This is a tentative idea, but there could be a Member + Boost option (or whatever you want to call it), whereby for an extra three dollars per month, you can opt to give a bit more for up to three writers on the platform.

You can choose to change who receives this bonus payment per month, or keep the same three if preferred.

Yes, I understand it's one to three dollars extra per writer, per month, but I think this is worth exploring.

This way, it shows extra appreciation for a few writers without taking away any extra revenue for other writers based on read time.

I get that this will complicate things, but surely there is a way to do this without burdening Medium?

For the record, I have seen others making a similar suggestion, so I would not consider this to be a 'novel' idea. Thus, perhaps this is worth exploring or even trialling.

To clarify, this is to supplement the current membership model ($5/month or $50 per year), not to replace the monthly and annual subscriptions.

P.S. Another quick idea. Eventually, I imagine that, as part of inflationary pressures and for overall platform sustainability, this figure of $5/month or $50/year could increase to $6/month or $60/year, provided that writers receive extra revenue (at the very least) in proportion to the increase.