How to Get Your First 100 Followers on Medium (And Start Earning)
You cannot earn money on Medium without 100 followers. Period. The Partner Program — where writers get paid based on member reading time — requires this threshold before you can enroll.
The good news: reaching 100 followers is a system, not luck. This guide gives you a 30-day plan with daily action items.
Why 100 Followers Matters
Medium introduced the 100-follower requirement to ensure quality. Before this rule, anyone could publish metered articles and dilute the earnings pool with low-effort content.
100 followers signals to Medium that real people want to read your work. It is not a high bar, but it requires consistent effort. Most writers who fail on Medium never make it past this threshold.
Here is the truth: getting to 100 followers takes 2-4 weeks of daily effort. Not months. Not years. Two to four weeks of showing up every day.
The 30-Day Plan
Week 1: Set Up and Start Writing
Day 1: Optimize your profile. Your Medium profile is your landing page. Write a bio that tells readers what you write about and why they should follow you.
- Headline: Your niche + your angle (e.g., "Writing about personal finance for people who hate spreadsheets")
- Bio: 2-3 sentences explaining what you write and who it is for
- Profile photo: Clear, professional headshot (not a logo or cartoon)
- Add links to your Twitter, website, or newsletter
Days 2-7: Write and publish 3 articles. Pick topics you genuinely know about. Do not chase trends yet. Write 800-1,500 word articles with clear structure: hook, 3-5 main points, takeaway.
Publish one article every 2 days. This gives each article time to get initial distribution before the next one goes live.
Week 2: Engage Aggressively
This is where most people quit. Engagement is the engine that drives follower growth on Medium.
The 30-minute daily routine:
1. Read 5 articles in your niche (10 minutes) Find writers who cover similar topics. Read their latest articles completely.
2. Leave thoughtful responses (10 minutes) Not "great article!" Write 2-3 sentences of genuine response. Share a related experience. Ask a follow-up question. Authors notice thoughtful responses and often check out your profile.
3. Clap for articles you genuinely enjoyed (2 minutes) Medium recommends your articles to people who share reading habits with your existing audience. Clapping helps the algorithm understand what topics you care about.
4. Follow 5 new writers (3 minutes) Follow writers in your niche. Many will follow back (30-50% follow-back rate is typical).
5. Publish 1 new article (this week) Write 1-2 articles during week 2. Quality over quantity.
Why this works: Medium's algorithm tracks who interacts with whom. When you read, clap, and respond to other writers' articles, their readers see your name. Curious readers click your profile. If your articles are good, they follow you.
Week 3: Leverage Publications
Medium publications are curated collections of articles with built-in audiences. Getting published in one puts your work in front of thousands of readers instantly.
How to get into a publication:
- Find publications in your niche. Search Medium for topics you write about. Note which publications appear repeatedly.
- Read their submission guidelines. Every publication has rules about word count, tone, and topics.
- Pitch your best article. Send the editor a message with your article link and a brief note about why it fits their publication.
Major publications and their approximate audience sizes:
- The Startup: 600K+ followers — entrepreneurship, business
- Better Marketing: 300K+ followers — marketing, growth
- Towards Data Science: 500K+ followers — data, programming
- Better Humans: 200K+ followers — self-improvement, productivity
- The Writing Cooperative: 250K+ followers — writing, creativity
Getting accepted by one publication can add 20-50 followers in a single day.
Also this week: Continue the daily engagement routine from Week 2. Publish 1-2 new articles.
Week 4: Double Down on What Works
By week 4, you should have data. Check your Stats page:
- Which articles got the most views?
- Which topics got the most claps?
- Which responses led to new followers?
Now write 2-3 more articles on the topics that performed best. If your article about personal finance got 50 views but your article about productivity got 200 views, write more about productivity.
The momentum effect: As your follower count grows past 50, growth accelerates. Medium's algorithm starts recommending your articles to more readers. Each new article reaches more people than the last.
Common Mistakes That Slow You Down
Mistake 1: Writing about too many topics. If you write about finance one day, travel the next, and programming the third, the algorithm does not know who to recommend you to. Pick 1-2 topics and stick with them for the first 100 followers.
Mistake 2: Publishing without engaging. Publishing is 30% of the work. Engaging with other writers is 70%. If you only publish and never read, clap, or respond, your articles will not get distributed.
Mistake 3: Generic responses. "Great article!" is invisible. A 3-sentence response that adds value makes the author notice you, check your profile, and often follow you.
Mistake 4: Giving up at 40-60 followers. The hardest part is going from 0 to 50. After 50, momentum takes over. Most writers who quit do so in the 40-60 range because progress feels slow. Push through.
What Happens After 100 Followers
Once you hit 100 followers:
- Enroll in the Partner Program immediately. Go to Settings > Partner Program > Enroll. Link your Stripe account.
- Set past articles to "Metered." Go back to articles you already published and change their paywall setting to Metered. This makes them eligible for earnings.
- Start tracking earnings. Medium shows estimated daily earnings in your Stats dashboard. Most new writers earn $0-20 in their first month after enrollment.
- Keep the routine. The engagement and publishing habits that got you to 100 followers are the same ones that will grow your earnings. Do not stop just because you crossed the threshold.
Timeline Expectations
| Milestone | Time Required | Typical Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| 0-25 followers | Week 1 | Write 3 articles, start engaging |
| 25-50 followers | Week 2 | Daily engagement, pitch publications |
| 50-75 followers | Week 3 | First publication acceptance, double down |
| 75-100 followers | Week 4 | Momentum kicks in, growth accelerates |
| 100+ (enrolled) | Day 30 | Partner Program active, first earnings begin |
Some writers reach 100 followers in 2 weeks. Others take 6 weeks. The difference is not talent — it is consistency. Writers who engage daily reach the threshold faster than those who publish once a week and disappear.
Related Guides
- How to Earn Money on Medium Partner Program — Complete guide to Medium Partner Program earnings
- Medium Writing Strategy: How Top Earners Make $500+ — What makes some articles earn 10x more than others
- Medium vs Substack vs Your Own Blog — Which writing platform is right for you
Getting to 100 followers is the hardest part of Medium. After that, the system works in your favor. Every article you publish reaches more people, generates more claps, and earns more money. Start today.