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At the beginning of the year, I took a break from Medium to grow this newsletter. And, it’s been refreshing to start over on a brand-new platform.
But, I’m aware the majority of you currently write on Medium. So, a few weeks ago, I conducted a deep dive into the business plans of Medium writers.
Regardless of where you are on your writing journey, you can use them to:
Earn your first $1,000 online
Create a lucrative side hustle
Turn your writing hobby into a full-time job
From anywhere in the world — even if you can’t join the Medium Partner Program.
Let’s get into it…
Disclaimer: this post leans on the advanced side. So, feel free to ask questions in the comments. Or, if you’re a paid subscriber, reach out to me directly, via my DMs. 💡👇
Medium has “died” more times than I can count.
One of the most interesting aspects of writing online is how perspective shapes reality. The comments you read and how your content performs dictate how you see yourself.
But, these metrics don’t always paint an accurate picture. 🖼️ ❌
Positive or negative, comments come from the vocal minority. And, if your content doesn’t perform well, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. You may simply need to adjust your packaging — or post it to a different platform.
Similarly, for the past year, the public narrative surrounding Medium has been that of, well… disappointment. And, I’ve seen Medium be declared dead more times than I can count.
But, even though Medium’s buzz has softened, it’s far from dead.
And, there are still many writers using Medium as an integral part of their full-time writing businesses. Even if they only earn a few hundred dollars from the Medium Partner Program itself.
How Medium has changed.
Every week, I read YouTube comments falling under 1 of these 2 categories:
“I started writing on Medium and I love it”
“My earnings are down and I’m mad about it”
The truth is, Medium exploded in popularity in the mid-2010s for one reason: writers are artists. And, the majority of writers struggle with marketing themselves. So, a platform offering writers a streamlined path to profiting from their words felt like a heaven-sent.
But, Medium has been struggling to make this dream a lucrative reality.
And, for the past few years, they’ve been trying everything in their power to:
Combat A.I.
Reduce clickbait
Resist selling out to advertisers
And, one of Medium’s latest strategies has been to move to a members-only model — where readers must become paying members to read paywalled stories.
Now, while I appreciate the sentiment of an ad-free platform, I believe ads are the answer. And, trying to resist them has only resulted in less pay and exposure for writers.
As of today, the Medium Partner Program is largely a supplemental form of income. And, for 99.9% of writers, it’s not enough to live on. 💰
But, there are still many benefits to writing on Medium outside of its Partner Program. And, tons of writers have smartly tweaked their businesses to adapt with the times.
Here are the 4 main ways writers earn money on Medium — as part-time or full-time writers…
How writers are earning money on Medium.
If your goal is to simply write and get paid for it, Medium still offers the most streamlined path to making money as a writer. But, since Medium’s move to a members-only model, there is a cap on how much you can earn solely from its Partner Program.
So, here’s a breakdown of every major business model Medium writers use to earn part-time and full-time incomes.
#1. The no-marketing method
If your goal is to develop as a writer while earning a nice side income, the Medium Partner Program is your best option. And, despite its recent changes, I still do believe it’s possible to earn upwards of $1,000 USD per month.
Without selling anything or marketing yourself. ✍️ 🙋
This was my last active month on Medium before taking my break (March 2024):
With that said, the pay is not consistent. And, fluctuates drastically based on the performance of your stories. If you’re a new writer, this video outlines exactly how I recommend getting started.
And, to scale your earnings into the 4-figure range, this is my best video on the topic:
More resources:
👉 A list of eligible countries
Now, let’s get into the full-time strategies…
#2. The Medium blueprint
One of the biggest hurdles Medium faces in its quest to create the ultimate human-first writing platform is that… well, humans are obsessed with money:
Job satisfaction is at an all-time low
More people want to become their own bosses
So, although Medium wants to become “a place to read, write, and deepen your understanding”, one of Medium’s biggest selling points is the fact that you can make money on it. And, the majority of Medium readers are also writers themselves.
It’s precisely why every successful writer seems to moonlight as a productivity specialist. 🧑💻 ⚡️
Although Medium staff may prefer personal stories, people want to learn how to become financially free. And, stories about making money online (particularly as a writer), speak directly to this desire.
So, if you’re looking to scale your earnings into a full-time job, the most effective way is to become a “meta writer” — someone who writes about writing.
Truthfully, I avoided this path for many years.
Not wanting to “sell out”, I stuck to topics I was genuinely interested in. But, what I found was, my passions began to feel like work. And, writing about a million different topics made me hard to follow. So, eventually, I started a YouTube channel to share my experience on making money as a writer.
And, what I found was, teaching others helped me develop my own business. And, by sticking to one niche, I’ve found more time to write about things I’m genuinely interested in. Even if I never post them, this helps me continue to develop as a writer while still making enough to survive.
In short, the Medium blueprint involves:
Doing a thing
Writing about that thing
Offering assistance for others to achieve that thing
Here’s a full breakdown…
An overview of the method: 💰
There are almost endless examples of Medium writers using the Medium blueprint with great success. But, Eve Arnold is emblematic of the tried-and-true method. And, she’s used it to speedrun a successful business in just 3 years.
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She writes short, concise stories offering clear value on how to chase your dreams alongside a 9-5.
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And, if you scroll down to the bottom of her stories, you’ll always find a link to her newsletter, bridging the gap between a hobby and an online business.
From there, she can promote her:
Courses
Digital products
Paid community events
If you start paying attention to the profiles of any succesful Medium writer, they all have 3 things in common:
Targeted niche
An email list
Something to sell
Some of the most common examples of things to sell are:
A free email course (how to achieve “X, Y, or Z”)
A paid course (either online- or cohort-based)
Digital products (Notion templates, collection of headlines, hooks, etc.)
Community events (paid newsletters, coaching, group calls, etc.)
Personally, I started my email list with this freebie. Then, over time, expanded my Gumroad store to offer a variety of free and paid products. 💡
The Medium blueprint is a tried-and-true method — with one caveat. You’ll be creating a lot of content about… well, creating content. And, you may find this niche a little dry.
So, here’s an alternative…
#3: The Boost Nominator Program
Making money is great. But, not everyone enjoys writing about productivity, writing, or how to make money online.
This is something I struggled with for my first 3 years on Medium. And, truthfully, it held me back — at least, from making real money. But, in the past 2 years, since starting my YouTube channel, I’ve accepted that, at least for now, sharing my journey about making money as a writer is my golden goose.
But, if you don’t want to tether yourself to this niche, I understand. And, frankly, commend you. 🏆✍️
Many writers who share this preference have turned to the Boost Nominator Program to supplement their earnings.
In short, the Boost Nominator Program allows publication owners to apply to become Boost Nominators. Boosting is one of the ways Medium tries to control what types of stories become popular on the platform. And, Boost Nominators are the humans recommending stories to be Boosted.
Anyone can apply to become a Boost nominator, as long as you:
Own a publication
Are a paying Medium member
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Aside from earning a flat rate of up to $900 per month, as a Boost Nominator, you can use your publication to promote:
Your own writing
Paid community spaces
Products, services, or coaching
Becoming a Boost Nominator is perfect for you if you value community, enjoy reading Medium stories, and want to lift up fellow writers.
Here are more resources on the program:
👉 How to get Boosted (cheatsheet)
👉 Beginner’s Guide to Boosting (video)
👉 Application to become a Boost Nominator
👉 More information on the Boost Nominator Program
#4: Affiliate marketing
Lastly, if you’re ineligible to join Medium’s Partner Program, the idea of writing on Medium can feel like a mirage.
It’s right there, but you can’t quite grab it. 🏝️ 💸
On my YouTube channel, I receive comments every week from viewers expressing how they’ve set up their account and started writing, but upon applying to the Partner Program, discovered they are ineligible based on their location.
👉 So, for starters, here’s a list of eligible locations.
If you’re not on the list, don’t worry. There’s an underground subset of writers using Medium to gain ungodly numbers of organic search traffic.
From anywhere in the world.
Truthfully, 70% of Medium’s traffic comes from search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. And, although Medium is most-known for its Partner Program, I would argue more money is being made through this organic traffic.
Here’s how you can earn money on Medium through affiliate marketing. ✅👇
The current catch-22 of Medium is that in order to get paid through the Partner Program, you must write paywalled stories. But, paywalled stories are only available to paying Medium members.
Luckily, Medium allows you to remove the paywall from your stories, making them available to the entire internet. 👇
This can be a great way to increase your visibility and earn money through affiliate marketing. Or, earn from Medium with a free account.
I first learned about this method from Artturi Jalli.
I had seen a few of his YouTube videos about earning thousands of dollars each month from Medium. And, single stories garnering hundreds of thousands of views. But, upon checking out his profile, I was surprised to see a lack of engagement.
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Puzzled, I decided to reach out to Artturi to see what I may have been missing.
Until that point, I had thought more engagement meant more views. And, ultimately, more money. But, what I learned was, real Medium money isn’t made through views.
It’s made through your ability to leverage views.
During a video chat, Artturi gracefully broke down his entire method.
In short, Artturi leverages Medium’s high search authority to rank on Google for various keywords and phrases (generally pertaining to A.I. tools). Then, writes reviews and recommendations on these products, linking to the products via affiliate links.
And, he’s been able to earn thousands of dollars, each month, through affiliate commissions. This opened my eyes to perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of Medium — its ability to naturally rank highly on Google.
Here’s a full breakdown of his method:
This means you can sign up for Medium, for free, from anywhere in the world and still earn from it. And, although Artturi mainly writes about A.I. tools (as they’re particularly lucrative right now), this same method can be applied to any niche you’re interested in.
👉 Artturi has an online course, if you want to learn more. If you use code hudson25 at checkout, you’ll save 25%. 🎁
Final thoughts: how to action these businesses.
At the end of my posts, I like to break the 4th wall to validate that… well, you may not have actually read this post.
If you’re like 90% of humans on planet Earth, you may have skimmed through it while using the restroom or on your lunch break.
So, here’s a brief summary of what I believe are the most valuable lessons from this post: 💰👇
Medium isn’t a full-time job. But, it can lay the foundation for one
To turn your Medium blog into a full-time business, start building your email list
Instead of aiming for more views, think of ways to maximize your income from each view (through products, services, or affiliate links)
For everything else, leave a comment below. And, if you’re a paid subscriber, feel free to reach out to me via my DMs, anytime. 💬 👇
Thanks for reading! 🙌
If you’re not yet a subscriber to Writer’s Hub, why not become one? 👇
👉 And, for weekly videos on how to make money as a writer, subscribe to my YouTube channel. 🍿
Finally, if you know anyone who will benefit from this post, share it with them. 👇
That’s it from me.
Talk soon! 🙋♂️
— Hudson
Writing resources:
🙋♂️ Here’s everything I’ve got going on
💸 Download your free $100+ article template
🗣️ This A.I. voiceover was created with Eleven Labs
Spot on! Question: do you think this free to read stories can really gain so much traffic? I think Medium somehow suppresses them now because they want to grow subscribers and free to read stories are not helping…
Awesome 💯