The Biggest Mistake That I Made on Medium

I wish I could turn back the time

Olivia Marlene
2 min readOct 3, 2022

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Photo by George Becker: https://www.pexels.com/photo/1-1-3-text-on-black-chalkboard-374918/

It’s been 2 years since I created an account and started posting content on this site. The 5th of September 2020 marked my first published story here. I was full of hope and energy, finally fulfilling my dream to become a blogger.

While I used my first month to learn the ropes, I was able to write 13 stories and earn $3.08. That was a huge accomplishment for me.

In my second month, my earnings grew to $15.20 in exchange for 11 stories. To have my membership fee covered was another milestone. But what made me celebrate was my first “curation”. For a newbie blogger, the feeling given by that achievement is beyond compare.

I had my stint as a “ top writer” in my 5th month.

By the end of my first year, my follower count grew to 2k and I had these average stats per month:

Views: 1600
Reads: 900
Earning: $20

Unfortunately, in my 2nd year, with 3k followers, I earned an average of $1 or less per month. I’m just paying the membership fee so as to have a reason to stay on Medium and not give up my interest in writing.

My 1st Medium mistake

The first mistake that I made on Medium was — I stopped writing. When I stopped, it was very hard to come back. I made promises that I’ll write at least twice a week but I never honored my word.

I stopped writing just when the momentum started to build up. When I reached my 1st $100, I didn’t know if I feared the thought that I cannot sustain it or if I stopped because I was able to prove that I can make money through this online writing.

I was so wrong to stop when things started doing great.

My Ultimate Medium Mistake

When I stopped writing, I also stopped reading and interacting with fellow Medium writers. I only visit the site on the 30th day of each month and read as much as I could to support those who followed me while I was away. It was also my way so my membership fee won’t go to waste.

I recognize that it was a mistake to stop writing but the biggest mistake is I stopped reading and connecting

Lesson: If you can’t write, at least read! You need to be constantly in touch with your audience or risk them totally forgetting you.

If you’re reading this post, I hope my experience can motivate you to write even though it feels like a lot of work. Remember that if we don’t keep trying, most of our hard work will go to waste. See, now I have to start from scratch.

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Olivia Marlene

A law abiding non-conformist. A lawyer by profession, a mom by nature. Her hobby is to challenge the norm. Reach her at: missoliviamarlene@gmail.com