Running STEEM contests and giveaways is a terrible idea. 2 minute read.

I'm an idiot. Let me share a quick piece of advice that I've only just now learned in hindsight.

Don't bother running contests or giveaways. They're a waste of time, a distraction, and a burn of your resources.

- They attract people looking to make a quick buck. Not people who actually deserve it.  
- You're really not adding any new "real" value to the community.
- There's usually not much participation in the threads.
- As a result, you don't really get much traction in the trending charts.
- They are a distraction from better content you could be producing.
- It encourages voting collusion. I think I paid $100 to a colluder in my 1st contest and I seriously regret doing so.
- They're simply not appreciated. 

Five hours after my 2nd contest ended, the same colluder (under multiple accounts) went through all of my blog posts and questioned if I was a scammer for not paying out on the contest yet. 

Lesson learned. It's not worth it. 

I'm going to focus exclusively on publishing new content now. No more contests.