There was a time when even I earned money, enough to pay for the year's $60. I still find value in Medium, compared to many other online platforms. One thing is clear, though, and always has been.

When you build on someone else's property, sooner or later, the rug will be pulled out and there will be little or nothing left. I had a "pay once for life" account at Fastmail. A few years in, they decided they were not going to honor that deal. I built a very popular collection on Google+ as did tens of thousands of creative posters, for no monetary gain. Google+ shut down and a lot of people saw their extensive efforts go down the drain.

If you want more security, build your own site and mailing list and store, whatever it is you want to do. You're still depending on PayPal or Stripe for payment, but at least the lot the house is built on is yours.

Good luck.