Right now you are sitting there thinking of something to write, and are actively scrolling through stories that are on the 'trending' list. You write great content, and you have a story to tell; but you have less than 10 upvotes on your stories and nobody can see them at all.

Wether you personally are a first time Steemit user, crypto enthusiast, voluntaryist, or die hard anarchist this post will help you learn tricks on how to engage people of all audiences.

Take a moment to read this story carefully, we can learn how to accomplish this together by using a few strategies I picked up while working in sales. First let me share a few seconds of my background with you.

Before I ever wrote an article I was in the sales industry for most of my life. I started out in ad sales, then launched my own online business selling pre-owned cell phones when the major carriers weren't even buying them back yet. Phones were an easy sell, because people could get what they needed at a discount price. Converting phones into money was a breeze.

I then jumped further into the digital world selling intangible products that benefit in-game apps. Using my sales experience I started writing articles, gaining a nice position within Google , and generating over $200k in pure profit in 6 months time. It was then that I realized that sales is just the ability to draw someone into what you are discussing, which is also what a good blogger needs to be able to do.

What about converting your stories into upvotes? How do you convert stories into upvotes?

Right now on Steemit, it seems that 'great' content is geared around selling yourself or ideas. If you personally have told a great story, or presented a great idea, the upvotes should flow in right?

Wrong...

I have read so many amazing posts like yours that have gone seemingly unnoticed, when it should be trending on the front page.

So what is the problem? Why aren't your stories skyrocketing to the top? Well... you might not be using these simple sales strategies that can convert readers to followers and upvotes.

Here are three simple sales strategies you can use right now to increase your upvotes.

1. Include Personalization

Many stories on Steemit feel like they are just sending out facts to whomever will come along and read it. People read these stories, but they aren't drawn in enough to take action and upvote.

I want you take a second to really think about that.

I mean REALLY think about what is going on right now!

Did you even notice it? I bet you didn't.

I have used the word 'you' over 25 times already; you probably didn't even notice, and we haven't even gotten to the end yet - gotcha hooked!

You are still reading this because I wanted to draw 'the reader' in with personalization. Think about what I first said, "Right now you are sitting there thinking of something to write, and are actively scrolling through stories that are on the 'trending' list." Well... aren't most people on this platform?

I made a relation to the reading masses, by including knowledge of something they are likely doing right now.

I then used the word 'you' to make this feel personal, like the content is for you and only you.

It's this kind of personalization that should be done for every story you write. Your approach will differ with each story. The main goal should be to draw the reader in, walk them through the story, and get them ready for your 'close'.

2. Ask For What You Want

In sales, you never leave it up to your lead to make the decision - always provide a call to action!

If your goal is to sell 100 new phone plans to the new business that moved into the 48th floor, you give your pitch, present the contracts and say, "I can get you started with this package today, all I need is your signature." Typically if you make it through your pitch it's good sign they will say yes.

With a story, simply ask the reader to give you an upvote at the end. If they made it all the way through your post they should click upvote, but there are some that forget to upvote or don't quite understand the process yet.

If you don't ask for what you want, you will never get it. Give your readers a call to action to upvote your story, and it will help convert more clicks on your story.

**Go to the end of this story to see how I present my call to upvote.

3. Be Seen Everywhere You Can Be

I want you to think about this for a second; how can a reader see your other stories if they like the content that you have? They have to click on your user name, and then read your blogroll list of stories that you have posted.

What if they hated your story? Then they will never click on your name, and won't see that awesome story you posted the other day.

In online sales, you want to eliminate the number of clicks that a customer has to preform to convert your call to action.

So in Steemit terms; you want to eliminate the number of clicks that a reader has to take to see your content. The best way to do this is to include links to your previous stories within the stories you are actively publishing.

If you don't know how to make a link for your story using markdown styling, here is the code I used for links.

[Why I Joined Steemit Today and how to lose 2000 BTC Quickly!](https://steemit.com/steemit/@store/bookmark-this-why-i-joined-steemit-today-and-how-to-lose-2000-btc-quickly)

BONUS CONTENT!

I wanted to add another valuable nugget of information that will help you increase upvotes. If you want your story to be seen then you should post when the hours of internet traffic are the highest.

I don't know if someone has done a Steemit traffic analysis yet, but I liken Steemit audience behavior to Reddit.

Experts suggest that the optimal time to submit a story to Reddit 9am Eastern Time. This makes sense as it is early enough to catch the Central timezone before they go to work and the Pacific timezone as when they wake up. It is also late enough so that the post does not start falling down the page before the Eastern timezone goes on their lunch break. If your post is near the top of a subreddit by 1pm Eastern Time and all of the posts above it are older than it, there is a good chance it will reach the top of the subreddit and stay there the rest of the day.

Did I Create Value For You?

If this story helped you at least a little, take a second to upvote this story. I appreciate it greatly because it takes a huge amount of time to write things of value for readers like you.

Thank you for the time you spent here with me, and I look forward to seeing your posts in the trending list!

J.R.

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