How long does it take to get followers on Medium?
We followed 1,311 writers who published their first Medium story within the last year. Short answer: most new writers have almost no followers for months — and a small group grows many times faster because of a few habits you can copy.
Updated Oct 20, 2026 · numbers refresh automatically every week
Followers by time on Medium
| Time since first story | Writers | Median followers | Reached 50 | Reached 100 | Reached 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 506 | 1 | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| 3–6 months | 328 | 4 | 16% | 10% | 0% |
| 6–12 months | 477 | 7 | 20% | 13% | 1% |
In the first three months the median writer has 1 followers and only 4% reach 50. After six to twelve months, 20% have at least 50 followers and 1% have passed 1,000. If your follower count feels stuck, you are in the majority.
What fast-growing writers do differently
We split the writers into the fastest-growing quarter (by followers gained per month) and everyone else:
| Fastest 25% | Everyone else | |
|---|---|---|
| Stories per month (median) | 6.7 | 3.9 |
| Share of stories in publications | 35% | 6% |
| Share of member-only stories | 33% | 5% |
| Paying Medium members | 51% | 16% |
| Median claps per story | 26 | 0 |
1. They publish more often
Fast growers publish a median of 6.7 stories a month versus 3.9 for everyone else. Every story is another chance to be recommended.
2. They publish in publications
35% of their stories appear in publications, compared with 6%. A publication brings an existing audience on day one. Find ones that accept new writers in the publications directory.
3. They are part of the community
51% of fast growers are paying Medium members (vs 16%) and 33% of their stories are in the Partner Program. Members read, clap and comment — and get noticed back.
Methodology
We sampled writers seen in 73 popular tags, including a random 10% of writers with fewer than 20 followers so that the results are not skewed toward winners. “New writers” published their first story within the last 12 months and have at least three stories. Accounts showing signs of clap farming were excluded. Writers who stopped publishing are underrepresented, so real-world numbers are likely lower. Full methodology.
See who is growing right now: fastest-growing new Medium writers.