Medium has 30 million users. Top writers on this platform can earn around 10K per month.
Quora has more than 300 million users. With the new earning potential via Quora+ for $5 per month and paid Quora Spaces, we can conclude that, in theory, it is possible to earn 10 times the amount as on Medium, right?
Well, yes. In theory. Let me explain!
Issues with earning on Quora
The aforementioned conclusion didn’t come from my mind. I’ve just read this in a great post by Nicolas Cole.
I see his points. Technically, this new Quora program with a paywall-like structure similar to Medium has a lot of potential for writers. And in theory, the user base of Quora makes this much more lucrative than Medium on paper.
In theory, Quora+ has the potential to become a “YouTube” for writers. With a good mix of ads, paying members, and paid Quora Spaces. On YouTube, earning 100K a month is not out of the realm of possibility. Not at all. On Medium, it is.
I see issues with that though.
- First of all, I can’t imagine regular Quora readers — the people who look for honest and productive answers to their questions — paying $5 per month to find and read those answers. Especially since they would probably find the same or very similar answers for free somewhere else.
- Secondly, it’s hard to tell how many Quora writers — regular ones with millions of views just as much as new writers — will switch to the paywall model. As far as I understand, everyone can choose to make their questions and answers available for free or only to paying Quora+ members.
- Thirdly, I’m not sure what kind of a role Quora Spaces will play here. Spaces are a cool feature, no doubt. The idea to monetize these spaces through a subscription model might even make more sense to me than the Quora+ system. I have to think about it some more though.
Other players in the field
In his post, Nicolas mentioned that Quora is the only platform to have a chance of unlocking this potential for writers. More so than Medium.
That is true. For now.
But I see a couple of interesting developments on the horizon.
Crypto-based platforms
There’s a rise in crypto-based content creation platforms. One of those is mirror.xyz which currently operates on a sort of invite-only basis.
Another one is CloutPub. Built to work with BitClout — a crypto-based social media platform — this new writing platform is in its infancy but has already attracted high-profile writers like Tom Kuegler or Ash Jurberg.
These two platforms are not high-level destinations right now. But if crypto keeps rising, this might change quicker than you think.
On these platforms, you won’t have to count on ads or subscription models that benefit on the basis of reads and views. Instead, mirror.xyz and CloutPub work with direct crypto payments.
So, readers essentially buy your post(s) with a cryptocurrency. And you set the price.
Platforms for fiction writers
For the serious writers among us, there are also places like Wattpad, Kindlevella — as Nicolas pointed out — and Simily. They offer earning potential for writers of fiction, serial stories, and more.
I’m not too familiar with these three platforms, but if you write fiction, you might want to take a look into those as well.
Back to Quora now.
Only time will tell
To conclude — and this is my conclusion — I’m not sure whether these Quora announcements are good or… negligible.
Only time will tell.
I applaud Quora for going new routes, nevertheless. The creator economy is booming like never before, subscription models and freemium systems are at an all-time high.
I could be all wrong here. I probably wouldn’t have thought that a subscription-based email newsletter would work in the 2020s. Then Substack came along. And proved me all kinds of wrong.
So, I don’t know.
Give me your thoughts
What do you think about this?
Is Quora a new opportunity for us, writers?
Are you excited?
Or is it not of interest to you?
Is it negligible?
Tell me!
I know some of you write and read on Quora regularly. Others have just created a Quora account. Give me your opinion!
