How I Went From $10.28 In November To $106.92 In December

First off, 2 things:

This is for educational purposes only (it’s what worked for me); and

No boring, long intro.

Here’s what I did and what happened

In December 2021 I have, so far, published a total number of 19 stories (including this one) which is actually one less story than the number I published in November.

About one-third of the month’s stories were short-form which, I often write to promote my longer, older stories.

My best performing story for the month was published early in the month. To date, it has gotten 1.7k views and has brought it more than half my earnings for the month, and it is this piece right here:

The Surprising Things When Cheaters Cheat

The million-dollar question: should you attempt to salvage the relationship?

medium.com

My second best story, although a distant second with only a fraction of the views of the first, still made almost as much my entire November earnings all by itself. It’s this story:

Why She Can’t Resist Your Words

When you learn how to deliver them correctly, compliments will get you everywhere.

medium.com

I promoted every story on Twitter and the Facebook medium writer groups I joined. I don’t get a lot of engagement from this mainly because the groups are mostly made up of other writers, not readers. They’re mainly interested in getting you to read their work too.

However, if you are still interested in those read-for-read transactions it’s fine just don’t bother with those writers that always claim, “I’ll return every genuine engagement”, “…only the genuine ones” etc, because they don’t return any engagement!

I also read a lot from other writers too and on a wide range of topics. The areas I write on may be limited but the topics I read are without limit. I clapped, highlighted, and left comments when I felt moved to leave them. It’s a good way to connect with the writers and show my appreciation.

I maintained an ongoing love affair with my stats. I am not ashamed, I am a new writer. The big names say couldn’t be bothered but not me. I am delighted with every new read/view. I’m always happy to reply or at least acknowledge every engagement with my writing.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

What I’ve learned/takeaways

One Story can make a lot of difference but you never know which one so I believe it’s good to just put in YOUR best into every story you write.

Don’t force comments. Those contrived generically worded comments give themselves away.

You get to connect with other readers when you leave thoughtful comments, and not just the writers of the stories you comment on.

By reading wide, I have come to discover some very good writers that I enjoy immensely. You can learn a lot about writing engaging content this way.

Surprisingly, my short-form stories also pulled their weight when it came to the monthly total. Surprisingly, because I don’t expect short-form stories to make much money that is why I used them a lot just to promote my longer pieces.

You don’t necessarily need a big earner to know you are making progress on this platform. Even without my ‘Cheaters’ story, my December earnings would have still quadrupled my November payout, due to the earnings of my other stories so it's all good still. Keep writing.

So there you have it, fellow writers. I do hope you have picked up a thing or two that might work for you too.

“If you are better today than you were yesterday you are already a success.”

Postscript:

I have had to think long and hard before writing this piece. You see, I’ve always had this nagging suspicion that once you write a big income reveal piece, the ALMIGHTY ALGORITHM punishes you for daring to proclaim you have him/her all figured out.

I guess I’ll find out for sure now…