Steemit has seen an influx of users and sadly not all of them really know what Steemit is about. The main reason why Steemit has become so popular over the last few weeks is because of cryptocurrency gaining so much more interest than in the past. Most users flock to Steemit for the money, others for the great content it contains. The users who stay and becomes successful here are the ones who educate themselves on how Steemit functions and genuinely enjoy what they are doing. Here are some basic things to do and don't do here on Steemit to help you become a more successful user.

Today we will all be aboard a flight, flying in our Steemit Planes. Put on your aviator hat and let's go!

^source

Your Plane/Account

As we know flying a plane is no easy task. You have to study and practice for a very long time before you can finally sit in the cockpit and fly your plane. You need to educate yourself about every dial and knob, every lever and switch. Knowing what everything does will make you the best Pilot you can possibly be. No one walks into the cockpit of a plane and simply flies off into the sunset. This is just unrealistic and you are more likely to crash your plane before you make it to the runway.

On Steemit you are given the opportunity to become a great blogger and user of the amazing features Steemit has to offer. Knowing everything there is to know could, in the long run, make you more successful as a member of the Steemit community. Take your time and study the platform before just diving in and posting all kinds of content hoping to make a quick buck. This is indeed, not Facebook.

Hello, this is your Pilot speaking - Introduction

If you have ever been on a flight you aware of the little announcement the Pilot makes, stating his/her name and flight details. Reassuring you that you are on the right plane going to the right destination. Knowing your Pilot, even if it's not on a personal level still makes you feel at ease.

After joining Steemit it is wise to make an introduction post. Tell the community who you are, why you are here and what type content you will be creating. These basic details might get you some followers and upvotes, share yourself with the community. Uploading a profile picture and giving a brief description about what you will be writing about on your feed goes a really long way in terms of building a following and gaining valued upvoters.

Your Flight/Content

Every Pilot flies his/her plane to new and exciting destinations, sometimes the journey is long, sometimes it's short. The flight can be extremely interesting or rather boring depending on the time and location. Looking out your window and seeing the wonderful world below is at times way more exciting than watching yet another typical in-flight movie. Your passengers will appreciate it when you take them on a flight that has amazing views. Let them know what they can witness when they look out the window. Don't just let them watch the in-flight movie, they can watch that anywhere anytime. Show them the world!

When posting on Steemit your followers want to see something interesting and new, something fresh. You can make extremely long posts or insanely short posts. It's all up to you and your style. The content is what will make your followers feel entertained. Quality is key! When blogging, don't just write, show us something interesting to look at. A picture or even a gif can add so much life and detail to your story, use them! I am not saying you should spam your posts with pictures and gifs, but adding something to give us a short break from reading and making us feel some connection to what you are telling us really is a nice touch. A one sentence post or content that can be seen everywhere else on the internet is not really a good long term strategy unless you have a good opinion or story about the content. In short, posting Youtube videos or memes from Imgur/Reddit is not what we came here to see... At least come up with some fresh Steemit memes. =)

Ladies and gentlemen, looking out the window you can see absolutely nothing - Follow for Follow

From time to time Pilots announce when there is something really cool to look at. They will tell you where and when to look. They will also give you some details of what you are actually seeing. It is your choice to look or not, they do not force you to look out the window. This can be a nice treat when opening your window shade and see a lovely view of a mountain or forest. Pilots do not however announce to come and view the cockpit. Upon request, it can be arranged but never have I ever heard of a Pilot inviting everyone to come and view the front of the plane. Passengers will have to ask to go and see the cockpit, thus they do so on their own free will.

On Steemit it is nice to share an interest with others, artists appreciate art. Traders like views and analysis of other traders. Similiar interests will attract similar users. Interesting content will also attract other users and potential upvoters/followers. Do not ask to be followed. If you happen to stumble upon a user that share your views or content, leave a comment and share some real insight. Tell them you are also into what they are into. Gaining followers that are not really interested in your content will not get you upvotes. Users spamming in comments asking for follows are getting really stale. This immediately makes me want to flag you and forget your name. Share a real comment, if I like it I will view your feed and decide if it is worth following you. Having one real follower that reads and upvotes your comment is worth more than having 1000 followers that never read or upvotes your post. Yes, the high number of followers looks nice, but on Steemit it will not earn you more rewards.

Hey, Mr. Pilot do you want my peanuts? - Upvote for Upvote

This one is for passengers and Pilots, when you are on your amazing Steemit plane you there will be so many interesting people and things aboard your flight. Sometimes it's fun to trade some snacks, books or whatever you feel like. Trades need to be fair though. If you have a little bag of peanuts you will not be able to trade it for someone's iPad for example. Same as asking someone for a trade and then when they ask you what you are offering you just give them a blank stare. It just doesn't work like that. Start up a conversation first, assess the trades and make a worthwhile deal. Don't keep walking around asking every passenger if you can trade your lightly salted peanuts for something else. You also don't have infinite bags of peanuts. You will eventually run out if you keep handing them all out to every person you see.

Once again, this is not Facebook. Your upvote is not just simply a number. Every user has a different amount of Steem Power. The more you have the more your upvote is worth. Upvote for upvote is rarely fair. If someone's upvote is worth $1 why would they trade you their $1 upvote for your $0.02 upvote? Don't ask for votes, it's rude. Instead, interact with users and share some real thoughts. If they like your content they will upvote you, if you like their content then you can upvote them. Remember you you have a limited amount of Voting Power so the more you Upvote the less your upvote is worth so. Use your votes sparingly. This, in the long run, will help earn more curation rewards a well. If you are not sure what Voting Power is or how it works, check out this post. : Voting Power Explained

Oh my, do you hear that baby crying? - Spamming.

We all love that baby crying on the plane, right? WRONG! It's noisy and it does bother us all quite a bit. We can't really do much about it, it will cry if we like it or not. We can put on our noise cancellation headphones, this will help us a lot in not thinking of the infants cries echoing through the cabin. Still, we are aware of it. Only when it stops will we be calm and happy about it.

Making pointless comments on other peoples posts are not a nice way of interacting here on Steemit. Users that have been on the platform long enough can see a spammy comment a mile away and will ignore it or sometimes if you are unlucky even flag it. We do not appreciate your attention seeking comments. Make a real effort of a quality comment. Copy and pasting comments are lame and lazy. Read our posts and then give us a real opinion or feedback. You might gain some nice upvotes if you write good comments. Below are the kind of comments that will get you nowhere with some of the older users.

"Follow and upvote me and I will do the same"
"Awesome photography.I am voting you.Please check my post."
"Its great picture. Please follow me if you want more style pictures"
"U follow me I follow you. We have great time. be friends"
"I upvote your post. upvote me too"

These are actual comments. There are also links posted in comments and spammed everywhere, I did not post them, do not want the authors to get a bad rep.

Can you see the point I am trying to make?

Study and educate yourself

In the end, every Pilot educates and train themselves to fly their plane successfully. The more they know the more experience they will gain over time. This will ensure in a happy and successful career as a Pilot.

Instead of just jumping and pushing out content as soon as your account was confirmed. Read a bit first, follow some great authors. Educate yourself on how Steemit works. Whether you are here for the money or for the social experience. This platform has a slight learning curve and you need to at least learn the basics.

To all the new Steemians I wish you the best of luck here on this amazing platform! Keep it real and have fun

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If you enjoyed this and found it useful, please consider upvoting or resteeming. Below is also a list of my other guide/tip/editing related posts.

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	WHY is my Post Payout Going Down?. Explained. Analogy Time!
	Formatting and Editing your Blog. Cheat Sheet Included. Just COPY and PASTE!
	Why you should NOT convert your SBD to STEEM. (You really shouldn't, you are losing money)
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	VOTING POWER 101 - HOW to VOTE - WHEN to STOP - SIMPLE and EASY EXPLANATION
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	The many ways to gain a following on Steemit. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Thank you for reading! Steem on Steemians!