Nick Wolny's first year on Medium: 220,000+ views, 3,600+ net email subscribers, $7,685.98 from Medium and $10,714 in course sales
- $10,714
- Course sales from new subscribers
- $7,685
- Medium Partner Program payouts
- Not disclosed
- Budget
- 12 months
- Duration
In 2020 Nick Wolny wrote paywalled articles on Medium with a freebie offer at the end of each one. Medium paid him $7,685.98 for member reading time, the freebie grew his email list by more than 3,600 net subscribers, and a discount offer sent to new subscribers sold $10,714 of his mini-courses.
01The problem
Promoting his expertise on social platforms felt crowded, and it was hard to reach people who actually wanted to read rather than scroll.
02The hypothesis
Paywalled Medium articles get paid for member reading time, while a call to action at the end moves readers onto his own email list.
03The experiment
He published paywalled articles on Medium, mostly in user-owned publications, where a curated story reaches both the publication's audience and Medium's topic tags. Each article ended with a short call to action offering a freebie in exchange for joining his email list.
People who subscribed were offered a limited-time discount on one of his mini-courses. He set up one offer about halfway through 2020 and another near the end of the year.
He shared paywalled articles with his non-Medium audience through “friend links”, which let anyone read them free.
04Results
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Course sales from new subscriberstwo limited-time offers, 2020 | $10,714 |
| Medium Partner Program payouts2020 | $7,685 |
| Net new email subscribersstated as “over 3,600” net; 4,742 gross | 3,600 |
| Article viewsstated as “a little over 220,000” | 220,000 |
| Spend | Not disclosed |
“Not disclosed” means the source doesn't say. We never estimate or fill in missing numbers.
05What worked — and what didn't
What worked
- A freebie call to action at the end of every article, turning Medium readers into his own email subscribers.
- Writing for curated user-owned publications for extra distribution.
- An automated limited-time discount to new subscribers: once set up, no work to fulfil.
What didn't work
- He made little progress in the first three months because of what he calls critical mistakes, and thinks he left money and subscribers on the table that year.
06Lessons
Medium works best as a way to build an audience you own. Here Medium paid for the reading while the email list and course offers made the sales.
“In 2020, my first year on the platform, Medium paid me $7,685.98 to grow my list.”
07Source & evidence
- View original
Originally shared on Blog · Dec 30, 2025
Writing on Medium: The ultimate guide
Public source. Extracted from publicly available content by the founder.
Want to try this?
Copy this experiment
A checklist built from what Nick Wolny actually did. Their numbers are a reference, not a promise.
- 1
Pick the channel and tactic
Blog — Paywalled Medium articles + freebie call to action + discount offer to new subscribers.
- 2
Set a budget cap
Nick Wolny didn't say what it cost. Decide your cap before you start.
- 3
Set an end date
Nick Wolny ran it for 12 months. Put your review date in the calendar now.
- 4
Copy what worked
From Nick Wolny's experience:
- ☐A freebie call to action at the end of every article, turning Medium readers into his own email subscribers.
- ☐Writing for curated user-owned publications for extra distribution.
- ☐An automated limited-time discount to new subscribers: once set up, no work to fulfil.
- 5
Avoid what didn't
Where it went wrong:
- ☐He made little progress in the first three months because of what he calls critical mistakes, and thinks he left money and subscribers on the table that year.
- 6
Track the same numbers
So you can compare like for like:
- ☐Course sales from new subscribers
- ☐Medium Partner Program payouts
- ☐Net new email subscribers
- ☐Article views
- 7
Compare, then share what happened
Nick Wolny's headline result: $10,714 course sales from new subscribers. Yours will differ — that's the point. Win or flop, the result is worth sharing.
Was this experiment useful?
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Nick Wolny hasn't published a step-by-step playbook. If enough readers ask, we'll ask Nick Wolny for one.
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