Some great points mentioned here. However, Medium still offers more potential for newcomers than other platforms like YouTube do. This is due to a combination of Medium’s curation system (broken as it sometimes is), and publications.

My first two months on Medium’s Partner Program earned me $1200, and in that time I feel like I’ve figured out what works here and what doesn’t. If you stay within the main curation tags and write for Medium’s audience demographics while understanding how to craft interesting titles for pieces that provide real value, new writers still have a big opportunity to make their mark.

Honestly, I feel like I’m still early on this platform, and I just joined as a paid member in December. I think most people know the big writers here, and the list isn’t all that long when compared to other platforms. If you gamify the platform, it’s not terribly hard to make a nice side income here.