FAQ (Frequently Accepted Qualms) from Minnows to Experienced Steemians

Rene @world5list and I have been putting a lot of effort lately into bringing more people onboard the Steemit train. But during this process we've come across several important roadblocks we've often encountered when showing minnows the ropes. Therefore, we ask you—the community—for advice on ways we can solve these problems in order to streamline a newbie's process into joining this amazing platform!

The first and most major challenge is the signup process. Accounts can take up to two weeks for approval. Such a delay can cause one to lose interest once they've finally been approved, which will lead to lower “conversion rates” and wasted marketing efforts. We understand this approval process is important in reducing the creation of spam accounts as well as verifying real users, but the only way to speed up this process is through @anonsteam, which also requires payment using BTC, LTC, or STEEM, all of which our potential users may either not have or aren't willing to make the small financial investment for (due to their lack of knowledge on how smart of an investment it really is!).

In addition, although it's truly simple in nature, I can see how the user interface can be slightly overwhelming to a newcomer. I always tell others that the FAQ is a great place to start learning the basics, but when it comes to the platform's more algorithmic functions (i.e., voting power, payout jumps, etc.), it's necessary to dig deep into others' posts to learn everything; which even then can be a daunting task in and of itself. A more improved user interface in which a quickstart guide or “New to Steemit? Start Here!” section is centrally located would help immensely with smoothening out one's transition to Steemit. I was fortunate enough to be able to apply my knowledge of social media and cryptocurrency to this platform, cutting down the time required to get familiar with the ins and outs of Steemit. But for someone like my mom @offoodandart, for example, as well as the majority of the population out there with little to no experience in Reddit-like platforms, the entire concept of Steemit may be a little difficult to wrap your head around. This may be the reason why there's such a large user base (170,000) but only a fraction of whom are active (30,000); people sign up and get motivated but end up not signing in ever again after spending a few minutes clicking around.

We have been putting in a lot of time into showing people the ropes, but most others may not have as much guidance. Some people may discover the platform on their own (as was the case with me). These are the same people who may not know where to even begin in getting involved with the community. Additionally, a lot of people aren't even aware of Steemit.chat or Discord, both of which are extremely useful tools in enhancing your Steemit experience. Nevertheless, Rene and I are still taking out a lot of time to bring on quality content creators and highly encourage others to do the same...because after all, this is the most effective way of truly spreading the word and growing the platform :) Happy Steeming everyone!