Member-only story
How I’d Improve the Medium Partner Program
Let me become a patron of my favorite writers!
There’s some great news. Medium has introduced some changes to the partner program that should benefit all of us who are invested in writing on this platform.
Among these changes, the one that is getting the most buzz is the new referral program. Here’s the relevant section from Medium’s blog post:
For every reader who a Partner Program writer converts to a paying Medium member, the writer will receive half of that reader’s membership fee, net of standard payment processor fees. Referral earnings are recurring as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active, and will be in addition to Partner Program earnings based on member read time.
Essentially, if you as a writer have an audience outside of Medium, then you’ll get rewarded for bringing them to Medium. Specifically, you’ll get about 50% of the monthly subscription fee of those you’ve recruited.
That is great for everyone. It directly rewards writers who are able to turn non-Medium subscribers into paying subscribers and, moreover, it makes Medium’s subscriber base grow, which then also grows the shared pool of money that is distributed among all writers based on read time. In other words, it’s a win-win-win or positive sum-game:
