Bollocks, this is a story about Medium. So, what the heck, Burk?
I know. The irony. Let me explain!
I frequently get accused of writing content about Medium because these types of stories do well on Medium, it’s easy to make money from them, and they delude newbies into thinking Medium is a way to get rich with writing.
Gosh…
Let’s break this down!
1. I write about Medium
I do write about Medium a lot. I started early by documenting my journey on this platform, from zero to wherever it was going to lead.
Then, I transitioned into accomplishment posts. I shared milestones and achievements. And yes, some success porn.
Lately (and throughout my journey, really), I also shared my thoughts on Medium, tips and tricks, as well as criticism or ideas for new features, improvements, and more.
This last area is my favorite one, to be honest. I love discussing Medium because I love this platform.
2. Medium stories earn big-time
Nope, I have to disappoint you here. Contrary to popular belief, stories about Medium don’t pay well. They don’t even do well in terms of views and reads compared to other topics I share.
I have posts with thousands, tens of thousands, and even 100K+ views. None of those are stories about Medium. Well, almost none. The handful that is, falls into the aforementioned third category, criticism or future improvements.
Only one single earnings-related story about Medium has hit a considerable amount of views. In that one, I break down the exact $ amount I earned per 1000 views in 2021, averaged over a number of my stories. The funny thing is, that story is 50% external views. So, it didn’t break the bank either.
All other stories about Medium (especially over the past few months) have gotten a few hundred views at best. So, I can tell you, stories about Medium don’t do well in the grand scheme of things.
I still love writing them, because, again, I love this platform. I want Medium to succeed. I want to keep writing on Medium.
3. Medium is a way to get rich
I wish but no, it isn’t.
It’s the best place to earn directly with blogging. It’s no get-rich-quick deal.
It’s not even a viable full-time job option for 99% of writers (I would assume). The ones that do make money, only do it in part from MPP earnings. They mainly do it with other things, like digital products, courses, email marketing, etc.
A very small group of writers is (or was) able to earn big on Medium. And as far as I can tell, that’s getting harder and harder by the minute.
Whenever I praise Medium or write about it (even in my Medium Playbook), I always lead with the notion that you can make money on Medium, but you won’t get rich. Medium is a stepping stone for multiple opportunities. It’s not a reliable sole income source.
The bottom line
Medium is flooded with meta stories, i.e., stories about Medium. Just like YouTube is flooded with stories about making money on YouTube. Contrary to YouTube, however, Medium meta stories won’t make you rich. They might get you some attention, but they won’t be your breakthrough.
So, why do people write these stories?
Good question. I have a couple of theories:
- People think they do well. Hence, my post here.
- People want to sell Medium-related content, like courses or products.
- People bash the platform for whatever reason.
- People compare Medium to other platforms.
- People genuinely enjoy discussing Medium with its quirks and oddities.
- People have ideas, feature requests, and criticism.
- People have been on Medium since the beginning and can tell stories about changes, upgrades, problems, and the evolution of the platform.
Whatever the case may be, they don’t make big bucks with these types of stories. I don’t anyway.
So no, I’m not writing about Medium because I earn a lot with those stories or get tons of views. If anything, writing about Medium has significant downsides. These stories won’t get curated — you might even lose your auto-curation bonus if you had one (as I did).
Remember that.
