Strong evidence that Medium isn't dead (yet) + 3 tips to make it work for you

I'll show you someone who made $10k on the platform in January...

Image created in Midjourney.

You know…

In January (or maybe before), Medium made some elusive changes to the Partner Program, and it seemed like just about everyone’s earnings plummeted.

I thought it was dead.

Everyone thought it was dead.

While no one has appreciated the CEO popping up in random comments to explain what was happening (“You’re just stuck in an echo chamber, and everything is exactly the same.”), I have to say that I’ve seen major signs of life from the platform.

First, I had my best month ever in January.

I also had my first $1,000 article, which contributed to those January earnings.

And even though February was down from January, I still made $475.

But it’s not just me.

James Julian's Publish Every Day

says his earnings are starting to skyrocket again. (Read all about it here.)

And today I read an article from Victoria Corindi about how she made $10,000 in January.

Medium is not guaranteed income, and even Victoria admits to struggling so far in March. But there’s still a lot of opportunity there.

If you still want Medium to work for you, I have a few ideas.

1. Test different topics

This isn’t a great idea if you already have a working niche. But if you don’t, try different topics. See if there are some that take off more than others and lean into those.

I’ve been following my curiosity and writing about podcasts I listen to. Sometimes they flop, and sometimes they do pretty well.

One of my favorite topics is money.

I usually write about making more of it via my simple side hustles, but I’ve been writing more on personal finance because I enjoy the topic so much.

This article is doing pretty well:

You have to find the topics you enjoy writing about, but if you want to spark interest on Medium (or Substack), remember to…

2. Write about the topics people care about

Don’t forget about those big 3 topics that keep people up at night:

• Money

• Health

• Relationships

Of course, there are endless subtopics within these topics. Find a way to write about these things.

Even better, if you can help solve problems in these topics, you’ll get a lot of attention.

Look at this headline from Medium writer Kathy Widenhouse:

Screenshot taken by the author from this story.

She’s solving writing problems (which = more money) in her articles.

3. Promote yourself

This is so hard for writers to do because we “just want to write”. But we also want people to see our work, right?

How can people see it if we don’t put it in front of them?

Great news! Substack is awesome for this.

You can use Notes, your newsletter, recommendations, collaborations…

I promote my Medium articles in this very newsletter down below. 👇 I also pop them into Notes once in a while. (I need to be better about utilizing that great tool.)

It’s not too hard, and you just never know what’s going to take off…

I talk about these things and much more in my Medium Money: The Simple Guide to Writing Articles That Pay ebook.

And because I’m celebrating the fact that Medium isn’t dead, I’m giving a 50% discount.

But:

It’s only for the first 10 people who decide to snag it. (Use the link above or below, and your discount code will be automatically applied at checkout.)

I plan on updating this book soon and raising the price, but you’ll get the updated version at no extra cost.

Click here to grab it.

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• The 3 Best Content Ideas (In Any Niche) → Kathy Widenhouse (Medium)

• How to Build a Financially Viable Creative Career → Jason McBride (Medium)

• How I Went from 3 to 25 Subscribers a Day (Without Spending a Penny) →

  Mark Thompson
  (Medium)

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• Exciting news: Launch your own digital product with this 6-session coaching cohort. (But I’m told the offer is closing soon, so grab your spot quickly.)

• Using AI can cut your writing time down, but it’s only worth it if it sounds like you. That’s why you need a CustomGPT.

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• Start These Three Types of Companies to Make Loads of Money* (*if you have no morals)

• Is It Just Me, Or Is This Extremely Annoying?

• Do You Agree With These Reasons Why Many Couples Aren’t Marrying and Having Kids?

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P.S. I’m thinking of making some changes to this newsletter soon, but I’ll talk to you about that next week. 👋