The silver lining I failed to see in the minnowsupportproject
[source: @minnowsupport]
Joined steemit mid last month. My first post, I wouldn't call it a hit, it was at least a shot in the right direction, made over 20$, I thought to myself "I’M IN THE RIGHT PLACE". this was
HOPE (beta version)
I unpacked, set up my tent, aired my steemit flag, and got to work. On my next post, feeling very confident I tried to introduce a project I was working on, the outcome was a devastating $0.08. I checked to ensure my internet wasn't shitty, depriving me of upvotes or if the post was incomplete. It was none of the above. I laughed to myself, pulled out a new sheet, put out a new post…. $4. Things were getting blurry, is this the same platform or I’ve been transferred??
FRUSTRATION 1.0
Subsequent post only got worse. I quit … but I always quit, so I decided instead of quitting to just ;et you all know I was frustrated, I did a post on that, it paid out well (relatively well). I was cautious to think I was back on the platform I originally joined, my caution was justified on my next post ($0.06). It became glaring that steemit was playing some kinda mean joke on me
HOPE v2.0
The struggle went on frustratingly (but I was determined for the first time, not to give up). Then came a glimmer of hope, in the name of #minnowsupportproject birthed by @aggroed, @teamsteem, and @ausbitbank in conjuction with some other thoughtful fellows. The comprehensive mission, vision, and goal of this project can be found here by @minnowsupport.
I liked the idea of pooling resources, and learnt we had some big generous donor, the likes of @benjojo and the whole thing being managed by 7 witnesses. After joining the Discord channel : Peace, Abundance, and Liberty (PALnet). I had to open both a streemian and steemvoter account (which I previously had no idea existed). With all these in place I was back on track, started earning well on posts, my upvote count tripled. Success at last!
FRUSTRATION 2.0
But steemit was determined to win in its mean jokes against me, and as more people joined the channel (which seemed to me like a good thing initially), my reward started to drop, alongside my morale. Then I was back to low incomes, except that this time with high upvote count, but whats the point yeah??
As I did previously, just before I gave up on the MSP, I decided to make my frustration known on the channel, I thought I was ignored until I saw riding towards me from a distance in a glowing apparel @justinchase picked me up and showed me the light, the silver lining
The SILVER LINING
He reminded me how I wasn’t giving anything to get the “reduced additional income” I was getting, and enlightened me how the upvote counts (that I assumed was pointless) helps my posts to be more visible. In an attempt to appreciate him with an upvote, I saw his post which further showed me what I have been benefitting that I did not pay attention to:
- How MSP participants are offer to reviews for posts, give writing workshops, run contests, and award bounties for quality posts (some of which I have partaken)
- How MSP has been helping me create better cotent (by interaction with the others)
- How it ensures quality (cos garbage on there will be disposed)
- How the sponsors are working tirelessly to continuously improve the ways MSP can be more effective
It finally dawned on me that no matter how slow, #MSP is a vehicle taking me from minnow to whale status
I am grateful for these selfless sacrifices
I know there would probably be a FRUSTRATION 3.0, But my "HOPE-infiniti" has been deployed
I am @ericdyce
[gif courtesy of @justcallmemyth]
Haha, experiences (frustrations) of all minnows!! I would also recommend all minnows to join Minnowsupport. If you are not joining it, then you are losing a lot!
Most of the time I read comments from people that are frustrated, I see that they write content about Steemit. Everybody writes about Steemit! The plattform is overloaded. Please, find your own niche, a topic you like and you are good at. Steemit shall grow with good content, so more diversity is necessary. And stop overloading your blog with Resteems. I dont have to follow you when you post other peoples content. I can read that somewhere else and I cannot find your own posts between all these Resteems. These advices are not for the author but for all the minnows out there.
Iovely post, I identify with you fellow African:)
Wow, welcome blood.... Following ASAP
I tbink you are onto it there. Beyond minnowsupport if steemit is to succeed quality of posts and comments will be its tool. Seems a lot of posts are ''farming posts" at present. Thats just a growing phase i hope. Over time people producing quality content will have to get to the top of the feed or the platform will not suceed longterm. Keep plugging away, and have a follow and an upvote :)
Lool, I think over time it will sort itself, posts that are not up to par will get less support hence low payout, people will be forced to author quality stuff
I think over time with hard work, you will have a followers base who will appreciate your posts and upvote whenever they see them because to them you will be a good author.
The thing is though, Steemit only has like 200,000 users so imagine when we have millions of users and the fan base that you could gain from that.
It's early days still, and it's the best place to be, somewhere that you can earn money from enjoying yourself.
I say build a following, a following of people who actually appreciate your work and not the 'follow me and i'll follow back' type of follower and then in time you will steadily see your profits rise...like the phoenix brother!
Thanks fam. Lol @ the "follow I'll follow back", i think there should be a bot rebuking stuff like that, before they corrupt the underlying idea of the platform. I'm sure soon people will find a way to sell/buy followers
jeez that's giving me nightmares thinking about buying followers!
I can see every post receiving a message like that by some pain in the ass bot.
Lmaoo
As a fellow minnow, I can say that it can definitely be frustrating. You put in the time to write a great post and nothing happens, then you write something that takes only an hour and it makes much more.
Well, what keeps me motivated is that even though you aren't making much now you keep slowly growing your Steem Power, which will help you make more later on and you are also getting followers that increase your reach.
Another advice from me is find a niche. Everybody and I really mean everybody is writing about Steemit. The platform is overloaded with that. Write about a topic you like and you are good at, your hobby for example.
Maybe I can give you a small advice. I looked into your blog and saw a problem that many people have. You resteem too much! Your own posts are getting lost between all these resteems. I personally loose the interest in the blog, when there are too many resteems. Why should I follow you if I read content from other people all the time?
Hmmm, only resteem information i deem important, but i see your point, since its called MY blog...... thanks
Thats the spirit brother!💪
Doggedness is the game, you are here to win. And beyond the money, i think we should appreciate steemit giving the opportunity to air our voices. I'll probably never think i could own a blog if not for this
Been trying to register in Discord but i guess they're quite busy @minnowsupportproject
go to the registration section i think a message is pinned there, you can type $help too
Essentially type $registration username
It says they are 14 hours behind....
mention me on the channel, I'll link you with someone who can help. Better still mention @aggroed
Thank you @ericdyce I'll try that!
You're welcome homie
A real and sincere post thanks for sharing
Thanks for taking time to read.
just keep on walking ;)
Thanks, I'm new here too, and am a little hesitant to post more valuable content i've been writing in case it falls flat. How do you sign up for #MSP?
I put a link to the discord channel in the post. Click the "discord channel" or "palnet" in the post