Halfway Through My Medium Partnership Program Experiment, And I’m Still Unsure…
Random musings on the state of Medium, the Partnership Program, and what the next 18 months might look like.
Eighteen months might sound like a long time, but it ain’t when you’re busy, and just the other day I realised the first half of my Medium partnership experiment has already come and gone. It started as a random suggestion to a friend who wanted to save up faster for a house, only to find myself doing what I always do, apply my own advice to myself. After all, I’m not a Catholic priest to only preach and not do. I thought I may as well give it a go, so in October 2021, I did the previously unthinkable and moved behind the paywall after over six years of offering content for free on Medium.
All that follows will probably feel a tad disorganised, but I don’t care, just like I had no concrete plan for this experiment, I have no concrete plan for this article either, but I’ll share all my random and seemingly disconnected thoughts. Perhaps it will make me see the future better, or help you organise your equally disjointed thoughts.
Who knows? Who cares? Just write, mothafucka! Just write… Channeling my inner Hank Moody
There is a good reason why moving behind the paywall was previously unthinkable — I wanted to give back. I got a ton from the web, free resources that I used to build a career for myself, one that so far has been very lucrative. Sure, it didn’t turn me into a millionaire, but thanks to the internet I feel that I can live a decent life without the immediate worry of tomorrow, have a roof over my head, all the food and drinks I need on my table, and afford to even buy LEGO. This might not be what many would feel content with, but I am. Very content. So, for years I felt it was my duty to give back, and never moved my articles behind the paywall.
The internet is changing. Users are changing, and content is valuable. So, cough up the dollhairs. 🤑
As much as I liked giving back, I realised I’m shooting myself in the foot, as I am giving away valuable content for free in a world that by now has gotten used to paying for it. Sure, it’s pennies at times, but value is, nevertheless, value, and I deserve to be rewarded for it. Giving back ad infinitum won’t pay for my mortgage, nor my retirement in India, South Korea or Japan.
With a bit of luck and considerable effort — think 12 hours a week —a low 5-figure income (per year) can be generated on this platform. For the amount of effort, that’s very low. Flipping burgers pays more, but flipping burgers isn’t as much fun, isn’t as emotionally rewarding (or taxing), nor does it help building a brand. So, all in all, it’s just about worth it. For me, that is. For now.
This is a “business” that will always come second or third, depending on just how many gigs I’m doing at a time.
I decided I’ll give myself the flexibility of my Medium writing gig to slide to the last place whenever something more lucrative pops up on my radar besides my full-time job. Oh, yeah. I’ve been doing this on the side while having a full-time job. It’s less impressive than you think. I don’t cook. That’s all you need to skip to have 12 hours a week extra time for writing.
If I were to be totally honest with myself, I’d probably prefer not to spend more than 3 hours a week writing on Medium. Ideally, I’d want to release 2–3 really solid articles a month. But as it stands, I’m not sure Medium is actually the right place for that kind of writing. Especially since the new boost nonsense was launched.
I have two publications, yet I don’t really believe in Medium publications. We don’t have editors, we have overly opinionated, corrupt, trigger-happy amateurs.
Having to release articles in publications to get boosted is the antithesis of my direction. I want control over my content, and its success. That’s why most of my articles are now published in Bricks n’ Brackets and Off Message, or in neither of them. In the past three months, I left about six publications, including Illumination — shocking, right? I don’t want my brand to be polluted by faceless publications that have no reasons to promote me.
Considering the above, I am bracing myself for a drop in earnings, or at least, no increase. Regardless of that inevitable reality, I am focusing more on my publications than ever before, and I even added a new writer to Bricks n’ Brackets. With Bricks n’ Brackets, I am filling an actual gap. It’s a special kind of nerd haven, and I intend to keep it that way.
I have somehow ended up getting invited into the official Medium Slack group. It’s a very insightful experience.
Some of the Medium staff have already noticed, I’m not shy at expressing my frustration or discontent. But I am equally ready to celebrate the good decisions, or support fellow writers when they’re proposing features that will make life better for everyone. There’s a lot going on in the background and a lot coming down the line. 2023 will perhaps be the year with the most changes this platform has seen since… ever. So, if you like rollercoasters, keep writing on Medium. Apart from boost, I think all the changes will be positive, and some long overdue, so stay tuned.
In terms of my overall future on Medium and the Partner Program, I think I’ll be here for many years to come. I don’t really have a reason not to, but as a side-hustle, I’ll probably ease out of it after the next 18 months. I’ll stay a paying member, I’ll also put my occasional articles behind the paywall and approve articles submitted to my two publications. But, apart from that, not much, as I am sure greener pastures are waiting for me elsewhere.
Here’s to the second half of a three-year experiment I didn’t think would last more than a year.
Attila Vago — Software Engineer improving the world one line of code at a time. Cool nerd since forever, writer of codes and blogs. Web accessibility advocate, LEGO fan, vinyl record collector. Loves craft beer! Read my Hello story here! Subscribe and/or become a member for more stories about LEGO, tech, coding and accessibility! For my less regular readers, I also write about random bits and writing.
