Why Would Anybody Object to Membership Referrals?

It’s not like you’re selling your soul

Two coffees: One for a friend and one for me: Photo by Anna Urlapova from Pexels

Unless you’ve been off Medium for a few months, you’re most likely aware of the latest attempt to increase paid subscribers. It’s an attempt that involves you, because you get a commission if somebody signs up through your link.

Here’s how it works. You click on your profile and go to settings. From there, you scroll down to audience development. There’s a box that says promote memberships. If you click on the box, up pops your referrals page, and you copy the link.

The last step is to paste the copied link to the bottom of your story, and you’re done. You’ve successfully invited a person who is not a paying member to subscribe to Medium, and you get part of their membership fee.

You don’t have to add the link to your stories, but you can. It’s up to you. It takes me an extra minute, and I remember to add it about half the time. The rest of the time, I forget.

Seems pretty noncontroversial, doesn’t it? That’s why I’ve been surprised by the number of writers on Medium who have objected, sometimes vehemently, to this option.

I’ve seen comments like, “We’re not salespeople. We’re writers!”