Another week, another article talking about Medium. I’m a sucker for this!
This time, I have some positive things to say. Medium is testing some new options, allowing publishers to use the Medium platform in all its glory, plus with two new options to earn income. The options? Promoted posts and paid memberships.
Now, promoted posts will be quite ad-like. Similar to a promotion in an RSS feed, the promoted post could be simply a longer, text based advertisement. Oh, there will be media involved, large images likely, but the posts are just that: posts. But at the end of the day, it’s an advertisement.
The paid memberships are more interesting. As I’ve written (many times) before, I’m happy to use Medium as an extension of my site. But I want to retain full control over my writing and hosting my own site gives me that. However, Medium has proven to be a place where the audience is. Reader participation is high — often higher than what writers see on their own site.
Running a membership program is not easy. I can see how Medium’s built-in audience would be tempting if one were trying to earn an income from one’s site. Although Ev & co are focused more on the big players, the option will be attractive to smaller publishers as well.
It’s a bold move … and a smart one!
