HOWTO Get Attention on STEEMIT without PISSING PEOPLE OFF! 😱
I'm always fascinated by those who think they can come onto STEEMIT, beg others for upvotes on their copy/paste posts, and then wonder why they're not finding any success in building their presence here.
Steemit Tips: How NOT To Behave On Steemit -- Follow-Begging
(this cute kitty cat may just pull it off, but I doubt any of you are nearly as "cute"...)
When I first started posting more actively on STEEMIT in October 2016, it took me several months just to reach a grand total of, wait for it......... 30 followers! It took another month of actively posting quality content just to break 50. At the time, for all my effort, my account was now worth a whopping $50 bucks!
$50 bucks for all that work?! No frickin' way.................. That's what most newbies here are probably thinking. How can anyone make a living off of that?! Well, first of all, let me start by telling you what my Facebook and Twitter accounts earned me over the entire last 5 years. Can you take a wild guess?!
ZERO!
And that doesn't include all the "pain and suffering and heartache" that comes along with it either! Let's just say that most people who claim to support diversity, don't seem to feel that includes "diversity of thought" and differing points of view.
When I started posting more on STEEMIT, I was just happy to come across a bunch of cool people from around the globe, posting on a variety of interesting topics, and all earning at least something for their efforts. Even better, it was also a terrific and relatively easy way to learn more about crypto-currency. You'd even earn a bit of a "crypto stake" as well, all without having to risk a dime of your own money!
After several more months of grinding it out, in May 2017 I finally managed to reach what seemed like a huge milestone at the time... a whopping 250 follows! 😲
I achieved this by respectfully interacting with the community, reading posts by others, spending the time to leave thoughtful comments, and helping add value where I could. For example, I built several scripts for the community to add more functionality to the STEEMIT interface:
I also created the STEEMIT/Discord WhaleBoT, which has likely welcomed you on numerous occasions if you've joined any of the various STEEMIT-related Discord Chat Communities such as WhaleShares.
I never once wrote comments such as "grate post i lern lots" or "i tink is gud vot me 2! i follow u pls follw me".
Whether it's "vote for vote", or "follow 4 follow", or "hi bossman" on Discord or Steemit.Chat, what makes you think I or anyone else "wants to be friends" with someone they know absolutely nothing about? Why would you assume that anyone has the time or interest to look at some post you spent 5 minutes throwing together, that doesn't contain a single unique or original thought, and is replete with horrible grammar and spelling mistakes? In fact, if someone you didn't even know came up to you in the street and said "hey, boss, let's be friends!", how would you react?
If you've read my posts, and have a private question to ask me, have at it. Just ask cordially and politely, and I'll likely respond in kind. Don't ask "can I pls ask u a question?", cuz I'm already laughing to myself:
Some of us receive a dozen or more "Hi" messages a day on Discord alone. Most of us don't have the time to just "shoot the shit". Clearly state your question (and I don't mean... "can you pls read vote my post?!"), or step aside and move on, otherwise you're just wasting both of our time.
Not surprisingly, when asked, none of these people even knew my STEEMIT userID (despite it being the same on discord, steem.chat, and STEEMIT). Needless to say, they hadn't even looked at a single post I had authored either.
Don't ask what people can do for YOU. See how YOU can help others. If you provide something of interest and value, they will often want to reward you for your efforts. That is the nature of the "gift economy", which was so terrifically described in the following post by @luzcypher, "The Most Valuable Steemit Post Begins In Your Head - Tips To Mazimize Your Social Currency On Steemit".
A gift economy, gift culture, or gift exchange is a mode of exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. This contrasts with a barter economy or a market economy, where goods and services are primarily exchanged for value received. Social norms and custom govern gift exchange. Gifts are not given in an explicit exchange of goods or services for money or some other commodity.
A funny thing happens when you give to others without asking in return especially when you do it consistently. They begin to feel indebted to you to the point where they look for ways to return the favor and settle their "debt".
People come to Steemit because they hear about this site you can make money on and get lured into giving it a try but get discouraged when the rewards are not instant. In this fast paced world of ours we sometimes forget that social media is more about being social than anything else.
When you study some of the more successful people on Steemit you'll notice that their focus is not so much on what's in it for them, they are more about what they can do for you. That's how gift economies work.
How CAN you get ATTENTION on STEEMIT?!
If you want to get my attention (or any other more established Steemian's attention, for that matter), try actually reading and understanding our posts. If you take the time to write a thoughtful, intelligent comment that adds value, I'll almost always upvote your comment. I now routinely give out more money on a single good comment than I earned on nearly TWO DOZEN of my first posts on STEEMIT (just look back and see all the ZERO payouts I received)! If you think I'm making that up, check this out... 😱
My real breakthrough on STEEMIT came once I managed to trickle my way up to reach 250 followers (around mid-May 2017). At that point, I finally released an appropriate "introduceyourself" post, and it earned more than all my previous STEEMIT posts, combined! I also discussed another big aspect to my interest in STEEMIT, as an alternative to YouTube, which had given us such heartache years earlier (back in 2011), just as our YouTube channel vlogolution was on the verge of breaking through 100,000 subscribers. I highly recommend you all read it if you haven't already, as it too offers many tips (especially in the comment section) on how to properly and appropriately build your presence on STEEMIT.
Link: YouTuber's Guide to Re-Monetizing with STEEMIT! And thank you to my first 253 subs!
(my early progress on STEEMIT, courtesy of steemwhales.com, which unfortunately no longer seems to be updating its stats)
STEEMIT Drama, best to generally just stay out of the way?!
I won't get into this too deeply, except to say that for the most part, it's probably best to stay away from the drama and avoid the flagging-wars. Instead, focus more on building your presence. It really serves no advantage to get into fights with people on STEEMIT, especially if they're so "powerful" on the platform that they could quite literally squash you like a bug, (ie. "Whale Wars"). Hopefully over time, there will be better ways of addressing such issues. For now, however, I'd also recommend you read the following post by @jrswab on the subject: "4 Reasons To Avoid Steemit Drama".
Fast-Forward to the Present Day...
😎 WTF, how'd that happen?!
"Suddenly" I've blown through 3600 Followers! 😎
More likely... it takes 15 years of work and effort to become an "overnight success"! I am very grateful to all those who chose, of their own prerogative, to click that little follow button, without once ever "asking for it". And granted, it didn't even take 15 years. But it certainly did take a hell of a lot more than a few months (let alone a few weeks) to achieve!
(and possibly entertaining) enough to deserve your follow! 😊
Finally... "Come for the rewards, stay for the community!"
If some of what I've written here comes off a bit harsh, perhaps that's cuz it's meant to be. My goal is to save both of us some time, and help set you on the right path (with the correct mindset) to achieving success on STEEMIT, and perhaps more generally, in life as well. To that end, I'll leave you all with one last passage from the book, "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World", by Harry Browne:
The best method of advertising is simply to live the way you want to live…
since you could also run into potential friends almost anywhere, it’s important to display your standards openly and honestly wherever you are…
If you make your own actions consistent with the standards you really admire, you’ll know which people are compatible — just by their reactions to you. Those who disapprove will seek someone different to be with, and those who have standards similar to yours will react favorably toward you. In effect, you let others tell you about themselves through their reactions to what you are…
Many people hide their identity, tolerate restrictions, and remain in bad relationships because they’re afraid of being lonely. But I wonder what they mean by “lonely.” Aren’t they very lonely when they deal with people who don’t understand and appreciate them? I know I’d be lonely in such a situation. I’ve also been lonely sometimes while looking for compatible people. But that loneliness was usually short-lived and more than rewarded by the discovery of people who wanted me for what I am.
Link: How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World Book Review
And, if you haven't yet seen it, check out this post as well where we make our own pizza and splurge on a $500 bottle of Dom Perignon!
Here's another nice post by @crystalpacheco30 about how to better connect with others in the STEEMIT community via Discord!
Link: How Discord can Help you Earn More on your Posts and Connect with the Steemit Community
and here's another very good post worth checking out by @arbitrarykitten, "Find and Embrace Your Steemit Voice" and write about what you know, what you love, and what you'd probably even write about for free. Eventually, the rewards will start to work out on their own! :)
Great job showcasing others! And thank you :)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am so impressed by your honesty, it is marvelous. Thank you for saying what is true- and more importantly, thank you for being absolute in your advice.
⭐️ I also appreciate the fact that you have shown us your reaction to the early “slow-start”.
⭐️What’s interesting about your display of $0.00 payouts from the past isn’t that you experieced then. We all experience those. ✨What IS great about your confession is that where most people would normally jump off and try a new path (because they would consider such strike outs to be failure) you opted for the more difficult path. “The hard way” is continuing to persist at the task in front of you, even in the face of what appears to be rejection.
Rejection is the most common reason people accept “failure” before they give up altogether.
✨You✨ are a stunning example of what happens if you continue, persistently at a goal until it finally skyrockets from a sprout and into a tree of amazing girth and strength. Did that last part sound naughtier than intended? I am going to go with it. Lol.
My name is Lori by the way. I will be watching your posts, for sure! Great stuff. 👣
🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥🦋🔥
thank you for your very kind comment @lorilikes, you also make many great points that may not be quite as obvious upon first glance. It really is about persistence and not giving up, and constantly striving to improve, figuring out what you can do better. In fact, I also spent the first half a year doing more "lurking" and "listening" and "absorbing", to better understand the community and it's "internal dynamics".
And naughty's good, always go with naughty over "nice"! lol :)
Note enthusiastically taken. I shall recall this tidbit of advice every time I am torn on whether or not to tap/click that post button; which perfectly leads to my next topic- also stemming from your last reply.
I am compelled to point out that you misspelled my username. I was not going to even mention it, however, I figured I must speak up.
My logic might amuse you here. Here it is:
There is a fairly good chance that you might want to keep up to date on what I am up to, and just in case you wanted to check my profile, and just in case you might happen to click on the misspelled version of my username (as used in your comment) rather than clicking on my name, I just want to be certain you are looking at the correct user- so as not to deprive you of the future joy and delight you might gain by seeing my unpredicatble posts. If you are reading this it means that I did not chicken out. Gold star for me for courage! Oh - and it is @Lorilikes. Lori does lie occasionally, but never does she lie about her username. Cheers! Thanks for actually reading this comment to the end. Ha ha !
I tend to be rather meticulous, but every now and then something inevitably slips through... regardless, duly noted and corrected! lol :)
Yes, it could be difficult to compete with that cute kitty, lol! 😸
I like your brutal honesty @alexpmorris! It's helpful to not sugar coat the truth.
I agree, if a newbie minnow wants to grow their community here on Steemit they have to put the time in... and in a way that's not alienating!
well, truth be told you may be one of the few who could pull it off! but then again, you're too classy and too talented to even bother considering such tactics! 😸
Well, long ago I learned that clever kitties groom themselves to use charm and wit... 😉
Wow! Thank you so much for mentioning my post! I means a lot that you are someone who has been here a good deal longer than I and found value in what I had to saw.
I joined steemit back in June of 2017 and did not start to take it seriously until about September. I have blogged for almost 15 years at this point and have not found as much success and acceptance that I have on Steemit. That is why I chose to make posts like the one you mentioned with the hopes that it will help our community be the best group of bloggers we can be.
Looking forward to connecting with you more as Steemit picks up speed and feel free to get in touch any time!
<3
J. R.
hey no problem @jrswab, but truth be told it had many great points and was most worthy of a mention!
And if you'd also like to connect with more really cool fellow steemians, when you have a chance you should definitely stop by our little WhaleShares Discord Chat and say hello! :)
Very well done. You are freshly blunt, which is a good thing on the internet as people don't have time to read essays.
Everything you said is true. I was just watching an interview with the actress from Girls Trip. After that film she suddenly propelled into stardom and has had many appearances.
The interviewer said she "came out of nowhere and is Hollywood hot," to which she replied "came out of nowhere? I've been here all along! I've been working as an actress 12 years!" But she finally got big.
That reminds me of Steemit. Behind every huge success is lots and lots of hard work and many months or years of consistent effort.
absolutely @arbitrarykitten, most people don't seem to realize how much work anything involves, especially if you want to become even half-way good at it. I'm glad this post seems to have inspired many to the "possibilities", and what can be accomplished by sticking it through.
And as I always like to say, the more I learn, the less I still feel I truly "know"! lol :)
And, for reference, just gonna mention again your post, that STEEMIT users should also check out...
Link: "@arbitrarykitten on Finding and Embracing Your Steemit Voice"
Thanks hun!
There is a subsection of the population that comes here thinking it's a get rich quick scheme. They soon realize it takes dedication and patience, and that is what weeds out the true rebel hearted Steemians from the regular folk ;)
I have the same issue with the chats. Usually somebody hits me up with ''Hi, lets be friends'' That really, really grinds my gears. It used to work when I was a kid, all we did was actually walk up to each other on the playground and say exactly that but now... I have very and I mean VERY few people I consider friends in real life. I have acquaintances, sure, but friends... that is different. I have some people here, on the platform, that I consider friends and then there are more that I consider awesome content creators but haven't talked to so often to. And I still do not call them friends for one simple reason. I don't know nothing about them, at least I do not know more than they post about.
I have encountered a lot of people contacting me and wanting to be friends. One or two bluntly admitted that they reached out just because I was pretty. They hadn't seen my profile and didn't even ask about it(which shows that they had no idea if my inner world is pretty as well) What they did do was complain about how little they earned.
BTW, if I wanted to date someone online, I would not be on steemit looking for him. A compliment is nice, but solely basing your friend choices on how pretty a picture looks screams ''shallow'' to me.
Now, I understand how hard it is to start out, I have been there. But I never walked around asking for votes on my posts(except once, for a contest and I usually help people if they are competing in a contest themselves, with a quality entry, of course). I was grateful that I was even noticed. Occasionally, I will have someone reaching out and genuinely asking for help but this is happening rarer and rarer lately. Still, there are so many new people who deserve a dash of recognition, but those mostly do not scream v4v in chats.
very well said @lindahas, and all very true, I can relate perfectly! :)
and regarding this...
Kid version: "I loooove your new bike! Wanna be friends?!" 😁
Exactly, it reminds me of that exact thing. I remember multiple times when things like these happened when I was little :D
Just remember when we did not have followers, especially for me. My English is very bad, no one I could ask about steemit. Just remember how hard at that time. Now many steemians from my country ask for guide how to use steemit and ask for support. Recently I help taxybike group and some newcommers and guide them how to use steemit well. Yeah quite busy now. :)
hey @happyphoenix, you're another great example of how someone can rise up, improve, and also become a valuable addition to the community! And yes, the occasional typo here and there, understood, but when there are 4 words with 3 typos, that's another thing entirely! lol
And you also did the smart thing and join up with various communities to help you improve your skills, make more connections, etc. Which of course, I should also give a shout-out to @samstonehill's terrific facebook group, Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins! :)
And btw, I still love your profile quote:
... though I look forward to the day I don't have to correct the typo in "propotion" each time I copy/paste it! lol
ha..ha... ! By the way, @samstonehill will come back to Europe soon. He leaves Bali in this year. Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins still in idle mode, just need to push "on" button. :D
I think the biggest mistake that people who sign up for the platform have the wrong idea: they simply want to earn money as fast as they can. But there is no ‘get-rich-quick’ scenario.
In the 3 months I’m using SteemIt, I’ve been working my ass of to get at least one decent post online. I’m not an expert in something, nor am I a talented writer. I realize my posts are not top notch and I will probably never become a whale. But I love to learn new things about cryptocurrencies and the SteEmit platform, and what I learn,I share to help other people out. I would be lying if I said I don’t like seeing my author rewards go up a little bit every time, but the real value is in the interaction and the ‘learning-from-eachother’ part.
SteemIt isn’t the platform for anyone who is not willing to spend loads of time to do research for writing a good article. If you want to post a copy/paste article or a YouTube video someone else has made without having the decency to at least write your own intro and hoping to get rich, you’re at the wrong place.
(Although every day I come across several articles that are just plain worthless and are still earning 10 times more than me, so I can only conclude the wrong attitude is being enforced by the system somehow.)
I’m planning to do some experiments with different posts - quality posts as well as rubbish - to find out what triggers people to vote.
Earlier today I read an article that suggested you could earn $10/day by simply posting 10 articles that would earn $1 each.
I can hardly imagine that those 10 articles a day will provide real value, still I believe this Guy can make it work somehow. And that’s just plain sad...
I'll repeat the comment here I wrote to @gre3n, since I think it's also relevant to what you wrote:
Regarding this line you wrote:
Unfortunately, that's often upvotes from whales that tend to simply crap-post in an attempt to "self-reward". If they do it blatantly enough, eventually (hopefully) they tend to be called out (and that's also what sometimes leads to flag-wars). But as for the rest of us, I'd say just focus on doing your thing.
I also try to keep my expectations in check. That way, if I get nothing, I won't be disappointed. If something good comes along, I can only be pleasantly surprised! :)
Hey sir, grate posts i lurn a lots!
Ahh, just kidding! I hope you can manage to read past that first sentence, hah!
Anyways even though I'm new on Steemit, I get what you were saying in thos post completely. And I completely agree with you. I have my fair share of experience in different "want followers" sites and this is the most annoying thing ever if people don't even commit.
I mean. I'd instead have a 1 true follower, than 100 followers who don't even care about what I do, read my posts or whatever. People need to understand that the number of followers doesn't mean much. Just like the likes on a Facebook page don't mean much. If there arent people on your site that care about you or your product - you don't need them.
Having a big followers number is of course an awesome thing to show off with, but still people have to think of it that way: Do you care about following this person just so he'd follow you? Would you ever read any of their content? No? So how can you expect the same from others.
True followers is the number that can't be seen or measured exactly, but you gain true followers with interacting with people truly. From heart to hear. Show interest etc.
Ahh.. btw I've always had that problem - I fall out of topic. So I'll finish my monologue here this time and hope that people start to care about the community, as you stated. :)
Xo
thank you for your comment @kassixo, sounds like you're definitely on the right track!
The real "magic" comes by reaching people directly and making personalized connections, and by presenting them with content that resonates with them and makes them want to inevitably come back for more!
You'll also come across these "resteem" services, or some steemians who try just following everyone hoping some percentage will follow back (ie. 2800 followers, 49453 following).
While the numbers seem impressive, they're all but useless for building a vibrant community of people who are interested to hear more from you. As you wrote, I'd prefer one real person appreciating my work, over 100 who couldn't care less! :)
As a new user of steemit I want to say just one thing (because i also have a limited english): thank you, i will save this and i will read it again many times, i was thinking it was too late for me on steemit, i found inspiration and wise advices on this post, so thank you very much for this. Stay blessed. Greetings from Venezuela.
thank you for your kind words @alejandro12, and I'm glad you found inspiration in my post to stick with it! :)
STEEMIT has been a godsend for those from Veneuela who realize its potential. You may also appreciate the following comment I had written earlier last year to another STEEMIT user from Venezula: