It Feels Like Medium Is on the Rebound

Your tips are greatly appreciated! Upgrade at 30% offHello Everyone!July ended up being a pretty good month for me even though I just lost a couple paid subscribers. Every now and then I get a message from a kind person who says, “I really love the work you do, but I’m facing economic headwinds right now.”I completely understand that, but it’s always depressing and distressing to see my number tick down. I most often lose subscribers who sign up for the monthly rather than annual payment. If you’ve been considering sponsoring me, please take advantage of one of the discount coupons below. It’s easier on my psyche when I don’t lose you right away… though all sponsorships are appreciated and welcome!The good news is that Medium is showing signs of life again. If you have ever looked at my list of Boosted stories on Medium, you’ll see I got four new additions in July. I’m up to 167 stories on that list, and quite a few of them have made their way to Substack.In the past, when I was making between $3,000-$5,000 per month on Medium, I could count on having around 15-20 stories Boosted per month. That wasn’t by accident, I was dialed in. But over the last few months, the number of Boosts has declined both in what I write and what I nominate. Also, to clear up any potential confusion, I wasn’t nominating my own stories 20 times a month, that’s not how it works.During its peak, Boost was one of the best writing programs I’ve ever found. It incentivized you to produce quality work, and it rewarded you appropriately.Now, I know a lot of people have expressed their frustration with Medium over the years—but I will forever be grateful to the platform. If not for Medium, you wouldn’t be reading this Substack. Medium was the first place that I was able to find financial success as a writer and build my visibility. Even when the payments started dropping, I still earned enough to keep me out of poverty. I’ve got to support myself and the flywheel of Medium and Substack makes it possible.Medium’s CEO Tony Stublebine wrote a really interesting post where he was very transparent about Medium’s struggles over the last few years. There’s always a balancing act between course correcting and providing the complete financial picture of what a company is dealing with. In light of that last post, a lot of Medium’s choices over the last year made a lot of sense.I’ll confess I’ve been worried about Medium. The simple fact of the matter is that if a platform can’t afford to pay writers, it’s not going to have good content. We say a lot of ideological things about how writing is “for the soul” and whatnot, but the fact is that money is the greatest motivator.Writers have to eat too. I’ve got a family to take care of and kids to send to college. If I can’t make enough to do that, I’ll have to quit writing and find some other work. It’s just a fact.Tony’s article came out in early July, and since then I’ve had 4 stories Boosted. I essentially doubled my income on Medium from the previous month. It used to be that I’d publish something and then be a little “on edge” until I got my congratulations email:Now it’s always a pleasant and welcome surprise when I get them. Three of my boosted stories were between $66 and $137, but the fourth one did really well:Medium is not quite as consistent as it was in the past, and that’s where Substack comes in. I’ve been posting the same content on both platforms, but Substack has the voice over option which I’ve really come to like.There’s so much going on right now, and so much manipulative propaganda, that I’ve just been trying to offer as many counter-points as possible. I feel like a guy desperately filling up sand bags in the hope of stopping a tidal wave. Action is better than sitting around and fretting.I’ve said this before, but I don’t expect anyone to read everything I post. Swing by whenever you have energy. Ultimately, I’m just trying to get an alternative viewpoint out there, and I’ll keep doing that for as long as I’m able. If you think that’s a worthwhile objective, please consider supporting me!There is a LOT that needs to be said and a shortage of rational voices out there, so thank you in advance.I just noticed that Medium sent me my stats page for the last week. Here it is in case you’re curious:Friends, we’re heading into some dark times. This Epstein scandal is truly sickening. Believe me I would LOVE to get back to writing funny and happy stories about my kids.Unfortunately, this is the struggle of our time. This mess isn’t going to get fixed on its own. We have to keep talking about it.Last month, I interviewed my first political candidate on a Substack Live. I’ll continue to do that to provide whatever platform I can to decent people who are actually committed to WORKING FOR US in government jobs.That we’ve allowed a regime of con artists and pedophiles to take control of our country is just sickening. But like I said, it’s not going to go away on its own, and denial certainly isn’t going to help the problem.I’ll keep standing on the street corner of civilization screaming into my microphone. I have a pretty decent crowd now! There is strength in numbers, so let’s keep going!Thanks for your support everyone! As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or comments!You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe