5 myths of what it takes to succeed on Steem
We have a ton of new people on the site. I interact with a lot of them. I founded and help manage the Minnow Support Project, which is the Steemit official welcome group. We have about 6,500 active members and they ask a lot of questions and have a lot of misconceptions. So, let's start with the basics.
Begging for votes, resteems, and "will you please review my post" will help you grow.
What you really need to grow your account on Steem is a community that stands behind you. Nothing erodes confidence that you're a good man/woman/furry to get involved with like begging for upvotes, resteems, or post reviews. Most of the folk that I know on the platform want to see good people succeed, and begging is a great indicator that you're a selfish person not worth the effort. Start by helping others and offering services as that's much better way to make friends than simply asking others for their charity.
I need to author more
When you're just starting authoring isn't gonna be a big help for on you. You don't have a network, people don't know you, and unless you have a following from some other social media platform you're not bringing a lot to the table. Good writing/art/creations/projects is really just the beginning of what you need on the platform. It's like the minimum requirement for success. What you really need is to grow an audience and that takes time. You need followers who support you and help you grow. One of the best ways to do that on the Steem block chain is to comment a ton on other people's posts.
Try to set a goal of 20-30 comments a day when you're starting. Your wallet and follower count will thank you and you'll actually be ready to start posting in no time!
Flagging is evil
Nothing is gonna set a minnow off like flags. Just about anyone who catches a flag wants to go full melt down and burn everything to the ground. Flags can be healthy. Flags return rewards from individuals to the reward pool and that ultimately helps the entire community. It just sucks when it's you getting the flag. The rules of this place let you place upvotes and downvotes. It's your stake. If they think your content is overrated or shit or whatever it's their choice to take yours down a notch.
If you're getting 20 views on a $100 post expect some flags. You can melt down... or you can work on behalf of the platform to try to get your views up by posting your content on other social media platforms. Sometimes you gotta work for it.
If you happen to catch a flag try not to melt down. It might be the biggest thing that happens to you and can help you grow, but not if you're writing your rage quit letter. Take a breath and try to see where the other people are coming from.
It's impossible to get ahead
What new buisness do you know that starts and immediately earns $1M per year and starts handing you Lambos? It doesn't exist. Steem isn't any different. Crypto is better than just about any other place on the planet right now, but it isn't instant. This place isn't a scam, but it isn't a money press built just for you either. it takes time. It takes a community. It takes effort. The people that make it work through the slow times because they love it anyway will reap rewards after they have become an overnight success over a year in the making.
I only have to interact on Steem
Last time for the people in the back. The most important thing you need is a community around you that helps and supports you. It's hard to build that just on Steem. Steem doesn't have any instant messaging. It's basically like having Pen Pals, and it's hard to make life long friendships with penpals. So, here's my suggestion. Join PALnet, join SteemSpeak, join whaleshares, and join as many of the Telegram, Discord, and Slack groups that you can and be active in them. That's how you make friends and that's how you'll start making progress on the site.
It really helps much to understand more how everything works here . Thank you for your post ))
Thanks for the guide. i'm new here since a week and I hope it works. I put a lot of effort in my posts and it frustrates a bit to see that hardly anyone sees them while a post with some pics from internet and a few lines of text get a lot of attention.
It's hard to be picked up in the stream of messages. It's also caused to the way steemit shows it's content. When you have only the 'trending', 'new' and 'hot' menu you only see a rapid passing flow of content and your message has to be picked up and voted within minutes to get some attention.
I also saw some posts with only a few pictures, and a few lines with way more attention than some great articles I tumbled across. I'm still learning how this platform works. This article was very helpful. It's going to take a little getting used to but I like it so far. I'm sure I will get the hang of it and you will too.
Noticed this also. Some great content sometimes gets picked up, sometimes not. But those rubbish posts highly voted are just ... posts of those who have loaded friends, whale friends voting for whale friends regardless what the content is. This is a weakness of this platform.
The 20-30 comments a day is paying dividends. I am not a good writer but I have a voice. I use it where I see fit and apparently some of the comments are accepted well and get upvoted. If it were not for purchasing upvote bots I would likely have earned more commenting on other's posts.
You have a great summary of all the points red fish and minnows should learn and follow to succeed on stemmit. Now it is up to us to follow through and do all these things. Thanks.
I agree with you. I like putting content out, but it takes me a while. Commenting is a lot easier and I can also discuss ideas with people pretty easily. @aggroed also knows Steemit and has a lot of helpful insight on how to work with it.
I think this is the most pernicious myth: "Begging for votes, resteems, and 'will you please review my post' will help you grow."
The problem with vote-for-vote or follow-for-follow is that it isn't real engagement and these people almost always immediately disappear. One follower that actually cares about is probably worth 100 follow-for-follows.
I'd be open to hearing otherwise, but I can't see how it is a long-term strategy. I'm extremely skeptical that is it the most effective path.
This here makes so much sense. Like the instagram hustle for followers feels so shallow cause most of them disappear almost immediately. Thankfully it's different here
And it just feels better to be authentic! It's nice when the right thing and the effective thing are the same option.
or you can be a lazy cheater like this jerk
https://steemit.com/sbd/@checkthisout/sbd-correction
You are absolutely right. Spend a week on Instagram and you know fake followers are worth nothing;)
Absolutely agree, I mean it's a no brainer really.
I've seen too many people flagged, mocked, and mugged in dark alleys for that to be called an even a mediocre strategy. The very best I've seen is that they are ignored.
i sometimes use booster to promote my posts, i often get 100's of worthless votes (meaning they are worth $0.00) from random accounts. I wish they wouldnt do that, but i cant stop them.
Thanks for the tips! I can't wait to get more familiar with this amazing platform!
Thank you for teaching us newly minted minnows! My apologies for my missteps, but this is the type of permanent discussion that should not be restricted to the 7 day rule due to it’s significance.
Yeah, I surely appreciate any support, and I'd be happy to see any restrictions lifted... But what are you referring to when you say it should not be restricted??
Perhaps there could be another website in and of itself that describes all of the Steemit for Newbs...
I especially liked the whole 'comment 20-30 times a day! WOW I need to do that...'
Oh, I meant the 7 day rule to earn monetarily on each posting. This one is significant and should continue earning because it is beneficial. Thank you for letting me clarify.
@papa-pepper said something like that (about commenting) and it turned my Steemit experience around. Before that it was all about getting people to my blog but since then it actually has been bringing people to check me out, I'm getting a lot of upvotes on my comments which can easily add up to more than what my posts do and I'm having so much more fun than I did to begin with. Bringing people to my blog is pretty much secondary to meeting all the people and following the ones I like.
I can't remember who said it in their 'success' post but in addition to finding friends you might want to keep at least one post up and current on your blog so that the people you find who have similar interests as you do will have something of yours to read, comment on, and upvote.
When you say keep one post current what do you mean? A post or resteem daily?
Thank you
A resteem generally doesn't help you, it helps the person you resteem. It can show your interests but it's my opinion that if you don't have something of your own to read (that can be voted on/curated) you won't get a lot of repeat visitors .
I would suggest that you have at least one post or more that is < 7 days old. Your potential followers votes do no good after your reward is given (7 days after you post) and therefor, while people can still comment on your old post it is a waste of their upvote if they give you one on a post that is ≥ to 7 days,
Steem is going places!
I Like the Stuff !!
I love the package, and it was an interesting fact about steem ,how people beg for vote and comment and it has been a world wide service which ia not suppose to spread out,,upvote all my posts and comments to them @horlly.
Very Nice tips...Kudos
I found the the best way to get started is to start commenting meaningful things on people's posts. I gained a few followers and got even a few bucks out of it, way more than I did at my first attempts of posting myself. I haven't had much time to check out the support groups and discords, but by whati've seen everyone is pretty supportive and you usually get helped right away.
I agree, commenting is probably the best thing. Long, well thought comments, are really appreciated.
Yep, I have had people being really reluctant someone actually read their post and ivesting in my comment although my vote is worth barely nothing. I'm very new to the site and like this post states, i don't expect to make a fortune overnight. It just seems more meaningful and productive than being on facebook or youtube all day like I had been doing.
or you can do this horrible thing
https://steemit.com/sbd/@checkthisout/sbd-correction
WTH, that is some way to make a living. Just pumping money out with self voting. never saw it so obviously executed. That's just taking advantage of the platform.
Worst part: it only takes ONE user with insane SP to make it work. Meaning, it's a very easy scam.
Definitely! If you have some average/great content as well, a lot of those who read your comments might turn into followers as well.
Yup, I am trying to get a small followers base and then start posting about stuff i like. I am not going to hop on the trends of crypto's and stuff that everyone likes, but try to create a niche, which is what this site needs, more diverse content.
That's great! I originally got here through my crypto research, but I really want this platform to evolve in other areas as well. When I first spent some time on Steemit (about a month before I made my account), it seemed to me that almost all posts were about Steemit itself. Luckily, the trends are changing and we're starting to see some great content creators from many fields here.
I really like how involved this makes everyone. In facebook or instagram you will have a ton of people look at something but not like it. There's no real incentive to say anything back to people on there. The fact that you can get paid, and gain some new friends and followers makes it much more fun.
I also agree with the importance of commenting. It also "forces" you into exploring more and seeing how things truly develop here!
Good commenting not only gives you few bucks but also a follower based and good reputation, it's advisable to make meaningful on any post you find interesting.
for shure. I want to be personally invested here now that I still can make a difference.
I may need to change my strategy then and take part in more community building activities to get more followers before trying to author the high quality health content that I want to share with the platform.
It just really tough to know where to spend your limited time on here while still keeping a business going in the real world.
I agree, commenting seems to be undervalued to those coming. I consider myself quite new still, since I don't have platform experience, I thought posts were the way to steem. I think commenting is a good way to build up reputation before you have a respectable following. -Cheers!
Another tip I only just learned is that until you have gained enough voting power to make a difference, voting with a herd of people for the highest paying posts returns a reward so minimal that when you are just starting out it is more profitable to save what voting power for people you can make a difference to and who will notice you for it. I like the way that some posters always have a little voting appreciation for those (non-spammers) who visit their posts. I also like to give upvotes for people who give curation on my comments.
exactly!
That's why I prefer email. There I have time to answer things or communicate.
With real work on my back, it would be hard to follow on every chat here around.
And if you have something to say, comment one of my posts.
It is definitely a time sink. Commenting adds a lot to the health of the community. Writing good posts is certainly important too, but I think there has to be some balance of viewers and writers. I think a platform where everyone is a creator and no one is a consumer is off balance. Granted, I also think people can fill both roles, but it's important to split evenly between consuming and creating.
I'd recommend you just spend a good part of your free time commenting around, such as stated in the post. And as you said, when you do have the correct following, and probably only then, start posting at your heart's content, cause at this point, the only thing that could ruin your work would be yourself (by posting shit lol). But good luck my friend, we're all in the same boat
you don't need to try hard or spend a lot of time if you can cheat the system like this jerk
https://steemit.com/sbd/@checkthisout/sbd-correction
True story! That’s what I think every time I look at all of these groups 🤔