follow me follow you! follow and drop your link in comment

Howdy fellow Steemit users!

How awesome is it that you can see BOTH people who follow you and who you're following in your home screen?

This might feel like a minor detail, but in reality it's quite AWESOME! Knowing your followers allows you to build a tighter knit community and reach out to each of them individually as needed.

Let's talk about how you earn SOLID FOLLOWERS on Steemit. (And yes, relationship are earned - not given)

First:

FOLLOWERS

Followers are people CHOOSING to follow you. By following you, everytime you post a blog that post shows up in THEIR feed. That makes it crazy important to always share VALUABLE content. Don't throw out GARBAGE. If you're posting hot rubbish, people will start NOT FOLLOWING you and that is not what you want. Take a look at your past posts - are they valuable?

For more insights on valuable posting habits - read here: https://steemit.com/humor/@chuckypita/y-u-no-read-my-post

FOLLOWED

Who are you CHOOSING to follow? Why?

When you follow someone on Steemit, you start seeing their content in your "feed" tab. Hopefully you're a picky person and follow people who create value for YOU. Otherwise, why waste your time weeding through the rubbish?

Obviously not every post is going carry weight with your followers, but they're going to want to work with like minded peeps who they enjoy. Are your posts enjoyable? Heck - are YOU enjoyable?

Who you choose to follow determines the quality of your feed. I don't know that it's wise to follow thousands of people, but don't be stingy in sharing your love either. Try and treat your account like real relationship building.
When you first start out you're going to be following more peeps than follow you - WHY? BECAUSE YOU'RE A NOOB! You're new here... and it takes time to cultivate and build relationships.

Don't worry about numbers at first. That will come naturally if you do post great content and interact well.

Challenge yourself to reach out to others. Try a starting goal to aim for a ratio of 1:1 following/followed.

Aiming for a 1:1 ratio shows your serious about STEEMIT and want to make a community that's better for all - not just in it for a fast buck. Don't obsess over the ratio, but do concentrate on building your audience over time.

Also, don't be afraid to promote yourself and speak up! When you produce awesome content, it's in your best interest to share that content with everyone. No harm there. It's great content - so share like crazy!

Do NOT spam. Think about it. You're in STEEMIT for the long haul - not some fly by the day flimsy act. How do you want to be known in person? Same rules apply online.

It would be helpful to place a small "bio" that you include after every post that encourages people to follow you while giving them a general idea of what content you produce.

A snippet like this is easy:

"If you enjoy my writing on Steemit ideas, Steemit help, and snarky laughs - please follow me."

As time progresses, you will see your following numbers rise.

LEAVE A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION! If you follow 500 people on your first day and only a few people are following you it's going to look like you're a spammer.. and that's not what you want.

Rather than going crazy your first couple days, find 10-20 people a day you find interesting. If you're engaging and interesting - eventually those folks you follow will follow you back.

BUILD YOUR FOLLOWING BY:

Actually reading and leaving SINCERE/HONEST comments on articles/content you like.
Reach out to folks you enjoy and connect with them in real life.
Tag people who might add value to your content.
Do this ^^^ and your reputation will grow and people will reciprocate.
You should check out the profiles of those who follow you too. That's a fantastic way to connect.

I'd love to hear some feedback.

What are you doing to build your followers? How are you using the followers/followed feature to grow an amazing experience on Steemit?