Let’s Talk About the “Evolved” Medium Partner Program

At the end of June, Medium announced that they are overhauling their Medium Partner Program. Well, the revamped MPP is unveiled; the highlight is a new way writers can support their Medium earnings — the Referral Memberships.

The referral system is a boon to the earning potential of writers. I have some concerns though. Before I share them with you, let’s look at rereferral memberships, briefly.

You can now earn money when a new user signs up through your referral link.

Each partner now has a personal landing page. Spread it around, in far corners of the internet (is the internet flat?). When a new member opens the paid gates of Medium through your page, you’ll get a piece of the membership fee…every month.

As long the member keeps their paid membership, you’ll get $2.27 per month ($2.01 per month for an annual subscription).

And that’s not the only way. According to Medium:

Additionally, when a non-paying reader subscribes to your emails, they will be presented with the option to convert to being a paid Member; if that reader becomes a Member through that page, you will then receive Referral Earnings from their fees.

Where the new income stream shines.

The income through the referral program will be more consistent. Your Medium stats will show the number of converted members, and you can easily figure out the referral earnings from there. It is as simple as that!

The reading time metric did not give such luxury. For many writers, earnings fluctuated like water waves.

The second equally great thing (for many) is the potential to create a truly passive income stream—that is very low maintenance. A member subscribed through your landing page is not limited to your content. Medium’s garden is completely open; readers can access the content of other excellent writers as well.

Tim Ferris will be so proud!

Where the Referral Membership doesn’t shine.

I’m guessing that the referral program will bring a new category of Medium partners into the ecosystem: the referrers. Referrers will be more devoted to converting non-paying members than producing quality content. For quality content, they will rely on other Medium writers. Referrers can keep earning as long as the member is paying and as long as they’re writing one piece every six months.

In the future, expect articles like:

“You don’t have to write well to make a living on Medium.”

“How I made $xxx on Medium without writing a single article for months”

Anyways, it’s not a bad thing. The medium needs to just balance it out and make things better for quality writers (not me, I’m just a dreamer). For those who are here to only write, their earnings will be as tumultuous as always.

We can only hope that Creator Fellowship Program—a side experiment that pays $200 per month for selected writers — becomes the next addition to the partner program.

That’ll bring some income certainty for pure writers.

Introducing new eligibility criteria is a smart move.

Why did team Medium suddenly introduce the eligibility criteria to join MPP? This question was bugging me for a while. Now, the new writers need at least 100 followers and one published story (or self-published) to be eligible for monetization. Even then, you have to apply and wait for team Medium to accept your application.

I think, with the new referral system, it becomes…necessary.

Lemme explain.

If the original way to join the partner program stayed, one could just set up two Medium accounts. Use one of the accounts to refer to the other, and voila! You got a membership at almost 50% of the actual price!

The new minimum payout rule of $10 can also deter such sneaky behaviors.

But has Medium plugged all such loopholes? Time will tell.

Takeaway

In the end, we have to accept the Medium has changed before, and will keep on changing. The only way to succeed is to adapt and use the changes to your advantage.

If you focused mainly on writing and not promoting your content, it is time to come out of your comfort zone. The Referral Earnings are for everyone; how we make of it is up to us.

For me, time to read some articles on how to promote your content.

All the best!