Welcome to Steemit - why don't you stay a while? A n00b guide!

My Journey

I've been using Steemit on and off for over a year now and I think I have an idea what works well and what tends to leave you sidelined with no-one to talk to. I've been writing, curating and publishing for much longer though, and I think that gives me a distinct advantage when I first began versus when other people that rarely create started their voyage, and Steemit is their first paddle into these things.

Firstly I'd like to say it may seem rather overwhelming to begin with. The first day I joined, my very first post made $300, and two following posts after that gathered $1600 each. Basically I had set myself up for failure because the massive rush came to an end after the huge amount of money I was earning petered out to .01 or so. Yeah, I stopped getting exposure which meant people weren't upvoting, and, well, I stormed off in a childish huff.

Fast forward to the following year, I came back again and tried my luck when Steem price was high; by then I had diversified myself a bit and had gotten to know a few larger names in the business and had secured myself a good upvote here and there. So for me it's been a bit of an up and down journey, and sometimes it's been a struggle to be honest. In my opinion my content is worth it though. I deliver a good show.

So if you're like me and ready and ripe to start earning tons of mullah because you see all of these people earning $300 on their posts or higher and you think you can do the same then you may want to calm down a bit. You need to understand these people have been gathering their audiences for over a year. These people kept the platform together when Steem was a fraction of the price it is now, and whilst I was away galavanting with other projects and you hadn't a clue this platform even existed, these people were slowly building their audiences and curating their Steem. It's not been an easy job for them.

When I first began Steemit, whenever I hit the 'new' button there was a post about every 8-15 minutes. Now? There's one at least every second - minute. The stakes are higher and everyone is trying to get some of the action. Although it's a very much collaborative community it is still a competitive market! Those whale votes can only go to a certain amount of people and there are hundreds of thousands of people on here already.

So how do you stand out from the masses?

Well you need to find an angle that you're good at. Take me for example. I write about love and connection. There's a trillion other people who do that; how am I any different? Well, for starters, I'm a man that reflects on his actions and isn't afraid to appear completely vulnerable to his readers. In male terms that's practically unheard of, so this is my angle -- you need to find yours. In a sea of people you need to find out what makes you stand out from the rest.

Branding is everything if you're a writer like me. You can have the best message in the world but if you aren't conveying that message properly then no-one will care. If you are a photographer think about what makes you different. Same if you're a programmer or an architect. What stamp do you put on your work that shows people it's yours? Gordon Ramsay is a good chef, but God damn does he swear a lot. This is what seperates him from the masses.

Talk to people

Please don't just sit there and expect wordly riches to come to you. People aren't going to upvote you if they don't know who you are, and if no-one knows who you are then they aren't going to upvote you. In places like Steemit I've seen it time and time again, the best thing to do is create yourself a community of followers, and no, I don't mean fans that will hang off your every word; mainly people that will add value to the content that you create and give you inspiration for the next post. Getting regularly upvoted means giving something of value to your followers, be that your writing, pictures, video, tools, apps, or whatever else you may be doing on Steemit, and also gaining value back.

There are several fantastically awesome communities on Steemit. Here are some I'm involved in:

Steemit Chat
Steemit Blogger Discord
PAL (Peace, Abundance, Liberty) network
Buildteam
Pocket

Get out there and start meeting people because I'll let you into a secret; whales don't wait for you to magically come on and show your stuff; you have to get yourself out there first. Create riveting and dynamic content for all to see. Network with people. Follow them, comment on their stuff, be as much of a fan to them as they are to you.

Use the comments section

I'm seeing this more and more lately that some people are totally abandoning their comments section, or not taking the time to upvote and answer most of the people that come on there and contribute to the discussion. In my opinion you should be engaging with and upvoting them constantly because they took five minutes out of their day to add worth to your article however big or small. Also, venture out into other people's comments sections. Talk to those that you enjoy, upvote those that are trying hard, and you know, just be generally a great addition to the community. I have found so many great people and got to know them in better depth through the comments!

Try!

Rome wasn't built in a day so don't expect any success from steemit instantly. If you do; awesome! I envy you haha. As I understand it now, being a newbie is super duper pooper tough, and every new week that passes it's getting harder and harder to stand out. Make sure you're keeping the uniqeness of yourself out there. Be aware that at the beginning some posts may earn nothing, and that's frustrating, I know. I can remember the days when I first started out writing and I'd sit there, with about 10 views to my blog (not my Steemit blog), thinking I was worth better than this. To put it in perspective I now have nearly a thousand daily, but I achieved it because I didn't give up. Also, having the best equipment doesn't mean instant success, all you need is a good way to sell yourself and to network lots. I made this mistake at the beginning. I bought all the best tools, but still, no-one visited me.

Expand

Steemit is a great way to grow your potential. There is a HUGE amount of people in this community looking at different categories and tags; why not expand on what you do? I don't normally write tutorials and listicles like this one but I thought I'd try it to add value. If there's one thing I know and understand, it's creating a community around me. Expanding is also a great way to find out what works and what doesn't. If your amazing photos of jaw dropping landscapes aren't working but your erotic fiction that you've always wanted to have a bash at is picking up attention then roll with that. I wasn't always writing in love and relationships. I started off as an affiliate marketer, but no-one wanted to read me or was interested in what I had to sell, but by chance I wrote out some grief and vulnerability one day and it gathered a ton of attention! So I rolled with that.

Whales are humans too

The obsession with whales on this platform is somewhat crazy. Everyone wants to be read and loved by them and, I'll admit, it's super nice when you get an upvote from them. But it's not a requirement for them to vote on who 'you' think is great; they have different tastes and very much most of them are varying in opinion. If they want to upvote a one sentence post into oblivion then that's their right to do so (not that I've seen this happen, but they could if they wanted to!) -- you should focus more on the content that you're creating, the communities you are forging, and your own followers that like you! That's where true value comes from, creating communities and building lasting commitment. And if perchance a whale likes your content? Congrats, you're now rich. But it's not a requirement.

Some do's and don'ts

Don't fish for upvotes. If people like your stuff, they'll read it. One of my pet peeves is having someone say to me after a long and hard thought out article: "That's nice but upvote me here https://steemit.com/blahblah-some-crap-post" because I will literally ignore you. You come on my profile to read my content, not yours! I'm nice by the way - others will straight up downvote you for that.

DO#introduce yourself. Even better if you have some pictures to go along with your introduction. A healthy worked on introduction post always goes down well with the community. Introduce yourself and tell us why you're here in a good amount of detail!

Don't get angry when people don't upvote you. Go in search of people to find your content. Join servers, engage in communities, and comment on other peoples work that you enjoy, also, jesus, don't use that in correlation with fishing for votes. If they think you are interesting people will find seek you out.

Do be constructive in your comments. I LOVE feedback, and I'm always checking out people that give me a good sentence or two in the comments section.

That's all for now! Hope this was informational for you :)

Check out some of my previous posts!!

Is chivalry dead?
Sometimes stepping back is the only thing that you can do
True Misconceptions of Confidence
How am I happy when I care so much?
Why I adore my friends
My podcast - exploring Masculinity (all about Men)
Why I'm trying to treat my wife better

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