Aloha Roz, in 2018 I paid my first membership. Happy to do so knowing it takes $$ to keep the lights on.

My first year I earned a whopping $5.36 with little effort on my end. (I'm one of those rare birds that has no other social media venues to bang my pots and pans to get more interest in my posts.)

In 2019, renewed membership. Earned $4.13. 2020 / 2.14. 2021 / 2.53 2022 / 10.29 2023 / 88.50 thanks to my first ever boosted article thanks to Robin! Woo WHOO Robin! 2024 - 411.31 thanks to a couple more boosted articles.

That's the income side of the coin. When I include expenses (medium dues - one year being a Friend of Medium) along with Ko-Fi- (et. al.) tips to writers my ROI as of this post? -$214.86.

Yes, I have tendency to individually honor writers who have the wisdom to put a link in each article that makes it easy for me to send funds.

For those who recoil at what they believe to be begging by asking for tips - why? (I digress... LOL)

Now - onto the bigger issue? The earnings crash? Since I've never had the notion that Medium would play a key role in my finances combined with an awareness of what it takes to launch a profitable website I'm amazed medium has made it this far all things considered.

Those who feel the need to jump ship - follow your gut. If earning a living as a full time writer is your dream - may the muses of language and story bless you daily.