Is Medium Worth It for Freelance Writers?
By: Jason Mcbride
Tags: Work, Freelancing, Business, Creativity, Writing

Is Medium Worth It for Freelance Writers?

It depends on your goals and how much you’re willing to invest in the platform

Image by Jason McBride

Medium is one of the most exciting platforms for writers. It’s easy to publish your work. There are no gatekeepers or technical hurdles stopping you. It is also much easier to find an audience on Medium than it is on a traditional blog. Even better, if you want, you can get paid for your work directly from the platform. You don’t have to sell a course or affiliate products — you can get paid based on the amount of time people spend reading your words.

However, if you are a professional writer, you have to guard your time carefully. Is it worth it to write on Medium?

The answer depends on what you want to get out of the platform. I have been a freelance writer making a full-time income online for over eight years. I joined the Medium Partner Program in 2018.

The most I have ever made in a month from the Partner Program is $1,070 in August of this year. Last month I made $533, and this month I will probably make another $500. I am not a high earner here. I have also taken long breaks from the platform because of health issues and my freelance business demands.

However, I keep coming back to Medium for three reasons:

It’s fun to write here Every article I write becomes a tiny digital asset Writing on Medium is great for my business

Why Do You Want to Write Here?

If you want to write on Medium because it’s an easy way to make money, you are wasting your time. Only 6% of writers make over $100 any given month. The highest-earning writers, the ones that earn six-figures a year just from the Partner Program, have spent years writing tons of articles. They have worked their asses off to build a loyal audience, and they have written a ton.

I know writers who make significant money on Medium. You could be one of them if you want to, but it takes a lot of work.

Other than looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune, there are no wrong reasons for writing on Medium. It can be an excellent way to earn some extra money. It can also be an excellent way to improve your writing skills and to meet other writers and editors.

Before you decide if writing on Medium is worth it for you, you need to have a plan for how you will use the platform.

Ways to Use Medium to Help Your Career

Except for my first month, I have always earned at least $100 on Medium. Even when I went six months without publishing anything on the platform because I was dealing with kidney cancer, my articles were still earning a little bit of money every day.

You can earn some passive income from Medium if you have a large enough backlist of curated articles.

The more I publish, the more I make from the Partner Program.

As much as I love getting paid directly from Medium, the reason I keep coming back here is that there are other ways to make money from writing here.

I have made much more money from clients that have hired me after reading one of my posts on Medium than I ever have from the Partner Program. It’s not even close.

If you are a freelance writer, Medium lets you get paid to build a portfolio. Clients can see that you have the knowledge and skills to help them. Through your writing, they get to know you before they even contact you.

Another way Medium helps freelancers is that it allows you to build an email list. Building an email list will help you grow your writing business because you can take your audience with you, no matter where you go. Medium could disappear tomorrow. If you have an email list, you can direct your biggest fans to your next project.

Some writers on Medium have leveraged their work here to get book deals and sell articles to magazine publishers. When you consistently put good work out into the world, people eventually take notice. Medium helps you get noticed faster.

No matter what kind of writer you want to be, Medium can help you take the next step in your career if you are strategic.

Changes in the Platform

This doesn’t mean Medium is perfect. There is always a danger to publishing on a platform you don’t control. Medium is always changing. Sometimes the changes require you to shift the way you use the platform.

Currently, Medium is changing the look of the platform and tweaking how stories are found. If you are interested in succeeding here, it doesn’t do any good to complain. You always have the same choices. You can quit, you can refuse to adapt and fade into obscurity, or you can evolve with the platform.

I’ve been lucky here. Every change Medium has made since I joined in 2018 has made it easier for me to make money. However, the current changes require me to adapt.

I still believe that Medium is good for me financially and creatively. But, I have changed how I use the platform.

Future Strategy

In the past, I have used my two main publications, Escape Motivation and Weirdo Poetry, to build two very different audiences. This has always been difficult, and with the new changes, it may be impossible for me.

My new strategy is to create a new account to publish poetry, humor, comics, and visual essays in Weirdo Poetry while using this account to post stories about writing, freelancing, marketing, and business. I will still publish 99% of my work in Escape Motivation.

I suspect it will take a long time for my new account to ever make $100. The kind of short creative work I write there is not easy to monetize on Medium. My main goal for the other account is to build an audience and experiment with different forms.

My new account is about creative expression. I want to make it profitable, but creativity is the primary goal.

The focus of this account will continue to be making money by helping freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. That strategy has worked well for the past two years, and I don’t see any reason to change.

I am going to be publishing more regularly on both accounts.

If you are interested in my new account, you can find it here:

You Get Out What You Put In

Is Medium worth it for freelancers?

Yes! If you are willing to invest time in building a library of useful content for your audience, it is worth the effort to write here. However, you will have to decide what your strategy will be.

You have a lot of different options. But, while I believe you can do anything — you can’t do everything. You will only succeed if you commit to a strategy.