Thanks, Christina! Yes, lately it was really a lot more about just putting more effort into something that scares people - community… So it was about time.
Great decision, based on both facts, figures and lived out experiences. Thank you for sharing the downside of Medium. You are right about time. We can't create it. We can only spend it and each of us have a limited amount of it. I moved away from Linkedin in December last year because I wasn't getting the value I needed for my time. Oh, and ignore the gurus with BOTH EARS and EYES when they say: "Show up and keep doing your thing everyday". Bad advice that lacks context.
True, fully agree! Every platform needs a dedicated strategy. You have to really go all in to understand what works and what doesn’t, which is sometimes not manageable if you’re on other platforms as well. Time is our most valuable asset. We have to invest it wisely.
You made a sound decision Yana. There has been, and still is, a big lack of care on Medium, so many double standards, and why many are gaslighted and confused. It's part of the package we bought into - until we bought out!! They will have a big drop in FOM revenue. It was all hype. Maybe it worked for a while and many said having FOM would increase earnings. It was bunk, mine decreased. Goodbye FOM!
I fully agree with most you've said here, especially the AI part of things. One has to embrace it or be left behind.
I do however beg to differ regarding the added countries, the spamming and botting started long before that. My country is among the newly added ones, and I had to use a VPN at first just to get monetized on Medium. At least now I am free to do things in a fully legal way, not that it was illegal. I'd say it's on them not having added all countries. Besides, they just restrict their income potential by not having every country or at least most of them included.
For sure, my point is that they should have implemented proper control and security systems. I agree this is valid for all countries. It's just the fact that we saw last year thousands of accounts gaining tens of thousands of followers in a matter of months (2-3 to be precise, all of them "coming from TikTok", but not really (personal opinion)...
You nailed it with this post. Sadly, Medium has become a time suck instead of a good investment of our time. My earnings are in the toilet. My writing has improved with a lot more work and practice, so I know it's not me. I love the community, so I'll have to see how it goes. I will downgrade from my FOM account and give it a couple of months. Thanks for your in-depth report.
I don't blame you at all Yana. Its a sinking ship. I was a FOM as well, and as you know a huge supporter of the platform too. I cancelled my FOM 2 months ago and this month even downgraded my $5. a month. I think many have been downgrading for awhile too. It's just been such a slap in the face to legit writers who have been working hard.
I cancelled my Friend of Medium subscription, as the authors I'm supposed to support with 4x payments are not getting paid any longer or get cents for each dollar. I'll rather spend it directly on Substack as I know 90% goes directly to the author.
I'm confused are you leaving medium or not? you say you are but then you say you'll wait and see so I'm not really sure but I know that I will absolutely never go there just the way that you have to pay to read. You have to go through another publication to be published and if you're not a formal writer and do it in a certain format, they won't accept you. Well, you know what "F" them
I don't need medium. I don't need Facebook TikTok, Instagram, any of that stuff I'm dedicated 100% Substack.
i'm not on anything else and neither do I wish to be yep I'm putting all my eggs in this basket. They say not to do that but you know what? "they say a lot".
Hmm. Looking at those numbers online it’s clear that Coach Tony, sweetheart Zulie, and their TikTok loving crew have destroyed Medium. What a way to kill a dream. It’s also such a shame as I was reading your post on here, you mention it’s also on Medium. I follow you there, yet I never get a notification when you publish - or anyone I follow.
For months over there, I know my stories are not sent to those who subscribed. One person even bookmarked one of my stories in their list title "Writers I like that I can't find in the algo".....I've never been suspended, but I'm quite sure I've been shadowbanned (no proof other than casual observation)
They simply destroyed what could be a great place to connect with like-minded people and grow an engaged audience. Yes, I also follow you and I don't get any notifications from anyone I follow...I'll be waiting to see how this evolves.
The best summary and outlook about Medium I've read so far. If you're investing in content solely for Medium, maybe it's time to reconsider your strategy.
It becomes obvious that Medium is a financial disaster for the investors. Getting rid of the high-earning writers was the first step. What follows? Nobody knows.
In the newest Medium newsletter, they proudly mentioned that writers will be able to choose their pronouns in the Medium Bio description. Interesting way to throw money out of the window. Pronouns? Like really? Spending expensive programmer money on such nonsense?
You know the famous Budweiser-inspired saying: Go woke go broke! Seems Medium is next in line.
Great article and summary of Medium and Substack. I’m a fairly new writer, and I’ve been writing on both of them. I agree with you that the business model on Substack makes a lot more sense. I think you’ve converted me to just focus on Substack. Thank you!
It definitely seems so. I'll be around to watch what happens, hopefully management changes and we witness some positive changes...until then, makes no sense to invest any effort...I'll probably publish only free content from Substack and that's it.
Oh, I can so relate! I wish you had a more private way to chat with you. I've got to tell you something! I cannot and will not just blurt it out for privacy concerns. But, yes girl, it's a FYI type of thing!
Aw, that's a bummer. I really like your publications. But I also completely understand!
Thanks, Christina! Yes, lately it was really a lot more about just putting more effort into something that scares people - community… So it was about time.
Great decision, based on both facts, figures and lived out experiences. Thank you for sharing the downside of Medium. You are right about time. We can't create it. We can only spend it and each of us have a limited amount of it. I moved away from Linkedin in December last year because I wasn't getting the value I needed for my time. Oh, and ignore the gurus with BOTH EARS and EYES when they say: "Show up and keep doing your thing everyday". Bad advice that lacks context.
True, fully agree! Every platform needs a dedicated strategy. You have to really go all in to understand what works and what doesn’t, which is sometimes not manageable if you’re on other platforms as well. Time is our most valuable asset. We have to invest it wisely.
You made a sound decision Yana. There has been, and still is, a big lack of care on Medium, so many double standards, and why many are gaslighted and confused. It's part of the package we bought into - until we bought out!! They will have a big drop in FOM revenue. It was all hype. Maybe it worked for a while and many said having FOM would increase earnings. It was bunk, mine decreased. Goodbye FOM!
Yes! Goodbye FOM!
I fully agree with most you've said here, especially the AI part of things. One has to embrace it or be left behind.
I do however beg to differ regarding the added countries, the spamming and botting started long before that. My country is among the newly added ones, and I had to use a VPN at first just to get monetized on Medium. At least now I am free to do things in a fully legal way, not that it was illegal. I'd say it's on them not having added all countries. Besides, they just restrict their income potential by not having every country or at least most of them included.
For sure, my point is that they should have implemented proper control and security systems. I agree this is valid for all countries. It's just the fact that we saw last year thousands of accounts gaining tens of thousands of followers in a matter of months (2-3 to be precise, all of them "coming from TikTok", but not really (personal opinion)...
You nailed it with this post. Sadly, Medium has become a time suck instead of a good investment of our time. My earnings are in the toilet. My writing has improved with a lot more work and practice, so I know it's not me. I love the community, so I'll have to see how it goes. I will downgrade from my FOM account and give it a couple of months. Thanks for your in-depth report.
Thank you Charisse! Makes a lot of sense, I’m also watching it out of curiosity. As for the money - it’s all investment for me…
I don't blame you at all Yana. Its a sinking ship. I was a FOM as well, and as you know a huge supporter of the platform too. I cancelled my FOM 2 months ago and this month even downgraded my $5. a month. I think many have been downgrading for awhile too. It's just been such a slap in the face to legit writers who have been working hard.
You said it very well, Val! And all the bans and revocations and everything…It’s just not worth it for me to waste my time there for now
I committed to sticking it out for at least 6 months, since I’m a newbie. But Substack is my “home base”.
Yes, collect your own experiences and observations. For me it’s worthless, but I’ watching the show 🤓
I cancelled my Friend of Medium subscription, as the authors I'm supposed to support with 4x payments are not getting paid any longer or get cents for each dollar. I'll rather spend it directly on Substack as I know 90% goes directly to the author.
Great point! Makes a lot of sense. For now I moved from annual to monthly and maybe I’ll downgrade yes…it makes no sense to stay FoM
I'm confused are you leaving medium or not? you say you are but then you say you'll wait and see so I'm not really sure but I know that I will absolutely never go there just the way that you have to pay to read. You have to go through another publication to be published and if you're not a formal writer and do it in a certain format, they won't accept you. Well, you know what "F" them
I don't need medium. I don't need Facebook TikTok, Instagram, any of that stuff I'm dedicated 100% Substack.
i'm not on anything else and neither do I wish to be yep I'm putting all my eggs in this basket. They say not to do that but you know what? "they say a lot".
for sure I'm closing the publications. Not sure about my personal stories - I may post those who are free on Substack, just for SEO. Maybe not :))
Bring them over!
Hmm. Looking at those numbers online it’s clear that Coach Tony, sweetheart Zulie, and their TikTok loving crew have destroyed Medium. What a way to kill a dream. It’s also such a shame as I was reading your post on here, you mention it’s also on Medium. I follow you there, yet I never get a notification when you publish - or anyone I follow.
For months over there, I know my stories are not sent to those who subscribed. One person even bookmarked one of my stories in their list title "Writers I like that I can't find in the algo".....I've never been suspended, but I'm quite sure I've been shadowbanned (no proof other than casual observation)
They do that yes…even subscribers don’t always get your stories…
They simply destroyed what could be a great place to connect with like-minded people and grow an engaged audience. Yes, I also follow you and I don't get any notifications from anyone I follow...I'll be waiting to see how this evolves.
The best summary and outlook about Medium I've read so far. If you're investing in content solely for Medium, maybe it's time to reconsider your strategy.
It becomes obvious that Medium is a financial disaster for the investors. Getting rid of the high-earning writers was the first step. What follows? Nobody knows.
In the newest Medium newsletter, they proudly mentioned that writers will be able to choose their pronouns in the Medium Bio description. Interesting way to throw money out of the window. Pronouns? Like really? Spending expensive programmer money on such nonsense?
You know the famous Budweiser-inspired saying: Go woke go broke! Seems Medium is next in line.
Great article and summary of Medium and Substack. I’m a fairly new writer, and I’ve been writing on both of them. I agree with you that the business model on Substack makes a lot more sense. I think you’ve converted me to just focus on Substack. Thank you!
Thank you, Brian! Right now it’s a much better place to be :)
It definitely seems so. I'll be around to watch what happens, hopefully management changes and we witness some positive changes...until then, makes no sense to invest any effort...I'll probably publish only free content from Substack and that's it.
Oh, I can so relate! I wish you had a more private way to chat with you. I've got to tell you something! I cannot and will not just blurt it out for privacy concerns. But, yes girl, it's a FYI type of thing!
Just messaged you in the chat :)