Sadly, most writers will make very little money over here because there's an entire backend most of us don't know about: the secret programs (I was part of one - made $250/month for 3 months of once-weekly posts); additionally, many of the top writers likely have an agent or PR person placing their articles as well.

This is not true in every case, of course, however, it's helpful to know when setting our expectations. Writing for money is hard, hard work, and often has intense marketing happening alongside it.

Medium is like most PPC advertising in this way - the more clicks, the more exposure, and visibility, which all increase views. Like any platform, the algorithm kicks in based on a myriad of factors far beyond asking people to click on our articles (which most rarely do).

I wish you all the best, Jo Ann.