Sticking to one niche may not be as useful as you once thought.
I first started writing for Medium in 2021. It seemed like a great way to generate some extra income and allow me to reach an audience that might be interested in what I have to say. As many people have written for the site, it is slow to generate decent revenue. In my first month, I made $0.01 for the three articles I wrote. This was not going to be a get-rich scheme.
Since then, I have had some peaks and valleys regarding my income from the site. I was invited to write for a couple of publications interested in my work, which helped grow my audience and drive my hits. The History Inquiry brought me on as an editor, which helped drive some traffic, plus it looks good on my CV. I tried to write at least one article a week to keep my voice out there amongst the thousands of other great writers on the site. January of 2022 was my best month when I hit $13.00. That’s almost a half-tank of gas where I live!
Then Medium made the requirement that you needed 100 followers to become part of the Partners Program to start generating money from articles. I get the idea behind it, and if you have at least 100 followers, you are likely to generate some income. Luckily, thanks to the lovely people who followed me, reaching this goal took a few months. Then I started making some decent money, still not breaking the bank, but it was some extra money.
Then the algorithm changed. Beginning in November 2022, the income steadily decreased before taking a nosedive by February. I was still getting decent traffic, but the income was not there. Like many people, I contemplated leaving Medium and searching for greener pastures. Instead, I am holding out, hoping that things will move up again.
I also decided this month to try something else to see if I can generate a wider audience and make this more profitable for me again. If nothing else, at least cover the $5.00 monthly membership fee. I branched out to different publications.
I looked at my various interests and searched to see if Medium had publications that would fit what I wanted to write about. History is one of them, and I found another historic site along with The History Inquiry to publish articles. I try to write at least one or two articles for Lessons from History a month.
I’m an avid reader, and I have done a couple of articles about books. I found Books Are Our Superpower and submitted to write for them. I haven’t written much for them yet, but I enjoy sharing my love for books and getting some great reader interactions.
Another niche I wanted to branch out into is travel writing. As some of you know, I lead student travel groups with a company called EF Tours. Every summer, I take some of my students to a new country to get them to experience the world. So far, we have been to the UK, Ireland, France, and Spain. Next year I will hit Germany and Switzerland. I definitely have some great travel stories I look forward to sharing with people on Globetrotters.
So after picking these sites, I challenged myself to write an article daily. I wanted to see if branching out my writing would increase my income. Of course, this was easier said than done. I should have known better, being a teacher in May. Most of my days after teacher have included a nap and binge-watching some of our favorite shows with my wife. Still, I wrote more than I had been, so there is a small victory.
Though I didn’t quite meet my challenge, I have seen some positive results. My audience has grown to almost 150 followers (thanks to you awesome people!), and the money is getting a little better (I still can’t quit my day job). So I am going to call this little experiment a success.
There are probably two factors to this uptick. One, obviously, is that I wrote more than usual. Also, branching out has allowed me to find a wider audience. I may have people that liked one of my travel articles that then went to some of the articles I wrote on history. And, of course, there is the mysterious algorithm we all desperately want to crack.
Regardless, I am pretty happy with this month. One of the greatest tools a writer can have now is a growing community and audience. Interacting with other writers and learning from each other will only make you better. And, if you’re lucky, they will promote your work to their followers. So if you are struggling with growing your audience, branch out. Find a couple of niches you enjoy and seek out people to publish your work.
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