Are Indian Writers Compensated by Medium in 2024? (Explained)

In today’s evolving online content creation era, Medium is one of the unique platforms that connects writers and avid writers. For the writers, the idea of sharing ideas and opinions with a large audience is surely tempting. The question is: Does Medium do justice along with these writers by providing them the support through remuneration?

There are many more questions in the writer’s mind and in this article, we’ll clear different programs and methods the Medium platform uses to pay Indian writers.

Does Medium Pay to Indian Writers?

Previously the Indian writers were not able to earn using the Medium platform as they could not participate in the programs launched by Medium that could cultivate any kind of money making.

But August 2023 was a revolutionary time for Medium writers as now, Medium launched the Medium Partner Program (MPP). It has brought significant changes for the Indian writers present on Medium, who were previously excluded from this program and now using this program they can earn routinely for their writings.

What is the Medium Partner Program in India?

After much anticipation and hope, the Medium Partner Program (MPP) is now open to Indian creators on Medium to earn money by writing on Medium. Indian writers now have additional options to be compensated for their exceptional writing work after this revolution .

On August 1, 2023, when MPP was first expected to launch in India, Medium announced it would be two months away and disappointed the people a bit at that point . Indian writers were tensed as the next date approached, October 1, 2023, hoping the MPP would finally reach their way. Although the launch may have happened a few days earlier than expected, Indian writers can be finally relieved and can celebrate that MPP is live from September 25, 2023. The Partner Program allows writers to earn money for the stories they publish on Medium based on engagement and activity from Medium members.

For Indian creators who are ready to monetize their posted content on the platform, the process to join MPP is straightforward and simple:

• First the user needs a Stripe account. Medium uses the payment service named Stripe to manage its financial transactions. If not having a Stripe account yet, kindly created to get the payments.
• Next, go to the Medium Partner Program page and link your new Stripe account. This includes your payment information.
• Tax information should also be confirmed with Tipalti, Medium’s payment partner. This ensures you are compliant and ready to get paid.

Once these steps are completed, your account will earn money with MPP when readers read your story or subscribe to your content.

Steps to Get Enrolled in Medium Partner Program

This is how people can get enrolled into Medium Partner Program. To join the Partner Program, one will need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be a Medium member

2. Have published a story within the last 6 months

3. Be located, and file taxes, in an eligible country

4. Be at least 18 years old

5. If one meets all requirements, they can apply to join the program by going to medium.com/partner-program and clicking Apply now.

6. Enroll in the Partner Program.

7. Once accepted into the Partner Program, they need to set up payouts by linking your Medium account with a Stripe account, a third-party payment service. They also need to provide your taxpayer information to Tipalti, a third-party payment service, within 180 days to be able to receive payments from Medium.

Process to Make Stories Eligible to Earn Money

• Once completed, one can begin putting new stories and already published stories behind the paywall to start earning revenue from them.
• Money is given based on User Engagement on the posts.
• When Medium members read, listen, and engage with the stories, people receive a portion of their membership dues. Higher-quality stories full of your insights, personal experiences, and knowledge will travel further on Medium and earn more money.
• Now after payouts, People can check their payment estimates in their Partner Program Earnings Dashboard and review the different engagement metrics there.

Also, If a Story is to be made eligible for earning money, these steps could be followed:

Step 1: Enter the “Edit” mode by visiting the post page, clicking the three-dot button located at the top-right corner then choose Edit Story.

Step 2: At this Point, click the three-dot button located at the top-right corner of the page.

Step 3: From the drop-menu, click Manage paywall setting.

Step 4: Select the option to make the current story eligible to earn.

Step 5: Click Save. The targeted story is now eligible to earn money.

How Much Indian Writers Get from Medium Platform?

If going by the current stats, the Indian writers are able to earn quite some amount of money from Medium now as the Medium Partner Program is on play and serves the users with its services.

• According to Medium, about 60 percent of the Indian writers on medium are able to earn between 10 US dollars and 100 US dollars.
• About 30 percent of the users earn between 100 to 1000 US dollars.
• About 5 percent of the users of Indian Medium community are in the Elite Club, earning over 1000 US dollars.

About boosting the money earned from Medium, the users can follow a consistent and productive approach for their work to get going on. Medium pays the users based on per read time not per view, that means the amount of time spent on a post is very significant in terms of Medium earning dynamics.

By numbers:

• Writers with 1000 followers on Medium are able to earn an average of 50 US Dollars a month
• And, writers with 10000 followers are expected to earn around 500 US Dollars a month.

Major Reasons Behind Less Compensation

Problem 1: Competition

There is a lot of competition for the Indian Writers. They have to face competition whether they are from the club of newer joining people or from the ones who have joined very early.

Problem 2: Saturation

When compared to other countries, there are less number of paid subscribers from India. There will be a small number of paid readers from India with most others being writers who hope to earn from Medium.

Problem 3: Money Parity

$5 for a first-world country is not the same as in a third-world country. We get Netflix for $2 while in the US it starts from $7. Just for you to understand the value difference.

• Someone earning $100 from the US is not the same as someone from India earning $100. So the reward is good (comparatively).
• Yet, most of the (paid members) audiences are from first-world countries. Again we are going to compete for the share in the same pool.
• To increase the pool size, Medium will eventually try to accommodate more wider audience base.
• In a country like India, most players like Netflix play for the volume of customers.
• If Medium decides to reduce the subscription fees for India, it could be bad for writers.

Problem 4: Algorithms

Medium is changing (experimenting) with the algorithms for the distribution of stories and calculating earnings often. May be too often but it is good for the future scope.

Conclusion

Medium is a great platform for the Indian writers now as they are paid for their job efforts using the Medium Partner Program and the further landscape appears dynamic and promising while the transition is a bit tough for the people but it would happen over time.

Also the problem that lies in the whole scenario is the less paycheck for Indian writers for mediums which can be resolved in the near future. Medium Writers tend to be having a great future on the platform. Indian writers may have to wait a little while to be paid as equal as the foreign creators present on Medium.

Are Indian Writers Compensated by Medium in 2024? – FAQs

1. How are earnings calculated?

Answer:

For the stories posted on Medium, the amount to be paid to the writer is calculated based on Medium member activity: reading, listening, claps, highlights, replies, and follows.

2. What happens when a member uses a Friend Link to read my writing?

Answer:

If they’re not Medium members, you can send them a Friend Link: a special link you get for every story that allows anyone to bypass our paywall. Feel free to use that when sharing your story broadly. When members read your story through the Friend Link, they will still contribute to your earnings.

3. Can I earn money for my stories when they’re in a publication?

Answer:

Yes, you can set your story to be eligible to earn and also include it in a Medium publication. You will earn money through the Partner Program through the normal process and will receive all of the earnings.

4. Does Medium supports PayPal for Partner Program payouts?

Answer:

Unfortunately, Medium currently doesn’t supports PayPal or any other third-party payment provider for Partner Program payments. Stripe is the only third-party payment service that is supported at this time.