Is Commenting Really Worthwhlie? (TLDR - Yes!)
I was chatting recently on Steem Speak and the subject came up of Upvoting comments on ones posts. I chimed in that I upvote all early comments on my posts, and was surprised to hear many others who do the same. It got me thinking, and that got me investigating!
Sacrificing the meager rewards from dedicated curation, I tend to use my votes for comments on my posts. The idea is, rewarding visitors who comment with Upvotes encourages them to come back and comment in the future. I need them and they need me. This symbiotic relationship between publisher and audience is at the heart of Steemits whole paradigm.
A post that appears busy with many comments during the first hour of it's life is more likely to attract further Upvotes, so I'll encourage activity with 50-100% votes on early comments. Turns out, many others are doing something similar, so as it happens, a good commenting strategy is a viable way to gain rewards on Steemit, specifically targeting dolphin accounts that tend to upvote commentors.
It's not spam if it's not spammy!
It might feel "spammy" to take this approach, but comments are an important part of Steemit. Indeed, there is a need for much more commenting and engagement. As long as your comments engage with the subject matter, they are adding value to the platform, and you deserve any rewards you get.
Be Selective
If you're after the highest rewards, you would obviously be wasting your time commenting on minnow accounts. Whale accounts might have more reward potential, but the competition will be fierce. My advice is to target "middle-weight" dolphin accounts, but for time efficiency, only target those who have a habit of upvoting comments on their posts. Take some time to research. Some of these accounts regularly throw out large upvotes to anyone making a reasonable comment.
Dolphins want to be targeted!
Does "tageting" sound cynical? Again - it's not spam if it's not spammy. In fact, dolphins want as many genuine comments as possible on their posts. Set your sights and pull the trigger. But remember, you're not looking for just any dolphin account, only those who tend to Upvote comments on their posts.
Where do I find these generous comment upvoters?
As of today, I'm building a folder full of these Steemians, but I've put hours of work into it and will hardly be sharing it. There are hundreds of generous upvoters out there though. That is for certain. Consider starting with the trending posts, or perhaps find some leads from the Steem Whales website..
Help your browser help you.
If you're anything like me, you'll be following a lot of different people for different reasons. Until Steemits follower system is improved, I suggest using your browsers bookmarks system to help you sort and find different groups of Steemians for different purposes. I have, for example, a folder for local Irish Steemians, another for photographers, etc. And as of today, a folder for generous Upvoters. These pages can be opened all at once and you can efficiently spend some time doing nothing but commenting.
I'll leave you with some screenshots of some juicy comment payouts. These were all very recent and easy to find.
There are hundreds of examples of these very generous comment payouts on any given day here. An efficient, targeted commenting strategy, involving genuine comments and questions is a worthwhile pursuit for anyone, especially if you're just getting started and want some quick cash and some engaging followers of your own.
Best of luck with your commenting, and please let me know how you get on. Any other tips, very welcome in the comments on this page...
Words: @condra
All images from Pixabay, except screenshot
This is great info especially for the new people and for the minnows. Even in Steemit you have to work for the money. Work in this case is finding out who is often upvoting comments. :)
Cheers for the comment!
I can concur that engaging Steemians in the comments is one of the best ways to grow as a small minnow. For the first few months this was my main source of revenue on Steemit.
I myself make it a point to upvote serious responses as well. I waste most of my voting power that way, but that's fine. After all, I'm glad that people are actually reading and upvoting my posts! But other than getting some SBD from upvotes, if you actually engage people and make friends that way, you might actually gain a follower which will help you in return.
The way to success on Steemit isn't to get as many followers per se, but getting followers that matter. Making friends and proving to be a respectable Steemian will eventually gain you some serious followers, who may even go as far as upvoting your posts a little bit by default.
I would recommend every Steemian under 500 followers to take commenting seriously. After 500 followers or so, posting stuff yourself starts to become more of a thing.
Boom! Fantastic comment. Thanks for taking the time. And I agree completely, commenting is extra worthwhile when you're starting out on Steemit.
You're welcome!
I have been doing this for a couple of months. I only do it for the first comments. If the person answers further, they don't get another.
I feel it helps newer members.
Hey Kat. Yeah, the extra engagement is symbiotic. Aside from that, I genuinely enjoy my interactions on here!
Me too.
Unfortunately a lot of the time I do not feel like there is anything constructive to add and replying with "nice post!" is spammy even though I just want to say that.
Hey dude. Long time. Thanks for visiting. Yeah I know the feeling. Sometimes I'd like to contribute, but often there really isn't much more to say apart from, "nice post" or "great photo". See you soon.
I can't drop that kind of weight; but I've had a clever cheerleader following me.
He knows I upvote thoughtful replies, so he replies to my comments on other people's posts.
I'm clearly part of his daily ritual.
He goes to my blog, then the comments tab, and goes down them one by one, backing up whatever I'm saying.
Smart guy and I can't help but like him.
Yeah, I have a couple of regulars and hopefully we're mutually beneficial to each other.
I do upvote comments that I feel I learn something from or relate to me on what I am trying to tell but those 'nice post' ones, well, nice of you to come by😎
Yeah, unfortunately there are a lot of those kinds of replies. What a huge waste of energy for those people!
And bandwidth :-)
your research is very important for me, can i get those name from steem whale boards!
very new here and still trying to figure out how all this works and i am definitely bookmarking this article , thanks a lot for the strategic approach you outlined
Browser bookmarks! The essential hack so many overlook! Even better these days that you can sync them across machines.
I also like to organize info or names of users etc in Asana.
Keep up the great work, solid content Mr Condra!