I’ve Tripled My Income From Medium Every Month, And It Still Isn’t Enough to Pay Bills
Cataloguing enormous growth while counting only $20.
It doesn’t feel very impressive when I open Medium every morning and see roughly 40 followers and 1,000–1,600 views per month. In fact, when I compare myself to the posters in Medium hubs on Facebook, I feel abysmally small. As my peers share massive earnings statements and stats with 10 times the amount of views on one article compared to what I have for a whole month, I wonder what I’m doing wrong.
Then, I stop and think about how my growth here has been enormous. $20 over three months doesn’t sound like much, but wait until you hear this:
For my first month here, I was paid out 17 cents. For my second month, $5.00. For my third month, almost $15.00.
I’ve even begun receiving multiple notifications per day of people engaging my posts with claps and comments, something I never expected in the first place. Even while the volume of comments isn’t anywhere near what I see for some of my favorite writers here on Medium, it still gives me the warm fuzzies inside and makes me feel as though I’m doing something meaningful.
I wanted to share my growth with you because I know how easy it is to get frustrated and want to quit. I know how it feels to pity myself for not getting curated and to be puzzled when my most popular article isn’t my personal favorite out of the bunch.
Most importantly, I know what it’s like to have two jobs and try to prioritize writing despite being a busy and tired person.
My growth here on Medium is a signal to me that progress is progress. Isn’t all progress valid? The fact that I haven’t made a fortune overnight doesn’t mean that the growth I speak of is unimportant or less-than — it’s an accomplishment. $20 is better than giving up and making $0.
I hope that knowing that a nobody from Long Island who isn’t Instagram famous, YouTube-present, or even slightly noteworthy can grow in this place gives you and your writing some hope today.
