Are you one of those people who’s still on Vocal.media? Maybe even a Vocal+ member?

I am.

I haven’t given up on this platform, as it does provide some unique opportunities for writers.

Vocal seemed to have slipped off the radar for a bit, but guess what? It’s back!

And it’s time to talk about how your newsletter can leverage this platform for some extra income.

A quick rundown

For those who might’ve forgotten or never heard about it, Vocal.media* is a writing platform akin to Medium, but with its own quirks.

It’s not as massive or as prominent as Medium, but it offers a cozy little corner for writers to share their work.

Despite its smaller user base, Vocal still provides a pleasant website experience, an array of stories to explore, and even a handy mobile app.

It’s also a pretty simple writing platform that makes it easy (and free) for bloggers to publish their blogs.

What sets Vocal apart?

The major difference lies in how writers get paid.

Unlike Medium, which relies heavily on member subscriptions, Vocal pays you based on the number of reads your stories receive.

Yes, every single read counts, whether the reader is a paying member or not.

It’s been Vocal’s selling point from the get-go.

You craft a killer article, optimize it for search engines, reel in those views, and voila — you start earning.

Simple as that.

Well, sort of.

Let’s talk numbers

Okay, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty.

For every 1000 views your story gets, you pocket $3.80.

That’s not much. I know. Vocal+ members gert $6 per 1000 views but even that is mearly more than peanuts. For comparison, I rake in about $20-30 for 1000 views on Medium.

But Vocal can still be valuable.

The catch

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Despite the potential earnings, there’s a slight hiccup: visibility.

See, Vocal isn’t exactly topping the charts when it comes to search engine rankings.

Translation?

It’s a tad tricky to attract organic traffic.

But I have a small workaround for this:

Enter the redirection tactic

Let me break it down for you.

Back in the day, I used Vocal as my go-to redirect source for my Medium articles.

Here’s how it went down: whenever I published a new story on Medium that would also fit on Vocal, I’d repost it there.

Then, within the Medium story, I’d slip in a little blurb right beneath the featured image, something along the lines of:

“Not a Medium member? Read this story for free here.”

And you guessed it — the “here” linked directly to my Vocal story.

It was a neat little trick to redirect non-Medium members (aka folks who didn’t pony up for a subscription) to Vocal, where their views would count towards my earnings.

The ups and downs

Sure, it worked, to an extent.

But it wasn’t without its limitations.

Not everyone clicked on the redirect link, for starters.

And let’s not forget that Medium offers three free stories per month to non-members, which kinda put a dent in my redirection plans.

Still, I managed to rake in a few hundred dollars during my Vocal days. Not too shabby.

Revisiting Vocal in 2024

I’ll admit, I kinda fell off the Vocal bandwagon when Medium started gaining traction for me in 2022 and 2023.

But maybe I was too quick to dismiss it. I’m dipping my toes back into the Vocal waters, and you know why?

Newsletters!

Newsletters and Vocal

Here’s the kicker — the redirection tactic isn’t just for Medium.

Nope, you can apply the same strategy to your newsletters.

Whether you’re using Substack, ConvertKit, Beehiiv, MailerLite, or any other email platform under the sun, you can sprinkle in links to your Vocal stories and earn some extra money.

Think about it: with each curated newsletter issue, you’re not only providing valuable content to your subscribers, but also driving traffic to your Vocal stories if you want.

It’s a win-win.

The bottom line

Look, Vocal isn’t going to make you a millionaire overnight.

Not even close.

But it’s a solid aid that can pad your pockets while you focus on other writing ventures.

Give it a try, experiment with the redirection tactic, and see where it takes you if you’re already a Vocal member.

Who knows, you might just be pleasantly surprised.