Have you tried writing on Medium? If your desire is to earn something more from your regular income, read through this piece and see how possible it is to make money on the Medium platform.
How to Make Legitimate Money on Medium (A Case Study)
Whether it’s a mere $1, or a whopping $5,000, an extra income always comes in handy. Absolutely no one, wouldn’t want to add some few bucks into their wallets. That’s why, when I learnt that one could make money on Medium blogging platform, I couldn’t wait to try.
Over the past few years, online gigs have enabled me to make tremendous positive changes to my finances. There are so many online opportunities where you can make really good money. Sometimes I don’t even imagine the feeling of being employed.
For many people, writing gigs is what comes to their minds when they think of making money online. Well, I also was among them when I started.
While there are numerous other things you can do online, writing is one promising area that has earned thousands of dollars to freelancers.
For this reason, I dedicate this article today to exploring how you can make easy money as well as how to get paid on medium. But what is Medium? Let’s first see what it all entails.
Table of Contents
What is Medium?
Medium refers to an online blogging and articles publishing platform, which was founded by Evans Williams. This platform, which was launched in 2012, is an excellent example of social journalism, as it includes a collection of both professional and amateur writers and publications.
Medium also consists of exclusive publishers and blogs, and it is in most instances, seen as a blog hosting platform.
Initially, this platform was designed as an alternative for publishing longer documents and writings, than those on Twitter. Medium is simply seen as the “Twitter for bloggers.”
Currently, Medium serves to offer writers and publishers a platform where they can post their content and where readers can find relevant reading materials they need.
The platform offers you a chance to access over 120 million interested readers for your content.
Through this platform, you can post full articles just the same way you post your tweets, and get followers.
You can also follow the authors you love, as well as topics.
See Related: How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform
But, How do You Make Money With this Platform?
Many people knew Medium back when you couldn’t make money with the platform. The only benefit of using the platform was getting somewhere to showcase your writing to readers. Well, all that is in the past.
Currently, you can easily make money on Medium. In fact, good money that you can’t imagine for the articles you post.
Since they introduced the Medium partner program, so many people, have made lots of money on this platform. If you know you have good writing skills, Medium can be an awesome platform for you to start earning some extra cash.
With the partner program, you can post articles, “locked stories” on the platform which will earn you money.
The locked articles will only be viewed by people registered as medium members and who pay a monthly fee of $5.
If those who read your story or post clap for you, you receive a percentage of their $5 membership fee. Claps in Medium are the equivalent of likes on Twitter.
The more followers you have, the better are your chances of making awesome cash.
But, gathering that big a following doesn’t come automatically. Your posts must be interesting, informative and cultivating to read.
If you are determined to make money on Medium, you can do so in the following three ways:
- Regularly writing on the platform
- Affiliate Marketing
- Promoting your blog website and monetizing it
One significant advantage of the Medium platform is that it’s not a requirement for you to have a personal blog to earn from the platform.
However, if you own a blog, it gives an even better chance of making more money.
So, how do these three methods earn you money?
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Writing and Posting Articles on Medium
If you are good at writing, making money through this platform can be easier than you even think. Your excellent writing skills will ensure that you get paid for publishing interesting articles on the platform, which people will love reading.
The funny thing is, you don’t have to include too many articles on your profile or even write too long ones. All you need is quality and informative content.
If you can publish articles that readers will relate with, and which offer answers to what they are looking for, you can be sure to start making money almost instantly.
Identify a problem, find a solution and write it for people to find. If you answer the readers’ questions, your following will grow significantly.
And, the large audience only means that you will probably get more claps which results in more money for you.
But, to make sure that you earn money on medium, you must place your posts behind the paywall.
This means that only Medium members who have made the $5 subscription can read your publications.
Are There Any Specific Topics to Choose?
Someone may ask, “are there any specific topics I should follow to receive Medium claps?” Well, the interesting part is that you can pick whichever topic you like. However, ensure you pick a topic in an area you are good at, and that will make use of your knowledge and experience.
Also, you must do your research wisely to know which topics will easily trend or which will keep people glued to your articles. You should note that the platform displays how long a reader will take to read your article. This means that a reader can gauge how informative or detailed your article is before they read it.
Offer articles that are detailed and that have everything that a reader may be interested in. But, don’t give irrelevant information. Help solve readers’ needs.
Again, you will have to follow up on your articles to answer any question your readers may pose.
When you respond well to their questions, you will form a good relationship with the readers, which may make them love reading your publications.
This may in some instances help to make your article go viral
With the help of Medium platform’s better page rank and domain authority, your article can easily rank better in search engines.
However, if you want to rank in Google, make sure that you do proper keyword research.
What is Clapping and How Does it Work?
In the Medium platform, clapping is typically a way to show support for the articles you love as a reader.
It is an equivalent of Twitter likes by followers.
If many people love and engage with your articles, the higher is your chance of making extra money with the Medium platform. More claps for the “locked articles,” means more money.
Previously, Medium paid writers only based on the number of claps. However, currently, they are also concentrating on the amount of time a reader stays reading your article.
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Affiliate Marketing on Medium
Another excellent way through which you can earn money in Medium is through affiliate marketing. Many writers are using Medium as a platform to promote products through affiliate marketing and earn huge money.
Many bloggers, as many as 80%, agree that affiliate marketing is one of the best-known ways to harvest big online. Affiliate programs pay commissions for every product bought through your link.
This means that you can easily earn passive income through affiliate marketing. And, Medium is there to offer an excellent platform just for that.
How Affiliate Marketing Works?
With affiliate marketing, you have a great chance to make money online and positively impact your future finances. It is among the most effective digital marketing strategies.
Here, an affiliate makes money by promoting and selling products from a certain company.
In essence, you promote a product or a brand through your blog and earn when the product sells.
To make money here, people should buy products by clicking the affiliate link you provide on your blog.
You are paid commissions for every sale through your link.
With the numerous companies and products that need promotion on popular blogs, you have a high chance of earning if you attract a large following.
Online marketing has taken another level, and we must change as it does and make the best out of it.
Also, instead of selling other people’s products, you can decide to promote and sell your own. This is if you have products of your own, that you could sell.
The good thing is that you can sell almost anything, whether it’s physical or digital products or even services.
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Promoting Personal Blog or Website on the Platform
The third method of making money on Medium is through promoting your blog. However, this means that you have to own a personal blog.
Having your own blog is one way you can be earning passive income. This means that you will be making money even when you are not working. Blogs are an excellent source of passive income if they are done right.
With the right strategies and effort, making hundreds of dollars per day is a walk in the park. But, if not done right, even 100 dollars in a year will be difficult.
Make sure that you can drive enough traffic to your website if you wish to earn from it.
To do this, make use of social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to promote the blog.
How Does Medium Make Money
I know most of you may be wondering where exactly the platform gets the money to pay the writers. Well, that’s a genuine concern but it also one, that has a straight forward answer.
Medium gets its money from subscriptions made by readers. Readers who wish to read “locked articles,” must make a monthly subscription of $5.
This is the money Medium share with the writers when a reader reads a locked article.
See Related: Best Remote Jobs to Work from Home
What the Most Successful Medium Writers Make
People are making it big in Medium. I know of some writers who have made as much as $2,000 in one article.
This means that with awesome articles, you can make real crazy money.
Readers who love your article after reading and clap, are regarded as fans.
According to calculations, I learned that on average, each fan is worth around $1.26. You can simply get this by dividing the amount you earn on an article, by the number of fans you have.
On the other hand, each clap is worth about $0.20. This means that the more claps you get, combined with a high number of fans, the more money you make.
Example:
As an example, a writer I know made $327.69 for a single article on Medium. He published an article that attracted 3,378 viewers in 30 days, 1,881 reads and 304 fans in just 30 days.
This is a clear indication that you can make money on Medium as well. If you are still contemplating about joining, just know you are even late for it.
See Related: 36+ Best Apps to Make Extra Money
Conclusion On Make Money On Medium
My final thoughts on this topic are that it is very easy to make money on Medium as a writer.
But, you must know what to write about and how to place your content to get more readers interested.
Work to acquire a large following, especially on your locked articles, and you will make good money.