Marc's Blog

Medium is one of my favorite sites to get paid for your written content. It’s one of the few platforms that rewards writers of all audience sizes. If you can create high value content and continuously refine your writing process, you can eventually make it on Medium.

Some writers make a full-time income on Medium’s platform. The best way to get started is to incorporate small milestones throughout your journey. Start with aiming for $10, then $100, and then $1,000 per month. You can continue to build from there.

However, if you want to hit the small milestones, it’s worth knowing how to hit the big ones. In this article, I’ll share 5 strategies you can apply to get closer to making $1,000 each month on Medium.

Write A New Article Every Day

Medium rewards consistency. If you continue writing and publishing new content each day, you’ll build a following and get in front of more people. Each article you publish is another opportunity to get seen by a few more people.

The most successful Medium writers have published hundreds of articles. Some of those articles earn hundreds of dollars each month while other articles earn less than $10 each month. All of these articles add up and make it easier for you to hit your income goals.

Look At The Top Medium Articles For Inspiration

Each article you write gives you a better understanding of how Medium’s platform works. The best ay to understand which articles thrive on the platform is to become an active reader.

Browse through Medium articles within your industry and pay attention to patterns. What do these articles talk about and how are they structured? Asking yourself these questions as you browse through Medium articles will give you new insights into dominating this platform.

It’s one thing to hear about a bunch of strategies you can apply. It’s something completely different (and far more useful) to see those strategies in action.

Get Your Articles In Publications

I write each article with the goal of getting it into a publication. When your article gets published in a publication, it reaches far more people than you could reach on your own. All of my viral Medium articles (10K+ views) were published in publications.

I have a few publications I always submit new pieces to, and I constantly read content within those publications to get the gist of what articles they’re accepting. If you want to get into any publication, whether it be Medium or anywhere else, look at the articles that were already accepted. 

Use those articles as a guiding compass when you come up with your article ideas and turn them into final drafts.

Engage With Other Medium Articles

Commenting on other people’s Medium articles is a great way to support other writers and grow your tribe in the process. If you leave thoughtful comments and show up often, some of that writer’s followers will decide to follow you as well.

If you apply the previous two strategies to build your way to $1,000 on Medium each month, you’re already reading plenty of other people’s articles. If you read an article, don’t be a lurker. Comment on it so you can show appreciation to the writer and grow your audience too.

Direct People Off Medium

The real money is made by leading people from Medium to your email list. Every full-time Medium writer I’ve come across leads people to their email list. 

When you turn your Medium followers into email subscribers, more options become available. You can promote your book, training course, or services. You can talk about a product and include your affiliate link.

In addition to promoting products, you can also promote your free content. You can promote your Medium articles to help them gain some early traction and lead people to your YouTube channel.

Medium is a great platform to earn income. If you continue showing up on the platform, refining your process, and thinking of Medium as a piece to your overall strategy instead of the entire foundation, you’re on the right path to earning $1,000 each month from Medium.

On the way to that milestone, celebrate the small wins. Celebrate the $10 payout, the $50 payout, the $100 payout, and every payout on the way to your first $1,000 month on the platform. 

Want to make money with your writing? Grab your copy of The Wealthy Author today

This may sound like a bad question, but sometimes bad questions lead to incredible answers. It’s no secret that billions of people congregate on social media and you can build plenty of relationships.

Some people run social media ads to get leads while others participate in groups to find potential clients. It’s no secret that people use social media to grow their businesses.

However, some businesses don’t need social media to grow. Businesses grew before social media existed and some continue to grow without a social media presence.

I’d rather have a social media presence than not have a social media presence, but you can have too much of a social media presence for your own good.

The issue with most influencers and small businesses is that an effective social media strategy requires omnipresence. Having a big platform on every social network presents a compelling advantage, but it also takes considerable work to reach that level and post content along the way.

I didn’t get in on the TikTok bandwagon, and I don’t do much on Clubhouse. For me, that’s okay. I’m primarily focused on YouTube and Medium because that’s where my audience is. Posting content on additional platforms can spread your time too thin and result in you being mediocre on each social network rather than being a pro at a few of them.

Almost every omnipresent social media influencer I’ve come across struck it rich on a single social network. Then, they engaged with that community and told them to follow them on other social networks. If you work towards 100,000 YouTube subscribers, it’s so much easier to get your first 10,000 Instagram followers later on. Then, once you’ve grown on that platform, it’s so much easier to quickly get your first 1,000 Clubhouse followers.

But you need the mega platform first (i.e. the 100,000 YouTube subscribers) before it becomes incredibly easy to grow on any social network.

And Clubhouse might not even make sense for you. Some people find all of their clients on LinkedIn. They generate enough business where their income comfortably exceeds their expenses. If you only work a few hours each day, are comfortable with the time you commit to your relationships, your income already exceeds your expenses, and you’re in the process of building a nest egg, you’ve already won. 

Don’t mess with that formula if you have it by committing too much time to growing your social media presence and not having as much time for the people and hobbies that matter. 

Most businesses need social media to grow, but most businesses can do just fine by focusing on 1-3 social networks rather than every social network on the web. Focus on winning your race rather than following the next shiny social network everyone’s raving about. Shiny objects are constantly moving targets that can distract you from monetizing your business. 

Think carefully the next time you post something on social media for your business. Is it really helping your business grow? Are you getting subscribers and clients from your social media efforts? Do you see any momentum that implies you can grow on the platform and eventually see solid results? 

Or are you just posting to feel like you’re making progress without any tangible proof of business growth directly tied to the content you’re posting? The fewer social networks you focus on, the easier it is to achieve mastery and how a massive audience on a small number of platforms. As long as you direct those social media followers to your email list, you’ll always be able to communicate with your audience regardless of any algorithm changes.