How To Start Writing On Medium: The Truth Behind The Open Doors
The right mindset to have if you want to succeed on Medium or anywhere else.
This post is for those of you who want to start writing on Medium or those of you who already started but with no success up until now.
First of all, let’s make it crystal clear, everyone who is here is for the same reasons: 1. They are passionate about writing. 2. They want to monetize their passion.
At first glance on Medium, the platform itself is very user-friendly, inspiring, and gives you hope that anyone can be successful. Everything here is straightforward: write an article, sign up for the partner program hit publish and boom your article is live and ready to make you some bucks.
BUT…
There are a few things that are overlooked when one decides to go for writing on Medium.
Just like other social media platforms, you need followers, claps(aka likes), views, and the most important aspect for you to earn money here on Medium is…. READING TIME.
Yes, that is something most people that start writing on Medium don’t know about, and I was one of them. Just to give you an example from my experience: 36 seconds of reading time = 0.01 $ and 4.42 minutes reading time = 0.96$ So… to get 1000$ you need 100.000 minutes of reading time at a rate of 0.01$/ minute. But this rate is not set in stone, as you see in my example.
I am on Medium since July this year and so far I have made 1.5$ with an average reading time of 15 min and 15 stories published. Some have views and reads some don't. I know I am not one of the top writers here on Medium and my earnings are far from what I want to achieve but I want to be open with you and share my experience.
When I first started on Medium I read loads of articles on “How I made 2000$ a month writing on Medium“ or “I quit my job after started writing on Medium”.
Those stories were amazing and I thought to myself “Well… I can’t wait to quit my job and work from home with a cuppa and my laptop. Go on vacations, have more money, and spend quality time with family and friends! YAY! I’m starting this!”
So, I did everything, sign up, enroll in the partner program, write my first article, and …. NOTHING happened. I thought that after hitting the publish button I will see money rolling in, people start reading it… but yeah.. as I said, nothing happened.
I waited and waited… after a few days some viewed my article, but no reads = no money. I was so disappointed, frustrated and felt that this isn’t for me. I signed up for publications, I got accepted into some of them. My first story published on a publication was the first one that made me 0.46$ in 1 month. I was happy, just a few pennies but that was the evidence that this is actually working.
I know now that I started on this journey with the wrong mindset.
Start with the right mindset!
What I have learned from the past few months here on Medium is that you don’t need to be afraid to write and publish stories, there is a place for everyone, you just need to find your audience and that takes time. Don’t be discouraged! Your time will come!
If you start on Medium thinking you will get rich overnight then don’t sign up at all. Understand that you need to put effort and time into something that may work or not. Your success on Medium is not guaranteed.
Before you start ask yourself one question:
Are you passionate enough to be willing to publish good-quality stories on a regular basis without being paid for them?
If the answer is NO then STOP.
If the answer is YES then go for it, do it as if you will never get paid. Don’t do it for the money, do it because you love it, do it for your audience.
Whenever you start something that can eventually get you some extra income, ask yourself this simple question.
The answer to this will tell you if it is the right thing to do.
Because being willing to work at something without remuneration means there is something else more powerful involved and that is: PASSION!
So, start writing on Medium without any expectations. Maybe you will not earn money but you will earn experience, improve your writing skills and this is far more precious than money. Money comes and goes. But you will earn skills that nobody can ever take them away from you.
Don’t fall into the mouse trap! Have patienece!
STOP!
Reading and listening ( on Youtube for example) stuff like “How to make 2000$ in 24h”. This will only give you the wrong perception about freelancing in general and you will start on the wrong foot.
Maybe there are some of you who actually make this kind of money or even more, to those of you I salute you!
But to the rest of us, earthlings I say this: Dream big but stay humble! Understand that there is a piece of the pie for everyone, be consistent, always work to improve your skills, and when the time comes you will get your cookie.
If you find yourself without ideas, frustrated and disappointed I encourage you to take a step back and look at the whole picture. See how far you went, in our case look at the stories you published, read them, and see what can you improve to make them even better. But most importantly, take some time to unwind, relax, go for a walk in the park, and breathe.
I hope my thoughts and my opinion will give you a different perspective on how it is writing on Medium. I really hope that this post inspires you and gives you faith.
As for myself, I dream that one day I will quit my job and make enough money on Medium to buy me a decent living. That time is not yet to come, but one day it will. Until then I am happy writing for free.
NEVER STOP DREAMING! ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Thanks for reading! xoxo
