You Need To Avoid Deadly Networking
"Deadly networking? But you say networking is good!" Yes I do and networking in P.A.L. by the @minnowsupport project was the single best choice I made since joining Steemit. The second group that was a huge help to me is @thewritersblock. The first is for any and all minnows. The latter is for writers looking to improve their craft in a professional manner.
I love networking and believe in its contributions to success so much that I even created two of my own Steem based community projects. The first is Supporting Steem CreatorsThe second is the Tech Bloggers' Guild.
The mission of Supporting Steem Creators is to build up a group of experienced bloggers, podcasters, video editors, and proofreaders to improve the overall quality of the Steemit community. This is for everyone from a day one minnow to the largest whales. The better the standard content is on the Steem blockchain the better chance we have to gain new investors.
In the Tech Bloggers Guild, we focus on the #technology niche. I never knew how many posts are simply copied and pasted from a well know site. Zero effort is needed to creating these and it's out right plagiarism. We also see a lot of posts with a video from YouTube and no original content. As a tech blogger of many years it pains me to see this.
Tell Me Why Networking Is Bad Already!
Because networking can distract you. Our main goal is to create content. If we are not practicing our craft we will be stuck with the same stale blog day in and day out. We have enough distractions in our life and adding all these groups can make that even worse. Chatting for hours and meeting other Steemians is awesome and helps our growth but what is the point if we cease to create?
This can become exacerbated as we get to know the right people, show our value, and get promoted into leadership roles for these groups. Now, not only is there networking to meet new people, but it's also a bit of a job (unpaid at that). The more time spent in chat groups the less time we have to create for the steem blockchain.
How To Stay Focused
This may be different for same people so make sure to find what works best for you. What we cover here are more suggestions than hard rules you must follow. After all, it is your blog and you can post as much or as little as you please. The goal of these posts is to help everyone improve their blog so it's best to take the writing process seriously.
In the blog post How To Breakthrough Mental Blocks Into Flow we talked about several great ways to stay focused and get our content out on time.
(Remember, setting a schedule is the second most important step to generating growth.)
Read the post above for an in depth look at the flow state. For now let's recap how we get into flow and stay focused. The first aspect we mentioned was our environment. This needs to stay consistent each time we go to write.
Second was motivation. This is one area where networking may help. Chatting with others gives the opportunity for us to stir up new ideas. At the same time this may backfire for some people. Seeing all the success other people are gaining could easily make us feel unworthy.
Third was self control. If we want to write the best post we can that day we need to develop the self control to push off the distraction of chatting with our new friends and actually create! The best part is that we can shape our environment so we only need a small amount of self control to reap the benefits. If the networking groups cause a distraction it would be best to use a computer not connected to the internet or a pen and paper.
Effective Networking
I go much further in depth in Simple Networking Skills To Unlock Success but I still wanted to share this with everyone in case you need a refresher course.
- Be friendly
-- Don't be mean. - Give
-- Always give more than you receive. - Don't Beg
-- People don't like to get direct messages asking for an upvote so stop that.
I need to add there a fourth step and that is moderation. Everything that comes along with networking is awesome but if it starts to get in the way it will only hurt our content. This is why I set networking to number three in my Steps To Better Growth for those who are interested. Content always needs to come before chatting in Discord groups or on steemit.chat.
Does This All Really Work?
It may seem like a lot to you but yes it does work! You can see my growth since going full force into Steemit. It is all laid out in Superior Growth Is Practiced Not Preached. This growth has a lot to do with @sndbox inviting me to be a member. But that would never have happened if I had not met @heymattsokol in the @minnowsupport project's Discord server.
It all ties in together. It's not luck. It is hard work and dedication. Set goals to make amazing content. Afterward, you can network, not the other way around. It does not matter how many friends you make through chat groups if you have no content. Even worse if your content is trash, so practice and create evergreen content that will help people for years to come.
It is great that you want to grow your blog to whale status someday but remember that it takes work. It's best to not be in this for the money but for the love of creating. Take your passion and start writing, or recording video, or podcasting about it. That way, when the the post payouts are zero and no one is commenting it will still be rewarding to create.
Thanks for reading!
If you have a blogging topic that you would like my 15-year experience on, let me know in the comment section!
Looking to take your Steem based creations to the next level? Join us over at the Steem Creators' Guild! We are here to encourage, support and increase the creation of quality content for all Steemians.
Other Posts in the "Blog Coaching" Series:
Every Blogger Needs The Growth Mindset
Do Not Underestimate STEEM
Answers To Bid-Bot Questions You Need To Know
How To Use Steemit Bid Bots Effectively
4 Reasons To Avoid Steemit Drama
If you have any questions about the future of Steem or my witness please feel free to message me on Discord (
jrswab#3431).
Go to https://steemit.com/~witnesses
Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Type "jrswab" into the box.
Click "Vote" once.
Refresh & check.
I completely agree. It's great to make friends and talk on these chat rooms, but it doesn't create involvement on Steem and that is where we need the involvement.
I fear a lot of people join Steem and leave because of lack of conversations.
What is the point of comments if nobody ever talks. The point of a post that doesn't start great conversations ON the blockchain.
Very true! This is why I do my best to reply to ever comment on my posts. Sometimes when the comment is just "great post" I may refrain but often still say thank you.
Could you send me a link to your technology group? I've been looking for more tech content creators lately.
Edit 1: NVM, I see there is already a link
Yeah! You can join the Discord group here --> https://discord.gg/H4vbuae
We are still new and building but need more people like you! <#
This is so true and I sometimes go as far as to say to remove "NETWORKING" from your vocab completely. Meet people, find common ground, connect, and add value wherever possible. Ask for things in return if you truly need them, not because you want them.
You know...be a normal human being ;)
~ Kevin
P.S. Everyone vote @jrswab for witness, he's a beast!
You know your stuff mate! That is why all my focus when helping new bloggers one on one is the niche and the content. Networking can only work if we have good posts!
I'm going to check out somne of your other references as I'm very interested in 'supporting steem creators'. Ive been blogging for 9 months now off steemit and a month on it. I previously only blogged in my niche (chronic illness - ostomy) but since moving to Steem have diversified that quite a bit.
We got caught up in the community aspect of Steem over the last couple of weeks and it has taken a slight toll on creation of new content as you can get lost in the chat rooms greeting to know one another. Which is good as you are potentially building a following for future posts but you need to find time to actually do those posts. Scheduling is key, not something I'm great at yet but I have faith that I can do it better. Going to check out your other posts now.
Sidenote are you up for witness? If so happy to vote.
Thanks for reading and the awesome comment!
Supporting Steem Creators is a brand new discord group and at the moment there are maybe five people there. It's the group I want to grow the most overall since it can help more people than just technology. Please feel free to message me on Discord if you would like. I am free most of the day unless I'm eating dinner or sleeping. :D
What you eat dinner at the table and not by your PC like normal steemians? Lol... Discord group sounds interesting. I'm not a huge tech person but I'm learning more everyday. I built my own webpage with zero skills. Works great until it doesnt and then the problems start as I dont know how to fix lol... also since being on steemit I've let it slide a little...
hahah yes! Also thank you for the witness vote <3
Very interesting topic, I agree with you because is what I'm already facing right now :)
I think the better is to focus on content first, and in spreading steemit, soon or late good content will be recognized :)
Thank you for your great conetent :)
Yes! Content is always king. No matter how much we network if our content is bad no one will follow, upvote, and comment.
Excellent perspective. I also got the boost of PAL and joined other groups as well. All groups are not created equal, and time must be allotted to content creation and not just networking. There is definitely a balance to be struck here.
Great point here! Strategy is key and I plan to make my groups worth everyone's time.
Excellent post, @jrswab! I've already started to feel this way myself. Trying to network has been getting exhausting, so I'm trying to focus on writing and strengthening my craft. So right now I'll just stick around in TWB and keep writing :)
Great! If you ever need anything feel free to send me a direct message!
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. Being new to blogging, vlogging and writing in general, this has been the best advice I have come across on SteemIt yet. Most others are constantly preaching that getting into the chats, posting daily and making great comments are the way to success here. I have found them to be unrealistic, mostly. I am starting to find my flow and wasting time commenting on posts, which have more effort put into them(my comments)than many other's actual posts, only to be past over or ignored has actually been a burden, rather than a benefit.
Those things still need to happen but they are not going to help us make great content. If writing every day means our posts are bad then it is better to post every other day or as often it takes to make the best post possible.
Thanks for the comment! If you need any help feel free to message me on Discord.
Thank you, my friend.
I believe networking could be very helpful and can never be a distraction if we choose the right kind of network who are interested in growth rather than just connecting.
If we are surrounded by the right kind of people, they will always pull us forward with them and try to keep us up to their pace.
But everything depends on what kind of people are you connected with.
Great points! Yes the quality of the group is important. Some people like myself are able to ignore the chats and get the post created. I see many others in the opposite situation and that is really who needs this post the most.
You are right.
Networking has been romanticized and I hate to say it has lost most credibility. I prefer to find professionals that have a like mind, common interests and are strong in areas I am weak. This creates a good energy and then there are enough profits to go around. No networking needed. Just old fashioned relationship building!
Great post. This is so true. Thank God my day job allows me to get on Steemit (actually I have to log onto busy.org, steemit doesn't work, but the latter is better anyways), and I can also get on discord at work. But it is difficult to "turn off" the networking side of my personality when I go home and just make the comic. Thing I've learned about networking on steemit is to simply seek out blogs etc that interest me and contribute whatever I can to commenting and liking. And seek out discords (still have not tried steem chat) where I can contribute and help others in some way because it that always ends up benefiting me in the long run to do so. I'll check out the Supporting Steem Creators Discord. I'd like to get into some discords where every one is not just an artists which is mostly what I am in now.
Great comment and thanks for reading!