Yup, I keep telling people that writing is not a well paid job.

That said, Medium is reponsible for my having an income to live on - although I live very simply, and most people wouldn't.

So luck plays a big part. I've never bothered to promote anything I write - ever. That's because it might bring in one or two reads, but I'm not after one or two reads. To me, that is pretty worthless.

In order to earn, you need to write articles that are, at least, an 8 minute read. You probably need to stick to a particular niche, and you need to write four times a week.

A way of increasing your readership is by commenting on the work of others who write in the same genre as you do.