How I Made $1440+ in 1 Month by Writing 19 Articles

Turns out, the Medium Partner Program isn’t the only way to grow a stable source of income

I started writing seriously on Medium in May 2020. I made my first $100 in June, and after that, there was no looking back.

It’s been six months since I started, and October was my best month so far. I made $1440+ in total. Here’s a breakdown of my earnings for the past month:

• One commissioned piece for $500
• One article in a Medium-owned publication for $150 (accepted, but not yet published)
• Another commissioned piece for $500
• 16 other articles that made $290+ from the Medium Partner Program.

The Things that Worked in my Favour

When I was finding my way on this platform, it was easy to lose myself amid the hundreds of different articles claiming unique ways to make money. I floundered, made mistakes, got frustrated and almost gave up. But here I am today, still persisting.

In the time I’ve spent on Medium, here are the most important lessons I learned that undoubtedly worked in my favour:

Consistency

I wrote 30 articles a month for 4 months without a break. I slowed down a bit in October because I was trying my hand at commissioned pieces. Yes, I published less, but the writing did not stop.

There are no short-cuts to success. To make money on Medium, you have to keep writing. There’ll be days and weeks when you feel like quitting — as if nothing in the world would feel better than to just give up. It’s on days like that when you’ve to push yourself to write.

Because no matter how many strategies you apply, nothing beats consistency.

Good Headlines

Titles can make or break your article. If you write amazing content with a bad title, chances are most readers won’t even click on it. The art of writing good headlines lies in understanding two simple rules:

• Don’t make lofty promises you might not be able to deliver (e.g. “The Only”, “The One”, “Forever”, etc.)
• Let the reader know exactly what they can expect from the article just by going through the title.

Of course, I learned a lot about headlines from my interactions with publication owners. Constructive feedback and comments can help you grown immensely.

Formatting Like A Pro

Medium has some amazing formatting tools that help you design and structure your articles like a professional writer. You can use quotes, bulleted and numbered lists, sub-headings, embeds, images with attribution and so much more.

I’ve realised that clean, well-formatted articles perform well on Medium. For more details, here’s an explanation:

Submitting to Relevant Publications

On Medium, publications are like virtual magazines that publish articles of a particular niche. When you submit your story to a publication, you have the advantage of harnessing the huge potential of their followers in addition to your own follower-base. Here are some points to keep in mind before selecting which publication to apply to:

• Look for publications that strictly stick to a niche as compared to ones that publish just about anything.
• Smaller targetted publications have a better chance of making your article go viral than a larger one that publishes 300+ stories each day. 9 out of 10 of my highest earning pieces in October were published in Books Are Our Superpower.
• Before applying, go religiously through all the submission guidelines of a publication and make sure your story fits in with them.

If you’re looking for recommendations of publications, here’s my top 10:

Writing Commissioned Pieces

The Medium Partner Program isn’t the only way to make money by writing on Medium. There are so many publications that pay you a decent amount just for letting them publish your words.

While it’s not easy to get a commissioned piece accepted into a publication, with consistent efforts and dedication, you can achieve your goal. If you write quality content, nothing can stop you from being where you want to be.

Getting A Mastermind Group

A mastermind group is a bunch of like-minded people with comparable skills and same goals who help each other grow. I joined a group with five other super-talented writers and together, we edit each other’s articles, give publication-related advice, pump each other up when sad, and so much more.

Having your own mastermind group can be a boon because you learn a lot by editing other people’s articles. If you don’t have one, here’s what you can do:

1. Look for people who have been active lately — publishing a lot of quality content and building a follower base.
2. Ask them if they would like to edit a few articles. In return, they would get an extra pair of eyes on their pieces and it would help them grow.
3. Get 4–5 people with similar goals, and you’re all set.

Here’s An Announcement

I worked with a few people in the past months, helping them make their first $100 from writing on Medium. 100% of them made their first $100 within 2 months of working with me.

These are the stats of my friend, Dipanshu Rawal. We started working together in September end. Notice the jump in his earnings from $3 to $ 11 and straight to $77 in just one month.

Would you like to learn from me too? (How to make your first $100 from writing on Medium in only a few weeks)

I’ve been writing on Medium for six months & I’m already making $1400+ per month.

I’m launching my course + coaching program to help you earn your first $100 from writing. In the course, I’ll cover the following:

• Understanding the basics of the platforms, stories, responses, publications, etc.
• Generating ideas, crafting pieces to perfection, and maintaining a daily writing habit.
• The anatomy of a successful Medium story with bonus checklists you can tick off before publishing.
• How to pitch to and get accepted in major Medium publications. This will also include tips and strategies for writing your first commissioned article.
• Choosing the right tags, analysing your stats, getting more internal views and working your way towards exponential growth on Medium.
• Real-life case-studies to analyse what works and what doesn’t on Medium.
• Achieving success outside Medium, setting your email list, and pitching to other publications that pay.

The coaching program will consist of video footage, checklists, a private mastermind group, editing and formatting support, and 1-on-1 brainstorming/coaching sessions.

Stay tuned for more details.

If you’re interested, join my email list. My email family will be the first to get this offer whenever I launch.