Lessons Learned Before and After Joining Medium Partner

I joined Medium and have been writing articles since July 2016.

But I could have been more active and serious about writing on Medium. I was more involved in writing for my blogs — Mazlan Abbas, IoT World, and others.

Sometimes, I would come back to Medium and republish my blog articles on Medium, thinking people would be able to read them, too.

I was wrong! Only a handful of people are reading and following my republished articles.

I joined the Medium Partner Program (MPP) at the end of September 2023. Because I wanted to read the articles behind the paywall, I couldn’t resist the temptation of reading all the great and catchy headlines.

But I also made a target that I should be active and ensure that the money earned from my writing can pay for the subscription.

Below is the traffic stats from August to November 2023. You will notice that the traffic (views and reads) was very low before the end of September 2023. It was much quieter since July 2016.

The stats gave me a view of my performance and made me understand what works and what doesn’t.

Read/Views Ratio:

August: 12/27 = 44.44% = ($0.00)
September: 21/85 = 24.7% ($0.37)
October: 90/317 = 28.39% ($8.63)
November: 244/635 = 38.42% ($6.89)
December: 428/1000 = 42.8% ($55.62)

In August 2023, although I had one of the highest read ratios, I earned nothing, probably because of other factors such as low views and reads. I was not engaging with other writers. I’m only busy republishing my old content.

Reflecting on your experience before and after joining the Medium Partner Program, several valuable lessons can be drawn from your writing journey. Here are three key lessons:

1. Create Content That Resonates with Your Audience: Your experience highlights the importance of crafting articles that genuinely resonate with your audience. While republishing blog content on Medium seemed like a good idea, it didn’t yield the expected results regarding reader engagement. This suggests that understanding the preferences and interests of the Medium audience is crucial. Tailoring your content to meet these preferences, whether it’s through topic selection, writing style, or presentation, can significantly increase reader engagement and following.
2. Catchy Headlines Are Essential: Your observation about being drawn to articles with great and catchy headlines on Medium is a crucial lesson. A compelling headline is often the first point of contact with potential readers. It can make the difference between someone deciding to read your article or scrolling past it. Investing time crafting engaging, intriguing, or thought-provoking headlines can significantly increase the likelihood of attracting more readers.
3. Continuous Engagement with Other Writers is Key: One of the most important lessons from my journey is the value of engaging with other writers on the platform. Initially, I focused more on republishing existing content than actively engaging with the Medium community. However, engagement with other writers helps build a network and provides insights into what works well on the platform. This engagement can take many forms, such as commenting on other articles, participating in discussions, or collaborating with other writers. Such interactions increase my visibility and provide opportunities for learning and growth as a writer.

These lessons are valuable for writing on Medium, as well as for content creation and audience engagement in general.

They underscore the importance of understanding your audience, the power of first impressions through headlines, and the benefits of active participation in a writing community.

Author: Mazlan Abbas

IOT Evangelist View all posts by Mazlan Abbas