Understanding Medium Earnings: A Deep Dive into Engagement Metrics

Chapter 1: The Enigma of Medium Earnings

For the past few days, I’ve been grappling with a perplexing issue regarding my earnings on Medium. Despite my efforts, the extra dollar I might earn has minimal impact on my day-to-day life, as I can hardly cover my grocery expenses. Yet, the metrics and statistics offer valuable insights into how readers interact with my articles.

To be frank, the current statistics I observe baffle me. Although math was not my strongest subject, I can clearly see that the numbers don't seem to add up. Is there an undisclosed formula regarding how earnings are calculated on Medium that I, and many others, are unaware of?

My understanding is that income is derived from read time and engagement metrics, which appears to be a fair way to assess earnings. However, I’m not here to dispute the system; I just don’t grasp how it’s being executed.

Section 1.1: My Recent Writing Experience

Here’s where my confusion lies: I published an article about two weeks ago. This piece is designed to take six minutes to read, and impressively, 80% of the readers engaged for at least 30 seconds. With 192 reads and an 88% read ratio connected to earnings, one would assume that several readers engaged for longer, possibly even finishing the entire six minutes. However, the earnings from that article are underwhelming...

Following that, I created another article shortly after, which has a 62% read rate but only garnered 15 total reads. Out of those, only 15 were member reads! It received fewer claps, less highlighting, and added no new followers, yet it was a two-minute read.

Section 1.2: The Earnings Discrepancy

To clarify my situation: I wrote an article that received 18 times more reads, had a superior read ratio, was significantly longer, and yet it only earned me $5 more than the shorter piece.

Am I losing my mind here?

I don’t rely on Medium for my livelihood, but I am keen to understand how readers engage with my articles and whether there’s potential for increased earnings in the future.

I have other pieces with over 1,000 reads that generate less revenue than an article with merely 250 reads. I attributed this to engagement metrics, but the scenarios I’ve detailed here have me questioning if something is amiss. I welcome any insights, thoughts, or aspects I might be overlooking.

Chapter 2: Insights from the Community

The first video, "How much money can you make on Medium 2022?" delves into the factors influencing earnings on the platform, providing viewers with a clearer understanding of potential income sources.

The second video, "12 months of writing on Medium, how much income did it generate?" offers an in-depth look at a year-long journey of writing and the resulting financial outcomes, shedding light on long-term engagement and earnings.