[How to use Steemit] - My ANSWERS IN POINT FORM with some HOT tips.

I had so many questions when I started writing on www.steemit.com.

So I decided to go and find the answers for myself and blog them.

Please correct me if I am wrong and please feel free to add detail or provide updated information.

I hope this list helps and motivates you to STEEMIT.

Follow Sebastian - @sebastianjago

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Point Form Answers:

Table of Contents

1. What is Steemit.com?
2. What is Steem?
3. What is Steem Power?
4. What are Steem Dollars?
5. What is Steem Savings?
6. What is my Wallet?
7. How do I buy Steem?
8. How do I sell Steem?
9. How to earn Steem?
10. What is an up-vote?
11. What is voting power?
12. What is resteeming?
13. What is a comment?
14. When should I upvote my own post and why?
15. What are tags and how are they best used?
16. What is an introduction post and how do I tag it?
17. How do I add photos to a post?
18. What is markdown?
19. What are curation rewards?
20. What are author rewards?
21. What is Steemit Whitepaper?
22. What is my password?
23. What is my username?
24. What is influence?
25. How do you build followers?
26. What content should you write?
27. What are tags and how many should I use?
28. What should be my main objective on Steemit.com?
29. How do I buy and sell Steem Power?
30. What is a promoted post?
31. What is a trending post?
32. What is a hot post?
33. What is a new post?
34. What is an active post?
35. What is my feed?
36. Why should I up-vote?
37. What are vests?
38. What is a Whale?
39. What is a badge?
40. What is your influence score?
41. What is Steem Chat?
42. What is a Witness?
43. How many curations should you day in any 24 hour period for maximum return?
44. How many posts should you do in any 24 hour period for a maximum return?
45. What is currency market?
46. What is in a title and how do I best utilise it?

~NOTE~See the bottom of this post for extra tips and some great links worth exploring

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What is Steemit.com?

• Founded 2016
• Social media platform
• Powered by the Blockchain
• Get paid for creating & curating blogs
• Digital rewards via crypto currency Steem
• Steemit community members nickname: Steemians

What is Steem?

• Cryptocurrency traded on the Internet (Steem To BTC Or Other)
• Top 10 Cryptocurrency
• Buy Steem directly from an exchange or publish & curate blogs
• Steem Is cryptocurrency variation #1
• 3 Steem variation currency units: Steem, Steem Power & Steem Dollars.

What is Steem Power?

• Steem cryptocurrecy variation #2
• Longer term investment option (13 week power down timeframe)
• Steem conversion to steem power option available
• Steem Power volume provides influence on blogs & curation remuneration
• Steem Powers prevents market volatility
• Powering down SP will drop your influence but not reputation.

What are Steem Dollars?

• Steem Dollars cryptocurrency variation #3
• Cryptocurrency traded on the internet (Steem Dollars To Steem).
• Stable fixed value
• Liquid asset
• Pegged to US$
• Steem Dollar = $US1:00
• Short term savings
• 7 Day transfer to steem
• Earn interest %

What is Steem Savings?

• Secure savings account
• Save Steem and/or Steem Dollars
• 3 day delay on all transactions
• Earn interest on Steem Dollars (SDB)

What is my Wallet?

• Holds all Steem currency
• Steem | Steem Power | Steem Dollars | Savings Account | Account Value
• Open view wallet = open community
• Alternative offsite steem wallets available

How do I buy Steem?

• Via an exchange to offsite wallet
• Directly to Steemit.com wallet
• Fiat currency > BTC > Steem or Steem Power

How do I sell Steem?

• Directly from Steemit.com wallet to BTC wallet or exchange
• Steem or Steem Power > BTC > Fiat currency

How to earn Steem?

• Write & share blogs
• Up-Vote other peoples blogs
• Make comments on blogs
• SDB interest % earned in savings
• Use daily voting power intelligently
• 75% reward split for authors
• 25% reward split for curators

What is an up-vote?

• Support for a post, allocates reward proportional to voters Steem Power
• Process generating "curation" income
• Voting power decays 5% per vote per 24 Hours
• Voting power regenerates to 100% per 24 Hours
• Investing (Vesting) Steem to Steem Power increases voting power value
• Up to 20 Up-Votes per day is recommended
• Above 20 Up-Votes per day will diminish voting power
• 25% of post earnings proportionality to curators based on influence, timing of vote & overall Steem Power value

What is voting power?

• Voting power is based upon how much Steem Power
• Power decreases with each vote
• Voting power resets after 24 hours
• <20 votes recommended in 24 hours
• If you vote every 36 minutes you should always be above 98%
• Avoid falling below 70-80% VP
• Monitor VP Here - https://steemstats.com/@username

What is re-steeming?

• Re-steem an article you enjoy and it will show up in your blog feed
• Your follows will also see this re-steem
• If curating a popular article, re-steeming it shows support and exposes to more curators

What is a comment?

• 25% of the blog reward is now distributed to the comments
• Twenty second buffer between comments is enforced
• Comments are a great way to build connection with other users
• Editing of your posts, both comments and the post itself, closes after a short period of time after the first initial payout.
• Responding to comments will ensure blog is in the relevant feed for longer and a chance for greater rewards

When should I up-vote my own post and why?

TIME	AUTHOR %	CURATOR %
After 3mins	99%	1%
After 5mins	97.2%	2.8%
After 10mins	89%	11%
After 20mins	54%	44%
After 30mins	0%	100%

• Suggest up-vote on your own post after 30minutes and before 24 hours
• Authors vote for self to earn more liquid SD
• Up-Voting own post dilutes later voters weight so delaying your own vote will support curation
• Bots generally vote for the authors who agree to compensate

What are tags and how are they best used?

• Up to 5 tags are allowed
• Tags places your article into a category
• Use them to sort your articles by topic preference
• Sometimes unique tags work well for attention

What is an introduction post and how do I tag it?

• Tag it #introduceyourself
• Ensure a picture with your Steemit name and date
• Be genuine, be human and tell us why you are here

How do I add photos to a post?

• You can source apps such as e-Steem
• Host your own content on a website and create off site first
• New photo features are being added to main platform so usability is improving

What is markdown?

• Markdown is widely accepted by developers and editors
• Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers
• Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).
• Markdown can be written in a basic text editor (don't use Word) like TextEdit for Mac (save as plain-text) or Notepad on Windows.

What are curation rewards?

• Earn Steem Power by being the first to up-vote popular content
• Earn by up-voting, comments and via Steem Power influence
• 50% of the payout is directed toward those who contributed the most to increasing the posts payout
• Curate posts for bloggers you respect and with content you enjoy
• Recommended that you curate up to 20 to 30 per day for best results to maintain and develop your Steem Power
• If you up-vote before 15 minutes you give 99.94% to the author and get 00.06%
• If you up-vote after 15 minutes you give 50% to the author and receive 50%
• If you up-vote after 30 minutes you receive 100% curation reward

What are author rewards?

• The first payout occurs in no less than 12 hours (75% author & 25% curators)
• The second and final payout occurs 30 days after the first one (full payout)
• Amount is paid 50% in Steem Power and 50% in Steem Dollars
• Only the first four posts per day receive full payout

What is Steemit Whitepaper?

• Everything to know about Steemit in full PDF version - HERE

What is my password?

• The 1st rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
• The 2nd rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
• The 3rd rule of Steemit is: We cannot recover your password.
• The 4th rule: If you can remember the password, it's not secure.
• The 5th rule: Use only randomly-generated passwords.
• The 6th rule: Do not tell anyone your password.
• The 7th rule: Always back up your password.
• Your password is essentially your gateway to your wallet.

What is my username?

• Your call sign and identifier
• Be original and/or just be you

What is influence?

• The volume of Steem Power you hold will determine your voting impact on blogs
• Increase Steem Power by investing long term into the platform
• Influence also increases in time via your content, ability to attract up-votes and comments
• Powering down SP will drop your influence but not reputation

How do you build followers?

• Communicate with others
• Comment with others
• Provide quality unique content in your preferred writing style
• Be authentic

What content should you write?

• Authentic information that you feel your readers will be interested in
• Content that is NOT copy and paste
• Provide all sources for reputation where applicable

What are tags and how many should I use?

• Tags will file your article/s under a preferred tag for future reference
• People have tag preferences for desired subject matter so tag intelligently
• Unique tags can sometimes be eye catching so be creative when it matters

What should be my main objective on Steemit.com?

• Be yourself
• Be human
• Participate in the community
• Contribute

How do I buy and sell Steem Power?

• Directly via your wallet
• Via your preferred exchange

What is a promoted post?

• A post that has been boosted with SBD
• The more SBD, the more likely it will rank higher in the promoted area
• You can see what the top posts are being boosted with via the payout drop down arrow on a specific post
• Well promoted posts can earn more money if ranked high enough on the list

What is a trending post?

• A post that has been up-voted, is considered popular and is currently 'trending'
• A re-steemed post that is attracting more than average posts and attention
• A post that is paying out an above average

What is a hot post?

• Posts that have received early attention from curators and up-votes shortly after being posted

What is a new post?

• A new post is a fresh article being shared by a fellow Steemian

What is my feed?

• Displays all the posts from people you follow in order of time

Why should I up-vote?

• You can up-vote or down vote any post based on content or personal preference
• Only down vote posts if feel the content is inappropriate, unsuitable or offence,
• Seek to support the community rather than degrade
• Seek to entice conversation and up-vote comments and posts that support this energy
• Up-Votes will drive the posts popularity and also support greater payouts
• If you really like a post and feel in needs more love, re-steem it.

What are vests?

• Vest is your Steem Power value
• Vests is your investment value in Steemit.com
• The greater your vest, the greater your influence and voting power providing greater rewards
• You can buy Steem Power however be aware the market is a speculative cryptocurrency
• Earn vests from powering up your posts to automatically be added to your Steem Power account
• Don't invest more than you can afford and be wise

What is a Whale?

• A Whale is a fellow Steemian who has a large Steem investment portfolio
• These people have the most influence and voting power

What is a badge?

• A badge is your own identifying icon for your profile
• Badges can also be obtained to reference your influence and status on Steemit.com
• Badges can also be earned as a reward fro contributions, competitions and games

What is your reputation score?

• This is your identifying score that determines your current influence status and we all start at (25)
• Found next to your profile name in brackets. Example: Sebastian (42)
• If a person has a negative reputation their content will be greyed out and given less visual attention, although it is not censored
• Powering down SP will drop your influence but not reputation.

What is Steem Chat?

• This is the community chat room
• Share post and interact with the community
• Website Address - https://steemit.chat

What is a Witness?

• A STEEM witness operates a witness server
• You can vote for witnesses to ensure and maintain a neutral and decentralised environment
• Witnesses are valuable parts of the community and help produce blocks and keep the platform running smoothly
• Witnesses support and oversee upgrades and improvements (Hard Forks)

How many curations should you day in any 24 hour period for maximum return?

• This is up to you however you will lose voting power if you vote too much or vote too fast
• Between 20 to 50 votes per 24 hours is considered optimal whilst maintaining VP at 90% or higher
• You can adjust your voting power from 1% to 100% for each post
• Vote wisely and I suggest voting after 21 minutes and before 30 minutes

How many votes should you do in any 24 hour period for a maximum return?

• Personally I vote up to 40-50 per day based on my supporting followers and content
• Vote on posts you feel that deserve a vote whether that be up or down
• Your votes are yours so you can direct them where ever you so choose
• Vote for bloggers and authors you are interested in and seek to spread positive energy

What is currency market?

• This is a place where you can trade your SBD and Steem
• As a general rule always consider holding your cryptocurrencies off site in a secure offline wallet

What is in a article title and how do I best utilise it?

• This is the first thing people see so make the line catchy and descriptive
• Attach a thumbnail that aligns with your content (will always be first picture in article).
• Consider a title format that provides your blog with a consistent and unique style

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15 Best Tips?

1. Always do an introduction post and tag it "introduceyouself".
2. Consider adding a signature, picture of yourself and/or an identifying motif (optional)
3. Seek to create good quality content and just be yourself.
4. Always add a picture to your posts and make sure it is relevant to the content.
5. Only vote on posts that others will also vote for.
6. Vote as early as possible within the first 30 minutes to 3 hours.
7. Don’t vote on previously popular content as you are most likely too late and the rewards will be negligible.
8. Invest (vest) in Steem Power for more influence and support the platform. (invest within your financial limits)
9. Support other humans, contribute to their journey and tell them how you feel about their content in the comments.
10. Curate posts you like and then re-steem the quality content to your followers whom then may up-vote and curate the posts after you = Steem Power.
11. Up-vote posts you enjoy, respect the writer and support fellow community members.
12. Always format your posts appropriately and make them easy to follow and read.
13. Be patient and enjoy the journey of sharing and learning, followers will come to you over time based on your actions, contributions, interactions and intent.
14. Invest in Steem and Invest in Steem Power (within your financial limits) as it is a long term investment and will be worth your while in the long-term.
15. If unable to invest in large amounts. Consider a stacking ideology. Add to your wallet over time with consistency and be patient. (within your financial limits)

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OTHER LINKS

1. SteemStats
2. Alternative Steem Wallet
3. Voting Power Value
4. Adding Pictures
5. Steem Statistics, Profile Statistics and Voting Information

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OTHER SUGGESTIONS

1. Steem Power is an inflationary currency so I suggest looking into a BOT that will maintain your STEEM POWER at a neutral position and support your favourite authors and people you choose to follow.
2. I use STEEM VOTER thanks to @thecryptodrive or @marcgodard
3. Find one that suits your lifestyle and objectives and be wise and thoughtful with your voting.

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MY TOP 10 RULES

1. It is preferred you do not post more than 4 times a day.
2. If posting multiple posts, it is preferred you post items at even times throughout the day.
3. It is preferred you do not put images, spam or unrelated images/videos/comments in the comments section.
4. It is preferred you do not link to your page profile from a comment unless it is relevant to the post or as requested by the author or a community member.
5. It is preferred you do not use images that you do not own or have the right to use.
6. It is preferred that you credit images/videos/comments/extracts with a link to the source.
7. It is preferred that you do not repost, copy or plagiarise material.
8. It is preferred that your content is unique, authentic and written by yourself.
9. It is preferred that you tag your post appropriately to the correct relevant categories to build the Steemit library of information.
10. It is preferred that you are humble and seek to contribute as best you can to the Steemit community as a writer, investor or observer.

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Credit goes to the 1000's of posts from people explaining how to do things well on Steemit.com and of course the best way to get good at something is to do it often and learn as you go along.

Observe, learn and apply!

Good luck!

I will update this blog on my website as I learn more and new initiatives to the platform are added in time - How to use Steemit!

~Sebastian

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Profile Page?

Sebastian Jago on Steemit.com << CLICK HERE