dropped significantly in the last few years and many writers have left.
   
   It feels more like an amateur blogging platform nowadays, with fewer professional editors and publications than there used to be.
   
   In the past, it was easier to earn at least a part-time income there. You have to put in a lot more effort for less money nowadays.
   
   While it doesn't feel quite as moribund as HP, it can still feel soul-destroying at times, especially if you were there when earnings were much higher and there was a buzz about the place.

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    hclpdposted 8 months ago

    Is anyone else on Medium? I joined this month and I have made over $50 so far. I would love to connect with all the hubbers out here. Let's form a group and help each other out. By helping I don't mean gaming Medium's algorithm. Let's just connect and help each other out.
    
    If anyone needs help in how to get started there, I will be more than happy to help them out.

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       WriterJanisposted 7 months agoin reply to this

       Looks like you're off to a great start! What name do you go by there?

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          hclpdposted 7 months agoin reply to this

          It's @ShraddhaRajputt. Just let me know here when you follow or subscribe so that I can return the favour. Thanks.
          
          And yeah, I'm doing reasonably well because I write about generic topics everyone else is covering there.
          
          Once in a while I cover something I really want, but those article barely get any traffic. I think of them as my passion projects, destined to fail.

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             WriterJanisposted 7 months agoin reply to this

             I wasn't able to find you. Please find me at Janis Masyk-Jackson.

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                PaulGoodman67posted 7 months agoin reply to this

                You can search for @ShraddhaRajputt or put medium.com/@ShraddhaRajputt in your browser.
                
                Either works, at least for me.
                
                The @name is the Medium ID. Yours is @writerjanis

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                   WriterJanisposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                   Thank you Paul for that information. It worked!

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                      hclpdposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                      Found you both on Medium. Great!

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             larry-leaseposted 7 months agoin reply to this

             I just found you my name https://medium.com/@larrymlease

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                hclpdposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                Done.

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                PaulGoodman67posted 7 months agoin reply to this

                I followed you too!

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    viryaboposted 7 months ago

    I just opened a Stripe account and I am trying to connect Stripe to my Partner Program account on Medium. They asked about my business name, company name, tax ID, and products my company produces. I don’t have a company/business name for my online writing (except the 30% tax I pay from my Amazon KDP royalties). Neither do I have products I make.
    
    I’m stuck in that space at the moment and can’t go any further. What do I do please?

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       theraggededgeposted 7 months agoin reply to this

       I don't remember having to do that. You just need a personal account. Can you go back?

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          viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

          Precisely. I was expecting to have the personal account option but it’s not in any of the drop-downs.

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             PaulGoodman67posted 7 months agoin reply to this

             Did you check out the FAQs in the help? http://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/article … ith-Stripe
             
             According to that, the business name is an optional question.

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                viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                Thanks
                Will go and check that out.

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                viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                I went to the FAQs and couldn't really find an answer to my question, so I ended up starting a chat with them. They were quite helpful and everything seemed okay until the last step. I will start another chat today and hope (fingers crossed) it gets totally sorted.
                
                Such a pain!

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                   Miebakagh57posted 7 months agoin reply to this

                   Finger crossed for you too. When you're through, let us know.                                      Seriously, I'll be after you and the others here.

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                      viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

                      Thank you Miebakagh. Will do.
                      
                      Looking forward to seeing you there soon.

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                         Miebakagh57posted 7 months agoin reply to this

                         You're welcome.

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    theraggededgeposted 7 months ago

    I just had a look at mine and all that info isn't present. I've linked my Medium and Ko-fi accounts to it.
    
    Realised I hadn't updated my email address and had to jump some hoops to sort it, as no access to the old one. They don't make things easy, do they?

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       viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

       Kind of frustrating. Perhaps they (Stripe) have new rules to make things harder.

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    theraggededgeposted 7 months ago

    I just got a phone call re the email address. Had to answer a lot of questions but none related to business ID. She wanted d.o.b., address, where I last logged in from, what the old email address was, and last four digits of bank account. Sorted now, thank goodness.

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       viryaboposted 7 months agoin reply to this

       Good.
       That must be a relief.

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    psycheskinnerposted 7 months ago

    I'm not doing great on Medum either.  But it seems like a safer place to archive the material for later use.  Especially since they have an automatic import function.  The other possibility being Substack.

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       PaulGoodman67posted 7 months agoin reply to this

       What's your name on Medium, I'll follow you?

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