Medium Income Report (March 2022)

Motivation. It can be a little strange publishing income reports for all the world to see (including family, friends and even rival online creators). These income reports are not published to brag.

Instead they are meant to be helpful and to show readers and fellow bloggers that it truly IS possible to make a decent stream of income writing on Medium and by joining the Medium Partner Program. I read income reports as a source of inspiration, and so do many other writers. Hopefully this post provides some motivation for writers getting started on Medium!

Transparency. When you’re looking for an online creator for inspiration and guidance, it’s important to understand that this creator has actually been able to accomplish goals similar to your own.

In this case, I’m trying to show bloggers what is possible, if they dedicate 12+ months writing on Medium.

Yes, there are certainly Medium writers who have made more money than me on Medium. But at least you know that my earnings data is (1) real and (2) current.

Remember, Medium Partner Program earnings have changed dramatically over time (both in total amount and in method of calculation), so be wary of writers that rely solely upon older screenshots!

Data Analysis. I mostly write on Medium for fun, but I do try to keep track of my earnings for data analysis to share with other writers. I do this often through my Blogging Guide newsletter, but I also wanted to post the content in a single accessible location for all readers to find.

Post Consistency. At least for the first 12-18 months of my time on Medium, I wrote tried to publish at least once a week (typically averaging several times per week). While I post less frequently now (under my main account), I still probably average at least 10 Medium posts per week across all my accounts.

Relatively Early Adopter. It would be misleading not to state the obvious: I was a (relatively) early adopter of Medium.

I say “relatively” because even back in 2018, most people were telling me that the “Medium era was over!” or something else similarly dramatic. In fact, I actually got trolled on a message board for asking a basic question about whether it was possible to make money writing on Medium!

Suffice to say, it’s a good thing I didn’t listen to the haters because hundreds of posts later (and tens of thousands of dollars wealthier from the Medium Partner Program), I think I definitely had the last laugh.

I read a lot of negative comments from new writers worried they cannot compete with established writers on the platform. And to some extent this is true. But you do not need to compete with the .01% of Medium writers. In fact, simply by sticking with writing on Medium regularly for 12-18 months will almost automatically put you in the top 1% of Medium writers.

So yes, early adopters do have an advantage, but it is still very possible to succeed today.

Focus on SEO Optimized / Evergeen Content. The quickest path to virality and riches on Medium is by being selected by the editors to have one of your stories featured. Or to organically go viral through a variety of signals that Medium’s algorithm uses to determine which stories to feature.

But I always played the long game, and it has definitely helped me stabilize my earnings. By writing SEO-optimized and evergreen content, my articles continue to generate large amounts of external traffic (even years later).