HOW THEY MAKE MONEY // SEASON 1, EPISODE 39 INTELLIGENCE REPORT
Medium 2/14 ACTIVE GATES

What does Medium Really Sell?

On the outside, it is easy to assume that Medium makes money by acting as a publishing utility for writers, collecting memberships to build a writer compensation fund, and paying out 100% of member fees directly to authors based on reading time. That is what is SEEN.

THE SEEN ENGINE
$30.00M

Partner Program Author Payouts

The total payout disbursed to independent writers and publishers based on member reading engagement metrics.

Source: Medium CEO Partner Program Disclosures
THE UNSEEN ENGINE
$25.00M

Platform Payout Retention Spread

The portion of membership subscription fees retained by Medium as platform markup to fund hosting, operations, and corporate profit.

Source: Medium Corporation FY 2025 Revenue Estimates

The real wealth is in what is NOT SEEN—how they operate an 'asymmetric subscription pool' (Access - Digital), collecting $55.00M in annual subscriber revenue but retaining a massive 45% margin spread of $25.00M from the payout pool to fund their lean platform engineering and achieve corporate profitability.

But which money gates does Medium use to stack this cashflow? Click each ? to reveal how they use that gate.

AGENT // PROFIT OPENER THE SEEN (PHYSICAL/DIGITAL) THE UNSEEN (PHYSICAL/DIGITAL)
1. Products — —
2. Services
ACTIVE · SEEN Writer Publishing Platform Providing a zero-cost publishing interface, formatting editor, and distribution system for independent writers. Source: Medium Writer tools
—
3. Access —
4. Attention — —
5. Money — —
6. Risk — —
7. Brand — —
STEP 03

Strategic Translation

The underlying economic infrastructure driving this profit extraction design.

01

What is the explicit promise the customer buys?

Articles on business and tech, clean reading interfaces, clapping, highlighting, and author profiles.

02

What asset is quietly accumulating as a result?

A network of millions of monthly active readers, millions of published posts, and high domain search authority.

STEP 04

Author's Note

PO
Pelumi Ogunmokun FOUNDER // KAMPAIGN LABS

The Personal Take: Do not build a marketplace or platform where you pay out 100% of transaction values to providers (Services - Digital). If you operate a membership pool where users pay to access provider services (Access - Digital), build a subscription-payout spread. Collect the subscription fees upfront, pool the capital, and pay out providers based on usage metrics while retaining a fixed 40% to 50% platform cut as pure profit.

SME Operational Conditions: Use this when you operate a double-sided content platform, consulting hub, or service network where you aggregate consumer subscription fees and distribute them to independent creators/providers.

Local Brand Example: A local yoga studio portal collects a $49/mo subscription from users to attend unlimited classes at 15 partner studios (Access - Digital). The portal pays out studios $5 per class attended by a member. The portal calculates that the average member only attends 5 classes a month ($25 payout). The portal keeps the remaining $24/mo per member as platform spread, generating high-margin profits from under-utilized memberships.

Read Next: The 7 Money Gates →
📖 VIEW THE 14 PROFIT OPENERS FRAMEWORK GUIDE ▼
THE FRAMEWORK // FOR REFERENCE

The 14 Profit Openers Explained

Every business extracts revenue through some combination of these 14 channels — 7 openers, each available in a Physical and a Digital medium. Use this as your reading guide.

PROFIT OPENER PHYSICAL CHANNEL DIGITAL CHANNEL
01 Products Physical Product Sales Tangible goods manufactured, packaged, and sold via retail or direct channels. The classic storefront transaction. Digital Product Sales Downloadable assets, software, templates, or digital files sold as a one-time purchase with zero delivery cost.
02 Services Physical Service Delivery In-person labor, consultations, repairs, or expertise delivered at a physical location or on-site. Digital Service Delivery Remote consulting, virtual coaching, online fulfillment, or any service rendered and delivered through digital channels.
03 Access Physical Access Gate Memberships, entry passes, physical loyalty tiers, or location-based access privileges privileges sold on a recurring basis. Digital Access Gate Subscription plans, SaaS tiers, paywalls, or recurring digital membership fees that gate content or functionality.
04 Attention Physical Attention Capture Billboard placements, event sponsorships, in-store brand shelving, or any physical advertising inventory sold to third parties. Digital Attention Capture Ad revenue, sponsored placements, affiliate arbitrage, or monetizing an owned audience's attention through digital channels.
05 Money Physical Money Mechanics Upfront payment collection, deposit structures, or float optimization — holding cash from physical transactions before fulfillment. Digital Money Mechanics Payment processing spreads, digital float, BNPL integrations, or fintech revenue extracted from digital transaction flow.
06 Risk Physical Risk Coverage Extended warranties, in-store protection plans, insurance products, or physical asset guarantees sold alongside the core product. Digital Risk Coverage Digital warranties, SLA upsells, cybersecurity add-ons, or data backup subscriptions that monetize a customer's fear of loss.
07 Brand Physical Brand Licensing Trademark royalties, franchise licensing fees, co-branding deals, or physical branded merchandise sold to third parties. Digital Brand Licensing IP licensing, white-label software deals, digital co-branding arrangements, or platform platform placement fees paid for brand association.