Time to say goodbye

I joined Steemit in October last year on the recommendation of a friend. With promises of "good content is rewarded with Steem dollars" I set out to create a feminist blog with quality content. I invested a lot of time and effort into Steemit, commenting on other blog posts and even joining some Discord groups. After 5 months, however, I think it is time for me to say goodbye to Steemit. The main reason for this is because I don't think Steemit is worth my time and effort and is more of an irritant than an enjoyment, but I can elaborate a little.

Time/effort vs benefit ratio is way off

I do realise that one cannot be making big bucks on Steemit posts right off the bat. Everyone starts small and builds up over time. And maybe I am just impatient, but I have spent WAY more time and effort on my Steemit posts and engagement than I have ever done on my personal website and the payout from Steemit remains very lackluster. I received one good boost when one of my posts was curated, but since then my payouts are generally less than $1.

I don't have a lot of time at my disposal. I work fulltime, am writing a novel, have small children to take care of and a husband who I want to spend time with occasionally. Time to work on blogging is not readily available. I don't want to give up my website (more about that later) so blogging on two platforms is getting very busy. It has become time to choose between two platforms and as I receive more benefit from my website than Steemit, Steemit is the one to go.

Inconsistent

Steemit is inconsistent. I am not the first one to point out that the whales upvote each other and make each other rich while the minnows are squabbling at the bottom trying to pick up the crumbs that fall off the table. People with lots of SP posting 10 memes a day earn over $100 (or sometimes over $1000) a day, while minnows with great content get nothing. It's a popularity contest where the rules are obscured.

And that is not the only inconsistency. My own blog posts pay out extremely inconsistent as well. Some of my posts have been able to earn $10, but a similar post will then only get $0.30. There is no telling what will get some good votes (and therefore good payout). As I have said before, and will say again: it's a popularity contest where everyone is fighting for a limited amount of votes and that's not an environment that is conducive to my mental health.

I want my own little place

My own website is my own little place on the internet. I set the rules, I determine who can interact with me there and I design how everything looks. When I pitch articles to magazines, I can refer them to my website for a sample of my work. I have my articles categorised by topic, so it is easy for a visitor to find my erotic fiction, sex toy reviews or feminist articles. Steemit doesn't offer this. It is very self contained, in that outsiders without a Steemit account wouldn't be able to find their way around my feed (nor would Steemians for that matter as blog posts can't be categorised within my own blog). Non-Steemians can also not comment on my blog posts, therefore taking away the ability to interact.

I like the feeling of having control over my own content and my own blog. With Steemit I don't have that. I realise that this is the way Steemit is intended, but it doesn't work for me. Call me a control freak, but I like being master of my own domain on my website so to speak. I like being able to view the statistics of who visits my site, I like being able to be contacted through my website and I like dictating the layout. I also like being able to update old blog posts and making them relevant again. I like that I can benefit from my blog posts way after the 7 day window that Steemit operates.

No fun

The past month I have been more active on Steemit than ever. I have also been more irritated with Steemit than ever. Blogging is my hobby. I had hoped that with Steemit I could make a bit of money from my hobby, but lately it has felt more like work than a hobby. As I said before, I am very busy and don't have the time to spend more than an hour a day on Steemit. When blogging starts feeling like a second job - without affording any enjoyment - then it's time to say goodbye. I love working on my website, I dread posting on Steemit.

Before you all jump into the comments extolling the virtues of Steemit, telling me I should buy SP in order to get higher payouts, or telling me to just be patient and invest more time and effort: please don't. Steemit may work for a lot of people and that is great. I just don't have the time for it. I also won't spend any money on SP, considering the aforementioned inconsistency of Steemit: I wouldn't be guaranteed that I would see any return on my investment. Let alone the fact that I can't afford to pay for the use of Steemit.

So this is goodbye. It has been an interesting experiment and I will miss the people I have met through Discord (although I may hang around on Discord still). I want to wish everyone lots of luck with their blogging and maybe our paths will cross again outside Steemit. You can always drop by my website: https://isabellelauren.com.

Now I have to find a way to cash out my paltry rewards!