While it’s unlikely to make a living writing on Medium, it’s not impossible. Only top-tier writers can make a living writing on Medium.
To make a living writing on Medium, you have to earn more than 100,000 views every month from Medium members. However, that still might not be enough money to make a living from Medium alone.
Just know it’s not impossible to make a living writing on Medium. It’s unlikely, but not impossible. Just like you can make a living writing on Textbroker, but that’s also unlikely.
If you’re looking to shoot your best shot and make a living writing on Medium, I have a few tips to help you. Learning how Medium operates as a platform can help you earn more money.
- How much can you earn from Medium?
- How to sign up for the Medium Partner Program?
- How does Medium pay writers?
- Takeaway
How much can you earn from Medium?
Writers can earn thousands of dollars every month from Medium. It all depends on how many views your stories get from Medium members.
Determining how much you can earn from Medium will involve several factors. Views, stories and getting followers all matter when it comes to making money on Medium. With the platform’s recent installment of shared memberships, those will also play a factor in how much you can make from Medium.
It’s important to note that Medium takes care of its veteran writers. The longer you’ve been active on Medium and paying our membership fees, the more value you’ll get back from the platform.
It can take a writer some time to grow on Medium and earn more money. Learn how long it takes to grow on Medium.
How much does Medium pay per 1,000 views?
Medium pays roughly $20 per 1,000 internal views. However, it’s impossible to determine how much Medium pays per 1,000 views. Since writers only make money if Medium members view their stories, 1,000 views from anyone else won’t count toward your earnings.
For example, if you write a story that ranks high on Google and you get a lot of organic traffic from the search engine, those views don’t make you money.
The average salary in the U.S. is about $50,000 per year. However, many people make a living only making about $30,000 a year. So, if 1,000 views roughly equals $20 then you’ll have to average more than 100,000 views every 30 days on Medium to make a living of about $30,000 per year.
For some writers, gaining 100,000 views every month on Medium is possible and they do it. However, that percentage of writers is very small.
How much does the average writer make on Medium?
The average writer earns less than $100 a month on Medium. A very small percent of writers earn more than $100 a month writing on Medium.
For this reason, most writers can not make a living writing on Medium. Most of them can’t make more than $100, never mind a full-time living.
However, there are ways you can increase your earnings on Medium and become an above-average writer on the platform. The best writers aren’t necessarily the most polished. They write interesting stories on the platform to large audiences in the biggest publications. Find out more below.
How to increase your earnings on Medium?
There are several ways to increase your earnings on Medium. The main way is by writing more stories for bigger publications. These stories have to provide value to the reader.
By writing stories for larger publications, writers are accessing more readers and views, which means more money per story. The more stories published, the more money you make.
A common way writers increase their earnings on Medium is by writing stories with the intention of getting them curated. Getting a story curated on Medium is when Medium’s employees read your story and like it enough to promote it to larger audiences. Curation means more views and more money.
However, it can be difficult to get curated. It’s not impossible though. Stories chosen for curation on Medium contain value, are well written and don’t mention Medium as a platform itself. There are a number of other small factors that go into a Medium story getting curated.
Another way to increase your earnings on Medium is by using your membership link to get others to sign up for the platform. For each member you get to sign up for a paid Medium subscription, you get paid a part of their monthly membership. It’s Medium’s news initiative to pay its writers and attract more members.
How to sign up for the Medium Partner Program?
It’s easy to sign up for the Medium Partner Program. Follow that link and it will take you to the sign-up page for the partner program. You’ll need to provide some basic information to sign up and a payment method.
Boom, that’s it. After the sign-up process is complete, you’ll be enrolled in the Medium Partner Program and can start making money by writing stories you publish on Medium.
How does Medium pay writers?
Medium pays writers by sending payments through Stripe. Writers earn money by publishing stories that garner views from Medium readers only. The membership fees those readers pay are used to pay writers each month.
Medium writers can also earn money by helping to sign up new paying Medium members.
Takeaway
Just to restate, it is possible to make a living writing on Medium. However, it is unlikely for most writers to do that. This is because more than 90% of writers don’t make more than $100 on Medium every month. Medium is a unique side hustle for writers.
It’s true some writers do make thousands of dollars every month writing on Medium. I’ve seen screen recordings of writers showing their income reports that say they are earning $5,000 and $6,000 every month from Medium alone.
But that’s the case for only a very small number of writers on Medium. Getting stories curated, publishing stories in big publications and consistently writing on the platform are a writer’s best methods to make more money writing on Medium. Medium is a great side hustle to start without social media.
Read our post about the best books for freelance writers.
