Getting started with the Partner Program

This guide will help you learn more about the Partner Program and will walk you through the process of applying and getting started.

What is the Partner Program?

The Partner Program allows writers to earn money for the content they publish on Medium based on engagement from Medium members, as well as users they convert to become Medium members. Here's how it works:

1. Apply to the Partner Program
   

   To join the Partner Program, you will need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

   1. Have at least 100 followers on Medium.
   2. Have published at least one story on Medium in the past (Note: stories must follow Medium rules, cannot be responses, and must not include the following topics: meta posts about the Partner Program, follow-for-follow activity, or non-organic follower growth

   Please note, we encourage writers to engage with the Medium community in a meaningful way and to build their audiences organically. Stories, responses, and activity that reflect the opposite are not permitted. 

   Enrollment in the Partner Program is currently only available if you are over 18 and in an eligible location as described in Step 3 below. If you meet both requirements, are 18 or older and live in an eligible location, you can then apply to join the program by going to medium.com/earn and clicking “Apply to the Partner Program.” Once you’ve submitted a complete application, someone on our team will review your application and get back to you.
2. Enroll in the Partner Program
   To join the Partner Program, you need to link your Medium account with your bank account or debit card via a third-party payment service called Stripe. Additionally, you need to provide your taxpayer information within 180 days to be able to receive payments from Medium.
3. Make your stories eligible to earn money 
   Once you're in, you can write your story, and put it behind the paywall. You can also put your already published stories behind the paywall to start earning revenue from them.
4. Earn money based on member engagement and referred memberships
   Partner Program writers are paid every month based on how members engage with their stories. This is determined by member reading time. Each member’s subscription fee is distributed proportionally to the stories that the individual member engaged with that month. You can always check your payment estimates in your Partner dashboard.
   Writers can also earn from referred memberships. For every new reader that you convert to a paying Medium member, you’ll receive half of that new reader’s membership fee, net of standard payment processor fees. Referral earnings are recurring as long as the reader’s membership plan remains active.

Interested in applying? Here's how.

Step 1: Learn more about the Partner Program and distribution on Medium

Before you proceed, please take a moment to learn more about the Program by reviewing the following articles from our Help Center:

If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Medium Support.

Step 2: Apply to the Partner Program

To join the Partner Program, you need to:

1. Have at least 100 followers on Medium
2. Have published at least one story on Medium in the past (Keep in mind: stories must follow Medium rules, cannot be responses, and must not include the following topics: meta posts about the Partner Program, follow-for-follow activity, or non-organic follower growth)

We encourage writers to engage with the Medium community in a meaningful way and to build their audiences organically. Stories, responses, and engagement that reflect the opposite are not allowed. 

Enrollment in the Partner Program is currently only available if you are over 18 and in an eligible location as described in Step 3 below. If you meet both requirements, are 18 or older and live in an eligible location, you can then apply to join the program by going to medium.com/earn and clicking “Apply to the Partner Program.” Once you’ve submitted a complete application, someone on our team will review your application and get back to you.

If you don’t meet those requirements, please keep writing and building your community until you do. Don’t forget to connect to Twitter so your audience can find you, and check out these great resources on Creator’s Hub to help you grow.

Once you submit a complete application, we’ll send you notification that we’ve received it, and someone on our team will review it.

If you apply and are accepted, you can expect to hear back soon. We’ll notify you with your acceptance, and more information on enrolling in the Partner Program.

If you apply and are rejected, please wait at least 30 days from your last application before submitting a new one.

Step 3: Enroll in the Partner Program

Setting up payments with Stripe

Submitting your taxpayer information

You also need to submit your taxpayer information to Medium, as Medium will be required to issue you a 1099-MISC tax form for your earnings in the Medium Partner Program. This is because the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires Medium to issue form 1099-MISC based on earnings thresholds. A link to do this will also be sent to you once you’ve been successfully accepted to the Partner Program.

While you cannot receive payments until you add verified taxpayer information, your posts can accumulate new earnings for up to one month. You will be eligible to receive payments if you add your taxpayer information within 180 days from the first day that nonzero earnings are posted to your Partner Program dashboard. After those 180 days have elapsed, your funds will be forfeited. Please see this article to learn more.

At all times you must maintain an active Medium account, connected Stripe account, and valid tax form in order to receive payouts through our Program. If at any point, any of these are not met, you will forfeit any accumulated earnings that have not yet been paid out after 180 days.

Stay active to keep earning

We encourage all Partner Program writers to remain active, publishing at least once every 6 months. Medium does reserve the right, at its discretion, to disable monetization from a writer if they have been inactive for 6 months or more. Writers who are at risk will receive notification before we take any action.

Step 4: Make your stories eligible to earn money

Once you've enrolled to the Partner Program and set up your Stripe account, you now have an option to put your story behind the paywall to start earning money. Note that this needs to be done on per-story basis, and you can still publish stories outside of the paywall.

Step 5: Track your earnings

Medium Partners have access to a Partner dashboard, accessible by clicking on your profile picture in the top-right corner on Medium.com. Your Partner dashboard shows your earnings for each of your stories that are behind the paywall. You can learn more about your dashboard in this article.

Additionally, you will be also able to track your daily member engagement and estimated revenue on your post’s detailed stats pages.

You’ll also be able to track your earnings from Referred Memberships. To access the audience stats page, click on your profile picture in the top-right corner on Medium.com. Then click Stats from the menu, and click on the Audience stats button in the top-right corner of the page. Your Audience dashboard shows referred member earnings. You can learn more about your dashboard in this article.

Common questions