Goal: Scale from ~$2.50/month to $250/month on Medium Partner Program Author: Ben Ballard — medium.com/@ben.g.ballard Date: February 2026 Data backing: STATS.md — updated monthly from medium.com/me/stats
The top-performing story is “Unlocking Sports Betting with Python” (Dec 16, 2023). Everything in this strategy builds outward from that proven winner.
The numbers behind this (from STATS.md):
You found a winner. Instead of writing about random data science topics, build a franchise around this specific success.
Why it works: You already have authority here. Google trusts you on “Odds API Python.”
The Play: Write sequels, not standalone posts.
| # | Sequel Idea |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Building a Streamlit App for Live Odds (Part 2 of the Betting Series)” |
| 2 | “Backtesting my Dec 2023 Betting Strategy: Did I make money?” |
| 3 | “Moving from The Odds API to the NFL: A Python Guide” |
Key Rule: Link every new story back to the original hit. This creates a “reading loop” that multiplies earnings.
Your big hit was published under “Ben Ballard” (self-published). This relies 100% on SEO.
The Fix: Submit your next draft to a major publication.
Target Publications:
Why: They have 100k+ followers. If they accept your story, they push it to their newsletter. This generates “Member Read Time” immediately, rather than waiting for Google.
The “Boost” Factor: Editors of these pubs can nominate stories for a Medium Boost. A Boosted story often earns $100–$500 in a single week.
Your top story is from Dec 2023. In the tech world, 2-year-old code often breaks or looks stale.
The Play: Write a “2026 Update” version.
Result: You funnel passive Google traffic from the old story into the new, paying story.
To hit $250, you need volume. You can’t rely on one hit every 6 months.
This is the tipping point where hobbyists become serious earners. Target: $250/month in 3-4 months.
Writing two deep-dive tutorials every week leads to burnout. Use a split strategy:
| Day | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | “Anchor” (Heavy) | Deep technical tutorial. Code blocks, GitHub links, data analysis. This is for SEO and long-term authority. |
| Friday | “Update” (Light) | Shorter, lighter piece. Model results, quick tips, one-error fixes. Keeps followers engaged and signals activity to the algorithm. |
| Week | Tuesday (Heavy) | Friday (Light) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Analysis — full technical tutorial | Quick Tip — one library or error |
| 2 | Tutorial — code-heavy walkthrough | Results — “here’s what the model did” |
| 3 | Analysis — new dataset or API | Business Insight — results-heavy, less code |
| 4 | Tutorial — sequel to a past hit | Quick Tip — short and focused |
This is where the VS Code + Claude workflow pays off:
Result: Two posts for the effort of one analysis session.
Medium’s algorithm loves “binge sessions.” If a reader finishes your Part 1 on Tuesday and a related Part 2 is already available, they click through. Two reads from one person counts significantly more for earnings than two random reads — it signals Member Retention.
With 8 posts per month, you get 8x the data points. You learn quickly whether your audience prefers code tutorials vs. betting results vs. data visualization tips. This lets you pivot the franchise strategy weeks earlier if something isn’t landing.
You can build a 4-part “NBA Betting System” series in two weeks instead of one month. This keeps momentum alive before readers forget who you are.
1. Do analysis in Jupyter notebook → project-name/analysis.ipynb
2. Write polished article in markdown → project-name/article.md
3. Publish as draft to Medium → python publish.py project-name
4. Review on Medium, edit, then go public
5. Update project README.md with Medium URL and stats
6. Update STATS.md monthly from medium.com/me/stats