It is no surprise to anyone here that Steemit has had a user retention problem. I don't see this as a major issue, because I expect most of the major issues that are causing user retention problems will be addressed before the site is out of BETA. What should we do in the meantime as far as recruitment though?
I've thought long and hard about this, because as much as I love being here - I find that I'm not trying to convince lot of my friends to signup (yet). The reason is because I am pretty sure they will not stick around. It does take the right kind of person to see Steemit for what it will become, and not what it is today.
I think for the most part up until now, our main recruitment pitches have been along the lines of:
- Check out this awesome new blogging site. You can get paid for your content!
- Look how much money this person made!
- Check out this new social media site that is going to take over Facebook!
- Steemit is going to revolutionize the world!
- Etc.
These are all great, but users are joining with the wrong expectations. Steemit is not there yet. As one would expect, they are getting disappointed when they realize that Steemit is not a full-blown professional website (yet), and leaving. Way too many people do not get the "yet" part!
I think our retention would be a lot better if our recruitment was more in line with what we have to offer today. Even for what it is today in its "BETA" state - Steemit is still awesome! We just need to set the right expectations.
- It is a small community of people that are helping to test this new website and provide feedback on how it works, to help turn it into a mainstream blogging/social media site.
- Even though it is in beta, you can still actually make some money for participating. It is usually not a lot, but over time it can add up. Some people that have built up large followings or produced really amazing content have actually been able to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars from the site already.
- There are still some kinks to work out and a lot of features that need to be added, but even with what is there today it is really fun!
- You can get in on it now and become a part of the core community before it takes off and becomes the next Facebook.
- If the currency value goes way up once the site goes live, the coins that you keep vested in the site could one day be worth a lot of money.
- Eventually once the site is ready to officially launch, they are planning to become bigger than Facebook, Reddit, etc!
Thoughts?
Having personally signed up several people a week for the last couple of months - nearly all of whom are quite happy with where the site is at - I have found what works the best (for content producers) goes something like:
"Hey, you want to see my latest art/essay/(fill in the blank)?"
"Sure! Where can I find it?"
"Have you heard of Steemit? I'm putting all my stuff there these days!"
"No ... Steemit? What's that?"
"It's where all the best creative people are starting to put their stuff. They actually pay people for adding value to the site."
-Long Pause-
"I'm making an extra hundred bucks a month using it. It's not much, but it's not nothing, either."
"Really?"
"Yup. Check it out. I'm @mada. The site's still in BETA, so it can get kinda tricky. If you sigh up, let me know, and I'll walk you through how to do it."
Steemit's perceived stability needs a bit of work before I will feel comfortable mentioning the site to my serious investor friends. But signing up new users who come in with realistic expectations and stick around is super easy if you keep your pitch simple and honest.
The "get-rich-quickly" leitmotiv should indeed be avoided at all costs. As I have already said elsewhere, only a tiny fraction of users is actually making 'a lot' of money. Most of the users are making no money, and a significant fraction of them are making some money.
Stating it from the start would avoid getting people disappointed and running away after a few weeks, IMO.
The marketing needs to be fixed along the lines of:
"It is a small community of people that are helping to test this new website and provide feedback on how it works, to help turn it into a mainstream blogging/social media site"
It should be viewed as a test model, and all the posts, including mine which detailed the money I made in the beginning should be de-emphasized.
This is an experiment. We are the guinea pigs.
@ats-david made a exhautive analysis and excellent proposal.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@ats-david/steemit-the-current-identity-and-the-lack-of-new-investment.
For several weeks, there has been no change and no ads. Where are the leaders? "No government, no rules"? We see where that leads!
the leaders are not blogging on their own site.
That is another big flashing red sign.
They are probably busy with the Russian copy of steem they made. The one that has everyones accounts and passwords in it... {facepalm} Half their time and miners will be taken up by that codebase and blockchain now.
I'm sure they will be very busy taking control of mining and recreating the money making schemes that worked so well here in the beginning.
It appears to be a new kind of experimental guinea pig farming... that's in beta...
Exactly! :)
Exactly
I agree with this comment. Especially the last line.
I don't see neither any marketing, nor any evolution of the developments at the moment... As many users I discussed with, I would like to know where Steemit goes at the moment. That would probably help a lot.
Regarding the marketing, I will pose the question - do we want to be doing a big recruitment push right now while the site is not ready? Really all we are looking for right now is more "beta testers".
You should check out this video. I think it is a good explanation of why things are the way they are right now.
Why The STEEM Bubble Was an Investment Round and Not a Product Launch
Also, as far as where Steemit goes at the moment, this post should at least help: Steemit.com Development Updates
Hope this helps :)
Not a big recruitment but some recruitment to some extent. Having a large quantity of users going away during the beta phase and not enough coming in is not a solution. This is especially true when you are trying to conduct some steemit projects where all the active people are leaving one after each other.
PS: concerning the video, it is true. I forgot myself this 'not product launch' item
Since we don't have notifications yet, I figured I'd ping you to let you know I added some comments in reply to the discussion in the thread you started here (re: @lemouth) Curious to know your thoughts if you have time :)
Less focus on money, more focus on features that make Steemit unique: it's uncensorable, open source and it has built in payment network.
What are the niches we could go after?
When we have a decent network effect, we can start to focus on the payment network. Just imagine if Facebook gave a bank account to all users, with fast and free transfers, unrestricted to everybody.
I've been honest with the people I reach out to.
And most of the people I know have never used cryptocurrency, so I let them know there's a bit of a learning curve - but the user support here is pretty awesome. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!
Great recommendations! Thanks @merej99 :)
how can i be a tester
You already are :) Everyone that is here is a beta tester.
The best comment! Haha
The way I frame it to myself (and thus to others) is to pull back and place Steemit participation in a wider context of learning about and experimenting with blockchain technology use cases.
I remember accessing the old web search engines (remember Alta Vista?) via dial-up (1200 Baud!!!). At the time, very few people could predict a Google being accessed by smart phone (I know these people existed; I was not one of them). The folks who invested (at the time “wasted”) time and effort bumping into dead ends were the ones I subsequently saw jumping on the first e-comerce opportunities, the web consulting gigs, the new models for publishing, and inventing a widget that got bought by Yahoo!.
So my pitch for Steemit Beta would be something along the lines of: This could be a loser, and so could Bitcoin for that matter. But blockchain technology is here to stay. This moment when you get to play with the “embryonic stem cells” of new economic models will pass. The winners will eventually consolidate their positions by using the power of money and intel to lobby for government-enforced moats. (Yeah, I know… decentralized freedom for all… but I am not holding my breath. In the end, rivers and ports will still be able to be blockaded by navies, so government will always have a role.) SO… use the Steemit Beta moment to do your blockchain use-case-reconnaissance in a tangible way. Keep thinking about what steemit is and is NOT as you participate. Perhaps you will have gotten in on the ground floor of a Google. Perhaps you will have gotten in on the ground floor of a pets.com. No matter. In participating, you will clarify your future investment insights, your ability to discern what is great about Steemit’s next competitor, your own app that rides on the blockchain.
Also, as a creative (decidedly NON-tech guy), it gets me off my ass to just put some product out there without just handing ALL the value over to Facebook.
Great perspective, thanks for the comment :)
Hello @timcliff, this is a very thoughtfully put together set of ideas. I too have been wondering who to recruit and how to best prepare them for what they are stepping in to and this post helps me to develop my thinking and understanding of who and how. Thanks!
Right on. Glad it helped! :)
You know that if the same number as other platforms come in... then Steemit will become just another brain dead platform.
Start slowly, weed those not committed, keep the number of quality people rising... that seems to be the way it is building so far.
Interesting perspective
I think you're right on the money with that pitch. It's still a baby and people love to get in on something early.
Def. let me know how I can help :)
There aren't really any action items associated with it. It's mainly "food for thought" for the community as far as recruitment goes. Everyone can figure out how to best use the idea for whatever types of recruitment they do :)
For example, a lot of people tell their friends about Steemit and try to get them to join. If you told your friend that they would be joining as a "beta tester for a new site", then they would probably signup with a better expectation of what they will actually see when they join, than if you told them they were signing up for the "next big social media platform".
That's a great perspective to have. I think managing expectations and shifting the focus to the connections, community and future potential, will go a long way to greater retension.
@timcliff
Thats really true.
Steemit is still in Beta, but has got a big beta user base with great community and following.
When does steemit come out of beta ?
When it's ready ;)
To actually answer your question, nobody publicly knows - at least that I'm aware of. Even Steemit, Inc. might not have a date set yet. It is hard to predict how long all the features will take to add, as well as what the communities expectations are going to be once new things get added - what else will they want? For example, recruitment guilds were probably not even part of the picture 2-3 months ago, but now they are going to be one of the big development efforts over the next several months.
As a complete guess based on my own development career (I have no official info to back this up with) I would estimate about 2 years for the current project to reach what would be considered a 'non-beta' stage.
Thanks timcliff
excellent post very good congratulations as everything you do thank you for sharing
Welcome. Thanks for reading :)