5 Reasons I Write On Medium That Have Nothing To Do With The Medium Partner Program
“Hi there,
Thank you for applying for the Partner Program, and for all of your writing on Medium. We’ve reviewed your application, and unfortunately, you do not meet the criteria for the Partner Program at this time.”
My heart dropped when I read this email.
After three months of consistent hard work, Medium informed me I’m ineligible to join the Partner Program because of the location requirement as I’m currently based in Taiwan.
This email with their decision was initially soul-crushing, to say the least. My dreams of “making a living writing” on this platform turned to dust. Poof, in an instant.
But, instead of letting this bog me down, I reframed my mindset. This was simply a setback on my writing journey, and I just needed to overcome it.
As Ryan Holiday said, “The obstacle is the way.”
So, despite not being monetized on Medium, I continue to write on this platform.
Why?
Well, here are 5 reasons I write on Medium that have nothing to do with the Partner Program.
1 – Love for the craft.
I started writing on Medium before even knowing about the Partner Program.
At the time, I simply wanted a little space on the Internet to document my experiences and insights and share what I learn with others.
And along this journey, I’ve started to:
Understand myself better. Now, I’m more aware of my fears, negative self-talk, and limiting beliefs.
Feel more inner peace in my life. Because writing, either online or in a journal, is therapeutic.
Learn useful skills like copywriting, email marketing, social media marketing, setting up a website, Canva, and CapCut.
In a nutshell, I still write on Medium even if I don’t make any money from the platform because I love writing.
And if you want to see any ounce of success with writing, you have to play the long game. So, if you don’t actually love the craft itself, you probably won’t keep at it for a long time.
2 – New (or better) opportunities.
Even though people say having a big following:
Is a vanity metric…
Doesn’t equate to an engaged audience…
Doesn’t reflect your actual online income…
You can’t deny the benefits of having followers. Why?
Because having a big community means people like and find value in your writing. This gives you credibility in the topics you write about.
As a result, companies or clients are more likely to reach out to you for freelance opportunities.
For example, if you were an employer, who would you rather hire to ghostwrite your newsletters?
Person A, who has a portfolio of work and a massive online following on a reputable writing platform, or Person B, who has neither? Often, the answer should be obvious.
3 – Steal this model.
Medium received 147.3M visits in January.
That’s a massive audience that potentially has access to your articles! And if people come across your articles and like them, they may decide to follow you and subscribe to your email list.
Personally, this is one of my biggest writing goals right now. Building an email list. Why?
Because as Austin Kleon says, “Even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, you should always be collecting email addresses from people who come across your work and want to stay in touch.”
He advises you to give away great stuff on your sites, collect emails, and then when you have something remarkable to share or sell, send an email. Apparently, this model works amazingly.
Currently, I have 7 subscribers.
Now, it’s small in comparison to many other creators, but I’m still proud of it because I put effort into earning my subscribers. And that’s something to be celebrated.
4 – You form a community.
Two readers followed me recently. Both of their bios said they were INFJs. And automatically, I felt a sense of camaraderie with them because we have the same Myers-Briggs personality type.
Over time, you’ll notice these chance encounters and the deep connections you form with others on the platform make your experience more enjoyable and meaningful.
Sometimes, you’ll also connect with readers on other platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. For example, Hapijur Rahaman and Philip Charter are connected on LinkedIn.
Now, even though we don’t talk and engage on a regular basis, simply seeing their familiar faces on both platforms makes me feel happy.
5 – Nothing beats this feeling.
When you get messages like these:
It feels rewarding knowing you impacted your reader in some way.
Wrapping Things Up
Here are 5 reasons why I write on Medium that have nothing to do with the Partner Program.
I love writing.
I’m exposed to more writing opportunities.
I want to build an email list to share and sell to.
I can meet like-minded people.
I get to provide value to my readers.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash