Ali Abdaal’s video has strengthened my resolve to continue on Medium
Applying Ali’s tips from his video “How Much I Earned in 2020 — My Best Year Ever” to Medium
I am a big fan of Ali Abdaal. To me, he is one of the most sincere internet “gurus” who displays complete transparency around his work, money and life. In his latest video, he discusses his earnings for the year 2020. The breakdown was as follows:
- Junior Doctor salary: £22,100
- YouTube Adsense: £100,695
- Affiliates: £132,471
- Sponsors: £136,000
- Skillshare: £350,000
- Online Courses: £220,000
- Inner Circle alumni community: £53,000
Ali’s total earnings for 2020 thus amounts to over £1 million. Of course, this is all pre-tax revenue and does not include the salaries for 2.5 full-time employees, money for equipment or contractors. Ali expressly states that his personal net worth is different from that stated in the video. This is because he gets hit with a 37.5% dividend tax and 9% student loan repayment when he withdraws money.
Aside from being an inspiration and showing how the internet has made it possible to earn more than a doctor, Ali’s video demonstrates the compounding effect of hard work.
Ali posted videos that his audience finds useful on YouTube at least once a week. He repeated this for 2+ years.
Two years is a long time.
He didn’t see much growth, or any money, in the early stages. He had to get over the fear of judgment from friends, family and strangers on the internet. He also had to figure out what to say and generate content that people would care about.
To illustrate the full effect here is a graph showing how Ali’s channel has grown over time. It took a full 18 months for Ali to make the equivalent of his salary working as a doctor in the UK.
The same is true for Medium. It takes time to build an audience and produce worthwhile content. After 5 months on Medium my earnings mirror those of Ali’s in that they’re practically non-existent.
Aside from the power of consistency, there are other tips Ali credits to his success.
He used his “unfair advantage”.
Each of us has a unique set of circumstances, talents or history which sets us apart. For example, you may have been playing the piano from an early age. It would be hard for someone else to replicate this skill level if they were starting later in life. Ali’s unfair advantage? He was a medical student at Cambridge. He built his channel around this specific niche giving students tips and tricks. To set yourself apart, you need to identify your unfair advantage and build on it.
The same is true for Medium.
Your unfair advantage may be that you are great at poetry, or maybe you’re a great storyteller. Maybe you want to write about your experiences as an investment banker, lawyer or mother.
Producing content on Medium has been highly rewarding but also frustrating. Ali’s video reminds me to keep plodding along, improve my writing and produce content people will enjoy. I hope his story does the same for you.
Conclusion
To be successful on Medium, use Ali’s formula:
- Produce content that your audience finds useful
- Consistently post content
- Repeat this for 2+ years
Identify your unfair advantage — the set of circumstances which make you unique and uncopyable.
There is no overnight success story. There’s no (legit) way to make money online without large amounts of work, luck and unfair advantages.
