How to use Medium referral links to earn $2.27 per signup each month (updated 2023 guide)
Are you looking for a way to monetize your blog or website? One option you might consider is using Medium referral links. By sharing these links with your audience and encouraging them to sign up for a Medium membership, you can earn a small commission for each new member you refer. Best of all, this income is monthly recurring revenue (or MRR). In this article, we’ll explain how the referral program works and give you some tips on how to effectively use referral links to earn money.
What is the Medium Referral Program?
The Medium Referral Program is a way for writers and content creators to earn money by referring new members to the Medium platform. When you share a referral link with your audience and someone clicks on it and signs up for a Medium membership, you will earn a commission for each new member you refer. The referral earnings are recurring, meaning you will continue to earn money as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active.
To participate in the referral program, you must be a member of the Medium Partner Program. This program is designed for writers and content creators who publish their work on the Medium platform and want to monetize their content through the Partner Program’s revenue-sharing system. If you’re not already a member of the Partner Program, you can apply to join by visiting the Partner Program page on the Medium website.
Once you’re a member of the Partner Program, you can start earning money through the referral program by sharing your referral link with your audience. When someone clicks on your referral link and signs up for a Medium membership, you will earn a commission for each new member you refer. The amount of money you can earn through the referral program depends on the type of membership plan the reader signs up for. For example, if a reader signs up for a $5/month membership plan, you will earn $2.27 per month as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active.
Earnings Calculator
As a member of the Medium Partner Program, you can earn money through the referral program by referring new members to the platform. The amount of money you can earn depends on the type of membership plan the reader signs up for. Here is a breakdown of the current Referred Membership earnings calculation as of August 11th, 2021:
This means that for every reader you refer who signs up for a $5/month membership plan, you will earn $2.27 per month as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active. If you refer 100 readers who sign up for the same membership plan, you would earn $227 per month. These earnings are in addition to any Partner Program earnings you may earn based on member read time.
Two Ways to Earn Money through Referrals
There are two main ways to earn money through the Medium Referral Program: by promoting your personalized referral landing page and by sharing your referral link directly.
Promote Your Personalized Referral Landing Page
Every Partner Program writer has a personalized referral landing page where readers can become paying members for unlimited access to your writing, plus the rest of Medium. Each reader who converts through your page will count as a referred member for you, meaning you’ll receive half of their membership fee as long as they are a paying member. You can promote this page however you’d like: share it on social platforms, link to it on post pages, or include it on your profile.
It’s important to note that wherever you drop your referral link or ask people to subscribe to support you, the surrounding language (or a note before the link) needs to disclose that if the reader uses your link to sign-up, then you’ll receive a portion of their membership fees. The Federal Trade Commission requires this disclosure. You can find more information about this requirement in this helpful FTC FAQ.
Share Your Referral Link Directly
In addition to promoting your personalized referral landing page, you can also earn money by sharing your referral link directly with your audience. When someone clicks on your referral link and signs up for a Medium membership, you will earn a commission for each new member you refer. You can share your referral link on social media, in your blog or website, or through email marketing. Just be sure to include the required disclosure language to let readers know that you’ll receive a portion of their membership fees if they use your link to sign up.
Why Referrals Are the Best Way to Earn Money on Medium
As a member of the Medium Partner Program, you have the option to monetize your content through the Partner Program’s revenue-sharing system, or by using referrals to earn money through the Referral Program. While both methods can be effective ways to earn money on the platform, referrals offer a few key advantages that make them a particularly attractive option.
Substantially Higher Revenue per Signup
One of the main benefits of using referrals to earn money on Medium is that you can earn substantially higher revenue per signup compared to the Partner Program’s revenue-sharing system. With the Partner Program, you earn money based on the amount of time readers spend reading your content. While this can be a lucrative way to monetize your content, the amount of money you earn per reader will depend on how much time they spend reading your articles.
With referrals, on the other hand, you earn a flat commission for each new member you refer, regardless of how much time they spend reading your content. For example, if you refer someone who signs up for a $5/month membership plan, you’ll earn $2.27 per month as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active. This means that you can potentially earn more money per signup with referrals, especially if you’re able to refer a large number of readers.
Recurring Revenue
Another advantage of using referrals to earn money on Medium is that the revenue is recurring. This means that you’ll continue to earn money as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active. This is in contrast to the Partner Program’s revenue-sharing system, which only pays you for the time that readers spend reading your content.
The principle of recurring revenue is based on the idea of lifetime value, or the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend over the course of their relationship with a business. By earning recurring revenue through referrals, you can potentially increase your overall lifetime value per reader, as you’ll continue to earn money from each reader as long as their membership plan remains active.
In summary, using referrals to earn money on Medium can be a highly effective way to monetize your content. With substantially higher revenue per signup and recurring revenue, you can potentially earn more money through referrals than you would through the Partner Program’s revenue-sharing system.
Accessing Your Membership Referrals Page
To access your membership referrals page and start earning money through the Medium Referral Program, follow these steps:
On Desktop
- On your homepage, click on your profile picture.
- Click “Settings” from the menu.
- In the “Publishing” tab, click “Share your membership referral page.”
- Copy your membership referral page link and share it with your audience.
On Mobile
- In the app, tap your profile picture on the bottom bar.
- Tap “Settings” in the top-right corner.
- Tap “Account and payment.”
- In the “Publishing” tab, tap “Share your membership referral page.”
- Copy your membership referral page link and share it with your audience.
Once you’ve accessed your membership referrals page and shared the link with your audience, you can start earning money through the Referral Program by referring new members to the Medium platform. Just be sure to include the required disclosure language to let readers know that you’ll receive a portion of their membership fees if they use your link to sign up.
Other Ways to Earn Money through Referrals
In addition to promoting your personalized referral landing page, there are a few other ways you can earn money through the Medium Referral Program:
Email Subscribers
When a non-paying reader subscribes to your email, they’ll be given the option to become a Medium member, which would count toward your referral earnings. Whether you actively encourage readers to become email subscribers, or they subscribe on their own, we’ll automatically ask if they’d like to become a member.
Tracking Your Referrals
You can track the number of Referred Memberships you’ve converted and retained in your audience stats. To access your audience stats, click on your profile picture and select “Audience” from the menu.
Please note that the data process that updates your referral count runs daily, so there may be a lag between referral notifications and your audience page reflecting any referrals.
Overall, the Medium Referral Program offers a number of ways for writers and content creators to earn money through referrals. By promoting your personalized referral landing page, sharing your referral link directly, and encouraging email subscribers to become members, you can maximize your earnings and monetize your content on the platform.
Customizing Your Referral Page
In addition to sharing your personalized referral landing page, you can also customize the message that appears on the page to better appeal to your audience. To customize your referral page, follow these steps:
On Desktop
- On your homepage, click on your profile picture.
- Click “Settings” from the menu.
- In the “Publishing” tab, click “Customize your membership message.”
- Write your message in the text field provided. You can include information about why you’re asking readers to become members, what they’ll get in return for their support, or any other relevant details.
- Click “Preview” at any time to see how your message will display on the page.
On Mobile
- In the app, tap your profile picture on the bottom bar.
- Tap “Settings” in the top-right corner.
- Tap “Account and payment.”
- In the “Publishing” tab, click “Customize your membership message.”
- Write your message in the text field provided. You can include information about why you’re asking readers to become members, what they’ll get in return for their support, or any other relevant details.
- Click “Preview” at any time to see how your message will display on the page.
By customizing your referral page, you can tailor your message to better appeal to your audience and encourage more people to sign up for a Medium membership through your referral link. Just be sure to include the required disclosure language to let readers know that you’ll receive a portion of their membership fees if they use your link to sign up.
Conclusion
If you found this information useful, we encourage you to follow us on Medium, subscribe to our email list, or consider setting up a Medium membership through our referral link — a percentage of your membership will go to supporting this publication! By supporting us in these ways, you can help us continue to create valuable content and resources for writers and content creators. Thank you!
FAQs
Here are some common questions about the Medium Referral Program and how it works:
How much do I earn for a monthly and annual membership that I have referred?
As of August 11, 2021, our monthly membership is USD $5/month. Taking into account a standard payment processing fee of 2.9%+$0.30, a writer will earn 50% or $2.27/month per membership on a recurring basis as long as the reader’s membership plan is active and you remain in the Partner Program.
As of August 11, 2021, our annual membership is USD $50/year. Taking into account a standard payment processing fee of 2.9%+$0.30, a creator will earn 50% or $2.01/month per membership for 12 months. Similar to monthly memberships, the payout will be on a monthly basis as long as the reader’s membership plan is active.
Will my referral landing page be automatic, or do I need to enable it?
If you’re in the Partner Program, your membership page will automatically be live, but you can opt out at any time.
Do I have to promote Referred Memberships to earn money in the Partner Program?
No. Promoting Referred Memberships is incremental to earnings generated based on member read time and optional. We know many writers would prefer to simply stick with Partner Program earnings based on member reading time.
Is my referral landing page available on the web and in the app?
Right now, readers can access your referral page through web-based browsers. It is not available via mobile apps.