*An important part of your marketing strategy is to write a blog (image courtesy of* *pixabay.com*)

TLDR

A blog is important to let the world know about your business
Medium is a perfect place for busy business owners
It’s simple and easy to use
It’s also completely free
And it has thousands of writers, many that are business owners like you
Therefore it’s also a treasure trove of relevant information for you to read & learn
And you can even get paid to write yourself
So invest in your own growth and support all the writers on Medium
…Including the author of this article: Michael Koetsier

Yes, you need a blog

Business owners have heard it said too many times. It typically sounds something like this: “If you want your business to thrive you need to have a blog,” or “You’ll need to tell your story to sell things.” The message is clear, you need a blog. The problem is that you’re busy and you don’t have the time!

Setting up a blog requires a website, or at least a section of your existing website. You could outsource that, but then you would need to pay extra for this to be added to your site. You’ll also need the time to work with your website manager on it. On the other hand, if you are the one who maintains the website, then you’ll need to set time aside to do all that yourself. WordPress users out there, you know I’m speaking to you!

Once you have the blog all set up, now you need to write about stuff. Sure, you can start out rehashing your origin story from your home page, but that can only be stretched out to 3-4 blog posts. Then you would need to come up with new material but writing takes time, inspiration and a continuous stream of new ideas. Yes, you could hire a ghost writer, but those aren’t cheap either.

The bottom line is that you are busy running a business. You don’t have the time, the energy or the money for all that. You’re busy enough posting on social media all day. Writing blogs isn’t on your agenda, so this is too much to take on… or is it?

What if there was a way to streamline the whole blog-writing process? What if it also included a whole new audience of potential customers that you didn’t even know was out there? What if you could even be paid for your effort? Maybe this sounds too good to be true…

Introducing Medium, for the rest of us

The best way for me to explain Medium is to think of it as YouTube for readers and writers instead of video producers. That’s right: it’s a place to write and read a wide variety of articles. It’s as simple as that. If everyone is telling you to start a blog, then Medium is the best platform to do that. It is also the best place to read about other people who are doing the same thing as you.

*The Medium home page. Ok, it’s not a mind-blowing design, but doesn’t it make you want to know more?*

Unlike other platforms out there, it is not a place to watch embarrassing fail videos, although video clips can also be embedded into Medium stories. It is not a place to see pictures of gorgeous and perfect people that make you feel inferior, although you could probably find those on Medium if you searched hard enough. It is not a place for romantic meetups, although people have met their partners for life there as well. Finally, it is not a place to troll people whose ideas you disagree with, although you can comment on what others write.

What Medium wants you to know is that they are not trying to compete with social media. It is not intended to be a place for quick info in 250 characters or less. Nor is it intended to keep you entertained for hours scrolling through meaningless clips. Instead, it invites you to grab a cup of tea, have a seat and read things that will make a difference in your life.

So, what is there to see on Medium?

A lot!

Medium is a vastly untapped resource of information, including for startups, entrepreneurs, and business owners. As a matter of fact, that is actually a large demographic there and they are on Medium to share their stories of success. If you need a resource for figuring things out, from how to hire a bookkeeper to the requirements to form an LLC, you will probably find it there. And it won’t just be from one source; there are likely hundreds of people on Medium sharing information on these topics.

*When you first log in, you are presented with a simple, clean, uncluttered design. Suggested stories on the left, source info on the right. Notice the compete absence of ads!*

That is not to say that Medium is entirely for startups. There is also a wealth of information about other useful topics, from productivity strategies, to technical instructions, to leadership advice, to team-building recommendations and more. And this is still only part of Medium. There are also thousands of articles about current events, law, science, trade, health, psychology, history, religion, languages, medicine, travel, and many more topics. Finally, if you need a break from the day’s work there is also fiction, poetry, art, futurism, music, literature, metaphysics, and many more ways to get lost, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Medium is not an encyclopedia, either. Yes, many of the articles are written by academics and experts in their field, but most articles are written by everyday people. While most of the content is reviewed and edited, it is not academic, per-reviewed, or overly heady. Personally, I like that. If I need expert advice, I’ll go find that elsewhere (probably for a steep fee), but if I need to know how someone just like me figured something out, then Medium is my go-to place. Medium is a place to share everyday information, but it is not dumbed down to the level of Twitter and TikTok.

Another thing that Medium has is publications - they work much the same as a newspaper or a magazine. In these, you will find curated stories based on specific niches and topics. I write mostly about history, so some of my stories have appeared in history-focused publications. There are even publications that you will also find at the local newsstand like The Economist and the Small Business Forum:

*The Small Business Forum has a presence on Medium!*

These have a presence on medium and also outside of Medium. The amazing thing is that you can become published in one of these right through Medium. Many other publications are unique to Medium so you won’t find them elsewhere. They cater to specific niches and that is where I find some of the most fascinating information.

What about the blog writing part?

In addition to having a wealth of information for you to read so that you can reach your goals, Medium also invites you to become a contributor to the content that is there. Writing is not required, and you can remain a reader using it strictly as a source of information, but if you choose you can also become a writer. In a way, Medium is a great way to become a participant in making it into a platform for everyone. The best part is that you don’t need a YouTube channel, a huge following, suspiciously good looks, or a ton of gear to get started at all.

*Medium’s welcome page for new writers.*

Medium is a place where you can start writing a blog instantly. Unlike so many other platforms, it is extremely easy, simple, and quick to get started. It’s also completely free to blog all you want, by the way. So, if you are tired of everyone telling you that you must start blogging, there is absolutely nothing holding you back anymore.

Having used many different blogging platforms myself, including much more complex and full-featured ones, I find Medium to be refreshingly straight-forward. The simplicity of just starting to type after a couple of clicks makes it much more likely I will use it. With other platforms this was always an issue; I remember how I dreaded it just because it would be several steps before I could actually start writing. By then, I sometimes forgot my whole train of thought.

*It’s so clean and efficient that anyone can start blogging right away.*

Getting paid to blog

Wait, didn’t you say it was all free? So where does the money come from? Are there advertisements?

There are no ads. And yes, it is completely free to blog. There are absolutely no limits there. What is not completely free is the reading part. Visitors can read up to three articles for free, and then it will ask them to pay to read more. There are ways around this, like posting the article on Twitter, which then makes it free again, but that gets tedious. The better thing to do is to pay for a subscription as it supports the writers on Medium. It is surprisingly cheap and considering all the content available, this is a no-brainer.

As a matter of fact, it costs just $5 per month or $50 per year. Considering how much more a Spotify, New York Times, or even a Mocha Frap at Starbucks costs these days, this is a fantastic bargain. I initially started without paying (because I am frugal like that), but then I realized how much work some of my favorite writers put into their articles. So, I broke down and paid for unlimited access and I never looked back.

The subscription fees are put in a general pool and then distributed to all the writers. Mathematically, with such a low subscription fee, the thousands of writers are paid very little from each subscription. However, there is a silver lining: the more stories are read, the more writers can receive. How much writers are paid for their stories is directly correlated to how much of each story is read and by how many people. Obviously, this encourages writers to write good stories. This is, in my opinion, why the writing on Medium is of higher quality than what you might find elsewhere.

Another way that writers receive compensation is by encouraging readers to subscribe. A portion of the referred subscription fee goes to the writer who referred. And yes, I am one of those as well. So, if you want to support me, then you can click on this image that will take you there:

When you sign up via my link above, I will personally receive a portion of the fee. The rest of the fee will go to Medium to redistribute to all the other writers.

So yes, you will support me directly, but more importantly, you will be supporting all the amazing writers on Medium. This will encourage them to produce even more and better content, which you will then be able to read; so it’s a win-win. If you are tired of all the mediocre junk everywhere else, then Medium will be the best investment in yourself that you can make.

I cannot stress enough how much I have enjoyed being a paying member. I now read stories from knowledgeable and skilled writers every day instead of passing time on Instagram. I look forward to seeing what is in my reading list each morning, and I pop in for a quick read whenever I have a break during the day. Great for waiting rooms, standing in line, or reading while sitting outside in the sun. If I can’t look down, I can also have the story read to me through my headphones.

I have also learned useful things that I never even considered before. For example, I found a writer who talks about how different healthy foods impact how well your mind works. Sure, I suppose I could have found this on Google somewhere among all the ads, but how reliable would that have been? On Medium, the article is written by someone who has a degree in nutrition science and has decided to focus just on this niche. I can reach out to them directly with questions. Oh, and the article was easy to find.

How you too can start earning as a writer

Let me preface this part with some honesty: Medium is not going to make you the next Internet millionaire. The amount of money most people make after having established themselves is a few hundred dollars per month. Yes, as with YouTube, there are a few people who earn thousands per month, but that is very rare. To give you an idea of how rare: I have been on Medium for months and I have not found anyone who makes that kind of income from Medium.

*Even if you are just side-hustling, a blog can do wonders to boost your visibility* *(image courtesy of* *pixabay.com*)

It should be noted that not everyone who writes on Medium is looking to earn. Many of the writers, like those with academic credentials, are writing for the joy of writing. Others genuinely want to share their knowledge, their skills, and their experiences. They aren’t writing for income. Instead, they are writing to share what they can about things that are external to Medium. For some that is sharing their story about their business, which is also a great option, and I encourage it for those who need that exposure for their products and services.

One important thing to remember is that Medium doesn’t want click-bait articles. They aren’t thrilled about having their writers direct readers elsewhere, so you should be careful not to be too spammy in your stories either. The bottom line is that Medium is looking for quality, so you should write about topics that contribute to the platform first and foremost.

In order to ensure a reasonable level of quality, Medium does not accept paid writers right away. They first want to first see if your writing meets the needs of their readers. Therefore, there are two important criteria you will need to meet before you can get paid:

You need to write regularly
You need to have 100+ followers

The first criteria is easy enough. As long as you have things to say, you should be able to post regularly. The second criteria is more difficult. You will need to write articles that readers are interested in enough that they will become followers. This is Medium’s way of ensuring that new writers write quality content.

It will take a few articles to reach 100 followers. Sure, there are people who have done it in a few days – mostly by using follow-for-follow methods – but this is not organic. When they do this, the number of actual readers quickly drops off afterwards, thus reducing the potential for growth and income. It also drives down quality, so this is frowned upon by Medium, but also by the readers, many of who will likely unfollow them. This is all bad.

Instead, I would focus on writing good content and earnestly responding to feedback. These two things will do far more for your success as a writer on Medium. Yes, it may take a couple of months to become a paid writer, but you will have the comfort of knowing your followers will not leave you once you do. More to the point, you will be producing quality stories and that benefits everyone, including you.

*Here is one of my most popular stories so far. Note that it was also in a publication called Illumination, which helped boost the number of readers.*

Conclusion

As I’ve already said, joining Medium as a paid reader has dramatically changed my outlook. It’s no secret that being a writer these days is not the fastest way to earn a living. With the popularity of video and short-form entertainment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to earn a substantial income with any platform that doesn’t immediately bring satisfaction. Such platforms are typically over-commercialized by pushing quantity over quality. I suspect that the plateau of growth they are currently struggling through is largely due to user-fatigue. This does not bode well for the future of these platforms.

So, this is why Medium is such a welcome alternative. The emphasis on quality is a fresh take and I applaud them for building on a structure that rewards this over quantity. I can think of no other online platform that is more up-front and fairer in their endeavor. Perhaps Medium isn’t perfect either – and I know that there have been some grumblings in the past – but it is still far better than the competition.

I also realize that I am a Gen-Xer and that my preference for a reading/writing platform is generational. However, I would suggest that it can also be a platform for a younger generation, those who grew up with the Internet at their fingertips. I’m not asking them to give up on their Insta or TikTok fix cold turkey. What I am suggesting is that Medium could just as well be the next new thing to be on. A place that can live in tandem on their devices (yes, there’s a Medium app for that). Whenever they feel overwhelmed or lost on those other apps, they can switch over to Medium for a more welcoming and meaningful place to slow down and recuperate.

Medium is a refreshing alternative for all those of us who have grown tired of the excesses of social media. It is a refuge for those who seek to get back to using an online platform to actually improve their lives rather than waste it away. Yes, it asks us to read and write again, but we all know how to do that. We did that long before we were lured onto the Internet by large media conglomerates who keep us watching their ads. Medium managed to carve out a small portion of that Internet for the rest of us, those who seek something fairer, more meaningful, and more rewarding.

If, like me, you are one of those people, then join me by clicking on my link and together we can build a better place for us all to benefit from:

Blogging on Medium for Yourself and your Business!