Guys, I can't emphasise enough how important powering up is.

If you truly believe in Steemit and want to support the community then powering up is a great way to back that conviction up.

I've been quite lucky to always have support one way or another. It comes, it goes and it's been a great blessing to be honest. I mean, where else can you support people, communities, charities without taking from your own pocket?

If you're considering Ono please know only the 51 super partners are able to give tokens out to the community. Tokens are also earned via advertising placed on your blog (ergghh ads 😑) and if we wanted to support each other we would need to give each other our own tokens.

Hellooo 4,000 Steem Power

The other day I reached an important milestone. After almost a year on Steemit I have finally accumulated 4000 SP. (Yay!)

To think that almost a year ago I joined this platform with nothing and I'm now a thriving, contributing member of the Steemit community.

Huge, HUGE Thanks to everyone who have supported me throughout my Steemit journey. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten to this milestone. ❤

Powering Up wasn't easy. As most of you know I Steemit full time. I abandoned my business to focus on this amazing platform that I wholeheartedly believe in. Sometimes powering up was a choice between increasing my stake knowing this is a long term investment not just for myself but for the communities I support or going without something we need at home.

To this day I'm still connecting my washing machine to the outdoor tap when I want to do my laundry. If you guys saw me using a trolley so I can pick up my washing machine to take it to the tap, then use a plastic bag to secure the hose upright so the water will drain.. You'll laugh at me and go "are you serious?"

So when I say choosing to power up all these months hasn't been easy, you know I'm not kidding.

I could have gotten myself a new washing machine with my earnings, but I wanted to increase my stake instead.

Why?

Well, SP is king around here.

Steem Power is what keeps this platform moving. The more SP someone has the more influence and power they have on the platform. And since we're talking money here, that also means the more power they have to help people.

This is just how it goes. Money talks, in our case Steem Power talks.

If I want to help people, help myself and utilise Steemit to change the world then I will need SP.

Make your investment work for you

So here's the thing. When I decided to keep powering up I did so because I wanted to be able to support people. I knew self upvotes was frowned upon and the only legit way my SP could work for me was through curation. But I kept going anyway.

Months later I find out that I can delegate a certain amount to a community and in turn I will receive one vote a day, set at a percentage relative to my delegation.

Now all of a sudden my SP is working for me. All those months setting up the foundation is finally bearing fruit.

Community Delegations

Community delegations is a new-ish thing. I first saw it with @silvergoldbotty a few months ago when the #steemsilvergold community banded together to build Stax up. Then with @ssg-community the official subscription bot for the #steemsilvergold community.

Both these accounts reward their delegators with a vote a day, with the vote value dependent on the amount delegated.

Pretty much, the more you delegate the higher your vote percentage will be.

I found this to be the best way for me to get a return on my investment AND be able to support my communities at the same time.

Since then, I have seen the rise of many other similar set ups in other groups.

Here's the ones I know about

Please note. In most cases you must be a member of these communities in order to qualify. I suggest contacting the accounts directly for more details.

For @SteemPh

@cloh76 & @whaleph
@jassennessaj & @SteemPh.Cebu
@ruah & @SteemPh.Antipolo

For @TeamAustralia

@scooter777 & @MrSquiggle
@jackmiller &

For @TheAlliance

@themothership @a11y
@bmj & @stsl

For @ssg-community

@ssg-community

For @sndbox

@sndbox

For everyone

@silvergoldbotty
@rewards-pool

Everyone's terms of use and ROI is different but usually depends on how much SP you can delegate.

My delegations

These are the accounts I'm currently delegating to.

@ssg-community
(1k delegated) approx $3.40 per vote per day

@silvergoldbotty
(500 delegated) approx $1 per vote per day

@themothership
(60 delegated) approx $3 once a month

@mrsquiggle
(100 delegated) approx 30 cents per vote per day.

I have waived my votes from @sndbox and @steemph.cebu opting to just support.

As you can see, just from my delegations I am guaranteed approx $4 per post. Imagine if I had more SP to invest! Sure I still need to post and Yes, $4 only a small amount, but that's ok cos every little step counts.

The point is youre helping yourself and you're not joining the "takers" on this platform.

If we approach Steemit as an investment instead of an ATM machine I believe we have the opportunity to secure our futures. So why dont you go ahead and power up today.

❤ Arly