7 Days on Medium, an Experiment

I earned $53.23 in 7 days with zero prior blogging experience

I joined Medium as a paid member on January 21, 2018. I’d never even read an article here before then, and certainly never posted any content here. I joined on a whim. I’ve never blogged before, and I despise social media — I don’t even use Facebook.

I made $53.23 on Medium by the first payout on January 28–seven days after I registered.

Obviously, this isn’t a lot, and I don’t intend to imply my achievement is remarkable because I’m sure its not. I only want to relate my experience since I joined Medium as an experiment, and reporting my findings feels natural.

Here’s what I did.

My Background

Let me just get it out right here up front: I write and edit for a living. I’ve served as the chief editor of a medical textbook for nearly the last decade. So, it’s safe to say I know a thing or two about writing.

I’ve mentioned my writing experience at the outset because it seems apparent to me that if you write like shit here on Medium, you’ll probably earn shit. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the prose and content overall I’ve seen here on Medium (though there still is plenty of shit).