I have a huge number of pieces on Medium and a good following. I hate to see that go. Like you, I’m pondering my next steps. There are a lot of options. I have just about given up on Medium’s survival at this point. The ONLY bright spot for me there is that my viral story from last July continues to pay. If not for that, my earnings would be nearly nothing.
I didn’t think I’d get rich on Medium, but it was a real joy to write there and earn enough to make my life easier.
There is no platform we can trust to always be there.
I've enjoyed meeting the wonderful people like you Michelle! I think there are still some stories that do well on Medium. But you're right, platforms come and go.
The problem I have with Medium now is they expect way too much work for little payout. My time is worth more than the $12 I got last month. It's the least I've made ever. I'm probably gonna bounce from there soon. Medium is dead, imo.
It has frustrated me too. I think Medium still has value when it comes to a very specific type of writing. They think of themselves as "The New Yorker" and they don't want news stories (no matter how important those stories are). As a tool, it's still possible to extract some value from Medium. But I think it's a place for 1 or 2 very specific articles a month, not daily content.
I noticed that shift too. But as someone who's been there since 2018, I can't help but feel like they're turning on those of us who supported the platform in its earliest days.
Yes, it's extremely frustrating. It's also odd that they'd make such a dramatic shift right as they started to make money. It doesn't make sense to me.
I appreciate you sharing your stats about Medium. I’ve never been boosted but my stories are usually random and they aren’t at the same quality but I could still make between $500-$900 on most months until January.
Everything really crashed starting on January 7th. I hope things eventually get back to normal on Medium, but it’s getting hard to keep the faith with each passing day.
I was forced out of Medium before boosting became a thing so I never benefitted from it. I never made more than $20 a month at Medium compared to the slightly larger amount I now make at Substack. But it seems Medium has fallen victim to the "enshittification" so many platforms eventually succumb to.
Many writers in specific genres have unions to protect them from exploitation by publishers and ensure genuine community interaction. I don't understand why they don't get into running these platforms. They could be the majority shareholders so the tech assholes couldn't do anything about ruining them, and run on favorable terms to the authors.
I want to subscribe to you and every other great writer that just moved to Substack, but I just got a great reduction in my writing income in January because I was writing on Medium. Now I’m learning to write and publish on Substack as well. I’m not leaving Medium. I paid up for a full year on December 13.
However, I’m building from scratch here. I used to just read and comment on other’s work here. Now I will wait six months before I invest any more money in subscriptions. In the meantime I’m here and supporting you with my empty pockets.
It’s a conundrum with every startup business I have ever had. You need to invest without getting paid fair return for a period of time. Learning new things, using what I already have to the best of my abilities. I’m mining twenty years of my Morning Papers for seeds that have germinated and turning them into new better stories.
I’m leery of the ebb of energy I feel happening in some of the best publications on Medium. It feels like when you chip a gear when downshifting in your workhorse of a truck, and you take the whole transmission out. The need to scour auto-parts stores for hundreds of miles around commences. Then a long drive with a friend to pick up a transmission they found one state over. As a kid the long drives being company for my Dad on a Parts run - felt like foraging for a washroom on long stretches of lonely prairie. Thank god for that strip of brush.
To make our truck new again took sacrifice, mechanical know how and the right part used in the right way.
I’m still hoping they find that transmission box and get their act together so we can have the old workhorse moving with a smooth new transmission.
You can’t forget that you came to a standstill. You’re tired and struggling to survive with grease ingrained under your fingernails but you look at the horizon and you know you have miles to go before you sleep.
Bumming off a favourite line of poetry, old friend. We need to keep our hearts in it , Walter. You help… believe me you help. 🔂
I completely understand Jocelyn, and I should be able to help you start seeing a return on your writing here on Substack. Everything on my newsletter is free, but paid subscriptions are turned on. Is that how yours is set up too? As you continue to work with this platform, you'll see how powerful it is. Make sure to share your comments to notes, that's your best growth tool. Keep in touch and let me know how I can help out! We'll all grow together!
I'm struggling to even cover cost of membership on Medium these days. I only write 4 articles a month so I'm not expecting to earn massive amounts. But I have been boosted a few times and thought I was getting the hang of what worked.
The worst thing is looking at followers and hardly seeing any "real" readers likely to engage. Bots, companies focused on advertising, and articles churned out on AI crypto and passive income seem to dominate.
If I cancel my membership can I still earn from existing or new articles? And how easy is it to restart the account? I'm thinking of taking a break and concentrating on Substack.
I have a huge number of pieces on Medium and a good following. I hate to see that go. Like you, I’m pondering my next steps. There are a lot of options. I have just about given up on Medium’s survival at this point. The ONLY bright spot for me there is that my viral story from last July continues to pay. If not for that, my earnings would be nearly nothing.
I didn’t think I’d get rich on Medium, but it was a real joy to write there and earn enough to make my life easier.
There is no platform we can trust to always be there.
I've enjoyed meeting the wonderful people like you Michelle! I think there are still some stories that do well on Medium. But you're right, platforms come and go.
The problem I have with Medium now is they expect way too much work for little payout. My time is worth more than the $12 I got last month. It's the least I've made ever. I'm probably gonna bounce from there soon. Medium is dead, imo.
It has frustrated me too. I think Medium still has value when it comes to a very specific type of writing. They think of themselves as "The New Yorker" and they don't want news stories (no matter how important those stories are). As a tool, it's still possible to extract some value from Medium. But I think it's a place for 1 or 2 very specific articles a month, not daily content.
I noticed that shift too. But as someone who's been there since 2018, I can't help but feel like they're turning on those of us who supported the platform in its earliest days.
Yes, it's extremely frustrating. It's also odd that they'd make such a dramatic shift right as they started to make money. It doesn't make sense to me.
Me either. Unless they want it to die while they can still walk away with money in their pockets. Don't know though.
I appreciate you sharing your stats about Medium. I’ve never been boosted but my stories are usually random and they aren’t at the same quality but I could still make between $500-$900 on most months until January.
Everything really crashed starting on January 7th. I hope things eventually get back to normal on Medium, but it’s getting hard to keep the faith with each passing day.
Yeah, I hope it bounces back too. Thanks for sharing your experience as well!
https://medium.com/@patriciaross_63026/where-did-my-boosts-go-eab2574cc519?sk=9b768d0794399ffc5e7fbf26443cdce2
All my boosted stories have lost their boosts! Medium "help" says they're investigating, but so far no word!
I hope that gets worked out and they are restored. I haven’t heard of that happening to anyone else.
I was forced out of Medium before boosting became a thing so I never benefitted from it. I never made more than $20 a month at Medium compared to the slightly larger amount I now make at Substack. But it seems Medium has fallen victim to the "enshittification" so many platforms eventually succumb to.
Many writers in specific genres have unions to protect them from exploitation by publishers and ensure genuine community interaction. I don't understand why they don't get into running these platforms. They could be the majority shareholders so the tech assholes couldn't do anything about ruining them, and run on favorable terms to the authors.
That's an interesting idea. When these business models evolve, it often circumvents existing worker protections.
I want to subscribe to you and every other great writer that just moved to Substack, but I just got a great reduction in my writing income in January because I was writing on Medium. Now I’m learning to write and publish on Substack as well. I’m not leaving Medium. I paid up for a full year on December 13.
However, I’m building from scratch here. I used to just read and comment on other’s work here. Now I will wait six months before I invest any more money in subscriptions. In the meantime I’m here and supporting you with my empty pockets.
It’s a conundrum with every startup business I have ever had. You need to invest without getting paid fair return for a period of time. Learning new things, using what I already have to the best of my abilities. I’m mining twenty years of my Morning Papers for seeds that have germinated and turning them into new better stories.
I’m leery of the ebb of energy I feel happening in some of the best publications on Medium. It feels like when you chip a gear when downshifting in your workhorse of a truck, and you take the whole transmission out. The need to scour auto-parts stores for hundreds of miles around commences. Then a long drive with a friend to pick up a transmission they found one state over. As a kid the long drives being company for my Dad on a Parts run - felt like foraging for a washroom on long stretches of lonely prairie. Thank god for that strip of brush.
To make our truck new again took sacrifice, mechanical know how and the right part used in the right way.
I’m still hoping they find that transmission box and get their act together so we can have the old workhorse moving with a smooth new transmission.
You can’t forget that you came to a standstill. You’re tired and struggling to survive with grease ingrained under your fingernails but you look at the horizon and you know you have miles to go before you sleep.
Bumming off a favourite line of poetry, old friend. We need to keep our hearts in it , Walter. You help… believe me you help. 🔂
I completely understand Jocelyn, and I should be able to help you start seeing a return on your writing here on Substack. Everything on my newsletter is free, but paid subscriptions are turned on. Is that how yours is set up too? As you continue to work with this platform, you'll see how powerful it is. Make sure to share your comments to notes, that's your best growth tool. Keep in touch and let me know how I can help out! We'll all grow together!
I miss how it was four years ago. I used to make enough to pay my property taxes each year. Last year, I covered one month of internet access.
I'm struggling to even cover cost of membership on Medium these days. I only write 4 articles a month so I'm not expecting to earn massive amounts. But I have been boosted a few times and thought I was getting the hang of what worked.
The worst thing is looking at followers and hardly seeing any "real" readers likely to engage. Bots, companies focused on advertising, and articles churned out on AI crypto and passive income seem to dominate.
If I cancel my membership can I still earn from existing or new articles? And how easy is it to restart the account? I'm thinking of taking a break and concentrating on Substack.