If you've come around the blog recently, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting over here as much. The reason for that is that I've been writing blog essays over on the platform, Medium (dot) com.
What is Medium?
Medium is an open platform where readers find dynamic thinking, and where expert and undiscovered voices can share their writing on any topic.
Medium is a blogging platform where you can write on numerous topics and even join publishing networks within the platform to publish your articles.
I stumbled on Medium through a YouTube Freelance Writer named Zulie Rane. Her videos tend to be focused on how you and I can also make a living through freelance writing. The platform she spoke highly about was Medium. I decided to check it out and started reading some articles until my allotted amount of free reading ran out. The next thing I knew, I invested in a subscription and started to get familiar with the website.
Medium offers a Membership Program where if your country qualifies, you can make money off of how many people read your work. This is how people are making money as writers on Medium. But it's not easy. I'll explain more on that later.
What I Like About Medium
I joined Medium when everyone was running to qualify for the Membership Program so many of us were trying to get 100 followers to qualify to sign up. Luckily, it happened before the end of the year deadline for 2021 and I'm officially a member of the platform.
What I enjoyed when I first started was how community-based it was, especially during the race to 100 followers. Many followed you after you followed them but more than that was the interaction that happens when you post your articles. See, Medium has a system of Claps and Comments. You're encouraged to clap for articles you read and if you leave an engaging comment as well, even better.
The Medium community is big on these and very giving. It's been such a pleasant experience. The difference between blogging on your own and blogging for the platform is you're almost guaranteed to get some claps and comments on one of your variety of posts. It's been very encouraging to write on topics that I enjoy and see the payback often.
Where Have I Been
Since joining Medium in October 2021, I started creating a backlog of articles there instead of over here on this site. I hadn't intended on neglecting this site but since I couldn't publish the same articles from there to over here (for SEO purposes), all my creative juices ended up being taken over for Medium.
Unfortunately, in the last three months, I've had a family member in the hospital so writing took a backseat altogether. Just in the last week, I felt the spark for writing again and returned to the website to continue contributing articles for their publications.
Making Money on Medium
Remember when I said making money is not easy on Medium? Well, as much as I love the platform, you tend to get inundated with articles that tell you they're making triple + digits in their monthly earnings and I've got to say, that's incredible but definitely not the norm. Getting caught up in the stats of your articles can become toxic and discouraging. It takes a ton of people reading through all of your articles for you to start seeing more than cents on a monthly basis.
That's why I say, don't try Medium out to make a living. It's going to take a lot of work and luck to be one of those successful few. Now, if you write for a top niche like digital tech, marketing, and finance and are consistent, then hey, go and check it out. May end up being a great side hustle.
For the rest of us, write because you're passionate about writing and be satisfied with the community aspect of the site. It's been a great skill builder.
Other Projects
In the process, I also started a new novel that I'm writing the first draft of. There's something about this work in progress that has me excited and hopeful. I've also discovered the Ko-Fi platform where people can support you by buying you a cup of coffee in donations. It can be pretty interactive for your followers so I'm familiarizing myself with all the features.
Now that I'm pretty committed to this current manuscript I'm drafting, I plan on sharing the writing process along the way with you all here on my blog. Definitely subscribe to the blog so you don't miss out when I post my next article.
If you're interested in checking out my articles or works from thousands of other writers posting daily on Medium, you can read, I believe 5 articles in full for free and then you'd have to get a subscription that's only $5/month. You can sign up here!
Got a Ko-Fi page?
Let’s connect! Feel free to check my page out and if you’re interested in giving me a follow, that would be awesome. I’d love to check out your page as well.
For those feeling generous and interested in supporting me by buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi, that would literally make my day. Click the link: https://ko-fi.com/desireemortega
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