Steemit Masterclass Report | First Ever Masterclass for KK Steemians

Date: Saturday, 10th and Sunday, 11th February 2018

Venue: Celyn Hotel, City Mall, Kota Kinabalu

Training Objectives:

Generate content topic ideas
Understand the different content types for Steemit
Overcome, or even Eliminate, Writers' Block
Learn advanced post formatting features
Craft sexy titles to attract more clicks
Overview the curation process of top Steemit Curation Services
Learn how to build followers and get noticed

Trainers:

Training Contents:

Understanding the security features of Steemit - Posting, Active vs. Owner keys
The Trinity of Steemit Success - Strategy, Creativity, Connectivity
The 4Cs of Steemit Success
Four Main Content Types for Steemit
Breaking down Mav's 25-25-25
Tag Strategies
Interest Identifier
Idea Generation | Chunkenator
Idea Generation | AnswerThePublic
Idea Generation | Epicbeat by Epictions
Idea Generation | KopywritingKourse
Content Mapping | GoConqr.com
21 Types of Evergreen Contents
The 58 Types of Content Types by DigitalMarketer.com
Kickass Titles
Title/Headline Analyser
Writing | The Most Dangerous Writing App + Noisli
Editing | Grammarly
Formating | Typora, HTML tags
Copywriting Magic & that FK score
Trading & Withdrawal

Assignments:

Produce at least FIVE quality posts over the next 2 weeks

Key Learnings:

It's common for "teachers" to make certain assumptions about the students, which was my first error. As the participants were already active Steemians (active as in they are already posting contents and engaging with the platform), unlike those who were in the Steemit Bootcamp (Bootcamp before Masterclass), I assumed they were familiar with the security functions of Steemit.

Little did I know I have to spend about 30 minutes to walk through the class on the difference between Posting, Active and Owner Keys, as they were currently using the Owner Key for all their account activities. Not the most recommended because if something were to happen to their devices, anyone would have access to their accounts.
On the same note, I also walked them through securing their passkeys using tools like Lastpass and Authy. I also reminded them to always remember to clear their cache that may have stored their passwords, especially for those who are not using their devices to post on Steemit.
Once that is done, we move on to the actual content. I started walking through some of the different content types for Steemit, something @deborism and I have observed, and also the different difficulties attached to it.
1. REPURPOSE - Repurpose contents are the easiest because it involves us to take the someone else's content, and change it into other format. For example, a detailed technical report into an infographic, a written story into a video etc. Repurpose contents can also work when you want to add on or update someone else's existing work. For instance, a post of top 5 places to visit in East Malaysia can be updated to include the latest attractions, or expanded to seven or even 9 places.
  
  That's what some content marketers call a skyscraper technique. Google Search a topic, and find ways to build on it.
2. EDUCATIONAL - Next up from repurpose, I shared with the class that educational pieces are the easiest, as long as they write on topics they are already familiar with. Grammar and sentence structure is kept at the minimum, and instead of using creative story telling to lead the readers, the main bait of these kinds off articles is the education value - readers will learn something after reading your posts.
  
  I highly recommend these kinds of posts because it solves a problem for your readers, add value, boost you brand, build your followers, and take lesser effort to complete.
3. OPINION - This is what some would call a thought piece, where unlike the educational type of posts, you need to input more than just instructions. Review posts are a popular choice under this category.
  
  The trick with opinion pieces is, you will need to be able to argue cases really well, and are able to take on different sides of any debate. Your knowledge in the matter will be tested too, as you'll be expected to run comparisons and identify the differences. You probably will need to make a stand as well, and be prepared to have others leaving a (nasty) comment.
4. NARRATIVE - Ah, these are the stuff by the legends. If you know how many novelists died broke, you wouldn't want to attempt this category of posts. Because when compared with the rest, this category of post really needs you tap into your creative juice. Sentences need to be linked, and linked well, to form something rhythmic to the eyes and the mind. Emotionally charged words, detailed descriptions, intensed plotholes, mega passive voices to stir interest… the list goes on.
Not to disappoint, but while the narrative type of post will probably make you most popular, it is also the hardest, time consuming, and really relies a lot of your mood at the time of writing. It may take too long to complete as well, with perfectionism coming in to play the Devil's Advocate. My advice, do it once in a while, but if you really want to make more money on Steemit, the other types of content will work better.

They are easier to write, takes lesser time, and addresses specific needs. Narrative serves to entertain, which expectations can sometimes know no bounds.
I also mentioned as a content marketing firm, BDlabs (my company) firmly believe that when it comes to content marketing, it has to be contents that are Engaging, Educational and Effective.
Sensing they are juggling their time between their full-time jobs and their Steemit Career, I've also shared with them tips of priority management, namely:
- Pareto's 80/20 Rule
- Context Switching
- Parkinson's Law
- Batching
* Links to the full articles below.
A new piece of module that I previously did not cover in any of the bootcamps or content, is on the 4CS to Steemit Success. Don't want to put ourselves on the chopping block, but after studying a few successful (and not-successful) Steemians, @deborism and I concluded that there are four key pillars that will determine your success on the platform. It's not stand-alone, as they need to work hand-in-hand.

There are:
- CREATION - You can't avoid this one. I mean, it is a social blogging platform, so it pays to create quality content regularly.
- CURATION - Some would say this is an alternative to content creation, useful for those who have an eye for great content, but may not have the time and resource to create them. My advice, in the beginning, do both. Until you've significant Steem Power, then you can consider curating contents full time.
- COURTSHIP - What's good about having awesome content but have no one reading them? That's where courting followers comes in. As a matter of fact, some would argue that with great following, the contents do not even need to be outstanding. How true is that, I wouldn't know. I would bet on having both. :)
- COMMUNITY - Get yourself involves in passion projects on Steemit. There are so many interest groups out there where you can devote your time to. This step is not necessary for a beginners, in fact, some can even do without it. But trust me, if you master this well, it'll give you the quantum leap you thrust you way, way ahead.
New to this group, was also introducing them to Epicbeat by Epictions. While AnswerThePublic.com gives you ideas of what questions people are asking about your topic, so you can create contents to make the needs, Epicbeat is a whole different animal!

Image source.

With Epicbeat, you will know exactly what contents are trending (how many shares, engagement etc), and with that data, you will know exactly what contents can you repurpose for the Steemit community.

Go ahead and check out the free version of the software. It's limited to only articles in the past 3 days, but it gives you content insight like no other. Plus, you can even "follow" some of your favourite content creators so the moment they have a new piece, you'll be the first to know.
I also took content idea generation to a while new level by showing them 21 evergreen contents they can produce, along with DigitalMarketer's 58 Post Types. The idea is simple - to illustrate all the possible ways their interest can be converted into useful posts on Steemit. Heck, combined with the other tools I mentioned, they would have generated 5 good years of content ideas out of their interest!
As a content marketer, I'm also aware that 80% battle is getting people to click on your content relies on the title. Craft a winning title, and you can literally taste the upvote. Coupled with good content, a sexy title will just push you up the trending list.

With the class, I go through three easy ways to craft their titles, and headline analysers to help them improve further.

If you like to know one type of title that I covered, check out this elaborate post I did, complete with a worksheet you can download.
As for the other modules, you can click on the respective links below.

Wanna get us to come over to conduct a Steemit Bootcamp or Masterclass? Leave a comment below. Usually we only charge for cost, and profits are usually donated.

Wait, why's Mav posting on Steemit nowadays?

Well, unlike other blogging and social media platform, Steemit is the only platform that allows me to earn cryptocurrency when I engage with it. Yup, one Steem is about USD5, and you, too, can earn Steem Dollars every time you:

Create content (articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos, photos)
Upvote (like) other people contents
Comment on other people's posts
Have discussions, share opinions etc!

Yup, basically it's the very same thing you're doing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc all along!

The only difference? For once you can earn a nice income on the side!

Sign up for a free Steemit account, and you can thank me by coming back and upvoting this article. And guess what, you will earn Steem too for doing that! #awesome