How to get paid by writing (without pitching or selling)

I’ll be honest — money is the #1 reason I got into online writing.

I have been into tech ever since I can remember. I also liked reading and often thought “I wish I wrote this.” I have tried a few other ways to earn money online including:

• Creating videos

• Selling used items

• Making crafts to sell

I made a little money but didn’t enjoy it.

Then I was sold this idea that you can make money by writing for a few monthly clients.

I said,

“That’s it! That’s what I want to do.”

I enjoy writing, and it shouldn’t be hard to find clients as long as I can write. 

So I looked up how to find clients and freelance writing gigs.

I was wrong.

Everyone wants:

• A native English speaker (I’m not).

• A portfolio to showcase (I don’t have one).

• At least 5 years of writing experience (I’m just starting).

I felt my dreams falling apart. 

This is another failed attempt at making money online. It is either a scam or just not for me. But then I discovered there’sa way to get paid by writing (directly) without having to sell myself.

Enter:

Medium Partner Program.

Why Medium is the best place to start as a beginner.

If there’s one good thing the pandemic gave me, it’s the extra time.

I started seeking money-making opportunities online with more time on my hands. It was a mix of looking for new hobbies and something to get busy around. I thought it would be great to find a way to monetize a hobby. 

I then discovered Medium and how easy it was to be a writer for them - literally just create an account.

There is a $5 subscription fee if you want premium benefits. This includes unlimited reading per month. Your membership will then directly support the authors you read from. 

This is the only platform that will pay you directly for writing. 

I set the goal to start a daily writing habit and post once a week. 

Then, something happened after a few months… (yes, this isn’t going to take one day. If you’re into get-rich-quick schemes, you shouldn’t be writing online). 

Even though my articles were not gaining traction, I started attracting beginner writers. My audience was growing.

Then I earned $0.70 and thought,

“This is real! You can actually make money from this!”

Those few cents changed everything for me — it was just the start. 

Get clients to reach out to you. 

I thought to myself if I can just keep getting better, then I wouldn’t have to beg clients to pay me. 

The amount of money you earn on Medium depends on the "reading time" (of other users) your articles get

So I was just focused on the game of volume and getting attention. 

But a funny thing happened. 

In one of my stories, one person commented and asked if I wanted to write for them. They own a subscription-based app that teaches how to be mindful.

This was a surreal moment for me. This is what happens when you put yourself out there. Opportunities started coming as I was building my portfolio on Medium. 

It’s easier for clients to find you because Medium can bring good traffic to your articles through SEO. It will help you rank on Google. 

Zulie Rane also uses this strategy to find writing clients without pitching. She created this free workshop on how to write articles to target your ideal clients. Again, you’re not pitching. You let the clients come to you. 

Medium gives you a borrowed audience.

If you posted a few articles online, you know how hard it is to gain traction, let alone get viral.

But Medium lets you borrow their audience.

When you write on your own blog, nobody will find you. You're piosting into the void. It only makes sense to write where people are reading.

If you have a good article, the Medium algorithm will present it to users who are interested in the topic.

If you're lucky, Medium will boost your article and present it to a much bigger audience.

Or write for a publication.

If you don’t have followers, you can submit your article to a publication instead of your own profile. 

This works better because the publication has followers. You just need to follow the guidelines in the publication for them to accept your article.

There’s a publication for every kind of Medium article. Be patient in finding one and be persistent if you get rejected. 

Submitting your articles to a publication is a great way to seek feedback.

This helps you know areas of improvement. 

It’s a great way to fall in love (even more) with writing.

When I first started writing, I wrote about personal finance for millennials.

It was my other obsession at the moment. But then I realized I didn’t want to write about this forever.

I started to write about my other curiosities and interests.

I wrote about anything that came to my mind. 

There are no rules so you can explore as often as you’d like. This is the best way to fall in love with writing. 

Just like with anything else, you have to fall in love with the thing first. If you want to start a reading habit, don’t start with complicated books that you have no interest in. You start with the ones that you enjoy reading. Gradually, you’ll develop the habit and you can move on with books that will teach you better.

The same is true with writing. 

You will be tempted to write about trending topics or the ones that make money. But you’ll get tired too early if you start with that. 

Take away that pressure by writing about what you want to write about. 

Wrapping it all up

Yes, you’ll earn more money by writing for clients.

But this is a hard place to start. Medium takes away the friction you’ll encounter as a beginner. You won’t get paid for every word you write. You won’t get paid for the time you spent writing. You won’t get paid for the number of articles you write.

You will get paid depending on how many people read.

This forces you to deliver good articles.

That’s it, my friends.

I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday!

PS.

If you don’t mind spending a few minutes, let me know what you think of today’s newsletter.

Reply with either:

Meh!

or

Interesting!

As always, you can reply here if you have any questions.

-M