The Creative Exchange for Writers
What is the Creative Exchange?
One of our goals here at Medium is to help writers and publishers get paid for their work on the platform. With that in mind, we designed the Creative Exchange — a program that seeks to connect creators with brands. Here are some examples of content we’ve produced on behalf of brands.
I’m a writer and want to join the Creative Exchange. How do I get into the program?
The Creative Exchange is currently a closed beta program. We hope to open the program to interested parties in the near future. Leave us your email address and we’ll contact you when we’re ready to open up the program.
Is the Creative Exchange limited to writers? What about other types of creators, like photographers and illustrators?
We hope to extend the program to eventually include other multimedia as well as photographers, illustrators, graphic novelists, and the like.
How do you assess writers for entry into the program?
We are using a variety of criteria to assess writers for inclusion in the program. Some of them include:
- Quality of the content you post on Medium
- Size of your following
- Performance of your posts
Once you’re in the program, how does it work?
Each branded content campaign we produce is different, so we try to match creators with projects that best suit their qualifications. Some of the factors we consider when matching creators with projects are:
- Does the writer have subject matter expertise that is appropriate for the project?
- Is the brand looking for writers with a large number of followers on Medium?
- Has the writer indicated willingness to ghostwrite or use their own byline for the story (whichever is applicable)?
Once we’ve made a match, we will reach out to writers individually asking if they’d be interested in the project and letting them know details like length and turn-around time. We’ll also provide the writer with a creative brief. These opportunities are completely opt-in; there’s no obligation to take an assignment.
How much will I get paid for my work?
Payment will be on a per project basis and commensurate with reach and experience. Entry into the program just means that you are eligible to receive them — you’ll be included in our database of writers that we use as we staff projects.
How can I tell what content has been paid for by a brand?
Medium aims for full transparency with these brand partnerships, and to that end, we disclose these partnerships in a variety of ways. The content is usually published in a separately branded publication*, in which the partnering brand is disclosed on the masthead. The posts contain prominent logos at the top and a footer explicitly stating the sponsorship at the bottom.
*There are exceptions to this, in which it makes sense to both the brand and the Publisher to run the content in the Publisher’s publication. This usually happens when there’s natural synergy between the branded content and the Publisher’s editorial calendar. The same disclosure of sponsorship will appear in the posts themselves.