Non-Traditional Ways to Approach Making Money on Medium
There is more than one way to monetize the platform
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Medium has changed drastically in the 2.5 years that I have been writing on the platform. It seems like as soon as I discover a way to monetize the platform, the rules change, and we are left scrambling to adapt to new metrics. Writers get frustrated and leave, but there are always a thousand more waiting to take their place.
Though I rarely make more than $100 a month writing for the platform, and often far less than that, I find it worth my efforts despite the rollercoaster of change. The secret, for me, to making money on Medium is not counting on Medium to pay me for my writing. Instead, this is what I get from Medium:
- Experience
- The freedom to write about things I care about
- An excellent portfolio for other clients
- Exposure to talented writers and great publications
- A terrific way to get my writing at the top of the SERPs
Making Money on Medium
When I first started writing for Medium, I thought it would be fantastic to make money on the platform, and I worked hard to attempt to build a following and get my work in front of as many eyes as possible. I was publishing three to four times a week.
When I finally broke the magic $100 and up club, it felt like an accomplishment. However, I was simultaneously growing my freelance writing career outside of Medium. I was using Upwork and other platforms to connect with clients that were paying me far more than Medium for my writing.
I discovered that the value in Medium was not in the paltry payments to my Stripe account each month. Instead, I get the most value from Medium as an online portfolio of my writing.
The combined earnings of my articles on the platform are a nice bonus but have little to do with why I continue to write here. Given the amount of time I invested in my Medium writing, the entire thing would be a bust if my only “wins” were what Medium paid.
If you are a writer looking to get paid for your writing, you need to determine your goals for Medium. If you are hoping…
