I Reached My First 1K Followers on Medium!

Yes, I’m as surprised as you are. I gained 1000 followers within 8 months! In case you missed it, here’s a link to my latest post on Medium. By the way, this article is free for everyone to read. I plan on posting an article very similar to this one when I reach 2,000 followers on Medium.

♡ Medium Article: 1K Followers: A New Milestone!

👉 Follow me on Medium @sereneluna

First, let’s start with some housekeeping. I have been feeling rather emotional this week for several reasons not mentioned here. Moreover, I recently caught conjunctivitis from my 18-month-old, and trust me, Pink Eye is not a good look. I am also dealing with a lingering cough that makes me sound like a chronic smoker (mind you, I don’t smoke), congested sinuses, and a sore throat, and Aunt Flo paid a visit. The emotional toll has been significant and now it’s impacting my mental health.

Not only that, I need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Friday because I am working. The last thing I want to do is cancel work because I am sick. I am doing everything that I can to get better, but at the moment, my energy levels are too low for me to write anything more than a few sentences at a time – let alone blog posts or articles. I will not be posting any new recipes this week but I plan to continue where I left off next week. In case you missed it, I have been trying to create an archive of recipes that can be found under my Pages.

👉 You can find the entire archive on www.sereneluna.net

Okay, so let’s get back to what I was saying about Medium. I’ve reached a very important milestone, and I think it’s worth talking about what I learned along the way.

(っ◔◡◔)っ Confession Time: I didn’t plan to join Medium – it was more of an experiment.

I had no intention of joining Medium in the first place, but I wanted to entertain the idea of making some passive income. I have never considered joining this platform before, but I heard great things about it from fellow bloggers. I might not be the type of person who is interested in trying out every social media platform to determine which one is “the best” because, in reality, no such thing exists. And don’t get me wrong, I am all for exploring new avenues and keeping an open mind, but actively seeking out and maintaining multiple social media accounts is time-consuming, and frankly, exhausting.

For instance, you will find me avoiding platforms like Mastodon and Hive Social because half of Twitter has already migrated to these social media platforms. I intend to stay on Twitter because I use it in a similar manner as one would use Facebook for status updates. It is my way of screaming into the void for others to hear, something that most of the time falls upon deaf ears and yet still feels validating in some weird way.

Two Truths and No Lie

Since joining Medium, I learned a couple of harsh truths, which also hold true for bloggers on WordPress. This is what I learned:

Truth #1: Not everyone will reach 1K followers on Medium

How many people actually gain a decent following? Most accounts I’ve seen are stuck between 100 – 500 followers, and I think they’re missing a key element. The key to writing successful and well-received content is something that I cannot quite put my finger on, but I know it exists. Maybe it is a feeling or the right timing of events happening in the world. Maybe it’s both. Whatever it is, I will figure out this conundrum with enough time and effort put into my work.

While my Medium account managed to reach over a thousand followers, one particular blogger who encouraged me to sign up for Medium in the first place, who I shall not name, has had notably less success with her Medium account. I think it’s safe to say that she has a total of 19 followers on Medium. But I stopped counting after she blocked me on every platform she knows I bless my presence with. I choose to believe that she was frightened by my excellence and couldn’t cope with the pressure of my brilliance.

Arthur reference: “I’m frightened by [her] excellence” from the episode, Popular Girls.

Truth #2: Other Bloggers/Writers are Secretive AF.

Here is a nugget of truth that you don’t want to hear, but many bloggers and writers are often selfish and don’t want to share their secrets with others. It is important to understand that people aren’t inherently bad. However, after being burned so many times, I learned not to trust people so easily and I’m overly cautious. The thing is, people will keep secrets unless there’s something in it for them. For example, I know someone who has been keeping vital information from me. Even though she knew how to solve my problem, she chose to keep this information to herself. She had nothing to lose by telling me, but instead, I continued to take a huge tax cut on Medium commissions each month. This was until a complete stranger reached out and helped me solve my problem, which was so kind of her! $hit like this is what I’m talking about.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

I’m not sure that my Medium account would have taken off as quickly as it has if it weren’t for this blog, www.sereneluna.net, in the first place. Although I am far from a professional writer, blogging has been a hobby that I enjoy doing for fun and it has also helped me stand out from the crowd. It could be because I have a passion for blogging, or maybe it’s simply because of the sheer numbers game behind it. Who knows?

I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m also sticking with Medium. There is so much to learn and explore on this platform. Do you have a Medium account? If you do, please share your handle with me so I can follow you. You can leave your Medium handles in the comment section below ↓

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

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Published by Hilary Tan

I am currently in the process of finding my inner goddess as I search for inner peace, find mental clarity, develop mental toughness, and crush goals. Come join me on this journey so we can live our best lives!

70 thoughts on “I Reached My First 1K Followers on Medium!”

      • Feets says:

        I did.😂 I commented on your milestone and then read the blog.

        It was quite interesting. It does seem like a lot of bloggers and writers hide in the shadows or can be unhelpful but it’s strange because everyone has different content that reaches different people so I don’t know why they hide information.

        As well, I hope your pink eye is better and whatever bad thing that happened resolves itself.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I appreciate your honesty. My phone buzzed in consecutive buzzes and I was like 🤔 I would have replied sooner but I had to take my daughter to the bus stop and it’s stupidly cold outside. By stupidly cold I mean -21°C with a windchill of -29°C.

        Luckily, there’s a lot of helpful information online and it’s great that a lot of it is free. I wonder why some bloggers, especially allies, can be unhelpful. Maybe deep down they still want the competitive edge. I don’t see blogging as a competition but maybe some bloggers and writers do.

        Thank you – I’m still sick and thought the pink eye was improving last night. Woke up this morning and it’s back 😓 Going to take more antibiotics and hope it clears up before tomorrow.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Feets says:

        Dang, I can’t remember the last time I had pink eye but I know it sucks really bad. Hopefully I don’t get it.

        And there’s a lot of information but other bloggers likely are actually reading your content and seeing it from the outside and can find and critique the problem faster than you could. I definitely don’t see blogging as a competition and actively try to work on making things not as competitive for myself. If people stumble through my account, I appreciate it, but I’m not going to compete with people for attention.

        And man, that’s ridiculously cold! Where is that at?! 😭

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        Same. I don’t see it as competition either but it’s possible that some bloggers don’t want to share things that gave them an edge in the first place. I’m grasping for straws because I really don’t know, but it’s an assumption 🤔

        I guess we will never know why some ppl are unhelpful. I asked this blogger for help when I was filling out the tax forms because I knew she didn’t have to pay taxes even though we live in the same country. She told me she didn’t know why she got “lucky.” Looking back I see this was BS.

        I live in Alberta, Canada and the winters here are brutal 😭

        Liked by 1 person

      • Feets says:

        Ahhhh. Canada sounds cold, especially Alberta!🥶

        She should’ve just helped you with that. That’s ridiculous. I have no idea about laws in Canada but is blogging a freelance or similar job?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I get that she’s a secretive person and has been hiding a lot of things from me lately, but this crap is the reason why I have trust issues. I make $0 from this blog but joined Medium as a way to earn some pocket change. Medium is a subscription service that people pay into to read unlimited articles. Personally, I don’t pay into it but I still write for Medium.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Renard Moreau says:
    Reply

    🙂 First of all I would like to congratulate you on acquiring 1,000 followers on Medium.

    Hopefully, you should be able to make a reasonable amount of money if a fraction of your followers chooses to read those articles of yours that are behind the paywall.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Renard! 🤗

      So far, I’ve made enough money for a few cups of coffee. My best performing article earned $6.87 USD which translates to 2.4K and 56 comments. It’s definitely not a get-rich-quick thing but it intrigues me. I’m curious to explore this rabbit hole and see where it takes me.🐰✍️

      Liked by 1 person

  3. DEVANG UPADHYAYA says:
    Reply

    Congratulations Hilary
    I’m very happy for you.
    This is a huge thing.
    This success is due to your consistent efforts and your passion to write. Keep doing that.
    I also want to join medium and your blog gave me some hope. Thanks for this.
    Best wishes to you.
    Also, please take care.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you so much, Devang! Your support is very much appreciated 😊 I believe you’re right – being consistent over time is key. I still have a lot to say so I’ll keep writing ✍️

      That would be awesome if you joined Medium. I know I talk a lot about it, but It’s been a good experience so far. As for the Medium Partner Program, anyone with 100+ followers can sign up to start earning commissions, but not all countries will get approved. It has to do with Stripe and restrictions around that. Still, it’s definitely something worth researching 🙂

      Like

  5. Julie says:
    Reply

    Congratulations on getting 1K followers on Medium. I have considered it but how is it different from keeping a WordPress? If I did have a Medium account, I would probably go for a niche like books or public art or public health. My WordPress is more like a brain dump.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you so much, Julie! The only difference between Medium and WP is the ability to earn money from their Medium Partner Program (MPP). Medium already has a high Domain Authority (DA of 98 I think) which is good for getting more traffic, and getting discovered. I still recommend keeping a blog. Medium could disappear tomorrow but you’ll always have your blog.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Pooja G says:
    Reply

    Congratulations, that is a wonderful milestone! I am not at all surprised by your growth because I think you’re a wonderful writer and your posts are great. Sorry to hear you have been dealing with some health issues. I have had the flu and lingering cough too and it really sucks. I hope you feel better really soon 😊

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you, I really hope so too. I’m still planning on working this weekend and don’t want to call in sick tomorrow. Going to try and sleep it off and hope I feel better in the morning. I slept for 6 hours today which helped a little.

      Like

  8. buddy71 says:
    Reply

    🎉🎉 for you reaching 1k followers!! Ummm… If you have conjunctivitis, do you know that’s a very contagious infection and you should not be going to work. On another note, I’m sorry you have the triple whammy. I hope that everything gets better soon. Again, congrats on your medium accomplishment.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Happy Panda says:
    Reply

    Congratulations and here’s to even more success!!!! 🥳🥳

    Some bloggers can be kind of annoying. I blocked someone for the first time on WP because I couldn’t deal with the negative vibe I got from them.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you so much! 🤗 I was surprised to reach 1K before the end of the year. Medium has been a good experience so far 👍

      Another quote from Arthur, “Whoever it is… it’s someone we all know.” -Buster Baxter. This quote couldn’t be more true in my case.

      I’m sorry to hear that you had to block someone on WP ☹️ I hope this person was just a stranger who was passing by and not someone you had a mutual friendship with 💔

      Like

  10. Sheri K says:
    Reply

    Congratulations Hilary!!! 🎉 Your success on Medium is so inspiring. I tried out Medium before starting my blog but didn’t succeed. Plus their payment method Stripe was not available in my country back then and I didn’t want to write for free. You make me want to try it out again. Keep writing and reaching more milestones!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you for your kind words! 💕 And thank you for following me on Medium. I got the notification and followed you back!

      I’m sorry that Stripe wasn’t available in your country and I totally understand why you wouldn’t want to write for free. Medium recently launched a new thing where readers can tip authors which is an alternative to Stripe. It’s similar to “buy me a coffee” and might be worth looking into. Good luck! 👍

      Like

  11. ZeroSpace says:
    Reply

    You have community engagement mastered 🙂. I am impressed by this. I also know it’s you being you, because you have always been generous in commenting and paying attention to people, and that kind of generosity comes back around. I am not always good at that whole thing because there are a lot of blogs I don’t care that much about and I can’t pretend that I do 😂. I am too moody to pay very much attention to other people.
    I also read about hubby discouraging blogging or trashing or whatever. That is disheartening. The fact that you find it therapeutic is reason enough for him to support it. A lot of men don’t think that way, which is why I’m mostly lesbian. Maybe he’s a little jealous of the blogging or something. I think you should continue.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you! Although I’m not sure if I have really mastered the craft. I spend more time replying to comments than I do writing content ✍️ I used to visit more blogs but have given up because I couldn’t keep up with it. It was taking up too much time and I engage a lot less than I used to….

      I wish there was a way to mute blog posts on the reader. There’s some bloggers I don’t follow because their content annoys me for x, y, or z reasons. Over the years I started to loathe the WP reader even though I mostly rely on it for engagement. It’s like a double-edged sword. Yeah, I’m not letting anyone tell me what I can and can’t do so I will continue to write. I have a lower tolerance for BS these days.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Stuart Danker says:
    Reply

    Awesome stuff! Getting followers on Medium is definitely harder than on WordPress, so that’s a great feat right there. Coupled with the opportunity to earn, I definitely hope you keep growing there. Keep on keeping on!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you, Stuart! 😊 Tbh, I don’t think I would have had a chance on Medium had it not been for this blog. Ppl jump on the Medium bandwagon so quickly and have a tendency to quit after a couple of weeks. Surprisingly, I find it easier to grow on Medium than I do on WP and other social media platforms. WP growth is slow but it’s totally worth the effort and perseverance. When it comes to writing, I’m in it for the long-run.

      As for earning on Medium, I’ll be brutally honest. It’s not a get rich quick thing. I barely make $ on Medium but I’m not super active on there either, nor do I interact with the bigger accounts. There’s definitely potential to earn if you’re going to spend a great deal of time on that platform. I still recommend it to anyone who writes on a consistent basis, has a blog, and spends a lot of time online. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Pingback: I Reached My First 1K Followers on Medium! – Urban Fishing Pole Lifestyle
    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you so much. I am at 1.3K followers on Medium to date, which is crazy. Lately, views have declined and I am not getting much traffic on Medium these days. Similar to blogging, there’s an eb and flow. Some months are good, some are slow.

      Like

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      From what I have observed, she appears to have moved over to LinkedIn and created a new Twitter account. She has blocked me on the platform even though I had no knowledge of the account, clearly indicating how much she despises me. It is incredibly puzzling that such strong animosity exists between us since, in my opinion, I’m a delight to be around LOL

      Liked by 1 person

      • Lotus Laura says:

        Oh my… it basically sounds like she is obsessed with you 🤣 How can somebody block someone on a brand new account that they never even followed or knew about… very very strange, I think she has an odd obsession going on, clearly she can’t forget about you 😅

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I get the sense that she moved on and wants nothing to do with me. She still has me blocked on everything 😒 Looking back, I think she might have had avoidant personality or borderline personality disorder. I’m not a psychologist but I do know that she’s treated her ‘friends’ in the past the same way. She was following most of my socials before + WhatsApp + telegram. I thought it was bizarre how she deleted our convos on WhatsApp and telegram. She jumped from WhatsApp to telegram after avoiding ppl who she got into an argument with and wanted to “forget” them. I guess certain ppl trigger her. I still don’t know what I did wrong and the nasty email she sent me was bothersome. It didn’t give me closure at all because it just wasn’t true. It was BS.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Lotus Laura says:

        Wow that is awful!! Seeing she has done this to many people shows it’s not personal but it still leaves a bad taste! Definitely a lot of mental health issues going unchecked and being lashed out on innocents.

        Liked by 1 person

  18. thoughtsnlifeblog says:
    Reply

    Congrats on your achievement on.medium.

    Your experiences are interesting.

    You are quite amazing being able to keep wp.com and medium going, and a job and kids. 👏 👏 👏 bravo.

    Do you have tips on how to go about using medium, and can someone make money on a free account.

    I read the posts there and I enjoy the platform. But, I don’t feel that I am a good enough writer for that platform. Though I want to try simply to make money ( dare I be so bold to say,). But, that is some time in the future if I even try.

    Happy new year and wishing you a fab and health 2023.

    Liked by 1 person

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