Medium is an online publishing platform that allows anyone to share their ideas and stories with the world. With over 30 million monthly readers, Medium has become an incredibly popular place for writers to publish their work and build an audience. This guide will provide everything you need to know about writing for Medium in 2024.
What is Medium?
Medium was founded in 2012 by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams as a way to make online publishing easy and accessible to everyone. On Medium, anyone can create an account and start publishing their own stories and ideas instantly.
Medium has a clean, minimalist writing interface that allows writers to focus on their content without worrying about complex formatting. Stories on Medium are organized into topics or “publications” so readers can easily find content they’re interested in reading about.
Some of the features that make Medium a great place for new writers include:
- A large existing readership so you can get your work in front of lots of eyeballs quickly.
- The ability to submit to relevant Medium publications and get expert editing on your stories.
- A membership program that allows readers to pay a monthly fee to access premium stories. Writers can monetize their stories through tips and this membership program.
- A user-friendly editor optimized for longform storytelling.
- Intuitive analytics so you can track how many people are reading your stories.
- A community of writers supporting each other.
Why Write on Medium?
There are many great reasons to start writing on Medium in 2023. Here are just a few of the benefits:
- Build an audience – Medium has a huge existing user base, so it’s much easier to reach people than starting from scratch on an independent platform. Medium’s algorithm recommends your stories to readers who are likely to be interested in your content, helping you gain more exposure.
- Make money – Medium launched its Partner Program in 2017, allowing writers to earn money based on how much engagement their stories get. Once you’re accepted into the program, you can start earning money from views, reads, and fans. Top Medium writers make over $100k a year.
- Improve your writing – Since Medium emphasizes quality over quantity, it pushes writers to create compelling stories people actually want to read. You’ll get feedback from readers and editors to improve your skills.
- Flexibility – Medium gives you total control over when and what you write about. You can post on your own schedule and write about whatever you want.
- Own your work – You retain full copyright ownership over all content you publish on Medium. You can even export your stories and republish them elsewhere.
Getting Started on Medium
If you’re ready to start writing on Medium, here’s a step-by-step guide to getting set up:
- Create an account – Go to Medium.com and click “Get started.” Choose whether you want to use Twitter, Facebook, or your email to sign up. Pick a unique username to represent your identity on Medium.
- Fill out your profile – Add a profile photo, bio, your interests, and links to any websites or social media accounts you’d like to showcase. This gives readers a sense of who you are.
- Follow topics to customize your homepage – Search for topics you’re interested in and follow them to populate your Medium homepage with stories related to those topics. This will help you find your niche.
- Download the Medium app – Getting the mobile app allows you to write and engage with stories on the go. You’ll also get notifications when someone interacts with your stories.
- Start writing – Click on your profile image and select “New story” to begin writing your first Medium post. Focus on writing something unique and compelling.
- Add tags – Tags help surface your stories to readers interested in certain topics. Include relevant tags like topics, keywords, and names.
- Publish – When your story is ready, click “Publish” to share it on your Medium profile. Congrats, you’re now a Medium writer!
Best Practices for Writing on Medium
Here are some key tips to create successful stories that resonate with the Medium community:
- Find your niche – Establish expertise around a specific topic like productivity, parenting, or politics rather than writing generally about “life.” This helps you build a loyal readership.
- Write catchy headlines – Medium is a skimming platform, so you need attention-grabbing headlines that make readers want to click. Be clear and descriptive.
- Open strong – Start your stories with an engaging lede that immediately pulls readers in rather than background information. Share details and set the scene right away.
- Show don’t tell – Reveal information through descriptive scenes, dialogue, and examples instead of simply telling readers something is true. Makes writing more immersive.
- Use subheadings – Break up your stories with clear subheadings (H2 and H3 tags in Medium) about every 300 words to make posts skimmable.
- Share personal experiences – Essays and stories do particularly well on Medium. Don’t be afraid to speak in the first person and share your unique experiences.
- Write longer posts – Stories over 1,000 words perform best on Medium since they provide more value upfront. Short posts often get lost in the shuffle.
- Insert images – Relevant high-quality images make stories more eye-catching and digestible. Just be sure to have rights to any images you use.
- Cite sources – Link out to any research or quotes used to establish credibility. Sources also allow readers to dive deeper.
- Promote your stories– Share your Medium posts on social media and your own website or mailing list to expand your reach. Medium won’t necessarily do all the promotion for you.
By following these best practices, you can craft stories optimized for success on Medium’s platform.
Growing Your Audience on Medium
Once you begin regularly publishing high-quality stories, you can employ some tactics to grow your readership on Medium:
- Leverage social proof – The more engagement your stories get, the more Medium will surface them. Encourage readers to applause, highlight, and follow you.
- Promote stories off Medium – Share your posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and anywhere else that makes sense with catchy descriptions to attract clicks.
- Engage with other writers – Comment on stories, follow writers in your niche, and feature their stories to build relationships. They may share your work.
- Ask people to follow you – When commenting, add a note directing readers to check out your profile for more stories people like them might enjoy following.
- Publish regularly – Posting at least once a week means you stay top of mind. This trains readers to continually check back for your latest stories.
- Leverage your expertise – Position yourself as an industry expert by quoting yourself or linking to your related stories when commenting on other posts.
- Participate in discussions – Join relevant Medium topics in your niche and engage in conversations to get on readers’ radar. Provide thoughtful commentary.
- Partner with publications– Pitch your stories to established Medium publications to tap into their existing audience. Even self-publishing on your profile can help growth.
By actively engaging on Medium and off of Medium, you can steadily convert readers into loyal followers of your work.
Making Money on Medium
Unlike most blogging platforms, Medium offers writers multiple ways to actually monetize their stories:
Medium Partner Program
The Medium Partner Program allows writers to earn money by enabling payments and subscriptions on their stories. Once accepted into the program, you can earn money through:
- Post views – Earn based on the total number of post views per month. Rates start at $0.012 per view.
- Read time – Earn based on total member read time per month. Rates start at $0.048 per minute read.
- Fans – Earn bonus income each month per fan that becomes a paying Medium member. You’ll get $2 per month for the first 500 fans, $5 per month for the next 500 fans, and $10 per month for every fan after that.
To qualify for the Medium Partner Program, you need:
- At least 100 followers on Medium
- 4 posts or more over the last 30 days
- Original, high-quality content
- 1,000+ total post views over the last 30 days
Once accepted, you must publish consistently each month and avoid violating Medium’s rules to remain enrolled. It may take time to start earning significant income, but top writers can make over $100k per year.
Paid Stories
In addition to the Partner Program, any writer can make individual stories paid. You choose what fee to charge readers for paid stories (usually $2 – $10 range). Medium takes a 5% cut of earnings, so you receive 95% of revenue.
Putting select evergreen stories, in-depth guides, or exclusive insights behind a paywall allows you to earn directly from your best work. However, take care not to put all content behind a paywall or growth may stagnate.
Tips
Anyone can enable tips on their stories. This allows appreciative readers to leave a tip of any amount (like a tip jar). Tips range from $1 to $50 per story on average. This provides another potential revenue stream for writers.
By utilizing the Medium Partner Program, paid stories, and tips, writers have multiple ways to monetize their articles and make Medium more than just a hobby.
Medium Publications
One great way to reach more readers on Medium is by writing for established publications.
Medium publications are focused online magazines with their own identifiable brand, mission, and style guidelines. Some examples include Marker, Gen, Elemental, Forge, Human Parts, The Writing Cooperative, The Startup, and more.
Getting published in these publications provides the following benefits:
- Your stories get in front of a targeted preexisting audience interested in the publication’s niche. This can be tens of thousands of built-in readers.
- You can include the publication name on your stories for a credibility boost.
- Editors may provide feedback to improve your writing skills.
- Your stories get distributed in the publication’s newsletter.
To contribute to a publication, you first need to thoroughly understand their style, topics, and audience. Then pitch story ideas that are a strong fit to the editor. With persistence and high-quality pitches, you can get your work featured in selective publications for more exposure.
Self-publishing directly on your Medium profile works as well, but writing for publications can be a strategic way to grow, especially when first starting out on Medium.
Common Medium Questions
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about writing on Medium:
Is Medium free?
Yes, anyone can sign up for a free Medium account and publish stories at no cost. Medium makes money by offering premium memberships to readers that unlock additional content. Writers can enroll in the Partner Program to share in revenue, but a basic Medium account is free.
What topics do well on Medium?
Topics like health, productivity, parenting, psychology, business, politics, technology, data science, programming, and self-improvement tend to resonate on Medium. However, even less popular topics can gain traction with the right high-quality content aimed at the ideal readers.
How long should Medium posts be?
Ideally 1,500+ words. Posts under 1,000 words tend not to perform as well. Anything over 5,000 words may be too long unless you have an extremely thorough guide on a complex topic readers want to bookmark. Shoot for in-depth, comprehensive posts.
Can you delete Medium stories?
Yes, you can delete any of your Medium stories by clicking into the story and selecting “Delete post” within the three-dot menu. However, you should avoid deleting stories that already have lots of views, highlights and fans.
Can you edit published Medium stories?
You cannot directly edit the text of an already published Medium story. But you can recommend edits by clicking the three dots and selecting “Suggest Edits.” Your suggested edits will be sent to the Medium editors for review. You can also update stories by publishing a follow-up piece.
How do hashtags work on Medium?
Medium doesn’t use hashtags. Instead, tags are used without the # symbol, such as “productivity” or “tech.” Tags help readers find related stories on a topic so choose tags that represent your story’s key themes.
Why Medium is a Great Place to Start Writing
Here are some of the key reasons Medium is a great starting point for new writers:
- Low barrier to entry – accounts are free and instantly ready for publishing beautiful stories.
- Build an audience – immediate access to Medium’s millions of monthly readers.
- Feedback loops – comments and stats help you hone your writing abilities.
- Develop a portfolio – create a body of published work to demonstrate your skills.
- No distractions – Medium’s clean interface helps you focus just on writing great content.
- Editorial standards – platform’s emphasis on insight and storytelling improves writing quality.
- Make money – unlike most blogging platforms, you can actually monetize your articles.
- Flexible scheduling – publish on your own time with no pressure of daily posts.
- Own your work – you keep full copyright ownership over your stories.
Overall, Medium offers an easy yet powerful way for aspiring writers to start building their brand and getting noticed. The community provides a nurturing environment for writers of all levels to find their voice and share their unique perspectives.
FAQ – Writing for Medium
One of the most common ways to make money on Medium is through the Medium Partner Program, where writers are paid based on the length of time Medium users spend reading their content. Some writers are also invited into Medium publications, where they can possibly earn additional income depending on the publication’s payment model.
To write and publish an article on Medium, first, sign up for a Medium account. Once you have an account, click the “Write” button in the top-right corner of the site. From there, you can write your article, add images, links, subheadings, and more. When you’re ready, click “Publish” to make your article publicly available on Medium.
Yes, Medium allows users to read up to three articles for free per month. However, if you wish to read more or want to write and publish your own content, you’ll need to join Medium and purchase a membership, which comes with more benefits and access to the entire Medium ecosystem.
Medium’s algorithm recommends content to readers based on what they’ve read and liked before. The best way to get your work recommended is by consistently writing high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Medium also has editorial curators who select high-quality articles to feature in various topics on Medium.
The “Medium game” refers to the process of understanding and leveraging Medium’s algorithms and user habits to get your content noticed and recommended by the site. This involves regularly publishing high-quality content, engaging with other Medium users, and understanding the topics that are popular among Medium readers.
To start writing on Medium, you first need to create a Medium profile. As for finding your niche, write about what you’re passionate about and experienced in. Try different topics to see what resonates with your audience. Over time, this will help you identify your most successful topics and define your niche within the Medium ecosystem.
Yes, a favorite piece of advice given to Medium writers is to always focus on quality over quantity. Medium’s algorithms favor high-quality content that keeps readers engaged. So, invest time in crafting compelling, unique articles instead of trying to pump out as much content as possible.
Yes, Medium allows its users to republish content they’ve already published elsewhere. Medium’s import feature can help you do this while keeping the original timestamp, and the Medium algorithm does not penalize republished content.
To improve your writing on Medium, consistently practice writing and reflect on feedback from your readers and other writers on Medium. Medium also provides multiple online resources and tutorials to help beginners start writing on the platform and improve their writing skills over time.
To get your content featured in Medium publications, you should first familiarize yourself with the publication’s content, style, and guidelines. Then, tailor your work to fit these criteria. After refining your draft, submit your piece for review through the publication’s designated process. Building a relationship with editors can also be beneficial.
