I'm always fascinated by those who think they can come onto STEEMIT, beg others for upvotes on their copy/paste posts, and then wonder why they're not finding any success in building their presence here.
Steemit Tips: How NOT To Behave On Steemit -- Follow-Begging
(this cute kitty cat may just pull it off, but I doubt any of you are nearly as "cute"...)
When I first started posting more actively on STEEMIT in October 2016, it took me several months just to reach a grand total of, wait for it......... 30 followers! It took another month of actively posting quality content just to break 50. At the time, for all my effort, my account was now worth a whopping $50 bucks!
$50 bucks for all that work?! No frickin' way.................. That's what most newbies here are probably thinking. How can anyone make a living off of that?! Well, first of all, let me start by telling you what my Facebook and Twitter accounts earned me over the entire last 5 years. Can you take a wild guess?!
ZERO!
And that doesn't include all the "pain and suffering and heartache" that comes along with it either! Let's just say that most people who claim to support diversity, don't seem to feel that includes "diversity of thought" and differing points of view.
When I started posting more on STEEMIT, I was just happy to come across a bunch of cool people from around the globe, posting on a variety of interesting topics, and all earning at least something for their efforts. Even better, it was also a terrific and relatively easy way to learn more about crypto-currency. You'd even earn a bit of a "crypto stake" as well, all without having to risk a dime of your own money!
After several more months of grinding it out, in May 2017 I finally managed to reach what seemed like a huge milestone at the time... a whopping 250 follows! 😲
I achieved this by respectfully interacting with the community, reading posts by others, spending the time to leave thoughtful comments, and helping add value where I could. For example, I built several scripts for the community to add more functionality to the STEEMIT interface:
I also created the STEEMIT/Discord WhaleBoT, which has likely welcomed you on numerous occasions if you've joined any of the various STEEMIT-related Discord Chat Communities such as WhaleShares.
I never once wrote comments such as "grate post i lern lots" or "i tink is gud vot me 2! i follow u pls follw me".
Whether it's "vote for vote", or "follow 4 follow", or "hi bossman" on Discord or Steemit.Chat, what makes you think I or anyone else "wants to be friends" with someone they know absolutely nothing about? Why would you assume that anyone has the time or interest to look at some post you spent 5 minutes throwing together, that doesn't contain a single unique or original thought, and is replete with horrible grammar and spelling mistakes? In fact, if someone you didn't even know came up to you in the street and said "hey, boss, let's be friends!", how would you react?
If you've read my posts, and have a private question to ask me, have at it. Just ask cordially and politely, and I'll likely respond in kind. Don't ask "can I pls ask u a question?", cuz I'm already laughing to myself:
Some of us receive a dozen or more "Hi" messages a day on Discord alone. Most of us don't have the time to just "shoot the shit". Clearly state your question (and I don't mean... "can you pls read vote my post?!"), or step aside and move on, otherwise you're just wasting both of our time.
Not surprisingly, when asked, none of these people even knew my STEEMIT userID (despite it being the same on discord, steem.chat, and STEEMIT). Needless to say, they hadn't even looked at a single post I had authored either.
Don't ask what people can do for YOU. See how YOU can help others. If you provide something of interest and value, they will often want to reward you for your efforts. That is the nature of the "gift economy", which was so terrifically described in the following post by @luzcypher, "The Most Valuable Steemit Post Begins In Your Head - Tips To Mazimize Your Social Currency On Steemit".
A gift economy, gift culture, or gift exchange is a mode of exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. This contrasts with a barter economy or a market economy, where goods and services are primarily exchanged for value received. Social norms and custom govern gift exchange. Gifts are not given in an explicit exchange of goods or services for money or some other commodity.
A funny thing happens when you give to others without asking in return especially when you do it consistently. They begin to feel indebted to you to the point where they look for ways to return the favor and settle their "debt".
People come to Steemit because they hear about this site you can make money on and get lured into giving it a try but get discouraged when the rewards are not instant. In this fast paced world of ours we sometimes forget that social media is more about being social than anything else.
When you study some of the more successful people on Steemit you'll notice that their focus is not so much on what's in it for them, they are more about what they can do for you. That's how gift economies work.
How CAN you get ATTENTION on STEEMIT?!
If you want to get my attention (or any other more established Steemian's attention, for that matter), try actually reading and understanding our posts. If you take the time to write a thoughtful, intelligent comment that adds value, I'll almost always upvote your comment. I now routinely give out more money on a single good comment than I earned on nearly TWO DOZEN of my first posts on STEEMIT (just look back and see all the ZERO payouts I received)! If you think I'm making that up, check this out... 😱
My real breakthrough on STEEMIT came once I managed to trickle my way up to reach 250 followers (around mid-May 2017). At that point, I finally released an appropriate "introduceyourself" post, and it earned more than all my previous STEEMIT posts, combined! I also discussed another big aspect to my interest in STEEMIT, as an alternative to YouTube, which had given us such heartache years earlier (back in 2011), just as our YouTube channel vlogolution was on the verge of breaking through 100,000 subscribers. I highly recommend you all read it if you haven't already, as it too offers many tips (especially in the comment section) on how to properly and appropriately build your presence on STEEMIT.
Link: YouTuber's Guide to Re-Monetizing with STEEMIT! And thank you to my first 253 subs!
(my early progress on STEEMIT, courtesy of steemwhales.com, which unfortunately no longer seems to be updating its stats)
STEEMIT Drama, best to generally just stay out of the way?!
I won't get into this too deeply, except to say that for the most part, it's probably best to stay away from the drama and avoid the flagging-wars. Instead, focus more on building your presence. It really serves no advantage to get into fights with people on STEEMIT, especially if they're so "powerful" on the platform that they could quite literally squash you like a bug, (ie. "Whale Wars"). Hopefully over time, there will be better ways of addressing such issues. For now, however, I'd also recommend you read the following post by @jrswab on the subject: "4 Reasons To Avoid Steemit Drama".
Fast-Forward to the Present Day...
😎 WTF, how'd that happen?!
"Suddenly" I've blown through 3600 Followers! 😎
More likely... it takes 15 years of work and effort to become an "overnight success"! I am very grateful to all those who chose, of their own prerogative, to click that little follow button, without once ever "asking for it". And granted, it didn't even take 15 years. But it certainly did take a hell of a lot more than a few months (let alone a few weeks) to achieve!
(and possibly entertaining) enough to deserve your follow! 😊
Finally... "Come for the rewards, stay for the community!"
If some of what I've written here comes off a bit harsh, perhaps that's cuz it's meant to be. My goal is to save both of us some time, and help set you on the right path (with the correct mindset) to achieving success on STEEMIT, and perhaps more generally, in life as well. To that end, I'll leave you all with one last passage from the book, "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World", by Harry Browne:
The best method of advertising is simply to live the way you want to live…
since you could also run into potential friends almost anywhere, it’s important to display your standards openly and honestly wherever you are…
If you make your own actions consistent with the standards you really admire, you’ll know which people are compatible — just by their reactions to you. Those who disapprove will seek someone different to be with, and those who have standards similar to yours will react favorably toward you. In effect, you let others tell you about themselves through their reactions to what you are…
Many people hide their identity, tolerate restrictions, and remain in bad relationships because they’re afraid of being lonely. But I wonder what they mean by “lonely.” Aren’t they very lonely when they deal with people who don’t understand and appreciate them? I know I’d be lonely in such a situation. I’ve also been lonely sometimes while looking for compatible people. But that loneliness was usually short-lived and more than rewarded by the discovery of people who wanted me for what I am.
Link: How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World Book Review
And, if you haven't yet seen it, check out this post as well where we make our own pizza and splurge on a $500 bottle of Dom Perignon!
Here's another nice post by @crystalpacheco30 about how to better connect with others in the STEEMIT community via Discord!
Link: How Discord can Help you Earn More on your Posts and Connect with the Steemit Community
and here's another very good post worth checking out by @arbitrarykitten, "Find and Embrace Your Steemit Voice" and write about what you know, what you love, and what you'd probably even write about for free. Eventually, the rewards will start to work out on their own! :)
Great job showcasing others! And thank you :)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am so impressed by your honesty, it is marvelous. Thank you for saying what is true- and more importantly, thank you for being absolute in your advice.
⭐️ I also appreciate the fact that you have shown us your reaction to the early “slow-start”.
⭐️What’s interesting about your display of $0.00 payouts from the past isn’t that you experieced then. We all experience those. ✨What IS great about your confession is that where most people would normally jump off and try a new path (because they would consider such strike outs to be failure) you opted for the more difficult path. “The hard way” is continuing to persist at the task in front of you, even in the face of what appears to be rejection.
Rejection is the most common reason people accept “failure” before they give up altogether.
✨You✨ are a stunning example of what happens if you continue, persistently at a goal until it finally skyrockets from a sprout and into a tree of amazing girth and strength. Did that last part sound naughtier than intended? I am going to go with it. Lol.
My name is Lori by the way. I will be watching your posts, for sure! Great stuff. 👣
🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥
thank you for your very kind comment @lorilikes, you also make many great points that may not be quite as obvious upon first glance. It really is about persistence and not giving up, and constantly striving to improve, figuring out what you can do better. In fact, I also spent the first half a year doing more "lurking" and "listening" and "absorbing", to better understand the community and it's "internal dynamics".
And naughty's good, always go with naughty over "nice"! lol :)
Note enthusiastically taken. I shall recall this tidbit of advice every time I am torn on whether or not to tap/click that post button; which perfectly leads to my next topic- also stemming from your last reply.
I am compelled to point out that you misspelled my username. I was not going to even mention it, however, I figured I must speak up.
My logic might amuse you here. Here it is:
There is a fairly good chance that you might want to keep up to date on what I am up to, and just in case you wanted to check my profile, and just in case you might happen to click on the misspelled version of my username (as used in your comment) rather than clicking on my name, I just want to be certain you are looking at the correct user- so as not to deprive you of the future joy and delight you might gain by seeing my unpredicatble posts. If you are reading this it means that I did not chicken out. Gold star for me for courage! Oh - and it is @Lorilikes. Lori does lie occasionally, but never does she lie about her username. Cheers! Thanks for actually reading this comment to the end. Ha ha !
I tend to be rather meticulous, but every now and then something inevitably slips through... regardless, duly noted and corrected! lol :)
Yes, it could be difficult to compete with that cute kitty, lol! 😸
I like your brutal honesty @alexpmorris! It's helpful to not sugar coat the truth.
I agree, if a newbie minnow wants to grow their community here on Steemit they have to put the time in... and in a way that's not alienating!
well, truth be told you may be one of the few who could pull it off! but then again, you're too classy and too talented to even bother considering such tactics! 😸
Well, long ago I learned that clever kitties groom themselves to use charm and wit... 😉
Wow! Thank you so much for mentioning my post! I means a lot that you are someone who has been here a good deal longer than I and found value in what I had to saw.
I joined steemit back in June of 2017 and did not start to take it seriously until about September. I have blogged for almost 15 years at this point and have not found as much success and acceptance that I have on Steemit. That is why I chose to make posts like the one you mentioned with the hopes that it will help our community be the best group of bloggers we can be.
Looking forward to connecting with you more as Steemit picks up speed and feel free to get in touch any time!
<3
J. R.
hey no problem @jrswab, but truth be told it had many great points and was most worthy of a mention!
And if you'd also like to connect with more really cool fellow steemians, when you have a chance you should definitely stop by our little WhaleShares Discord Chat and say hello! :)
Very well done. You are freshly blunt, which is a good thing on the internet as people don't have time to read essays.
Everything you said is true. I was just watching an interview with the actress from Girls Trip. After that film she suddenly propelled into stardom and has had many appearances.
The interviewer said she "came out of nowhere and is Hollywood hot," to which she replied "came out of nowhere? I've been here all along! I've been working as an actress 12 years!" But she finally got big.
That reminds me of Steemit. Behind every huge success is lots and lots of hard work and many months or years of consistent effort.
absolutely @arbitrarykitten, most people don't seem to realize how much work anything involves, especially if you want to become even half-way good at it. I'm glad this post seems to have inspired many to the "possibilities", and what can be accomplished by sticking it through.
And as I always like to say, the more I learn, the less I still feel I truly "know"! lol :)
And, for reference, just gonna mention again your post, that STEEMIT users should also check out...
Link: "@arbitrarykitten on Finding and Embracing Your Steemit Voice"
Thanks hun!
There is a subsection of the population that comes here thinking it's a get rich quick scheme. They soon realize it takes dedication and patience, and that is what weeds out the true rebel hearted Steemians from the regular folk ;)
I have the same issue with the chats. Usually somebody hits me up with ''Hi, lets be friends'' That really, really grinds my gears. It used to work when I was a kid, all we did was actually walk up to each other on the playground and say exactly that but now... I have very and I mean VERY few people I consider friends in real life. I have acquaintances, sure, but friends... that is different. I have some people here, on the platform, that I consider friends and then there are more that I consider awesome content creators but haven't talked to so often to. And I still do not call them friends for one simple reason. I don't know nothing about them, at least I do not know more than they post about.
I have encountered a lot of people contacting me and wanting to be friends. One or two bluntly admitted that they reached out just because I was pretty. They hadn't seen my profile and didn't even ask about it(which shows that they had no idea if my inner world is pretty as well) What they did do was complain about how little they earned.
BTW, if I wanted to date someone online, I would not be on steemit looking for him. A compliment is nice, but solely basing your friend choices on how pretty a picture looks screams ''shallow'' to me.
Now, I understand how hard it is to start out, I have been there. But I never walked around asking for votes on my posts(except once, for a contest and I usually help people if they are competing in a contest themselves, with a quality entry, of course). I was grateful that I was even noticed. Occasionally, I will have someone reaching out and genuinely asking for help but this is happening rarer and rarer lately. Still, there are so many new people who deserve a dash of recognition, but those mostly do not scream v4v in chats.
very well said @lindahas, and all very true, I can relate perfectly! :)
and regarding this...
Kid version: "I loooove your new bike! Wanna be friends?!" 😁
Exactly, it reminds me of that exact thing. I remember multiple times when things like these happened when I was little :D
Just remember when we did not have followers, especially for me. My English is very bad, no one I could ask about steemit. Just remember how hard at that time. Now many steemians from my country ask for guide how to use steemit and ask for support. Recently I help taxybike group and some newcommers and guide them how to use steemit well. Yeah quite busy now. :)
hey @happyphoenix, you're another great example of how someone can rise up, improve, and also become a valuable addition to the community! And yes, the occasional typo here and there, understood, but when there are 4 words with 3 typos, that's another thing entirely! lol
And you also did the smart thing and join up with various communities to help you improve your skills, make more connections, etc. Which of course, I should also give a shout-out to @samstonehill's terrific facebook group, Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins! :)
And btw, I still love your profile quote:
... though I look forward to the day I don't have to correct the typo in "propotion" each time I copy/paste it! lol 🤣😁
ha..ha... ! By the way, @samstonehill will come back to Europe soon. He leaves Bali in this year. Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins still in idle mode, just need to push "on" button. :D
I think the biggest mistake that people who sign up for the platform have the wrong idea: they simply want to earn money as fast as they can. But there is no ‘get-rich-quick’ scenario.
In the 3 months I’m using SteemIt, I’ve been working my ass of to get at least one decent post online. I’m not an expert in something, nor am I a talented writer. I realize my posts are not top notch and I will probably never become a whale. But I love to learn new things about cryptocurrencies and the SteEmit platform, and what I learn,I share to help other people out. I would be lying if I said I don’t like seeing my author rewards go up a little bit every time, but the real value is in the interaction and the ‘learning-from-eachother’ part.
SteemIt isn’t the platform for anyone who is not willing to spend loads of time to do research for writing a good article. If you want to post a copy/paste article or a YouTube video someone else has made without having the decency to at least write your own intro and hoping to get rich, you’re at the wrong place.
(Although every day I come across several articles that are just plain worthless and are still earning 10 times more than me, so I can only conclude the wrong attitude is being enforced by the system somehow.)
I’m planning to do some experiments with different posts - quality posts as well as rubbish - to find out what triggers people to vote.
Earlier today I read an article that suggested you could earn $10/day by simply posting 10 articles that would earn $1 each.
I can hardly imagine that those 10 articles a day will provide real value, still I believe this Guy can make it work somehow. And that’s just plain sad...
I'll repeat the comment here I wrote to @gre3n, since I think it's also relevant to what you wrote:
Regarding this line you wrote:
Unfortunately, that's often upvotes from whales that tend to simply crap-post in an attempt to "self-reward". If they do it blatantly enough, eventually (hopefully) they tend to be called out (and that's also what sometimes leads to flag-wars). But as for the rest of us, I'd say just focus on doing your thing.
I also try to keep my expectations in check. That way, if I get nothing, I won't be disappointed. If something good comes along, I can only be pleasantly surprised! :)
Hey sir, grate posts i lurn a lots!
Ahh, just kidding! I hope you can manage to read past that first sentence, hah!
Anyways even though I'm new on Steemit, I get what you were saying in thos post completely. And I completely agree with you. I have my fair share of experience in different "want followers" sites and this is the most annoying thing ever if people don't even commit.
I mean. I'd instead have a 1 true follower, than 100 followers who don't even care about what I do, read my posts or whatever. People need to understand that the number of followers doesn't mean much. Just like the likes on a Facebook page don't mean much. If there arent people on your site that care about you or your product - you don't need them.
Having a big followers number is of course an awesome thing to show off with, but still people have to think of it that way: Do you care about following this person just so he'd follow you? Would you ever read any of their content? No? So how can you expect the same from others.
True followers is the number that can't be seen or measured exactly, but you gain true followers with interacting with people truly. From heart to hear. Show interest etc.
Ahh.. btw I've always had that problem - I fall out of topic. So I'll finish my monologue here this time and hope that people start to care about the community, as you stated. :)
Xo
thank you for your comment @kassixo, sounds like you're definitely on the right track!
The real "magic" comes by reaching people directly and making personalized connections, and by presenting them with content that resonates with them and makes them want to inevitably come back for more!
You'll also come across these "resteem" services, or some steemians who try just following everyone hoping some percentage will follow back (ie. 2800 followers, 49453 following).
While the numbers seem impressive, they're all but useless for building a vibrant community of people who are interested to hear more from you. As you wrote, I'd prefer one real person appreciating my work, over 100 who couldn't care less! :)
As a new user of steemit I want to say just one thing (because i also have a limited english): thank you, i will save this and i will read it again many times, i was thinking it was too late for me on steemit, i found inspiration and wise advices on this post, so thank you very much for this. Stay blessed. Greetings from Venezuela.
thank you for your kind words @alejandro12, and I'm glad you found inspiration in my post to stick with it! :)
STEEMIT has been a godsend for those from Veneuela who realize its potential. You may also appreciate the following comment I had written earlier last year to another STEEMIT user from Venezula:
You echo my thoughts precisely. It took me months to build something here. I made cents to start with. The thing is, I was having fun. Now I have nearly 3000 followers and make a nice amount. It takes a lot of effort, but make it fun and you don't mind. I keep trying to educate the newbies
yeah, exactly @steevc, if you're not having a good time doing it, it just won't be worth it, and your drive to succeed will probably just fizzle out. Have fun, keep your expectations in check, post about what inspires you, and over time you may just find yourself in for a pleasant surprise! :)
Another recommendation post, I don't mean that I'm a negative sense, I agree with what you said, but being on here for over a year or so it still feels like when posting its a digital lottery ticket. I see a lot of great content on here and those creators get nothing or barely anything. I read more on hard fork 20 today and I hope it helps the functionality of Steemit. Over time it'll get better and better. I also hope the people who are creating good content catch there break at some point it'll keep the community thriving for even more quality content. Thanks for sharing. Have a good day and Steem on!!
That's true as well, though pretty much everything in life tends to be some sort of a crap-shoot. I actually consider each post to be like a stock option, or "lottery ticket". You just never know which one may "hit it big". So many factors apply, such as time of posting, who's watching, what people are searching for, etc.
And I can't tell you how often I've authored posts that took days to assemble, with what I considered invaluable information for those who took the time to read it, and it gained almost no traction. However, others posts that I literally threw together in 20 minutes, sometimes unsure if I should even post it, takes off like a rocket and earns more than my last 10 posts combined!
Moral: Yeah, it is all a crap-shoot, you just never know, so write about what you know, what inspires you, what you enjoy, and hope for the best... And over time, you might start getting more and more "pleasant surprises" come along your way! :)
That's true, being at the right place at the right time. Or rather posting at the right time. Thanks for your response. :)
I think one of the most valuable ways for a beginner start out is by using the fact that they know almost nothing about the platform to their advantage. Find posts from whales that are trying to improve the platform and give them your honest opinion, I think some of the most creative ideas can come out of brand new minnows.
that's definitely a great way to start off, by taking the time to better understand the whole system, and reach out to like-minded fellow steemians, and add value where you can to those posts.
perfect advice!)
you told your own story, you had this way by your own, you know all mistakes and hidden stones in the sea of Steemit, and your advice is very useful!
I totally agree with you! When I started my Steemit story 2 months ago (I was registered in summer but I didnt pay attention to my blog here), I was full of these very questions - how to attract attention, how to get votes, how to find friends, but then I realized it's a wrong way, I just need to enjoy and to be ME here, not to be a girl for somebody's upvotes but just to be me, and this sincerity is always attractive for somebody. Let it be 5 people but really nice who honestly like you and your posts, whales, upvotes... it's not the goal here, I'm not a money hunter, I can't go and ask for upvotes, it's miserable and I have never done it. To read, try to get what the author wants to tell and to say my opinion about it - it's amazing for me, for him, and it can be start of our friendship.
I had another situation with followers, their number increased every day very fast, but it didn't bring me anything, no comments, no attention, and then I understood they are bots or just "dead souls", not alive people with whom I can communicate, or they were alive but became my follower without any reason, just pushed the button without any look who I was and what I wrote...then I became sad( and even was about to leave Steemit but decided to try and go on...now I'm not on the top, but I start to love this place) I love to read smth interesting, to know people all over the world, to tell them smth, and they start to comment me a little and even upvote - oh how happy I was to get my first upvotes and comments) and now I am happy like a child getting them))
I never reply such comments like "Cool post, upvote me" and I'm sad people don't understand they have chosen a wrong way here..
oops, the comment turns to be longer than I expected))) the topic has touched me much)
I think you can expand a bit further on this comment @taliakerch, and turn it into your next post! lol
That's really the thing though. With other sites such as facebook, people are not generally looking for a monetary reward. Many of them (granted, not the ones retweeting/facebooking their every bowel movement, who seem more interested in the attention lol ) are just posting about things they know about and are passionate about.
On STEEMIT, you're basically expanding on those posts and ideas, and presenting them to an even wider potential audience that can potentially reward you if they like and appreciate your work. And granted, there's an "ebb and flow" just like with everything else, from life, to the markets, to those who read your posts, right down to your "writing inspiration". It's best not to force it, and just "go with the flow" of how you feel. If you get stuck, try writing about that!
And who knows, but it might just turn out to be one of your most "appreciated" posts, a "work of art from the heart" that many others relate to as well! :)
While there's currency involved, you're always going to get people who are going to chase the quick buck, and god love them. But they'll be gone before too long, looking for the next quick buck.
Nice post!
I am guilty of most of what you said in your post. But the truth is how will one learn when there is no right person to teach. If i never spoke with you once @alexpmorris, I would never have learnt such. We get invited on steemit without proper orientation. Most times chatting someone up does not necessarily means the person in question wants to beg for upvote. But the sins of others makes it look that way.
To be sincere meeting you on steemit has added value to me and how perceive steemit to be at my first.
Thanks
I'm glad you're finally managing to get on the right track, and I commend you for taking the step to actually read this post! :)
Just be aware though, all the information is out there if you search for it. There are many guides and tutorials that have been posted. The bigger problem is that people often show up on STEEMIT, just like in trading, expecting overnight success, and that's just not how things work. You have to put in the time not only to learn about how it all works, but also to improve your "skillz" as well. I'd suggest you also read @arbitrarykitten's comments above:
I am always open minded. Hoping to learn new things. Glad to have you as one of my instructor on steemit. I also went through @luzcypher post. His post is a detailed compliment to yours.
I have also witnessed some steemians telling me vote for vote. Some don't even chat with me and they go ahead dropping links. If I never knew you or read you post, my first impression will simply take those occurrence as a trend on steemit. But all the same, you have saved me from a lot.
Thank you for sharing this tips for us who don’t know, have been commenting on post but haven’t had a positive feedback in terms of upvotes like “great post keep it up” you are absolutely right on what you said. I’m a good observant as I also osbserved the comments which actually gave me upvotes and money, I took time to read the post, curved out a comment and it brought me upvotes. Thank you for sharing this to us as a lot of people have learnt from it like me and wouldn’t want to repeat those things again. Congrats on your success I’m inspired and I believe there’s hope for us all.
yup, that's also the goal of this post, to help people realize. I even share the post with people who ask me "please upvote my post", and it's like they can't even take the time to look at mine, while they want me to take my precious time to look at all of their's and upvote! Very asymmetric. And what they'd realize if they bothered to read my post, is that if they left I thoughtful comment on one of my posts, for example, not only will they have a better chance of being noticed and remembered, it may even earn them more than they've earned on their last few posts!
Glad you're realizing this as well, and Steem On! :)
I realized through this post that it's nice to quote your friends' work from time to time, since this tells people that (1) you take time to read other people's work and (2) you give support to a friend.
This also builds up your topic further, and thus adding cummulative value to a single post. Yey, nom nom nom, new tip unlocked. Thanks Alex!
you are correct, a good point I probably didn't touch upon quite enough, although I did quote other steemians a few times in this post alone! :)
This happens to be the only Steemit post I have read from beginning till the end and I must say I am inspired by you. I’m 4days old here and I was already thinking of quiting because I was not earning much money and gaining much attention like I expected, but when I saw your Zero pay outs some months ago and and look at where you are today , I got motivated never to quit. You didn’t give up and look where you are today, I wish everyone can learn from you, once again thank you very much for this post, it gave me Life.
thank you for your comment, and I'm thrilled that it's inspired you to keep going. It's not an "easy" path, but then again, just like the journey to becoming a successful trader, what path that's worth travelling is?! :)
There are few things worse than people begging for up votes and follows. It's so needy and annoying. When I first started on Steemit, people would come by and leave some short comment on my post like: "Very interesting story. I've upvoted you. Please follow me.". While I was happy for their $0.03 upvote, I felt ambivalent about following them because I didn't feel like they had actually read my post or taken the time to comment on it thoughtfully. Their motivation seemed to be mostly self-serving. Of course I'd like more followers myself, but I'm certainly not going to beg anyone. If someone finds my posts or comments interesting, then I'm sure they will follow me. If not, then oh well. I'd rather have 10 followers who actually read my posts than 100 that are just copy and pasting things for upvotes and rewards.
that's exactly the point @sabrin514, what's the point of having all those followers if none of them have any interest in you or your posts beyond hoping you vote for them. And that's why it's a double-win when you actually comment something worthwhile on someone's post. Because it's already validating a certain degree of "mutual shared interest" on a particular subject or topic.
And what better way to grow a vibrant community. than upon a solid foundation of like-minded individuals such as that?! :)
Hahahaha I love how you said "if you want to get attention, try actually reading the post!" Lmao, so true! @alexpmorris
Thanks for the counsel and encouragement on here. Fascinating to hear that you noticed the tipping point after 250 followers. I'm close to that number, but not quite there ;)
I'm with you. I've never begged for follows. I just aim to put up quality content several times per week. I try to post the kind of content I think I'd find interesting myself.
Concerning the flag wars, I confess, though I haven't been involved in one, that I did a post recently about censorship on here. Haven't quite figured that one out yet. Seems like this should be a platform where speech could be freely shared, but it doesn't quite seem like that with how some whales can effectively censor your content with a downvote.
Thanks again.
thank you for your comment @leadinsights, and glad you found the post helpful. yeah, that's really the thing. even though the content remains on the blockchain, it can get hidden from the front-end if you do happen to cross the wrong whale. of course, while far from perfect, so far the experience is still way better than all the censoring, shadow-banning, and demonetizing that goes on with youtube, facebook, and twitter.
even though the content remains on the blockchain, it can get hidden from the front-end if you do happen to cross the wrong whaleYeah, that's the fascinating part to me. But, you're right. For sure better than the other options.
I wish when I signed up here there would have been someone holding my account ransom until I've read some articles on what to do when you start out (or not to do), yours should have been on top of of the list. I'm here now for a month and it's been live changing.
I feel for everyone who just signed up and feeling lost but driven by all the other users with the big wallets. It kind of turns off your brain, no commons sense and I would be not telling the truth if I would say that I felt any other way. After a while you listen and learn, meet people you connect with and grow stronger, which makes Steemit stronger.
I'm glad this post has helped set you on the right path! In fact, one thing you can do as well is to write some articles about your early experiences. Refer back to other posts that have helped you (such as mine, some of the others I mentioned, and perhaps even some others you've come across on your own). Refer back to them, quote from them. Discuss what "resonated" for you, and how it helped you, and how you think it could help those who read it. Repeat that for all your thoughts and ideas you're passionate about.
And next thing you'll realize, you've may just have started to build up a following! :)
Incredible tip, first thing I'll do is to re do my into, my first one was a bit half hearted and then I can link to my first one for an example how not to do it. Thank you for your kinds words and your support.
Was just gonna skim but after reading had to drop a resteem, if more people read this when joining they probably wouldn't make an insane bunch more money but would at least enjoy the time they spend on here far more.
however, they'll probably make quite a bit more than they would using those other "tactics"...
and over time, "fun" on the platform also leads to greater interaction with the community, and eventually should develop into greater rewards as well!
thanks also for the resteem! :)
Agreed, a small goofy chat on discord can go a long way when making friends with good creators. And no worries, definitely something that I'll reference in the future for newcomers on the platform.
@alexpmorris
Nice article man, very motivating and "harsh" in a good way, I have been kind of looking for a theoretical article on "how to make it here", and this one was one of the best so far! I think one thing that could be useful is like a class you could enroll in here on steemit for newbies, there is so much theory and not everyone wants to go the trial and error route... There seams to be good articles like this in the @Minnowsupport group, but yeah it feels like there should be a more structured alternative, some of us might even pay to enroll in something like that...
thank you for you kind comment, @friendly-fenix, and I'm glad you found the post helpful and motivational. If you come by our Whaleshares Discord Community, and stop by and listen in on some of our hangouts, that's another way you can also jump-start your learning curve. And of course, PAL / @minnowsupport group is terrific for that as well! :)
Thanks @alexpmorris for taking the time to write an answer, I will try and get my self into discord, and I will check out the "Whaleshares Discord Community". By the way I found that quote from that book: " How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" very inspirational, I think I might order a copy online somewhere!!! Oh yeah, I linked to this article in my latest some what "curbed" blog-post: Steeming tea and social strategy. Thanks for sharing/ @friendly-fenix
Thank you for a great post. Theoretically, if I grind and produce great content, but don't interact much with others, can I expect to make it here?
eventually you will build a following over time, but why not jump-start your presence by seeking out others on the platform with similar interests?! you're pretty much putty in the effort already anyway, so might as well just take it the whole way. it was also one more big factor in helping me grow much faster on STEEMIT as well! :)
Great post Alex, I joined in 2016 and then gave up:-) I came back in December as I got sick of the AI news posts on FB designed to push your buttons to get likes etc now I am back to stay and actually following your advice before I read this! Im following you but only follow me if you like photography food n travel!
well, glad you decided to give it another go, some interesting photos you have there, I upvoted a few! :)
Wow! What an awesome post. I love the story, the message and the evidence and support you provided. It helps to see the transparent walk through your steemit life and the fast forward to today as a big encouragement. Like you, I've been dabbling for some time. Opened my account in March but didn't start using steemit until June. Since June I've been interacting and trying to add value where I can and encourage people when it fits. I'm now up to 267 followers if my memory serves me correctly. And I was just given a big dose of hope that its possible to get to 3600 by simply continuing to do what I'm doing and writing a few articles on topics interesting to me and that can help others as well. Thank you Alex!
I'm resteeming this because everyone should read it!
thanks for the kind words, @morseke, and I'm glad you found the post so helpful and inspiring! :D
i too follow the same logic. Now that the steem price has erupted it's a bit easier for everyone to earn something. As you say to back there not only your posts and mine and mostly everyone's paid out a couple of pennies because we had no follower but cause of the low price too.
We were in the verge of death in some way, the only thing that kept us both (and i say both cause i completely relate with your logic as i mentioned above) is that the community was great, we find slowly people to interact to and like their contents and even if we earn a couple of pennies, we earned something instead on facebook and instagram were our payouts where 0 ( and if we add the time we wasted we are minus)
What i do and will keep on doing and i suggest anyone to at least give it a go is basically not to beg for votes, just post things you like whatever that is and find other people that you deem worthy and interact with them by commenting and if you wanna go a step further then use that chat-rooms too.
At the end of the end a normal human being here on steemit above everything wants someone to read his post and receive some criticism for it either good or bad ( everything helps). Begging not only make the person you beg to, consider you as a 0 and maybe flag you but the other people who check out the post and see that kind of reaction will blacklist you too so instead of asking for upvotes try to earn some (the feeling will be better i can guarantee )
sorry for the long answer i tend to type a lot when commenting :P
yes there definitely have been quite a few terrific people I've come across on STEEMIT as well, definitely makes it feel all the more worth it, when going through the inevitable ups and downs along the way! :)
I've only been here about 2 weeks, and will say I was honestly a little disconcerted by all the "follow me, vote me" comments that seem to be everywhere - especially in the chat and on discord (and yes, almost all of them are rife with misspellings).... not to mention all the "shitposts" I see, some of which are making hundreds of dollars for a stock image and a couple of sentences.
@alexpmorris, I will for sure be checking out your scripts, I think I really need the hide resteems feature, even with just the few people I am following.
Also a great point about staying out of Steemit drama. My very first day I resteemed something I shouldn't have just out of ignorance to the whole platform and situation (and also just curiosity of what a resteem actually was!). Luckily, my account is/was so new and meaningless I didn't receive any backlash.
We all live and learn - I am reading the white paper now, and have learned so much already from the awesome contributors on here.
regarding the white paper, if you're gonna read it, make sure you read the updated version, although be aware that it's still a bit "out of date" as well, as there have been many changes and adjustments to the model along the way:
Link: Announcing the Steem Bluepaper!
Also, I wouldn't worry about the resteem, just happy that @themarkymark's been working hard towards squashing some of the abuse taking place on the platform.
Besides that, hope you find my scripts helpful as well! :)
It is the updated version, and I've already got the Bluepaper printed and ready to read next. I thought reading both would help in catching up on the history and progression of the platform. Thanks, Alex!
I didn't expect much.. but the few dollars and cents my posts have been worth so far have more than exceeded what I believed they were worth! :) Glad to see a platform like this leveraging power and social structures like this! This article will help me out a good bit. Thanks for the post! :D
I really like the point you make about facebook too and how it paid you literally nothing for all the different stuff it's put you through haha. It's so true.. Most people are like "all that work for (this or that)!" but how much work is it, honestly?! lol. Great article and thanks for helping me out a bit, I'm new here and it's going to definitely shape the way I create my posts. I thought I was already doing pretty well and formatting nicely and not drawing negative attention, but this will help me to attract positive attention!
Thanks again!
I'm glad you found it helpful, and yes, the key is really to steadily improve your posts, and attract more of a following. I've also reinvested my earnings back into STEEMIT as well, which has also been rather rewarding as well. That means that what once seemed to be merely a tiny payout, may also now be worth a lot more as the value of STEEM appreciates in value. Of course, that's a "riskier" road to take (as STEEM can go down in value as well), so be sure to take that into consideration as well. :)
Hiya Alex!
I saw your name on my voter list — thank you! I’m glad you liked the shiny 😎
Good post above, i can relate to much of it although i’m still a noob compared to you. Lol
Anyway dude, cheers! I’mma on yer bus now
😁👍
thanks for the kind words @thedamus, and glad to have you on board... rollin' on ouuuut! :D lol
While i agree with you that making a community is a good thing i really dislike the huge ammount of spam and empty comments on every good article. "Wow so good thank you for sharing" spammed on and on... From the outside it really looks like bots run the place. :(
that's definitely true, and I hope enough of those
spammers"misguided-steemit newbies" also read this post and come to realize there is a better, much more effective way to go about it!Just check @acehbot and see what i mean. Its under every one of my posts making generic comments.
I have gotten about 92 followers in about 10 days. Is that good? Decent? Earned about 150 USD(+100 from bots). I am guessing that I am doing really good. Am I ?
I realised that bots are too much hassle so stopped using them a few days back haha.
sounds like you're doing pretty darn well, much better than I did when I first started... kudos to ya, and keep doin' what works for ya! :)
Upvoted :) Very nice!
thanks @crystalpacheco30, dunno if you noticed but I also placed a link in the comments to your post as well! :)
Classic.
A classic post that never grows old. Always important and key to the success of steem.. loved it.
Come see your old buddy, after 8 months I finally hit a good one tonight, but it is less about who wrote it, vs what I had to say. :)
congrats @intelliguy on the post "hit"! :)
I do have to add though that STEEM/SBD does still follow the price of bitcoin versus USD, but that's also largely due to the fact that the primary pairs on bittrex and poloniex are STM/BTC, SBD/BTC, so they've been holding their ground in BTC, they're still going up and down with BitCoin's value in USD.
For example, I'm seeing BTC down 1600 this morning, and here's what STEEM/USD looks like (based on polo's STM/BTC pair):
You are still rocking it!
thanks @mammasitta, looks like you're doing quite well there yourself...
Cheers to ya, and chin chin to a Happy New Year! 😁
Thanks for letting us know that it takes time to build and consider ourself lucky to have what we have. We as newcomers or me at least, I thank you for what you have shared with us.
thanks for the kind words @life69, and glad you found it helpful! :)
Last three words of the post title, yes - that! :-)
without . PISSING . PEOPLE . OFF! .. so you're saying your for "pissing people off" (three words), or "without pissing people off" (four words)?! lol 🤣
Hahaha...well, I probably do piss people off! Lord knows I don't hesitate to share my opinions :-)
Thanks for this!
O yes!
build the presence!. I was working on that, I'd recently given up,its frustrating looking at 0.02$ for a post that took you 2 hours,when you'll see someone get a bowling hit for lesser nothing....@tony-duke can relate. but special thanks @ewuoso,for telling me of patience, now I just do it as an outlet for my thoughts.....
thank you too for this...
thank you for your comment! I'd also recommend you check read my response to @gre3n's comment, as it may be helpful for you as well.
i will also read
please dont ever give up. I am glad i did not. please just stay calm and dont chase the money
Thanks
Thank you for stating such wonderful info...
For me one of the best way is to be like the reader. get your niche audience. Well, somehow it really starts and involves conversation.
Great post and I like your kind of honesty. The way you wrote this post has inspired me a lot.
@stevenmosoes
thank you @stevenmosoes, glad you found it inspiring!
@alexpmorris, omg! I'm not surprised that your proper introduceyourself post with heart got more votes than all your previous posts. Awesome! 😁
I have found building my follower base has been slow but it keeps on creeping up steadily. Sometimes you see someone who started way after you with way more followers and get down but getting jealous is silly. Your (64) rep is pretty sweet, be proud of that, I found the higher my rep score the harder it is to move another point. (25) to (40) was easy but I've been stuck at the mid 50s for a while.
actually, I can say for some reason I've been stuck at 64 for several months now, as long as I can remember. I have no idea why it's been so tough to break on through to 65, but I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later! :)
As for some people growing faster than others, I think part of that is the "luck of who's discovered you", and that "luck" seems to be boosted by those who participate in some of the STEEMIT discord communities and such as well.
I'm brand new to Steemit. I need to find my community to interact with and follow. I've already got a small start but excited to learn and interact. :)
Well, in that case feel free to stop by our little WhaleShares Discord Community and say hello! :)
Life was so tough before I came across steemit.many ideas and passion for writting was all jeopardised. A lot of ponzi scheme I was introduced to.which later reck me down.but when I find steemit .life was indeed changed for best when I join the great community. Long live steemit.
Thank you for all the knowledge and links you shared! I like that straightforward style without sugarcoating. I always like to think that in the end, only hard work and perseverance will get you anywhere and along the way you will be able to grow as a person.
well, a bit of "luck" doesn't hurt either.
But, as Louie Pasteur once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind".
And if you work steadily to create great content that connects emotionally with your readers, eventually some of that "luck" just might make its way onto your post! :)
Good information. Thanks. I haven't actively researched the entire inner workings and all the intricacies of steemit yet. So when people like you compile solid information like this, I greatly appreciate it.... again. Thanks much!
exactly, if you not giving something to the system how can then you claim to have money in back, hard work always pays.