I joined the Paid Medium Partner Program in August 2023, and by October 2023, I hit the coveted $1,000 income goal.
To clarify, that’s $1,000 in one month. The previous month, I made almost $300. I took a screenshot of my income earnings since August 2023 so you can see what I’m talking about:
How Did I Do It?
This is the first “how to make money on Medium” article I’ve written since starting with the Partner Program — and I don’t plan to write many of these. Case in point: I didn’t make $1,000 in one month by telling writers how to make money.
Rather, I made $1,000 on Medium by writing about philosophical or societal topics that speak to people’s humanity. As a former journalist who now writes personal and political essays, novels, short stories, and poetry, I cover the stuff that interests me — life, culture, and social issues.
I work many hours at my day job, so I didn’t want to slave away at a side hustle that bored me. I wanted to monetize my “passion writing,” and apparently, I found my home on Medium.
Therefore, point one: write about what matters to you.
Under Medium’s updated Partner Program rules, it appears to favor writing that enriches people’s minds and worldview while bringing nuance to unique perspectives. You can only write this way if you gravitate toward topics that interest you.
How do I know this?
Because Medium has boosted nearly every post I’ve written in the past two months. Which leads me to my next point.
Point two: write for the boost.
Getting boosted often has been the main reason I made $1,000 in my third month on this platform. In fact, I’ve come to believe getting boosted is the KEY to making decent money on Medium.
For those who are new to Medium, you might wonder what I mean by “boosted.” You can read more about boosted stories from Medium’s official blog. Essentially, real humans at Medium find good stories on the platform and “boost” them by sending them to more people.
This is important to making money because Medium pays writers based on “reads” (the number of people who read your story for 30 seconds or more), and engagement (such as “claps” and comments). In order to get more reads and engagement, your essay needs to be seen by many people–which the “boost” helps accomplish.
But how can you get boosted, and often?
The formula is simple. Combine your personal experience with well-researched facts and create nuance. Also try to write about timely topics or events.
Every one of my posts that got boosted intertwined a personal story with a larger societal issue backed by well-researched (and cited) facts.
If you want to use the exact formula I did, I created a template that walks you through the essay structure I used to write all my boosted stories. You can download my Medium Post Template here for just $5.
However, even if you write well, how can you ensure the Medium Boosting Gods will actually see your work? Thus, my next point …
Point three: publish your stories in Medium publications 95 percent of the time.
Again, for those who are new to Medium, publications are online magazines or newspapers run through Medium. You can be an editor for a publication, or a writer. However, to be a writer, you must first be accepted to the publication.
Medium relies on many of its publication editors to submit suggestions for boosted stories. The Medium curators then review those stories and decide which ones to boost.
Now, you don’t HAVE to publish your essays in publications to get them boosted. However, it certainly helps your chances.
Nearly all of my stories that generated $1,000 in a single month were published in a Medium publication and subsequently boosted.
The key to making money on Medium is to get boosted, so you need to get boosted regularly. The best way to do this is by developing positive relationships with various Medium publication editors. Those who like your writing may recommend your work for boosting more frequently.
So, in summary:
- Write about what matters to you. Be passionate and real.
- Write for the boost, which includes combining personal stories with larger issues and well-researched facts.
- Publish your stories in Medium publications 95 percent of the time to increase your chances of getting boosted more frequently.
Remember, if you need help structuring your essays for the boost, you can buy and use my Medium Post Template for just $5. My template walks you through the exact formula I used to write all my posts that got boosted and landed me an income of $1,000 in a single month.
I hope this post was helpful, and if you use my Medium Post Template, let me know if it works for you! If you want to read more of my writing, please sign up as either a free or paid subscriber for my Substack newsletter, On Point.
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