A Summary of March Blogs on Medium & WordPress: What does the Future Hold?

March has been a great month for my articles on Medium.com.

After a very slow February where I barely made the partnership fee of $5.00 from my revenue, March ended up being very different – so far bringing in six times that amount – my highest income ever off the site.

What was the difference you ask?

The main difference was that on February 27th I spent considerable time putting together an article on our National Parks. The time I spent on this paid off for several reasons.

Medium Boosted My Article

The article was boosted. On March 2nd, I received a notification from Medium that my article National Park Visits Don’t Need to Cost Money (the title is clickable) was boosted. Medium has a relatively new system where certain articles are chosen to be sent out to be more widely read. Supposedly, this is done by editors of various Medium publications or sometimes Medium administration. The purpose of boosting is more exposure for the writer (and, thus, Medium, too).

I was thrilled! The views on my article increased rapidly and so far, I’ve made over $25.00 on it. This is a big deal to me, even though it doesn’t seem like much, because it signals that my writing is worth reading. It tells me that “others” think my article should be read more widely.

The Article I Wrote is “Evergreen“

As it’s an “evergreen” article, I hope it continues to perform well for some time to come! Thanks go to whoever boosted it! (And, I really don’t want or need to know.)

My aim is to try and write more evergreen articles. This means the information in the article is relevant for a long time to come. National park visits are popular now. Visitation has increased, according to the park service, rebounding towards pre-pandemic levels (source). Also new is that the trend is to visit some of the less visited parts in the system.

” It also demonstrates subtle shifts in visitation patterns after two years of efforts to bolster visitation at lesser-known parks and at times of the year when parks historically saw fewer visitors.”

New National Park Service report finds shifts in visitation patterns, February 27, 2023

My Niche Is Showing

I’ve written daily on WordPress since February 2017, where I have almost 1900 articles! Although I wrote a few articles on Medium before this year, it was not until this July that I joined the Medium Partner Program – which essentially allows me to read as much as I want on the site for a mere $5.00 per month. I can also publish articles and put them behind a paywall on Medium in an effort to earn some money. See the link at the bottom of today’s article if want the same access.

It’s been somewhat of a rollercoaster since joining the MPP as far as earnings. A slow steady claim was what I experienced until the month of January 2023. As I mentioned earlier, February was horrendous and made me question my ability to persist on the platform.

But as I persisted, I also began to notice things. One of the things I noted was that a certain type of article I wrote consistently gained traction.

What is it? Travel articles!

My most popular and widely read articles are those that I write on travel. This makes sense. I love to travel and also take photographs – thousands of them. It gives me some joy to share my experiences with my readers – new and old. Writing these articles also gives me a purpose for my photography. In my opinion, the ultimate joy of a photographer is to preserve the moment or scene so one can share it with others- whether it be for enjoyment, inspiration, or education.

My medium niche revealed itself – it is travel!

Publications

I would be remiss to not mention that I am sure submitting to Medium publications has helped my exposure and popularity or readership, if you will. I have had articles published on Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs, Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Poems, Globetrotters, In Living Color, The New Outdoors, Weeds and Wildflowers, License to Chill, Next Top Writer, and a few other digital publications.

I love having an article accepted by these publications. It makes me feel like my writing is valued! And, I also feel that I am in good company – for these are also publications I read!

The other bonus I’ve received is being named a Top Writer on Medium for two months in 2023 – my first badge was for the topic of transportation in January. And, my second badge was awarded to me in March for the topic of travel! These recognitions go a long way to making me feel like my writing is acknowledged by others!

My Personal WordPress & Medium History

As I mentioned, I’ve been writing on WordPress as a daily reflective blogger since February of 2017 – six years! I’ve accumulated 1,890 posts. Wow!

I joined two writing groups – Slice of Life Challenge and Poetry Friday where I virtually met some like-minded souls – mostly educators and librarians who like to write and some of whom are accomplished authors in their own right.

I have 824 subscribers on WordPress and 619 followers on Medium. No – they are not the same people. And, most are people I have never met in person. Part of having these sites is interacting daily with readers and I do not know of more than three or four that follow me on both sites. WordPress is free for readers to follow. While Medium.com lets followers have a small number of free articles a month (my husband tells me it’s three) without belonging to the supportive Medium Partner Program (MPP). Three is not many when you write every day!

My WordPress posts have decreased considerably since last summer when I joined Medium. I’d like for my readers to be able to read everything I write (if they wish) but I wanted a broader reach and staying active daily on WordPress will not get me there. Thus, I joined Medium.com.

It’s been a good decision.

No, I won’t get rich.

But I do feel valued – by the editors and publishers at the Medium publications I submit to and by my readers, who follow and comment. By doing so, they allow me to reap a small monetary reward.

The Future of My Writing

I’ve got several pans in the fire for my writing.

I am trying to submit to literary magazines and publishers I find who call for submissions. So far this has met with rejection. But if you know anything about the publishing world – you know it’s fickle and the rejections place me in some good, if not great, company!

I am still working, although not often, on the adult mystery novel I started in November. I lost some momentum when I stopped writing over the holidays. It’s been hard to get started again. I will finish it. It’s not a bad story! Let’s put it this way – I’ve read worse!

I want to publish a book containing my garden club lessons. It’s already been four years since I stopped holding these enrichment groups, but my lessons are timeless. It’s time I wrote them up for others to use.

Poetry. Well, poetry, I’m not sure about at all. I am doing a public reading on April 5th in a small public library near where I used to live. I feel unsure. It is the second public reading I’ve done. I’m realizing that while I love poetry – it is very, very subjective. Mine is not edgy enough – it is more childlike. I’ve had numerous poems rejected.

However, that said, I’d like to publish a book of poems that includes mine as well as my peers. It’s an idea I’ve had floating around for a while. Perhaps, this summer, I’ll act on it. I know I have the organizational and creative skills to pull it off.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing my blog(s). You, dear WordPress reader, are welcome to follow me on Medium. In fact, I’d love it if you did. But I understand if you want to read without paying! I do too! I dislike the paywall I encounter when I want to read the New York Times or some other source but need to pay for it. So, I get it.

But, if you can spare the $5.00 per month for a Medium membership and get it through my page via the link I’ll provide below, part of your monthly fee will support my writing. Thank you for thinking about it!

You can join Medium, here. By using my referral link, I will receive a portion of your membership subscription each month. You are then free to read all the Medium.com articles you want! This includes any of my articles or those by others. Thanks for your consideration!

I just wanted to take a minute and thank my readers! It’s been a great ride and my journey is not complete!