My Medium Update

Some of you asked about Medium. The specific question was, “Does it pay?”

Of course if you type the above question into Google, you’ll find a million articles that say, “I made $5,000 in one month just writing on Medium!”

That’s great, and I believe them. But I also know that they have pretty decent freelance websites to go along with it, as well as mailing lists, so there’s a lot of cross promotion. They also make Medium their full-time job. I can’t do that now.

What I can tell you, however, is that by writing almost every day for the past month, Monday – Friday, I went from no money, to:

Call the realtor, babe! We got ourselves a down payment for a Costco refrigerator box!

But wait… I did a little better this month

I figure if I continue to write daily, along with the following tips below, I’ll slowly increase the monthly revenue.

Tips for Making Money on Medium Without Making It Your Full Time Job

• Leave 5 comments a day on someone else’s blog. Be sincere. (No one, likes a “Hey, nice” post phoning it in comment.
• Don’t sweat over the article. Just be yourself and hit “Publish.” To keep up the pace you have to crank them out.
• Link to Your Other Articles: If someone is already enjoying the article you’re reading, include at least one link back to another article you’ve written on the site.
• Have it Curator Worthy: This means you need to format the article in a way that Medium will pick up and publish. There are very specific ways to do this. See this link.
• Have Your Work Published on a Platform: There are many platforms on Medium that already have 1000’s of followers. (I have 27.) Most of the whopping $2.29 I made was because I was lucky enough to have 2 platforms pick up my story 3 times. As of today I have yet to be curated by Medium itself.

In closing, like anything in life, getting ahead takes a slow and steady approach. This type of thinking is hard for a go-go-go gal like myself, but I’m also seeing how important it is. If I’m a sub and not a teacher, I don’t get the pay my other friends are getting during this crisis.

If I’m a freelancer and not a full-time writer in an office, I don’t get the salary comfort others are getting.

At the same time, with my looser schedule, if I don’t decide to enjoy my life (even if I make less money) then there is no point in my freedom.

The next month (or 3… sigh) is a wonderful opportunity to trust that God will direct my next steps. I don’t have to figure it out today. I can just write here, write at Medium and do a little journalling to figure out my next freelance gig.

Until next time,

My book is available on Amazon. (Note: It’s a special ed journey… your kid doesn’t need to have Tourettes to relate!) Follow me on Twitter@AndreaFrazerWrites or on Facebook. )