I started writing on Medium on March 25, 2018 after someone recommended I try publishing on Medium to drive traffic to This Online World.
All I did was republish my phone farming guide and write one more short post on personal development.
And within 24 hours, I made $100 from republishing my content on phone farming. I couldn’t believe the screen when I saw how much I had made from just one story.
Over the next few months, I also continued to earn money for my Medium writing, and have recently passed the $1,000 mark and now earn passive income every month from my articles.
If you have ever wondered how to make money writing on Medium, this is absolutely the post for you.
I’m sharing how anyone can earn money writing on Medium, my tips for getting started, and some advice I’ve learned along the way to find more success on the platform.
Let’s get started.
What Is Medium?
If you haven’t heard of Medium, I can only describe it to you as being one of the easiest, minimalist blogging platforms out there.
Medium is a publishing platform that was created by Evan Williams, the former CEO of Twitter, and officially launched in 2012. The platform offers publishers and bloggers alike to share their works or create new articles entirely.
All in all, the Medium platform is one of the simplest ways to get into blogging or to read some great content.
The most popular topics on Medium (as seen on their homepage) include:
- Technology
- Culture
- Entrepreneurship
- Creativity
- Digital marketing
- Self
- Politics
- Media
- Productivity
How To Make Money On Medium
As mentioned, I’ve earned over $1,000 by writing on Medium. And since I joined the platform, it’s been a nice way to earn money on autopilot, even for articles I wrote years ago.
In my opinion, Medium is one of the best ways for new writers to grow an audience and earn money online. However, the process of making money on Medium has also changed a lot over the years.
So, this guide is covering how you can make money writing on Medium as well as some critical tips I’ve found helpful to grow your profile.
1. Meet The Medium Partner Program Requirements
In the past, anyone could join Medium’s Partner Program, which is the program that pays you for writing on Medium. But these days, there are new requirements for becoming a Medium Partner Program member:
- Publish at least one Medium story
- Be 18 or older
- Gain at least 100 followers
- Publish a story every six months to stay active
If you meet these requirements, you can apply to the Medium Partner Program. You should get a response within a few days, and if you are an active and engaging writer, you should get into the program.
Also note that the Medium Partner Program isn’t available in every country. Check Medium in your country to see if it’s available.
2. Start Writing On Medium
The main way to make money on Medium is to write stories. That’s because Medium pays writers when other members spend time reading their work.
That’s right: how much money you make with Medium depends on how many paid members read your content and how long they spend reading.
When I first joined Medium, how much you got paid depended on how many claps, or likes, a story got from people.
However, the new Medium author payment model rewards engaging content. So, the more paid members read your work, the more you get paid.
Just note that this means you have to mark stories with the “meter my story” box if you want to earn from them. This also means that free Medium members won’t be able to read your metered content if they use up all their free reads in a month.
3. Refer New Medium Members
The other method to make money writing on Medium is to earn referral bonuses by inviting new paid members to the program.
This program pays you for converting your readers into paying Medium members. The Medium referral program pays you half of a reader’s membership fee. This works out to about $2.01 per month per referral.
I’ve seen a lot of Medium writers pushing this heavily, encouraging people to become paying Medium members with links in their bio.
But, I don’t know many writers who make meaningful income from this referral program. And I haven’t been able to convert many readers with my stories either.
It’s nice that Medium is adding more ways for authors to get paid, but this program feels a little spammy to me.
Plus, Medium is becoming more saturated, and if every author starts clamoring for people to sign up with their link, I don’t think it’s a winning strategy to chase after given the noise.
My advice: focus on increasing your read time and total reads rather than stressing too much about the new Medium referral program.
4. Earn Author Bonuses
Occasionally, Medium pays out author bonuses to certain writers for making great content. In fact, this is how I got my $100 bonus from submitting my phone farming guide to the platform.
All of this started when Medium announced it would be paying out bonuses to Medium Partners for quality work.
Now, you shouldn’t rely on Medium bonuses as a reliable source of income since Medium Editors will only be rewarding bonuses to a few dozen stories every week, as they explained in a Partner Program email to me.
However, you have to admit that if you’re looking to make money by writing, choosing a platform that actively rewards quality submissions should seem like a no-brainer.
Ultimately it’s really promising to see Medium making an effort to reward quality, pay their authors, and encourage interesting content.
Here’s some other stats Medium included in one of its Partner Program email:
- 48% of authors or publications who wrote at least one story for members earned money. The average amount earned for the month was $77.04.
- $7,924.22 was the most earned by an author, and $2,400.40 was the most earned by a publication.
- $1,744.21 was the most earned for a single story. 10.6% of stories that earned money made over $100.
The fact that a single story on Medium earned $1,744 blows my mind. And one single author earned $7,924!
5. Get Paid
The last step in writing on Medium for money is to actually get paid.
Your Medium earnings get paid out by the 8th of every month. You get paid for the previous month of reading time from paid members, and payment can take about a week to actually settle in your bank account.
Medium also uses Stripe to pay authors. I’ve been paid on time for years by Medium, and I’ve never had issues with getting my money on time.
If you want an online job that pays you daily, Medium isn’t for you. In this case, something like freelance writing or using gpt sites might be up your alley.
But if you want a free platform that has the potential to reach millions of readers and pay a lot, Medium could be worth the delayed gratification.
How Much Money I’ve Made Writing On Medium
As mentioned, I joined Medium in early 2018. Since that time, I’ve written or republished 22 stories and have amassed about 1,400 followers. I’ve also gotten nearly 100,000 views on my content and have earned over $1,200 from my stories:
I don’t write full-time on Medium. In fact, I haven’t published a story there in over a year since blogging is my main side hustle these days.
However, my Medium stories still make a few dollars a month to this day. And some of my main stories earned hundreds of dollars, which just goes to show the power of the platform.
To make a lot of money with Medium, you need to write engaging content. And, you need to get a bit lucky. Plus, most writers won’t make $5,000 a month or anything crazy from their work.
However, I think my experience is proof that anyone can start making money on Medium, even with a handful of articles.
Can You Make Money On Medium?
Yes, you can make money writing on Medium if you join its Partner Program and write engaging content consistently. In fact, anyone can begin earning with just a few stories, and my first story on Medium made me $100.
Granted, I think Medium is intimidating since it’s now over 10 years old and has thousands of writers on it.
But the name of the game hasn’t changed. If you create excellent, engaging content, you can make money on Medium.
Tips For Making Money On Medium
Now that you know how to make money on Medium, I want to share some of the most important tips I’ve learned over the years to help increase your odds of success with the platform.
1. Promote Your Blog & Brand
Medium is a great way to earn income from your writing. But the Medium Partner Program is just one way you can leverage Medium’s audience to make money.
In fact, many of the top Medium authors make most of their income through other means, like:
- Affiliate income
- Selling sponsorships
- Selling their own products like eBooks and courses
- Selling coaching
- Building email lists
As you can see from my Medium page, my profile promotes this blog as well as my new YouTube channel. So, all of my Medium readers have a chance to come to my other properties where I can then earn more money.
I also know plenty of Medium writers who make $10,000 a month or more just from affiliate marketing on Medium, so you have a lot of options!
2. Submit Stories To Publications
If you’re struggling to gain views or to make money writing on Medium, you can also reach out to various Medium publications and request to write for them.
Medium has an incredible amount of popular publications, and many of them regularly accept guest writers or regular contributors.
Currently, I’m able to contribute to 3 different publications, and I actually didn’t have to apply to 2 of them (one of the editors reached out via email to ask me to share some of my work):
If you want to find Medium publications that accept submissions, I suggest checking out this list from Oniverse or doing some digging on the trending section!
The best part about writing for Medium Publications is that you can still earn money for your work, even if your story is syndicated (like most of mine is).
Once you’ve been approved to contribute to a publisher, you can edit any of your published stories and send in a request for them to be added to a publication:
If your story gets accepted, your story can be seen by everyone following the publication, and you might find your work gets a nice boost in views, claps, and ultimately money!
So, don’t be afraid to apply to Medium Publications or to send out some emails or DM’s. You might find the process increases how much money you make on Medium every month.
3. Design An Eye-Catching Medium Profile
Another tip for making money on Medium is to redesign your author page to create a more personalized feeling for their profile.
Thankfully, you now have more control over how your profile looks, and Medium is definitely making the push to help writers build loyal followings and to become less of a clickbaity volume game.
Don’t get me wrong: compelling titles and volume are still important if you want to make money writing on Medium, but it’s slightly less pressing than before.
Additionally, one recent tip I’ve learned is to build your email list with your Medium profile.
As you can see from this profile (August Birch is a pretty stellar writer on Medium), you now have more real estate to collect emails and generate outside sources of revenue:
This isn’t a change to how earnings are calculated, but don’t be afraid to get creative to put your profile page to work!
4. Write Consistently
While this should go without saying, writing consistently is also a key to earning money on Medium.
Any online side hustle takes consistency to find success. This is because you need to test what works, doesn’t work, and to ultimately learn the ropes.
My advice is to come up with some sort of publishing schedule you can stick to. Even if it’s one story a week, consistency makes a massive difference in the long run.
I talk about this concept, as well as nine other tips, in my first ever YouTube video that shares advice for how to write on Medium and get paid.
5. Engage With Other Medium Authors
If you want more views on your Medium content, try engaging with other authors and people on the platform first.
I’ve found that calling out other excellent writers in your own stories can often get writers to do the same for you. And the same goes with commenting on other people’s stories.
In other words, don’t be afraid to help others first. Karma has a funny way of always coming back to us!
6. Cover Trending Topics
One final tip to earn money writing on Medium is to cover trending topics and niches.
Medium is great for evergreen content. But it also has a social nature to it, so writing about pressing issues in your niche can get a lot of traction quite quickly.
Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Make Money Online For Beginners.
Medium Vs WordPress – Where Can You Make The Most Money?
In my experience, it’s easier to make money on Medium than it is to make money with a WordPress blog. However, blogging has a much higher income potential since you own the platform and have more control over how you monetize.
For example, I earned about $1,000 from Medium in 2020. That same year, I made $22,000 blogging. And fast forward just a few more years, and This Online World made $272,000 in 2022.
In fact, my blog now makes $50,000 a month or so between running display advertisements with Mediavine and by using affiliate marketing. And this sort of income isn’t something most Medium writers are earning.
A lot of this stems from how limiting Medium is. You can sort of do affiliate marketing, but you can’t do too much of it. And running display ads just isn’t possible.
So, I think it’s possible to make money on Medium, and it’s likely faster for new writers than starting a blog from scratch.
But, never discount the power of owning your own platform. It lets you get more creative with monetization, build a brand, and even sell your website down the line for an exit strategy.
My final advice is to give Medium a try and put some content up to see what happens. But, never be afraid to start your own blog either. You never know what can happen, and it’s so low risk I figure it’s something everyone should try once!
Ready to start your own blog?
I always recommend using SiteGround hosting for new bloggers.
SiteGround is incredibly affordable and reliable. It’s also the host I used to scale This Online World to 50,000+ monthly views per month, so it has my vote,
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does Medium Pay Per 1,000 Views?
How much Medium pays you per view depends on if paying Medium members read your story and for how long they read. Since there are multiple factors at play, Medium doesn’t have a set rate per 1,000 views. Some stories might earn more or less than others, so focus on increasing read time by writing engaging content.
Is Writing On Medium Worth It?
Yes, writing on Medium is worth it if you want a free and quick way to get your writing out there. It’s also worth it if you want to monetize your writing without creating your own blog.
However, making money with Medium is becoming harder each year as more writers join. Personally, I think running your own WordPress blog has way higher income potential than Medium does, so this is where I spend most of my focus.
You can still use Medium to create a freelance writing portfolio or to dabble in online writing. But I think blogging is a better business model if you want to earn a full-time income online.
How Much Can You Realistically Make On Medium?
I think most writers can set a realistic goal of making $20 to $50 per month if they consistently write great content. It’s also possible to scale to $100+ per month, and some Medium writers write full-time.
However, most writers don’t make over $100 per month; this is a competitive environment with lots of writers, so you need to grind to increase your income.
How Does Medium Make Money?
Medium makes most of its income from paid memberships. Free readers on Medium can only read five metered articles per month. If readers want to enjoy any content past that limit, they must become a Medium member for the price of $5/month.
Interestingly, traditional advertising practices haven’t been too successful for Medium.
Between their commitment to quality and minimalist design, crowding the platform with banner ads just isn’t an option. So, Medium has ultimately come to rely on monthly subscriptions and rounds of fundraising to power their platform thus far.
It will be interesting to watch Medium move forward as a business, and I am genuinely curious to see how they will monetize their platform.
For now, however, it’s all about content quality and Medium members.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide on how to make money on Medium has helped explain how the platform works and how anyone can begin earning money with it.
At the end of the day, you can make money on Medium and also use the platform to promote your other websites/businesses. All it takes is some time, patience, and work (like everything else worth doing!)
I mean, I made over $1,000 on Medium without much effort. And I truly think it’s a powerful platform for bloggers, writers, and creatives alike.
Once again, to learn more about how you can optimize your Medium profile and gain more claps, check out part 2 of this post!
Also, be sure to read my post on the best sites like Medium you can also try to make money with your writing.
Thanks for reading!
Looking for more money-making ideas? Checkout:
Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
If you’re interested in freelance writing services or want to partner with This Online World, please use our contact page to get in touch!
Priya Viswanathan says
I love this article and your whole philosophy on passive income especially with the constant demand for writing in all forms in all industries!
I’m only just getting started on Medium, I’ve spent so much time on there reading and learning and now starting to plan my own pieces to publish.
I look forward to keeping up with your content both on here as well as Medium!
Kunwar says
Very Nice !!
Nicely Written, I Like this blog and found this applicable and helpful for me !!
Thanks for Sharing your Views…
Mr Tee says
I come from Vietnam. The medium works in Vietnamese or not?
Tom Blake says
Hi Mr. Tee. You can write on Medium, but only writers from countries that support Stripe (the Medium Payment processing system) can earn money. Sorry for the bad news, but hopefully it is supported in the future! https://stripe.com/global
Dan Jordan says
Hey great article, I was recently introduced to Medium by Gary Vee on one of his vlogs and it really took me by surprise in seeing how much opportunity and creativity can be in one place. Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences with Medium so far. I too am into the online marketing and trend world.
I have followed your social platforms too π
Look forward to reading more of your writing!
Tom Blake says
Hey Dan, thanks so much for the kind words! It really is incredible how much opportunity there is on a platform like Medium. I followed you back, can’t wait to read some of your content tonight! π
Amaka says
This service is not available for Nigerians. I hope medium looks into it.
Tom Blake says
Hi Amaka, sorry to hear it is not available. I hope they add more coverage for Stripe soon. If you like, you can head to https://stripe.com/global and sign up with your email to be notified if/when Stripe becomes available in Nigeria (or any other country you might have a bank account). Additionally, you can also write on Medium to grow an audience and drive the traffic to another blog/website that you monetize. Best of luck π
Rachel Blue says
Can you repost content you already published on your website to Medium or do they insist on new content that they thereafter “own?”
Tom Blake says
Hi Rachel, great question! You can definitely republish content you have already published onto Medium! They have an ‘import story’ tool which automatically adds a rel=canonical tag (letting Google know that your imported story is the original source). It’s a great form of content syndication and importing stories is what I do with most of my content on Medium. Hope this helps!
Ged says
Great article,
Its good of you to share it with us. It seems like a good way to increase your blog’s exposure and make some extra money – a win, win!
Tom Blake says
Hi Ged, thanks so much for reading and for the comment! It definitely is a win-win if you ask me π there is so much potential!
Manan Shah says
Very nice article. Helpful. From here I want to go open medium account. Thank you for inspiring me.
Tom Blake says
Hi Manan, thank you so much for reading! I’m glad you’re opening a Medium account! I truly think it is a great platform and I wish you the best of luck.
Richard Reader says
Hi Thomas. You just open my mind with this article. For a long time, Medium has caught my attention. But I ignore it. With this article, you have opened the door of my mind to do something for my blogsite through Medium. Thank you for your kindness in sharing this valuable experience with the readers of your blog.
However, I have one important question.
Does Medium limit the number of articles that can be posted by Medium authors? Explanation please.
Regards.
Richard Reader
Tom Blake says
Hi Richard, thanks so much for reading and your kind words! As far as I know, Medium does not limit how many articles you post. However, in order to not appear spammy I would definitely suggest not importing/writing more than a story or two a day. I’m really happy to hear you have something exciting in mind for your blog! π
Ashraf Jan says
Hi, Such a wonderful post, I also listed some easy ways to make money with Medium. You can check here https://threadsp.com/how-to-make-money-on-medium/
Tom Blake says
Awesome post, Ashraf!
Emy says
I would love to write for medium, but it’s sad stripe is not available in my country.
I hope it is soon, though.
Isha says
Hi I’m underage and don’t plan to be a paid member until a few quality articles are posted and with some traffic. Is it possible to have a robust blog on Medium without paid partnership for the first few months, also without paid features to thrive there? Or do I have to upfront pay for the features?
Tom Blake says
Hi Isha. Thankfully, joining the Medium Partner Program is free! So, you can start writing and earn money with Medium without having to pay to be a member. I think you might have trouble since you are under 18, but I would still write to grow a following and then monetize when you can be accepted!
Marjorie Vernelle says
Tom, I was researching Medium and found your article. What a piece of good news! I have been looking for a way to post writing, and maybe draw more attention to the art blog I started a few months ago. Medium sounds perfect, and your details about it make it of great interest. I am signing up today.
Tom Blake says
Hi Marjorie! I’m really happy to hear my guide to write on Medium was useful! π It really is a decent (and almost effortless) way to drive some traffic back to your blog through content syndication, and writing original content is quite fun too! Best of luck!
Tracy Karol says
Thanks for the information, just what Iβm looking for. I do wish I could make some money from all the answers I devote to Quora, but at least itβs writing I enjoy and benefits others.
Navin Rao says
I actually didn’t know, that one can earn through writing on medium too. I love writing quora. Infact i landed to this article from there. This article was certainly an eye opener for me.
Kudos, you are doing a fantastic job spreading all the info around and letting everyone making money online. I truly appreciate.
Thanks,
Navin
Duston says
Oh, nice! Thank you so much for this article. I have finally made the commitment to start blogging and not only am I new to it all but I still have to take courses for how to use WordPress from the very beginning (free of course as I have found several). Your insight into Medium is great as I was not aware one can earn money from their articles on WordPress but also use it to earn additional income from their primary blog articles! Thank you again!
Tom Blake says
Hi Duston, thanks for reading! I’m glad you liked the article! I definitely think syndicating your old blog content is the way to go if you want to get started with making money on Medium and growing a second channel alongside your blog! π
jimmyu says
Really Helpful article I am going to try this
Sagar Arakh says
Thank you for writing about your journey on medium. I have started blogging since 3 months and inspite of a considerable hard work, Iβm not reaching anywhere. So Iβm kind of demotivated and now thinking to speak my heart out on medium. Letβs see how it goes. π
Garvish says
This was a long read, but definitely one of the most informative article written on how to make money online via Medium. I’ve always wondered of doing that but didn’t know if I would be successful. After reading the article I surely will be trying the method again. Hopefully this time I make some money.
Anthony Boyd says
Great article!
I made my first $.39(lol!)on Medium by importing articles from my website and left it alone for awhile. Ever since then Iβve been importing more of my work because I do see this as a future form of passive income.
Tom Blake says
Thanks for the kind words Anthony!! That’s definitely a great way to start out and how I got the ball rolling! With Medium’s recent changes to their payment algorithm, I think it’s a great time to do just that.
Dropping some Medium links once in a while on relevant Reddit communities or somewhere on social media can help too if you want to spur some growth now and again. Just an idea π thanks for reading and your comment
DG Kaye says
Great informative article. I’m actually surfing around to find what Medium will take from us for taxes? Especially if I’m Camadian. π
Tom Blake says
Hey DG, thanks for reading and for the question! Medium has a pretty awesome document that outlines a bunch of their tax info: https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001924873-Taxes
I had to fill out a W-8BEN but that’s about it! Pretty simple process so far! π
JD Mumma says
“have recently passed the $600 mark and now earn passive income every month from my articles”
I’m confused on your total earnings.
Is your total earning the $602.46? From March 25, 2018 – June 25, 2019?
About $500 over 15 months (I took off the first month and the $100 from that first month)?
About $33/month?
Temeka Stanley says
Where do you add the tag “rel=canonical tag” when importing a story?
Tom Blake says
The ‘rel=canonical’ tag is added automatically if you use the import a story function π you can double-check your published post by right clicking on the post and selecting ‘view page source’ as well (look for the URL pointing back to your site, you should see it says rel=canonical). Hope this helps!
Jodi Henson says
Thank you Tom for this incredible, in-depth review of Medium. I joined Medium innocently because I stumbled onto a blog post that led me here and I have been hooked ever since. But I was so confused when I started getting emails with my stats. Results? I couldn’t figure out why I had results much less what was the source. Now I get it! I seriously appreciate your explanations and even better the tips, tricks and suggestions. My website is currently being overhauled and as soon as it’s done, I’ll start linking my blog posts. Thanks again!
Tom Blake says
Hi Jodi. I’m so happy to hear this little Medium guide has been helpful! π Thanks so much for reading and for the comment. That is exciting about your website redesign; it will be awesome to import your content to Medium and to watch both platforms grow!
Lydia Herrera says
Nice Informative article. Thank You. I just signed up for medium subscription and partner program and connected my stripe acct.
I suppose this is the time to start. I had ran into medium a couple years ago…
Tom Blake says
Hi Lydia, thanks for reading and the comment! That is awesome that you’re going to start writing on Medium and are joining their partner program. Congrats on taking the first step, I hope you find success on the platform!
Ramrkrishna jena says
I am from India and my stripe account was banned by stripe team, so i want to know how i create a stripe account for medium.
Jon M. says
Really informative post. I’m curious if you know whether Medium backlinks are ever dofollow? I always leave at least one link to my blog in my Medium articles, but I looked at the html and the link is marked nofollow. However, when researching this question online it seems there is not consensus. If the links can ever be dofollow it seems Medium could be a great way to build authority for a blog.
Tom Blake says
Thanks for the awesome question Jon and for reading! π from my knowledge, they are never marked as do-follow but I agree there isn’t a consensus. After submitting dozens of stores, some of which have hundreds of claps, I’ve never had links change over (I know links can change on Reddit based on upvotes so I don’t think there’s a mechanism like that in place). So, ultimately, I think it’s purely no-follow unfortunately π
sa7sa7 says
Hello,
One question please:
If my story gets curated and one publication emailed me to share my work with them, what happens if I accept to work with that publication? Does my story stop being recommended by curators?
Help please π
Tom Blake says
That is a pretty common occurrence since publications want a curated story to be in their publication! You can submit it and your story will still be recommended as far as I know π thanks for reading!!