If you’re new to Medium, welcome, so am I! I first heard of Medium from a Youtuber I follow, Shelby Church. She made a youtube video about Medium and her earnings about six months ago. So yes, it took me six months to bite the bullet and join.
Why Did It Take Me So Long?
I actually signed up for Medium a few months ago but have not published anything up until now. I had no idea what to even write about. I’ve been an avid blog owner since my teen years, starting and deleting blogs over and over again. I have always written about my personal experiences, and although it helped with my personal growth, I had always felt weird knowing that anyone could just read them at any time. And I didn’t feel ready to be judged.
Now that I’m older- and wiser- I have a better understanding of what I’m okay sharing with the world, and quite frankly, I don’t care enough about being judged anymore.
What’s Your “Why?”
As mentioned, I have always owned a blog and have always loved writing. It took me a long time to actually publish anything because it felt like a very daunting task. Like I said, my first impression of Medium was from Shelby’s earnings video. Knowing how much success she’s had on this platform, I felt intimidated. I felt like that was the sort of success that I could never attain.
After some reflection and advice from some friends, I quickly realized that I was going about it in the wrong way. I started writing because it helped me explore my emotions and make sense of them, and a small part of me was hoping that it would help someone else out there too.
Improve & Support
I wanted to improve. Everyone knows that reading helps you become a better writer. There are so many astonishing and talented writers using Medium as their platform today. I wanted access to all of their published work and be able to support them as well.
“When you read a story for members, a portion of your membership fee goes directly to the author. This way, Medium membership lets you support your favourite writers and helps them earn money.” — Medium
If you didn’t know, Medium members pay a subscription fee of $5/month or $50/year. Every time you “clap” somebody else’s work, a portion of your membership gets paid to them. The best way to support your favourite writers is to become a member. Not to mention that once you become a member, you have full access to every published work on Medium.
