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How Paul Rose Made His First $1000 on Medium

Today, we’re excited to share the story of Paul Rose. Discover how he used Medium to earn his first $1000, a testament to the potential of online platforms in creating financial opportunities.

When Paul Rose Was a Beginner

In the early stages of his career, Paul Rose pondered over which income streams would be the most accessible for any budding writer.

The answer was clear -

• Digital products, particularly eBooks,

• Affiliate marketing.

These two income streams were the catalysts for his first $1000 earnings on Medium.

Today, we are going to share the 5 stages he navigated to set up these income streams profitably.

Phase 1: The Ideation Phase

Paul Rose emphasizes that the essence of building a profitable business on Medium lies in one’s ideas, from the selection of a niche to the choice of products to sell. He believes that choosing the right niche and product idea simplifies the process of making money.

To make your first $1000 on Medium, you need to first pick a niche that’s viable on the platform.

Paul Rose has written about the various factors that contribute to finding the perfect niche on Medium. He begins by highlighting two key criteria:

• The demand for the niche.

• The income profile of existing writers in that niche.

According to him, these factors are crucial and cannot be overlooked.

He also dispels a common misconception: the belief that simply following one’s passion will automatically lead to success. He asserts that this is not necessarily the case. Just because someone is passionate about a topic does not guarantee that it will be profitable.

This perspective offers a more realistic view of success on platforms like Medium. It suggests that passion alone is not enough, and that understanding the market and audience demand is equally important.

Paul Rose emphasizes that demand is the key to profitability. He identifies three niches that are typically the most profitable due to their high demand:

• Finance

• Health

• Relationships

He explains that these niches are profitable because they cater to the interests of a large audience.

However, if your niche does not fall within these categories, Rose provides a method to assess its demand on Medium. He refers to this method as “the clap principle”.

This approach could be a valuable tool for those looking to gauge the potential profitability of their unique niche.

Paul Rose suggests typing your potential topic on Medium and checking how many stories in your niche have at least a hundred claps. If you can’t find at least 20 stories, he advises reconsidering your niche because the demand for it on Medium is low.

He acknowledges that you might be lucky enough to be passionate about a topic that has a decently high demand on Medium. But if that isn’t the case, you’ll have to choose between your passion and profit. You could either:

• Stick with your passion, writing about a topic that is limited in demand

• Or find a more profitable niche to go after

Whichever option you choose will determine how quickly you make your first $1000 on Medium.

For your product or eBook idea, Rose emphasizes that it should be problem-oriented. He warns against waking up one morning with a decision to sell a product on just about anything in your niche; it doesn’t work that way. Sales are a product of value, and so the more value you provide, the more sales you will most likely make.

He suggests that the best way to provide value through your product is by solving a problem. Keeping that in mind, whichever eBook topic you choose to sell on Gumroad through Medium needs to first solve a problem.

He asks you to make a list of all the potential problems people have in your niche. Then:

• Create an eBook that solves some of those problems

• And find affiliate programs that solve the rest

Rose shares that he loves the finance niche and writes stories about different side hustles. To make money, he:

• Wrote an eBook on how people can make money with the side hustle he tried

• And found 2–3 affiliate programs that could help his readers in ways that he couldn’t

And that was it.

Phase 2: The Creation Phase

Once Paul Rose has identified the perfect niche and product idea, he suggests it’s time to create the perfect product.

He points out that for affiliate marketing, there’s no need to create anything as these programs already exist. The task is simply to find and promote the products.

However, digital products will require a certain amount of work. The creation process might look different depending on the type of digital product one wants to create.

Rose shares his own experience of selling eBooks on Gumroad and what his creation phase entails. Interestingly, he doesn’t write his eBooks; instead, he voices them out. This is his eBook creation system:

• A problem-solving eBook idea is thought of.

• The demand for the eBook is analyzed using the “Amazon analysis” strategy.

• The entire eBook is outlined with chapters and helpful bullet points.

• An hour or two is spent recording the entire eBook’s content with a phone’s recorder, as if it were a 1:1 consultation session that had to be overdelivered on.

• A day is spent transcribing this voice recording to text.

• An extra day is spent designing the eBook’s interior to look super professional.

At the end of this creation phase, Rose suggests that you should be left with an eBook that you feel proud enough to sell to potential buyers.

Phase 3: The Branding Phase

This phase is all about the external appearance of the digital product, specifically, the cover. Rose strongly advises against using a free book cover template on Canva, as it might not yield the desired results.

As he often says, buyers will judge your book by its cover. If it’s shabby, it gives them another reason not to buy.

For every digital product launched on his Gumroad page, extra effort is always made to ensure it looks the part. If an eBook is claimed to solve buyers’ problems, it should at least look like a standard bestseller.

However, Rose clarifies that it’s not necessary to break the bank trying to create the most perfect eBook cover. That’s not reasonable.

Instead, he suggests finding a freelancer on Fiverr for $10 to $20 and outsourcing the entire process to them.

Phase 4: The Sales Copy Phase

The eBook cover is just one of the contributing factors to whether or not a potential buyer will buy, according to Paul Rose. Extra convincing is still needed, and that’s where the sales copy comes in.

For those who don’t know, the sales copy is basically a fancy way of referring to the product’s description. It’s a note written to potential buyers in an effort to convince them to buy the product.

Rose expresses disappointment when landing on a sales page for a product from a writer he likes, and it’s either:

• Too short

• Low effort

• Or AI generated

He questions the readiness to bank the fate of sales on a shabby product description or to sabotage the work up to this point with AI-generated sales copy.

He believes one can do better. He encourages taking the time to learn the elements of a high converting sales copy, from:

• A perfect hook to grab their attention

• To a section agitating about their problem

• Telling them there’s a solution

• Showing them qualifications

• Explaining the benefits

• Showing them social proof and testimonials

• Describing the eBook in detail

• And then ending with a simple call to action

Phase 5: The Content Phase

At this point, having a high-quality eBook with an awesome sales copy and cover, it’s time to send buyers to the product page.

Rose points out that it would be misleading to say that all one needs to do to make sales is write consistently on Medium. The reality is different.

Some topics work better for making sales and affiliate commissions than others. For example, if one wanted to sell an eBook on gentle parenting, a story about “how I made my rude son become well-mannered” would sell the eBook better than a story with 5 generic tips to start gentle parenting.

The point being made is that personal experiences and how-to guides will help sell digital and affiliate products better than any other type of post.

During the content phase, a list of personal experiences and achievements in relation to the product created will need to be made. This will be the content schedule.

While it’s great to have a list of potential topics to write about on Medium to sell eBooks, a few things need to be factored in:

• The headline (make it catchy and concise with not more than 7–8 words)

• The subheading (it should complement the tone and message established by the headline)

• The body of the story (Should provide some form of value at the very least)

• The conclusion (Should feed seamlessly into a pitch for the eBook or Affiliate product)

Paul Rose’s Success

Paul Rose sells eBooks on Gumroad and promotes affiliate products through Medium, which he describes as an amazing experience.

With just his eBooks, he has been able to generate over $3,837.88 in passive income on Gumroad alone.

And from just a single affiliate program that he promotes, he has made over $4,567.95.

These five phases were the exact steps he went through to build his profitable writing business on Medium.

Stay tuned for more stories that showcase the diverse ways people are achieving financial success. Until next time, keep exploring and keep learning.