Medium Earnings Report: How I Wrote 80 Articles and Earned Only $5
My $4.93 Mistake: Why Writing 80+ Articles on Medium Nearly Broke Me
My honest journey through burnout, viral stats, and the fatal mistakes that cost me thousands of dollars in potential income
What if I told you that for 80+ articles and tens of thousands of views on Medium, you can make… less than $5?
This is the reality many content creators face when they ignore the technical side of the platform. If you’re looking for "how to make money on Medium" or "Medium partner program tips," you’ve come to the right place. I’ve lived through the flow, the burnout, and the crushing disappointment of missed monetization.
Do you dream of making money on Medium? Me too. However, I made mistakes that could have cost me potentially thousands of dollars. Don’t repeat them.
I started my blog on Medium because I admired the people who wrote about making money online. I thought it was a really interesting niche, so I decided to become one of them.
At the very beginning, I started writing a lot, I had a lot of enthusiasm and ideas, and I couldn’t stop. I was in a state of flow, when you don’t think about tiredness, when you are absorbed in something you like.
At that point, I was already out of work, and after watching a lot of interesting videos of bloggers earning their first $60 by writing 10 articles, I got inspired. I decided that I could write articles full-time and maybe reach a level of income that would be higher than what I had.
The main secret of success (and my failure) on Medium is one simple but key thing that I missed for a year. Let me tell you in order.
Start
For some reason, the statistics don’t show data for February, when I started blogging. It was scary. I couldn’t write at all, and bloggers were like rock stars to me, but I forced myself.
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Starting stats from early months |
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Empty dashboard at the beginning of the journey |
Instant success
Articles 3 and 4 become instantly popular. One gets 5.6K views, 7.9K (for all time, statistics are not shown in the personal account for this time). I am delighted and think that this will continue. I did not take into account the fact that people want to get free money. That is why these articles were so popular, and from them I got the maximum number of subscribers.
Why I Failed When I Was at My Peak
I’ve Been Writing Consistently for Months, But I Don’t Have a Partner Program, No $5 Membership.
- February: wrote: 2 articles; income $0;
- March: wrote: 13 articles; income $0;
- April: wrote: 23 articles; income $0;
- May: wrote: 13 articles; income $0;
- June: 29 claps, 42 followers; wrote: 11 articles; income $0;
- July: 1 clap, 76 followers; wrote: 12 articles; income $0;
- August: 18 claps, 10 followers; wrote: 10 articles; income $0.
Burnout
I didn’t know then that my “successes” brought me nothing but fatigue. And then it came — the silent killer of any blogger — burnout.
Since I didn’t connect to the affiliate program for certain reasons, there was no income. In my most successful month, I received more than 17,000 views.
Then I had to prepare for the move, which required full attention for preparation, and I practically stopped writing. This began to affect the coverage. It just falls.
I need to solve other issues in parallel, I have no strength left to write anything, even to come up with or find a topic. I get burnout and can’t force myself to write.
Burnout is the silent disease of the 21st century. Sometimes we’re not even aware of it, but our bodies send us reminders.
You can take a short survey here and receive a free checklist of burnout’s red flags.
Connecting a Partner program and membership
While I was struggling with myself, my potential income was literally burning up. Every view without monetization connected was a missed opportunity.
In November, I try to somehow influence my blog and connect to the affiliate program. One of the conditions is to be a member for $5 or $15. There is almost no money, I buy for $5. And what do you think? I did not recoup it.
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The disappointing revenue graph after 80 articles |
To withdraw money, you need to accumulate at least $10. In just 9 months, I accumulated $4.93.
How does it feel to see your first cents after months of work? It’s a sweet but bitter feeling. Because $0.88 didn’t justify the $5 subscription or the sleepless nights.
After paying the membership fee in November, I didn’t renew my membership due to a lack of money. Plus, I hadn’t written an article for a long time. Medium’s algorithm, like any other platform, values consistency and activity. When I stopped writing, it stopped promoting me, and this immediately affected my views.
Statistics
Now, the views, the second month began to increase, people are subscribing again, but it is not enough, since I still have not paid for the membership.
Detailed stats for the entire year
At first, the partner program was not connected
For certain personal reasons, I could not connect to the Affiliate Program, and this, as it turned out, was a fatal mistake for my income.
- September: 1.8K views, 873 reads, 1 claps, 9 followers; wrote: 1 article; income $0;
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| September analytics screenshot |
- October: 915 views, 465 reads, 5 claps, 7 followers; wrote: 0 articles; income $0;
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| October analytics screenshot |
Connected to the partner program
- November: 735 views, 296 reads, 3 claps, 4 followers; membership for $5; income: $0.88; wrote: 0 articles;
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November analytics screenshot |
- December: 360 views, 93 reads, 6 claps, 5 followers; membership for $5; income: $0.77; wrote: 0 articles;
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| December analytics screenshot |
Membership not paid
- January: 324 views, 111 reads, 1 claps, 4 followers; income: $0.34; wrote: 0 articles;
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| January analytics screenshot |
- February: 207 views, 65 reads, 1 claps, 3 followers; income: $0.59; wrote: 4 articles;
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| February analytics screenshot |
- March: 221 views, 76 reads, 0 claps, 1 followers; income: $0.63; wrote: 4 articles;
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| March analytics screenshot |
- April: 199 views, 97 reads, 0 claps, 2 followers; income: $0.94; wrote: 2 articles;
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| April analytics screenshot |
- May: 235 views, 73 reads, 2 claps, 2 followers; income: $0.35; wrote: 2 articles;
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| May analytics screenshot |
- June: 965 views, 339 reads, 5 claps, 6 followers; income: $0.43; wrote: 5 articles;
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June analytics screenshot |
- July: 548 views, 163 reads, 3 claps, 5 followers; income: $0.05; wrote: 2 articles;
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July analytics screenshot |
What mistakes did I make
He who makes no mistakes, does nothing!
- Mistake #1: i should have connected the affiliate program immediately, then I wouldn’t have missed the peak of income, but I couldn’t do it then. The conclusion is obvious — without an active Medium membership and a connected Affiliate Program, even a viral article will bring exactly zero;
- Mistake #2: don’t write too much, it leads to burnout, as happened to me. My schedule, where I wrote 23 articles a month, did not lead to millions, but to months of complete creative stagnation. Don’t do that;
- Mistake #3: the algorithm doesn’t like silence. After burnout, I didn’t write for several months and missed out on a potential audience and income. Now it’s incredibly difficult to earn that;
- Mistake #4: i didn’t pay for membership on the platform (due to lack of money), and this is another loss of income;
- Mistake #5: i didn’t write on a schedule. Apparently, the Medium algorithm likes consistency.
I don’t give up despite the failure, I believe in the platform, and I will try to make content constantly and buy a membership, maybe this will increase my income, and the next article will be more positive.
Staying optimistic in the face of low earnings is essential, but it is equally important to reflect on the broader lessons learned throughout a professional journey. Often, the reason we struggle with current projects can be traced back to fundamental oversight or a lack of experience in identifying toxic opportunities. To help you avoid the same pitfalls I encountered while building my digital presence and career, I’ve detailed the most critical warnings you should never ignore. Check out my reflective guide here:
Insider Tip: to avoid blogging burnout and track your stats like a pro, you need the right tools. If you need a comfortable mechanical keyboard to keep your hands healthy during writing sprints or a physical content planner to stay consistent without the digital noise, you can find the best writer's gear via Amazon. Proper equipment is the best "Plan B" to keep your creative engine running!
While I’m analyzing my cents and stats, I’m also focused on creating things that bring real value and joy. Maybe you’ll find something useful for your own blogging journey or just something cute to brighten your workspace while you write your next viral hit? 🦝
And what mistakes did you make in promoting your blog on Medium? Share in the comments, very interesting!
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