One fine evening 😇, while casually scrolling through my Medium stats to check how my stories were performing, I stumbled upon something I could hardly believe. One of my stories had over 751 views and 289 reads—great, right?
But here’s the catch: it earned me just 20 cents.
Twenty cents! I was stunned.
How was this even possible? I thought I understood how the Medium Partner Program worked, but this result threw me for a loop. I couldn’t digest the feeling that something was wrong.
Here was a story that had gained significant traction, with hundreds of views and reads, but barely any earnings to show for it. I went over the numbers repeatedly, checking my stats, as my mind raced with questions.
Could this be a glitch in the Medium Partner Program?
How the Medium Partner Program Actually Works Now, I’ve known for a while that the Medium Partner Program only pays for “qualified reads” — meaning reads from paying Medium members. You can read more details here. The program rewards writers based on the reading time of these members, which affects how much each story earns.
But still, with a view-to-read ratio that high, 289 reads seemed substantial enough to earn more than mere cents!
As I looked further, I began comparing it with other stories I’d written.
Some of my posts with fewer views and reads had earned me significantly more. This made the situation even more confusing. If this story was getting so many views and reads, why was it only bringing in pennies? Could it really be a glitch? I was determined to find out.
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A Clue from a Friend
In my frustration, I decided to take screenshots of the stats and share them with a few friends to get their thoughts. One of my fellow Samar Ameer replied with a question that shifted my entire perspective:
“Hey, Ahtisham, did you check where the traffic for your story is coming from? It might be ranking on Google, and most of your views could be from there. Remember, Medium only pays for internal reads from Medium members.”
This comment caught my attention. Was my friend right? Could the traffic be mostly from Google, meaning most of those views didn’t count as “paid reads”? Intrigued, I dove back into my stats to check the traffic sources.
The Shocking Revelation
Sure enough, when I reviewed the traffic breakdown, I saw it in black and white: 98% of my traffic was coming from Google!
Only about 2% were internal reads from Medium members.
My story had somehow found its way onto Google’s first page, driving a ton of external traffic — traffic that didn’t qualify for Medium Partner Program earnings.
Seeing this was both a thrill and a disappointment. On one hand, I was happy — my story was ranking on Google. Which meant it had a wider reach beyond Medium’s platform. Surprisingly my blog was ranking above Starlink’s official blog and Forbes blog. Goosebumps!
I thought it could be a fluke, so I decided to change the keywords and search again. To my surprise, it was ranking again on Google’s first page. But on the other hand, it was disheartening to realize that this external traffic didn’t contribute to my earnings under the Partner Program.
To be sure, I checked other stories of mine with similar low earnings, and once again, many of them were bringing in significant traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
It was a surreal mix of emotions: on one side, I was thrilled to see my stories reaching a larger audience, but on the other, I was disappointed to see that this broader reach didn’t translate into more income.
Here’s the Real Takeaway
After all my investigation, here’s the bottom line: there’s no glitch. Medium’s Partner Program is simply structured to reward internal reads by paying Medium members. External views from Google or other search engines don’t count toward earnings, which explains the surprising payout for that particular story.
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It’s a bit of a bittersweet lesson. While I was thrilled to see my work ranking on Google, it’s essential to keep in mind that the Medium Partner Program has its limits. Success on Medium isn’t just about views or even reads; it’s about where those reads come from.
If your story catches attention beyond Medium, it’s a huge win for visibility — but it won’t necessarily pad your earnings. In the end, my experience was a reminder to embrace both the upsides and downsides of online writing. Ranking on Google can mean your work is reaching new audiences, even if it doesn’t boost your Medium income directly. And honestly?
I’ll take the mixed emotions — it’s a sign that my work is resonating with people, even beyond the Medium platform. 😊
