This is my first post since since April of 2018. Recently, while traipsing around Thailand doing charity stuff, I got wind of Medium’s Partner Program where—unlike a direct subscription—it pays you based on a share of members’ reading time of your posts. Basically.

That sounds cool to me. Somewhat like the YouTube monetization model, it puts the onus upon you to create stuff folks want to consume…early and often.

There are requirements to apply for it. I read them thoroughly, and applied. I’m an active blogger since 2003 (yea, 19 years) with 5,000 posts under my belt and thought I might both cross-post appropriate stuff from my blog and even do some Medium-exclusive posts.

So I applied. To their credit, the determination was within hours, even after the submission reply stipulated that a reply might take 2–3 days.

Hi there,

Thank you for applying for the Partner Program, and for all your writing on Medium. We’ve reviewed your application, and unfortunately you do not meet the criteria for Partner Program at this time.

As a reminder, those are:

Have 100 followers

Have published at least one story on Medium previously (Note: responses don’t count)

Be within the geographical enrollment eligible locations, as described in Getting Started with the Partner Program (See the full Partner Program terms here.)

Be at least 18 years old

Not meeting the criteria at this time is not a reflection on your writing. Once you meet the criteria, you’re welcome to re-apply after 30 days.