Going Full Time On Steemit: A Practical Guide For Creators [PART I]
Can you imagine what it would be like to live sustainably off of Steemit?
Can you imagine a reality where your contributions also contribute to the sustenance of your very existence?
Can you imagine a thriving world where people from around the world come together to create, connect, and collaborate with each other?
I can and I do, every single day.
And in this guide, I'm going to share with you my visions, plans, and strategies for living and operating full time on Steemit.
Why "full time"?
Why "full time"?
The simple truth is this: if there is a large community on Steemit that is operating on this platform full time, then that would mean that this platform has successfully adopted cryptocurrency and officially transcended an old, dying system. If we are the first to do it, then we will be one of the first globally-based communities to prove to the world what is possible and what humanity is capable of.
What if I don't want to go full time? Is this post still for me?
Who is @axios and why do my thoughts matter?
For those who I have not had a chance to meet yet, "Greetings!" I am @axios, an inspired creative here on Steemit. I write within the realms of empowered psychology and frequently share ideas, visions, and strategies for improving the life experience on an individual and collective level.
I'm relatively new to this community, but through my significant contributions over the past few months, I've learned quite a lot and have relatively decent stats to show for it (which I will share below).
I officially joined Steemit at the very end of September of 2017, took time to learn and experiment for a few months after, and made a serious commitment to posting regularly on December 1st, 2017.
Here Are My Steemit Stats:
Since December 1st I have:
- Gained over 700+ followers
- Contributed over 70+ extensive articles and videos
- Commented and engaged with more than 1,800+ posts
In just this past month I have:
- Gained 395 followers
- Accumulated an estimated 594.36 GROSS SBD* / 297.18 NET SBD*
*GROSS = before payout finalizes and splits 75%/25% for author/curators
*NET = after payout finalizes and splits 50 SBD/50 SP
So now that you have an idea of my hustle and commitment to Steemit, here's my vision:
- Gained over 700+ followers
- Contributed over 70+ extensive articles and videos
- Commented and engaged with more than 1,800+ posts
In just this past month I have:
- Gained 395 followers
- Accumulated an estimated 594.36 GROSS SBD* / 297.18 NET SBD*
*GROSS = before payout finalizes and splits 75%/25% for author/curators
*NET = after payout finalizes and splits 50 SBD/50 SP
So now that you have an idea of my hustle and commitment to Steemit, here's my vision:
*GROSS = before payout finalizes and splits 75%/25% for author/curators
*NET = after payout finalizes and splits 50 SBD/50 SP
By January 1st, 2019 I intend to operate from the Steemit ecosystem full time. This will allow me to operate fully remotely so that I can travel internationally and build relationships and businesses with fellow Steemians in virtual AND physical spaces.
I believe that the world can be improved by modeling cultures that are already sustainable, empowering, and collaborative, while simultaneously experimenting with new culture.
Thus, it only makes sense to experience new culture beyond your own in order to truly understand what exists within this world, while also, seeking to connect, create, and collaborate with others to discover new, fruitful ways of living and thriving.
Cryptocurrency has given us the opportunity to not only completely revolutionize the way we trade goods and services, but also how we organize and operate as a collective. Every aspect of our lives will be impacted... business, education, healthcare, food, travel, creativity, innovation, just to name a few.
We can choose to rewrite the script now, or let someone else do it for us.
I choose the former.
Ready To Go Full Time?
Ready To Go Full Time?
With all that being said, here's my current guide that outlines how I will execute my goals and visions here on Steemit.
Is it perfect? No way!
I still have much to learn and as I do, I will continue to share.
With that being said, I strongly welcome constructive criticism and wisdom sharing.
For now, this is what I have discovered through listening to other successful Steemians, working hard, and learning through experience.
The following text will outline my personal perspectives in the realms of community building, engagement, content creation, creative development, time management, value, innovation, analytics, mindset, things to avoid, and my current daily routine.
I will split this into two seperate parts as each post is already quite extensive.
I share this because if I can help you succeed, then I will also be succeeding.
That's the power of community, isn't it?
Building Relationships: The Capstone of Steemit
If you're not here to build relationships, then I would advise you to stop reading this post and sign off of Steemit now as you're wasting your time as a creator.
I know I'm being blunt, but I'm also being extremely honest.
The quality of your life experience is equally proportionate to the quality of relationships that you develop with the people, places, and things in your life.
Steemit is no different.
Your growth and development here on Steemit is equally proportionate to the quality of relationships that you create.
Thus, you will hear me say this a lot: building relationships is extremely important.
How To Build Relationships On Steemit
Read And Engage With Other Steemian's Posts
This is the simple truth, but it's easily forgotten.
When I first started posting on Steemit, I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting any interaction on my posts.
But then I remembered this core principle of life:
Be the change you wish to see.
So I started being someone who would thoroughly read and watch ALL of my fellow Steemian's posts, leaving epic and thoughtful comments on each post.
And guess what happened?
The posts on MY CHANNEL exploded with engagement.
It was all too obvious: engage with others and others will engage with you.
How To Effectively Engage On Another's Post
Step 1: Write down a few of the Steemit tags that match the content that you create on your own channel.
Step 2: Scroll through each tag and select about 10 posts to read.
Step 3: Read through the entire post, and while you're reading, ask yourself "what does this post mean to me and why does it matter?"
Step 4: Leave a comment that not only demonstrates the fact that you read the post, but also something that conveys something about who you are. Ignite that personal connection.
Step 5: Invite that Steemian to check out a specific piece of content that you have recently posted if it is relevant to them. If it's not relevant, then it will seem spammy. Don't be spammy.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1 through 5 every day.
Engage With Your Followers
The Steemians who are commenting and upvoting your posts are your channel's life force.
Cherish them as it's a major component to your continued success.
On my channel, I've discovered that the best way to operate is to reward Steemians who:
- Constantly engage with my channel.
- Leave a thoughtful comments.
- Engage with other's comments.
- Resteem and/or upvote my posts.
If I receive a comment from someone and none of these four things have been achieved, then I simply will not upvote them as it's not the type of engagement I want on my channel.
If any one of these four aspects is achieved, I will upvote!
In terms of comments, I try to reply to all comments, but this becomes extremely time consuming as your channel grows. Thus, I rely on the four characteristics above to filter out who I choose to engage with.
Engage With Your Follower's Channels
The best way to encourage continued support, is to give that support yourself.
Do you know of a Steemian that comments regularly on your channel?
Go check out their stuff, upvote their posts, engage with their content.
It's a sure fire way to ignite a long term relationship and continued support.
I use @ginabot (a Steemit analytics tool that I will explain on our next post) to track when my favorite Steemian's post new content.
This way, I'm much more likely to read and engage with their content on a frequent basis, and thus, they remember that I still exist!
I'm currently developing an excel sheet that will list out all of the Steemit channels that I want to check out every day.
My goal will be go through this list once a day in order to have a frequent presence on the channels I want to grow with on a consistent basis.
Finding A Community
A huge aspect of Steemit that isn't very obvious up front is the necessity in finding a niche community.
Why is this important?
It's because Steemit communities are where you can really start getting to know people and building lasting, quality relationships with others.
Since Steemit is not a private messaging platform and everything is out in the open, it can be difficult to go deeper with other Steemians on the platform alone (in its current state).
Most Steemit communities exist on discord where there is private messaging, voice, and video chat capabilities.
Finding the right community takes time, but once you find one that fits, you'll immediately recognize the major benefits in doing so.
How To Find Your Niche Community
Step 1: As you're perusing around Steemit and engaging with other's posts, keep an eye out for any curation or creative communities that other Steemians rep.
In example, lately I've been repping @dtubedaily, an amazing new community I've recently joined and have grown to love.
Step 2: Look for communities that would enhance your creativity or communities that align with your goals and values on Steemit.
Step 3: Join a community, read the rules, and introduce yourself to the community.
Step 4: Make a point to show up for even just 5 minutes, every day just to say hello and reinforce a familiar face. This will do more than you think!
Step 5: Collaborate with the Steemians you connect with! My best posts on Steemit are often the ones that involve other Steemians.
Creating Content: The Bricks That Build Empires
The value of Steemit as a social media platform is equivalent to the value of the content on it.
Sharing a meme or gif that you found on Google or Facebook with a paragraph description alongside it is not an example of adding value.
It's lame and also really not even meant for Steemit (share memes on dmania.lol).
True value is created by sharing content that you would stand behind, content that is timeless or relevant to the times, content that is building upon a brand, and content that is authentic and original.
Is This Content Worth Reading?
I ask myself this before I post anything.
For before I post anything, I make sure that it would be something that I would excitedly invite another Steemian to check out.
Time is valuable and if I'm stealing someone else's time with a half-assed post, then what kind of message am I sending?
Focus on creating content that is adding value to people lives and you will immediately begin receiving a myriad of upvotes, comments, resteems, and who knows, you might even attract the attention of a whale.
Bottom line, intentionally choose to create and share the best possible content that you can.
Not only will you develop yourself as an artist and creator, but you will simultaneously help to grow, develop, and increase the value of Steemit as a platform.
We are lucky in this instance, as we experience the direct impact of this accumulated value in our Steemit wallets.
Develop Your Brand
When we talked about engaging on other's posts, I told you to first browse through tags that are relevant to the content on your own Steemit channel.
Without a niche or focus, you simply won't be able to effectively find relevant tags, and thus, you won't be able to effectively find an audience.
I recently read a fantastic post about branding by @surfermarly, a Steemian who earned $25,000 in 16 months on Steemit.
In her post, Marly stated:
The idea is to define a specific target group you want to satisfy with your blog and then start producing the content that matches with the demand of that specific group. You can’t ever be a jack-of-all-trades and serve the whole internet community.
I think that last line says it all: you can't serve the whole internet community.
But what you can do, is serve the people who are like you or who have similar skills, beliefs, or interests.
You Are The Brand
In my opinion, the easiest way to build a brand is to be the brand.
What interests you? What do you know? What are you learning? What have you discovered? What are you creating? What do you think?
These are just a few questions that can help you to discover your niche and your brand.
For me, this aspect of media has always been difficult for me. I have so many interests!
But in time, you'll discover the things that really just stick.
Creating content on a daily basis isn't easy if you're sharing things that you aren't passionate about.
Thankfully, passions typically dwell within just a few areas.
If you can discover what those areas are, then you are on your road to establishing a solid, niche brand.
Let Steemit Be Your Reason For Personal Growth
Social media can be used for good, or for bad.
The bad aspects of social media often negatively impact the consumer as they take in secondary sources of information and freely distribute their personal information.
The good aspects of social media often positively impact the creators as they express themselves, connect with others, and collaborate.
The latter is yours for the picking here on Steemit.
If anything, choose to do Steemit for the mere purpose of improving your life.
Do you want to learn something new?
Do you have a goal that you want to achieve?
Are you building something?
Share those things on Steemit and let the community be your accountability partner.
Document your life in a way that supports your positive habits.
Celebrate your achievements and demonstrate why they are important.
Teach us what you know as you have new experiences and learn new things!
There are so many reasons to grow, and many of those reasons can absolutely support your content creation here on Steemit.
The Law Of Averages
Steemit is similar to crypto mining.
In crypto mining, your computer is computing algorithms in hopes of claiming the reward for creating blocks of validated transactions and including them in the blockchain.
If you mine at a certain speed for a certain amount of time, you'll likely mine a block within a certain period of time.
It's a law of averages.
On Steemit, you're sharing content and hoping that your work is validated by a whale and included up at the top of the trending list.
If you create a certain quality of content for a certain period of time, you'll likely attract a whale's upvote within a certain period of time.
It's a law of averages.
Thus, if you constantly put out high value content, you can be sure that your content will eventually be discovered.
You may have been making an average of 2SBD for an entire month UNTIL a whale upvotes your post 300SBD... now suddenly your average has risen from 2 to 12SBD with just one upvote!
It's good to keep this in mind, especially during the times when you're not feeling the love.
I promise you, we've all been there ;-)
Strengthening Your Creative Muscle
Creating high value content every day is no easy task.
It requires focus, time, and dedication.
All things that do not come overnight.
When you first start posting regularly on Steemit, it will likely feel overwhelming.
If it does, this is a good thing: it means you are pushing your creative boundaries.
For what will be uncomfortable at first, will soon feel very comfortable.
And when this happens, you've just strengthened your creative muscle.
Soon, producing high value content will be your norm.
Even better, you'll have the capacity to build on this new norm, which will take you from being a great creator...
To An Extraordinary One.
My Strategy For Creating Extraordinary Content
1. I Show Myself
I was encouraged by other Steemians to share my face more often on articles and video posts and it's definitely helped to improve my personal brand.
For one, in order to show yourself, you likely will want to share content that you can stand behind. Thus, by being a bit more transparent, you're holding yourself accountable.
Showing yourself doesn't always mean literally showing your face, it could also mean showing what you are doing or what you are creating.
People tend to follow people who can prove that they walk their talk.
2. I Create And Post Daily
This is hugely important to establishing any brand.
A brand is simply meaning attached to a word.
In order to create meaning out of thin air, you need to reinforce that meaning on a daily basis.
You need to be constantly reminding the world of the meaning you bring to it and the value that you are providing.
On Steemit, this simply looks like posting once or twice a day, every single day.
3. I Experiment With My Posts
Oftentimes, I'll notice that what I'm doing just isn't working well.
It's during these times where it's extremely important to try new things.
Thus, if I've been writing a lot of long form posts... I'll try my hand at a short form post.
If I've been writing a lot... I'll try filming more video.
If I've been sharing articles with a lot of pictures... I'll try finding gifs or complementary videos.
These are just a few examples of things you can experiment with - but the list could go on and on...
4. I'm Constantly Improving
A brand doesn't just become a brand...
It grows and develops into one over a long period of time.
This means that you are constantly creating and refining what you create.
And the more you create, the easier it will be to identify what your brand is all about.
IMHO, the best thing that you can do as a creator is to focus on improving your content, just a little bit, every single day.
Always strive to do better.
Always strive to increase quality.
Always strive to inspire someone new.
If this is always your focus then you will wake up a year from now, take a look at your Steemit channel, and say...
"Wow, I just created something amazing."
Don't limit yourself: choose to be amazing.
When Visions Meet Reality
This concludes Part I of my practical guide/plans for going full time here on Steemit.
I've shared with you my visions, which I believe are very possible when combined with hard work, intentional action, and a desire to constantly improve.
What goes around, comes around - thus, the more value you give up front, the more you will get back.
It's a law of the world and Steemit is no different.
We can create the world we wish to see RIGHT NOW.
As long as we commit to being that essence, every single day.
Anything is possible! Let's do this.
Ready For Part II?
Click the image below to take another step towards full time status!
Click the image below to take another step towards full time status!
Signing out for now...
~ @axios
Thanks For Stopping By :)
Thanks For Stopping By :)
Featured Posts by @axios
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I'm waiting this one day...
Wow, what an in depth post. This hit so many points for me and a huge congrats on your drive to go full time on Steemit.
I think your game plan for it is brilliant and I loved when you focused on engagement. I've had so many people that I've introduced to Steemit ask me...When do I make money....Wrong reason to get involved here, it's all about the people.
Put the people first and you will see the returns. But it's got to be people first.
And you touched on something I think everyone should re-read a few times each week...This has got to b a daily thing! Make the commitment, do something daily for a year and then see where you are at :)
I hope to join you on the 'making a full time income' from Steemit in a year from now as well. What a great place to be!
@jongolson, lets do it brother! The simple daily actions quite often lead to the big life changes. And who knows where the value of steem/sbd will be worth in a year. We might be making a lot of money right now and not even know it.
Thanks for reinforcing those points about making it about the people - it really is important as although money is a thing on here, it's NOT the thing that's gonna make this platform last! The people are where it's at!
Very interesting reading it, good post
Wow axios, you just keep coming through with the goods.
This is now just my 4th day on steemit, but already i have witnessed the community that you envision. Case in point, the only reason that I found your channel was by reading the The Deadpost Initiative - Rewarding undervalued posts - We need your help from @whatamidoing and feeling the love, and wanting to contribute to what i thought was a very heartfelt idea. That is where I found, and read, Your Reality Is NOT What You Think It Is
That article resonated so well with my current interpretation of reality that I started following you.
And how did I find whatamidoing's post in the first place?
By resonating with a comment he made on another article I was reading and wanting to connect further with him, I looked at his channel and found the Deadpost Initiative.
Then reading this post today, it was exactly what I needed for my own validation of where I thought steemit could go.
Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jay :)
Love your work brother.
@bobaphet I love it when that happens! Every once in awhile I'll find a community that attracts some really spectacular people... it's certainly been awhile and on Steemit it there is a plethora of them. I think it does have a lot to do with the fact that crypto would offer some real, world changes that could impact the world in a lot of positive ways. Thus, those positive people are coming out of the woodwork.
Thank you for the extremely positive and inspiring message my friend! So glad that we connected here :)
Thanks for the Love/upvote brother :)
Thanks for posting @axios. I like how you emphasise several times how important it is to use Steemit in alignment with your passions, creating content that you can look back on and be glad that you made such a thing. Making content that's saved on a blockchain like this means that it might well live longer than we do, and that deserves respect. I gave you an upvote, follow and resteem. Have a good one!
That's such an interesting thing to ponder! This is like our time capsule of life!
I also enjoy the fact that our actions are recorded. This isn't always a good thing, but in a lot of contexts it certainly is. You can prove what you say by what is written in the blockchain - and that is a very objective and powerful form of evidence right there.
Thank you for sharing here and the resteem my friend! Cheers :)
Thanks for the Love/upvote Kurt :)
I happily resteemed your post, because I want to support people going full time on Steem! With this step, you are becoming one of the 100k entrepreneurs @ned wants to have on the blockchain over the next years. This is such an exciting opportunity and there truly is no other platform, where you can do this. So I totally support your decision and wish you good luck (even if it´s more work than luck for sure). And to your article: For me it was easy to find my niche. I´m a spiritual guy and am interested in everything that can change our society to the better - one of these things being blockchain technology of course. So writing about crypto and spirituality comes totally natural to me. Since I still got my daytime job as a (social media) marketer for a adult education institute, I don´t have enough time to write and produce content as much as I´d like, but slowly and steadily I´m doing what I love here and I have to admit, that I´m falling in love with Steem more and more every day. ❤️
That's a great point! I think 100k will be very doable, and it'll likely be more than that.
Awesome to hear that the niche came easily. Crypto and spirituality - is there a better combo out there? :P
I just read your Tao article and really enjoyed those connections you made. Brilliant idea.
I've always been a fast and dynamic type of person but it requires a lot of sacrifice and...in a nutshell -
not for everyone lol. Slow and steady wins the race though!
I guess, @ned was talking in this recent interview about 100k entrepreneurs more in the classical sense of App developers and businesses using the STEEM blockchain, but I see this in a much broader sense, because people like you, who aim to live off the earnings from STEEM through content production are also entrepreneurs for me. So yes, in that sense there will be many more and maybe one day, I will follow your path. Thank you for leading the spear front of brave people who dare to take this step! You rock!
What's up @axios. I like you inspiration and your vision. There's no doubt in my mind that you will be successful.
Who knows you may just surprise yourself before 2019 😎🤹🕺🤸
Thanks for reaching out to me the other day.. I always like to get to know others people who are trying to motivate those around them.
Your efforts will be rewarded for the hard work that you're putting in.
Let's make this happen!!💪🏾💪🏾😎
Hey @caribbeanmon! Thank so much for the positivity and inspiration here! I think we all will be surprised come 2019. With so much opportunity right now, who knows where we might be come 2019!
So glad you stopped by and shared! Wishing you all the best. Let's do it!
For sure, let's make this happen!!
You put a lot of time and effort in your blog, it is very well put together. Your future is very bright with Steemit! Me on the other hand, I am a part timer, because it has not been a walk in a park for me to gain Steem and SBD, but I am willing to put in the work until I can be a full timer vlogger and blogger on Steemit myself. What has been working for me is being able to read other post and comment and also upvoting. I like the platform although there are some flaws, and I believe this platform has the potential to be even more mainstream than what it is now!!!
Hey @cryptojenn! I definitely feel you that it has not been a walk in the park. Steemit definitely requires a constant and vigilant work ethic to get going. I've read a lot of successful Steemians posts and they agreed, it's a heavy lift but if you keep at it every day you can make it!
And agreed, there's always ways to improve. Thankfully we can now do that as a community, which will be an interesting thing.
Wishing you the best on here!
This is such an informative post thank you! You have gained 1 extra follower and upvote from myself! I am a self employed tattooist and am going to try and use some of your advice when posting in future. Time is a big issue with me though as I couldn’t do this full time, I’m tattooing all day and replying to messages about tattoos on an evening lol. But I am trying to take an hour out each day and spend it on steemit and interact with the community as much as I possibly can :] it truly is revolutionary and could effectively render Facebook useless, imo
@cryptattoo I hear you on the time aspect. It really does require a lot and with any sort of full time gig, it gets intense, fast! But hey, if you can make the two work and support each other (tattooing and steemit), that might be the way to go.
I wish you the very best on here my friend!