How To Make More Money Than Writing On Medium?

How To Make More Money Than Writing On Medium?

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of being compensated 💸 for my writing ✒️, but I was worried that my work wouldn’t reach many people. Although, on Medium, out of the blue some of my posts were quite popular and got several thousand views without curation, promotion, or any other marketing. This is how I ended up writing here :) The partner program sounded like a dream come true. But after a while, I started noticing that Medium Partner Program might be limiting the impact of my writing and underpaying me a lot.

How Much Money Can You Do Writing for Medium?

On Medium, writers are paid monthly based on Medium member activity and Referred memberships. A bit vague, right?

Here are some latest statistics Medium included in their Partner Program to return you back to reality:

$16,685.50 — the highest amount earned for a single post

$49,705.40 — the highest amount earned by a single author

6.4% — the percentage of active writers who earned over $100

15–20$ per 1,000 views — the amount most writers make on Medium

Why Do Earnings Fluctuate On Medium?

Yes, earnings on Medium are pretty unpredictable and not so straightforward as it was before. So you probably won’t get exactly money for the same amount of views. Why?

1. Only internal views count, so your earnings go down if your external views are high.
2. Not the views that count; it’s the reading time. More precisely the member reading time. You get paid when a paying Medium member reads your story.
3. Reading is calculated by time spent on the post and scrolling actions, e.g., how far down the reader scroll.
4. Claps and engagement are not taken into account for the earnings anymore. It was easy to hack the system; that’s why Medium stepped away from relying on claps.

It is clear that for the majority of us, making living writing on Medium is an illusion. Only 6.4 of active writers earn over $100. So, what are the alternatives for the online scribble tribe?

How To Make More Money Than Writing On Medium?

So, what are the alternatives for the online scribble tribe?

Alternative: Freelance Writing

When you see an online article or blog post, there’s a pretty fat chance that the named author didn’t actually write that content. Ghostwriting is not just for celebrities. Many businesses hire ghostwriters. If you’re okay with taking home the paycheck but not seeing your name on the byline, seek out ghostwriting gigs. These jobs often command rates of 30% to 50% more than bylined work because they aren’t pieces you can add to your portfolio.

I posted a comprehensive and updated list. We’ve added new markets & removed websites that have categories of posts below $50. We also removed websites that are not currently accepting new writers & websites where performance is based on traffic or ad clicks. This is a list of markets offering guaranteed pay only. It is worth your attention!

How To Make Money Freelance Writing: Who Pay $50+?

Alternative: Creating Content for Businesses

In the last five years, content marketing — this concept of creating valuable content to attract customers and build credibility and trust — has undoubtedly gone mainstream. The result? More and more businesses are getting into the content game. As an easy start, try to write on:

1. Textbroker provides unique, custom content and has thousands of registered customers from around the globe execute more than 100,000 content orders through Textbroker every month.
2. iWriter is Textbroker’s strongest competitor. Try and compare them both!
3. Ready to promote yourself as a writer? Try Freelancer websites like Fiverr Upwork.

Alternatives: Becoming a Best-Selling Kindle Author

There are self-publishing options for every type of book. If you’ve written a book and you’re unsure what your next step should be, why not consider self-publishing? Thanks largely to Amazon and Kindle, the self-published book market is gigantic, and making money from writing books is far more achievable.

Alternative: Create affiliate content

Ever notice how almost every food blogger includes Amazon links to their favorite ingredients and cookware? Or maybe you found an article on Pinterest listing an outdoor enthusiast’s essential camping gear. These are examples of affiliate content, where you (the affiliate) partner with a company to drive traffic to their website and earn commissions on any resulting sales. Affiliate marketing content is an excellent way to generate passive income on your blog or website.

1. Awin is one of the largest affiliate marketing networks with over 15,200 brands; you’ll be able to find a perfect fit, no matter how profitable your blog niche is. Some of the most notable examples are Marks and Spencer, Trip Advisor, Disney Movie Club, Groupon, Etsy, HP, AliExpress, Book Outlet, and many more.
2. Amazon Associates. Amazon is perhaps the most popular online store in the world, and for a good reason. They sell virtually anything you can think of, have unmatched delivery speed, and give their loyal customers a lot of special offers. But, of course, they also run one of the most widespread affiliate programs.
3. ClickBank. ClickBank is a smaller network compared to Awin and Amazon, but it’s definitely worth checking out. That’s especially true if you don’t have the time or the energy to wade through thousands of brands and offers. With over 4,000 marketplace products, ClickBank lets you browse the specific offers you want to promote instead of getting you in touch with companies to partner with.

How To Make More Money Writing?

Wrapping Up

Like most writers on Medium, I have a well-paid, full-time job. Writing is my hobby, and a few hundred bucks a month will never move the needle for me. Although, I occasionally write on Medium because:

1. Medium publications rank pretty high in Google search results (SERP). So, if you need mentions about you or your writing — it is the right starting point. Online reputation and personal brand are important — people Google you!
2. It is gratifying to get paid for the topics of your choice, get feedback and see the impact of your writing. It feels incredible to receive tangible views, clasps, and comments. Whether this feeling can be attributed to vanity, worthiness, or something else — it’s pretty great. It’s also borderline addicting :) and you can find yourself investing more time here on Medium for peanuts than investing your time in other projects, which are much more lucrative!

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How To Make Money Freelance Writing: Who Pay $50+?

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