Blogging won’t make you rich.
Even though many bloggers make a hell of a living, it’s not the writing itself that made them rich.
Let’s say you’re a traditional blogger. WordPress, self-hosted site, your own domain. Does that make you rich?
Well, some people earn thousands a month doing that. But from what? They’re not getting paid for their words. They’re getting paid for putting AdSense blocks on their site (or other ad networks), they’re making bucks from sponsored products or affiliate links. They sell digital products or courses. Writing is their tool of choice, but they don’t get paid for writing directly.
Medium’s different. Here, you do get paid for your writing. Your words count. Time spent on your story counts. Show me another platform that works like this. There aren’t many.
Blogging won’t make you rich. Medium won’t either. Not anymore. 2 years ago, it was possible to make 5 figures a month here. It’s not as easy anymore now. Even the big names, the ones that were here 2 years ago, making that kind of money, struggle with plummeting views.
They switch to other platforms. Like Substack where they might get paid directly by readers via subscriptions. Or to LinkedIn, to sell LinkedIn courses and grow their audience there. Both are fine options.
Still, don’t bash Medium. It’s the only (or at least one of the very few) places online where writers will get paid for their words. Without ads, without sponsored content, without affiliate links.
Other platforms try to duplicate Medium’s success, like Vocal, Simily, or Tealfeed. Long way to go for all of them. They probably won’t make it as far as Medium has gone.
Better yet, you can incorporate multiple income methods into Medium as well. Make the best of both worlds. Get paid for your words and do some affiliate marketing. Publish content and market your digital products, courses, or services.
Spent a little time on SEO and drive loads of external traffic to your Medium site with its high domain authority score. Turn external traffic into referrals, or drive sales with affiliate links.
Market your newsletter or email list on Medium and grow your platform-independent audience with the help of Medium. Email lists are invaluable. Right now, I make a huge chunk of my writing income because I have dedicated email lists for multiple income streams.
It’s hard to earn from ads, it’s difficult to grow an email list with a self-hosted WordPress blog. Medium makes both easier.
And at last, an option that many don’t know or see value in. Once you’ve made it on Medium, you can connect your own domain to your profile. Then, all web traffic will be redirected to your domain. Your domain authority will grow. Later, you can switch away from Medium to a self-hosted platform like WordPress or Ghost and retain a lot of the traffic. And, in turn, grow something you own completely.
You can bash Medium and walk away, or you take full advantage of all it has to offer. Build on that. Partner program earnings are just a small way of earning money with Medium. Medium is a stepping stone. Step it up!
