The Danger of Trying Too Hard. Relax Fellow Steemian!

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Many of us Steemit users are familiar with this.

Spending hours posting (whether several shorter, less polished posts or a single more polished post).

Spending more time up-voting and/or commenting upon others' posts (to drum up "engagement").

Fervently checking on steemnow.com, or the 'replies' section to see if anybody has been up-voting or answering your posts - even while hammering away at a new post.

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Perhaps even wondering why the posts you spend the hardest amount of effort upon sit around with ~$0.50 while some person who spends 'perhaps' 5 minutes on the most basic of memes has it sit around with $50.00 almost effortlessly.

Follower psychology. Its a mystery.

However there comes a point when one looks at that sea of recent posts pulling perhaps $5 collectively and finds a familiar raspy voice whispering in one's mind's ear.

"What is the point?"

"Was all that effort worth it?"

"Wouldn't I earn more flipping burgers?"

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And that is the point when 'I' personally realize that I've been trying too hard.

And there are real dangers to trying too hard. Here are a few of them:

The Temptation to do Something Else

To be clear, its actually important to 'try' something new or different every now and then.

That is healthy and keeps one's possibilities open.

However to move on to another thing because one is sick and tired of putting effort into this one runs the very real danger of leap-frogging to the next thing after that - and so on.

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Before one realizes it one will have spent days or even weeks not posting on Steemit - and while there is nothing wrong with having a life after Steemit - and many people live full fulfilling lives without it, that is not why we're here - and that is not why we'd give up, is it?

No... it is because we'd have given up on a part of our dream - and that is not a good reason to leave Steemit, in my opinion.

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The Temptation to Take Shortcuts

I know 'why' so-and-so person with a 5-minute-yet-$50 meme is so successful. Its because they have a lot of both Steem and active followers.

When one sees certain users getting rewarded for the regular delivery of sub-standard posts - either in content quality or substance - or even in originality (posting one's footer under somebody else's video along with a paragraph of commentary does not make it OK)...

...it becomes tempting to engage in such shortcuts too.

But there are a couple of problems with this. Lets take this by category.

Say no to Plagiarism

The most important one being: Whats not yours is not yours.

If you must post somebody's video then at least dedicate a few paragraphs of valid commentary and make it patently clear that the video is not yours. Link back to their YouTube channel, etc.

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It you plan on including other peoples' images in your posts, try to credit them properly or at least link back to source. Better still, stick with clean sources of images like unsplash.com or pixabaycom. Your mileage will vary but it might be for you.

Also do refrain from reproducing entire sections of text (let alone entire texts) from other locations. Its fine to quote but don't overdo it and always link back to source. After all, you should be focusing upon adding commentary and value to that which you're quoting, not simply presenting it and expecting up-votes.

Followers are Earned, Not Collected

This really shouldn't need to be said but many users, especially newer ones, either never got the memo or forget that the number of followers that one has are actual people (well - hopefully most of them are).

They don't represent more cash-cows to see and maybe up-vote or re-steem your post.

Now while I would 'like' to say that all users with huge numbers of followers have earned them - it is fair to say that not 'all' have done so. Still, having a following in the thousands is impressive as quantity is a quality in itself and theoretically 'should' boost pay-outs... especially if one is already sitting on a pile of Steem Power.

Gaining a following is also not about asking for a following (at least, it should not be so).

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The notorious "follow for follow" or "please follow me" or similar comments 'may' gain you some followers - but they will tend to be persons at the very bottom rungs of the Steemit society - beginners who have just started out and who have no interest in following you other than to be followed by you - and to gain your up-votes and your resteems.

They have little to no interest in you or what you have to say - only what you can give them... and in fairness, by making the above kinds of requests, you show others that you feel similarly about them.

Its not a nice feeling... so refrain from it.

The best way to gain followers is to make quality posts and comments that people will find interesting and or helpful - and will want to see more of when you post again. That is the whole point of following.

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Now for persons like me this poses a problem. My followers have realized that there is more to me than a 'particular' field. I am even sure that they don't appreciate it when I post about certain other things. To them I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I sincerely appreciate their patience in understanding that there is more to me than 'just' this or that. I'm a scattered kind of guy and that shows.

That being said, if you do miss particular kinds of posts that I haven't made in a while, never hesitate to let me know in comments and there is a good chance that I'll be happy to oblige.

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Aim at Improvement But Take it Easy

OK so it 'would' have been nice if people appreciated your content more.

Especially when you are starting out you will find that you could be Einstein sharing his special theory of relativity for the first time and I doubt that people would pick it up. The game isn't completely about smarts. Its not even completely about looks.

It is about rapport - and that takes time to build - and as you build it so too will you begin to build a meaningful base of followers. Those followers will help you to elevate your content (hopefully your better stuff) and spread it to broader circles.

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Don't beat yourself up if a post under-performs.

Do learn lessons and aim at improving your posts in future - and engage with followers and the like - but allow leeway for fortune in the matter. Sometimes its really down to whether or not your content gets noticed by the right person. One individual who's up-vote might send your post into the 'Hot' or 'Trending'pages of the relevant tags you used in your post. One individual who's resteem is meaningful to his or her followers and gets more meaningful views and engagement with your post.

Both these things can result in a chain reaction. It is quite comparable to being stuck by lightning. It is never assured but it is always possible - and just as in real life, certain conditions will increase the odds and frequency of those flashes of empowerment - that pat on the back that indicates that somebody important liked what they saw - and acted accordingly.

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Such a person who might be so inclined is less likely to be interested in a cheap 5-minute meme, nor will such a person be particularly keen upon a wall of text.

As such, sometimes a shorter post packed with quality is precisely what gains the most favorable reaction. Shorter but sweeter - with a more dense delivery of what people want without the verbosity that adds 'mass' to the post. Admittedly this is an area where I could myself benefit improvement.

The Take-Away?

Don't give up. Pace yourself. Always improve.

Things will get better and you will gain confidence.

And then you'll look back and see how far you've come.

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If you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers or friends then a resteem would be appreciated. :c)

If you have some feedback for me then feel free to share your views in comments. A civil conversation can go a long way.

Sincerely,

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