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One of the blog topics that has been beaten to death is the popular post which every upcoming blogger looks for " How To Grow A Blog" . This is not strange because in every field you find yourself you have to familarize yourself with how things work there in other to excel there

There are a lot of blogging gurus both within and outside Steemit who have taken out time to teach the upcoming generation the secrets of the trade, but most os the people who read these posts often fail to build a blog worth paying attention to

Why ?

It is because they pay to the wheels instead of looking ahead. When learning how to ride a bike you are often urged to look at where you are going instead of the front wheels of the bicycle. Looking at the wheels makes you drive in a zig zag fahsion because the moving ground makes it seem like you are not stable and you will always try to correct your path

As a result you end up driving in a zig zag fashion. When you look at the road ahead however you ride more straight because your brain is confident of where you are going

When building a blog most people focus on the methods when they should be focusing on the principles. But what are the differences between methods and principles you may ask

Principles answer the question "why" while methods answer the question answer the question "how" and "what" . Knowing the method that an expert blogger uses is not enough, you have to know why he/she is going through that route

The truth is that principles are universal but you have to create your own methods based on the stage where you currently find yourself. What works for someone with 10,000 followers might not necessary work for you that just have a 100

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Different Keys For Different Doors

There is a saying that goes like this "What is good for the Goose, may not be good for the Gander".

One thing I will use to illustrate this is commenting. It is a well known fact on Steemit that Comments are a way to crerate connection with others. It is the number one driver of engagement. When most people hear this they often go on a commenting spree without sitting down to analyze how to approach commenting

Their are other underlying factors that determines the success of your commenting game. First you must only comment on posts that you read and understand, You don't just comment for the sake of it

Another important note when it comes to building relationships with comments is the person you are commenting on his blog. I tell often tell people to first check the previous posts of the person they are trying to vuild a relationship with, If the person does not appreciate and reply readers comments then don't bother making a move. People like that just post to earn and have no desire to make connections

It may sound harsh but that is the basic truth. It is more painful for some people to accept because they want to build that relationship at all cost maybe due to high Steem Power or any other reason. The truth is that most people who support me now are fellow minnows that I made friends with and we grew together and over time their votes became more and more valuable

Most people chase whales and ignore fellow minnows and dolphins like them. And know tha Steemit is a very big place. There are a lot of amazing people you can connect with. A cursory exploration of the #blog tag yesterday brought me in contact with a lot of amazing Steemians

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Instant Gratification

Another cause of this is the desire of people to see instant results. People want to get instant growth, long term does not sound sexy to them. But the truth is that long lasting things always require time to grow

The people who you are admiring right now did not build their profile overnight, they put in the work and made a name for themselves. When an influential Steemian like @papa-pepper comments on a blog post, it does not even matter if the person replies comments or not, when he/she sees the comment they will surely respond, the case might not be the same for you

This is because @papa-pepper have built his presence overtime and he already have that socail capital that commands returns.

There is no magic method or silver bullets when it comes to building presence, you have to consistently give value to be noticed. Rome was not built in a day

So when next you come in contact with a new strategy try to find out the "why" before mapping out how to approach it.Understanding the principles will make you win with time

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So what are the principles that have helped you grow your blog ? Share them in the comments below

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Thanks For Reading

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