Medium blog writing: A complete guide to getting started

Thinking about writing on Medium? You’re in the right spot. It’s a unique place online where writers and readers connect over interesting stories and ideas, without all the usual ad clutter. The ad-free, subscription-based model really puts the spotlight on quality, which is a big plus for anyone who just loves to write.

For writers, Medium is a great chance to build an audience from the ground up and maybe even earn some money from your passion. But it’s not as easy as just hitting "publish." With millions of stories already out there, standing out and keeping a regular posting schedule can feel like a huge task. You need both quality and quantity, and that’s a tricky balance to strike.

The good news is, you don't have to figure it all out alone. Modern tools can help you turn your ideas into a steady stream of published articles. An AI content platform like the eesel AI blog writer can help with the whole creation process, letting you focus on your unique perspective while still publishing often enough to gain some traction.

What is Medium and how does it work for writers?

What’s the deal with Medium? At its heart, Medium is an online publishing platform that was founded back in August 2012 by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams. He wanted to build a space for human stories and ideas, a place for longer, more thoughtful content than a tweet could ever allow.

You could call it a mix between a blogging platform and a social network. You get the tools to write and publish, but you also get access to a built-in audience of over 100 million monthly readers. Unlike a personal blog where you have to find every single reader yourself, Medium puts your work in front of people who are already looking for new things to read.

How do they find you? Through a combination of an algorithm and human curators. Medium's editors can give an article a "Boost," which shares it with a much larger audience. This focus on quality means a great story can really take off, even if you’re just starting out with zero followers.

The platform is funded by subscriptions. Non-members can read a few articles a month for free, but paying members (starting at $5/month) get unlimited access. That subscription money is then shared with writers based on how much time members spend reading their stories.

If you're weighing this against a self-hosted WordPress blog, here’s a quick comparison:

Fundamentals of successful writing on Medium

Knowing how the platform works is the first step, but being successful takes a bit of craft and strategy. It’s about more than just writing well; it’s about connecting with an audience that’s looking for something real.

Finding your voice and niche

A common question from new writers is, "Do I need a niche?" On a traditional blog, the answer is usually a definite yes. But on Medium, things are a little different. The platform rewards authenticity and personal stories, giving you more room to experiment.

Hello everyone! I´ve been meaning to write for a while and I found medium. I heard they pay for articles. My niches are film, psychology, mental health, and music(specifically Taylor Swift, I mention that since I saw there´s a Taylor blog on Medium). How big of a chance is there that I can successfully submit and get paid for some pieces? I just want to earn a few extra bucks.

Reddit

Instead of locking yourself into one topic, it’s often better to focus on your unique voice and perspective. What are you passionate about? What have you learned from your own life? The Medium audience tends to value depth and nuance over clickbait, so stories that offer real value and a human touch usually do best. Don't be afraid to write about different things; your consistent voice will be what ties it all together.

Headlines and formatting

Your headline is your first, and maybe only, chance to catch a reader's eye as they scroll. Unlike a blog title you might write for Google, Medium headlines need to be catchy and intriguing. Think of it less as an SEO keyword and more as the title of a book chapter you can't wait to dive into.

Once you’ve hooked them, your formatting needs to keep them reading. Medium’s design is clean and simple, and your writing should be too. Here are a few tips:

• Use short paragraphs: Try to keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences. This makes your article much easier to read, especially on a phone.
• Break up your text: Use headings, subheadings, bold text, and italics to guide the reader and highlight important points.
• Choose a great featured image: A high-quality, compelling image is a must. It’s the first thing people see on the homepage, and a good visual can be the difference between a click and a scroll-by.

Using publications to grow your audience

Medium publications are a huge help for new writers. Think of them as curated magazines within Medium, each with its own editors, writers, and followers. Getting your story into a publication gives you instant access to its audience, which can seriously boost your visibility and earnings.

So, how do you get published? It’s usually pretty simple:

1. Find a publication that matches your writing style and topic.
2. Look for their "Write For Us" or "Submissions" page to find their guidelines.
3. Most will ask you to email the editors with your Medium ID to be added as a writer.
4. Once you’re in, you can submit your drafts directly to the publication for them to review.

How do writers make money on Medium?

Alright, let's get to the money part. While a lot of people write on Medium just because they enjoy it, the platform does offer a way to get paid for your work. It’s not a get-rich-quick deal, but with a consistent approach, you can turn your writing into an income stream.

The Medium Partner Program

The main way writers earn money is through the Medium Partner Program. To join, you have to meet a few requirements, which can change over time. As of early 2026, you need to:

• Be a paying Medium member yourself.
• Have published at least 5 stories in the last 6 months.
• Be at least 18 years old and live in a country that supports Stripe for payments.

Once you’re in the program, your earnings are based on member engagement. It’s not just about how many people view your story; it’s about how much time paying members spend reading it. Here are the four main factors:

• Member read time: This is the biggest driver of earnings. You get paid when a member reads or listens to your story for 30 seconds or more. The longer they stick around, the more you earn.
• Positive interactions: Engagement signals like claps, highlights, and replies also boost your earnings, rewarding stories that get people talking.
• Follower bonus: You get a small bonus for engagement from your existing followers, which encourages you to build a loyal community.
• Boost bonus: If your story gets "Boosted" by Medium's curators, it gets sent to a much wider audience and earns a lot more. This is the one that can really make a story take off.

Other monetization methods and the reality of earnings

The Partner Program isn't the only way to earn. Many successful writers use Medium as a jumping-off point for other income sources. You can:

• Use Medium as a portfolio to find freelance writing clients.
• Promote your own products, like courses or e-books, with a subtle call to action at the end of your articles.
• Build an email list by offering a free resource. This lets you connect with your audience directly and send traffic to a personal blog where you have more monetization options like affiliate marketing.

Now for a bit of perspective. While the top writers on Medium make thousands a month, they are the exception. Some reports suggest that only about 6% of active writers in the Partner Program earned over $100 in any given month. This isn’t meant to discourage you, but to make it clear that success on Medium is a long game. It takes consistent, high-quality work over time.

I’ve made around $5,000 on Medium over 2-3 years. Almost half of that was from one viral article. Most articles I write make cents. I consider an article a ‘win’ if it gets over $10.

Reddit

Scaling your writing on Medium with the eesel AI blog writer

So, we've identified the main challenge: to do well on Medium, you need to consistently publish high-quality, engaging stories. But who has time for that? Researching, writing, editing, and formatting several articles a week is a huge time sink.

This is where a tool designed for the full writing cycle can make a big difference. The eesel AI blog writer does more than just generate text; it can turn a single topic into a complete blog post in minutes. It handles the heavy lifting so you can focus on your strategy and unique voice.

Here are a few features that are especially helpful for Medium writers:

• Genuinely human tone: The eesel AI blog writer is designed to create content that sounds authentic and personal, which is an important quality for engaging with Medium's readers.
• Automatic assets: We talked about how important visuals are. This tool automatically generates relevant images, infographics, and tables to make your articles more visually interesting and easier to read.
• Authentic social proof: To add more depth and credibility, the tool can find and embed real Reddit quotes and relevant YouTube videos. This kind of real-world context is exactly what tends to do well with the Medium audience.
• AEO optimization: While Medium has its own discovery algorithm, getting found elsewhere is always a plus. The content is structured for AI answer engines (like Google AI Overviews), giving you another way to get seen.

We've seen this work firsthand. We used this exact tool to grow our own organic traffic at eesel AI, going from 70k to over 750,000 impressions in just three months by publishing over 1,000 blogs. It shows that you can scale up your content production without letting quality slide.

For a deeper dive into whether Medium is the right platform for you, this video offers a balanced perspective on what to expect.

A video explaining whether Medium blog writing is still a worthwhile endeavor for writers.

Final thoughts

Getting started on Medium is an exciting step. It’s a platform that rewards quality, authenticity, and, most importantly, consistency. Success is definitely possible, but it requires a smart approach. You need to write great headlines, use publications to find your audience, and understand how the Partner Program works.

But as we've discussed, the biggest thing that separates writers who earn a little from those who build a real income is consistency. The pressure to constantly come up with fresh, high-quality content can burn out even the most dedicated writers.

This is where having the right tool can help. The eesel AI blog writer is designed to help you with that challenge, turning the content grind into a manageable, scalable process. You bring the ideas and the unique voice; it helps with the rest.

Don’t let the demand for constant content stop you. Generate your first high-quality blog post for free with the eesel AI blog writer and see how much easier it can be to grow your presence on Medium.