After reading various posts on Medium on how to get more followers and make some real money on the platform, I decided to challenge myself and give it a try.
The recommended number of articles was about 25 a month. At the start of this challenge it is mid- January 2021 and I’ve just received my 1099 from Medium and the earnings total is not only embarrassing but also a heavy cause of frustration considering I’ve been writing on the platform since April 2020 and have 75 posts across several Medium publications and 660 followers.
Something is definitely wrong with this picture. I hate to think my writing sucks yet I have more than 600 followers. It became obvious that I can’t continue to do the same thing and expect different results. That would be insane.
So the advise is to write more. Much more. To write without fear and edit without mercy. And I understand the more I write the more my skills will improve. So it seems like an effort worth doing. A win-win.
I do work a couple of part-time jobs to pay the bills so my time is limited but, from what I’ve read, it’s a matter of getting into a “writing schedule” — another good habit I could benefit from. For this reason I’ve decided to start with 12 articles in the month of February and see how I handle that and how the followers/readers respond.
On the 1st of February I submitted and published an article and wrote another to be published in the next day or so. That will make two and I plan to be deliberate about publishing a minimum of three a week to meet the goal. Also, I plan to take the advise of “those who know” to not try to reinvent the wheel or start with a blank page.
I have a list of “proposed article ideas” that I keep on my Notes app so I just pick one that calls at me and go from there. I also have a collection of print articles I’ve read that I can use for research and put my own spin on for another article.
During the first couple of days I noticed how long it was taking me to find an appropriate picture for my story. I needed to cut down on this time if I was to produce the numbers required. By the end of the first week, I had published 4 stories — exceeding my goal of 3 stories per week without much struggle. My followers were at 671 — a total increase of 11 followers in a week which was less then the average of 15 a week that I was keeping. I decided not to let this disappoint me and remain optimistic about what the next week would bring.
The amount of ideas for future stories remained plentiful — no concerns whatsoever about running out of content or a lack of ideas about what to write. I remained excited to see what would unfold.
At the beginning of the first week it is becoming clear that this is the difference between writing as a hobby vs. writing as a job. If I expect to make an income like a job, I need to see it as such. Still, at this point, I had no real “writing schedule”. I just got it done whenever I could — knowing that I had to produce a specific number of pieces by the end of the month and enjoying the pursuit.
By the end of the second week I had a total of 9 stories/articles published (in publications) and could clearly see that the goal of more than 12 stories was indeed doable for me. I had 2 more weeks left and 3 stories already planned on which I had started research. Also I was doing more and more interaction with other Medium writers who were responding to the Facebook posts of the stories. This made me feel more confident and gave me a feeling of community among other writers. My total followers was now 687 — an increase of 16 over the last week.
At the beginning of week 4, I have 705 followers – an increase of 17 followers over last week and just wrote my 13th story/article. It has not been difficult writing a minimum of 12 stories a month and I still have a full week to go. I’m learning the importance of writers supporting writers. Focusing on responding to readers and other Medium writers. It is, indeed, fulfilling and inspiring work.
So here we are at the end of February and I’ve published a total of 14 stories/articles and I have 711 followers. That’s an increase of 51 followers for the month. Although my average number of followers has not increased, I am beyond proud of myself for having taken on this journey — if not in earnings, certainly in other areas.
While I still don’t have a set writing schedule. I’m working on it and my ability at this craft has improved significantly. I’ve realized I can’t measure my progress with someone else’s ruler — I have to go at my own pace. My speed doesn’t matter either. Forward is forward.
Am I a REAL Medium writer yet? Who knows. Will I challenge myself again for March — maybe for a little more? You bet! I think I’ll go for 15.
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