As a new user to steemit it can be quite frustrating at first.  Let me ease the pain with an explanation of what to expect.

This is the first thing people might quickly realize.  You write a good post... you spent an hour or two doing it.  It takes time to edit, re-write, find good photos and put them in your post.

An hour to write a post? Maybe two hours?

Oh yes!  A lot of good bloggers will spend that much time writing a post.  The hardest part is getting your draft written.. then you go back and read it, and edit it again.  Then comes the clip art and photos.. that alone can take 45 minutes to an hour.. especially if you are editing and photoshopping the pictures to customize them yourself.

Ok fine... I spent 2 hours writing my post and uploading photos. Then you think and say "I put my entire heart and soul into it... I not only impressed myself with this hard work, but I hope people will love it too..."

You post it... and wait...

After 24 hours pass.. you've made 11 cents.

REALLY? I just spent 2 hours of my life, writing good content, and I got 11 cents?  Why??

I will tell you why you should spend 2 hours for 11 cents... and before I do, I want to tell you something:

• Spending the time you did, was correct. Good posts take that long
• Good posts don't always get paid well. So don't expect to always get upvotes even if what you wrote was really good. Most of these "dolphins and whales" of steemit (people with large wallet balances) have had this happen to them too before. You're not alone.

Now here's what you didn't realize that just happened with that 11 cent post:

• You got 3 new followers, that love your work.  They didn't just upvote your post.  But they now have you on their feed.  They're going to watch for your next post, and because they like your work, you're going to get upvotes again, and again, and again, from the same people who like your style
• You got practice and learned what a good quality post takes... it's a lot of time and effort, and if you're not happy with the work you put into it.. why should you expect anyone else to take notice? You're on the right track if you DO spend that much time working on your post.
• GREED and expectation of payment is not what fuels steemit.  There is a lot of people here working hard, just like you.  The fact that someone else made $120 on their post, and you made 11 cents means nothing.  Tomorrow you might make $120 on your post, and that other person might make only 11 cents.  Not everyone wins "all of the time"...
• Perseverance pays off...which is a complicated way of saying.. be devoted to who you are, what you want to say... eventually you will build an audience and they'll appear when you need it the most.  Don't worry.. it will happen.

Now a free tip, to all new users of steemit who want to make posts and get paid:

You *MUST* build a following.  That means followers.  How do you get followers?  

That's easy.  Visit and upvote other people's posts that are inspiring.  Write good comments on their posts and they are more likely to click your name, and see 'who you are' out of curiosity.

If some bot, or simpleton writes on my blog:

Yes, I like this

I won't bother to click their name and check out their blog or upvote them.

If a real person, with sincere intentions writes a comment on my blog:

I like this, because it happened to me too!  I want to share with you with what happened (and they write a short paragraph)... 

...then I know they not only read my blog post, and upvoted, but they also took the time in the comment section to write something specific, meaningful, and I become very thankful for it. When they do that... of course, I want to click their name and see "who is this person. what else do they write"... next thing I know, I'm following them and upvoting their blog posts too...

Here's what a lot of new users to steemit do...

They make a short post, and make 11 cents...

They make a long post, and make 11 cents...

They realize.. why the heck am I spending an hour or two making a great post with photos for 11 cents, when I can make really simple posts and still make 11 cents?  I'm just going to write LOTS of simple junk posts and make 11 cents many times, it's easier.

That's where they go wrong.  Just because your first 10 or 20 posts didn't yield a high payout doesn't mean you're not gaining followers, attraction, or you're not going to be popular in the future.

Do you realize it takes 1,090 junk posts @ 11 cents to equal one-good hot post worth $120 ?

Why do that to yourself?

But if you keep writing short, simple, low quality content, you will never see the day when your posts are going to be worth $20, $120, or even $240.... like some people make.

Be dedicated and devoted to who you are, and eventually you will get noticed and make a lot of money on this system.  Keep up the good and hard work... It WILL pay off in the end.

Don't worry what money you make today. Keep trying, keep working at it.  You will get rewarded very nicely over the long term. As long as you are not trying to cheat the system, it won't cheat you either.

There's so many people here.  The most true, passionate, and hard working people always win in the end. Don't give up!

==> Please RESTEEM this post on your blog so many people see it. We have over 10,000 new users joining each month. We don't want junk posts constantly littering the feeds. This helps everyone. <==