Steemit Success

I’ve only been on Steemit for a couple of weeks, but I’ve done well enough to pay my rent, which I posted about yesterday. Since then, I’ve had some people ask me for advice, which I’m happy to give!

First of all, stay humble. I didn’t know much when I started and I have to give credit to other users who wrote helpful articles before me. Also, rent can vary - one person commented about how they’re trying to raise $1,000 for rent. I’m renting a single room week-by-week, so my achievement was a bit smaller. Larger goals take more time, but are still attainable!

Peep the mess of clothes behind me... I don't have a big closet like I used to when I lived with my parents!

Second, I try to post things that I think people will find interesting. For example, someone suggested that I write this advice post, and I found ones before it to be helpful. I also see what other people are posting about and consider what content my followers might want to read.

By capturing followers’ interest, you gain more followers and your post will gain more traction. The more people that see your post, the more chances you have for an upvote.

On that note, I try to utilize the tags as efficiently as possible. If there’s more than one tag that could serve as the primary tag, then I choose the one that’s more popular. For example: when writing a post about using Steemit, whether it’s about paying rent (life) or giving advice (blog) I’ll use the tag Steemit first because it’s the most popular.

I’ve had a few missteps here: like when I spent a few hours writing, editing, and formatting my second post, which was about musical theatre and the Tony awards. I used “tonys” as the primary tag and almost no one saw the story. Turns out, I’m the first person to use that tag, so no one was looking for that content.

Third, I use pictures. I’m building a lifestyle blog, and part of my lifestyle is modeling. Therefore, I get a lot of nice pictures that I want to share. If I put a picture of myself as the first photo, which ends up being the thumbnail photo, people are more likely to look at my post.

Not a model? That’s okay. Psychologists have determined that people are attracted to looking at human faces, and the brain will see faces in items that don’t look like faces at all… (:

Including a photo of yourself could help you get more views. Maybe take a picture of yourself with some dollar bills if you’re posting about money. You could try including your hand holding a dish if you’re blogging about food. People like things, but we also like people.

Finally, I try to connect with people. My primary reason for joining Steemit in the first place was to connect with people at the same time as potentially earning money. If someone responds to my post, I reply back (and have gotten into some pretty cool conversations from it). If I like a post, I usually write a little note in addition to upvoting.

I follow users with content that I like to see, not just people or bots who will automatically upvote for upvote or follow for follow. I also sign off with “xo, Cecilia” because I feel that’s more friendly than a line asking for upvotes or follows.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate upvotes, follows, and resteems, but I make them a secondary focus. If you focus on connecting with people, they will show their appreciation. This will also make the Steemit experience as a whole more enjoyable.

Extra Note: Today, we see the update that has given minnows more voting power than before. That’s all the more reason to connect with everyone, not just whales!

Here are a couple of posts that I found to be extremely helpful: this one from @sweetsssj and this one from @ogochukwu .

I hope these are helpful. Happy Steeming, everyone!

xo,

Cecilia