Why Steemit Considers Comments as Posts : A Detailed Guide on Why You Should Focus More On Commenting
Preface
You might have asked this question a thousand times that why would steemit count your comments as posts? It is annoying, right? Even some steemians made some contributions on @utopian-io that comments should not be made part of the total number of posts.
I tend to DISAGREE..
It is all about community
Steemit was designed to be a community site and engagement is of paramount importance when you are building a community.
It doesn’t matter what kind of brand you run on steemit, your level of engagement with other steemians reflects your will and dedication to be the part of this community.
So when we talk about engagement on steemit, leaving comments on posts is the best and the most profound way to engage with fellow steemians.
Before I answer the question as to why steemit considers comments as posts, I would like to bring to your attention 2 crucial points related to commenting.
Comments Are Not Part of Curation Rewards of One’s Blog Post
Yes, you read that right. When you create a blog post, the curation on that post is only limited to the upvotes you get there and thats it. As far as curation rewards are concerned, it doesn’t matter if someone posts a comment there or not.
So when you write a comment on a post, where does it count?
Does it help promote author’s blog post?
Does it help author’s blog post earn more money?
Does it reward the author in any other way?
No...
No...
& No...
So what happens to the comments you leave on other posts?
Your comments become posts instead. Now people can upvote / flag your comment or even respond to it just like it was a post itself.
So for instance, you wrote a comment on someone’s blog post and it earned you 1$. By the end of the comment payout, you would have earned 0.75$ with 0.25$ going to curators, JUST LIKE YOUR OWN BLOG POST.
The second point I would like to highlight here is that...
Comments Are Independent of Post Expiration Date
Suppose if you leave a comment on someone’s post that is about to be paid out, will your comment also expire with it?
Absolutely Not...
The moment you post a comment on someone’s post, it initiates its own window of 7 days and the upvotes your receive on your comment will be paid out to you after 7 days.
If anyone is wondering, yes, you can also leave a comment on a post that has already paid out and it won’t affect your comment in anyway.
Keeping above mentioned facts, it is evident that comments are not just mere comments you leave on a blog post. Infact they become posts and HENCE, THEY ARE COUNTED AS POSTS ON STEEMIT
Now that I have established why comments are considered as posts on steemit, it is time to emphasize on why you should focus more on commenting than creating blog posts.
Why You Should Focus More On Commenting
Less Time Consuming & More Productivity
When I take 5 minute break from my daily job, I log on to steemit, go to my feed, read a post, comment on it and then I get back to work. It is easy, simple, efficient and not at all time consuming.
Normally, it takes about 2-3 days to properly research on a topic and then it takes another 4-5 hours to create a detailed, error free post about it. This is some time consuming task and most of us cannot allocate that much amount of time without taking massive breaks in between.
Generally, people are more inclined towards writing their blog posts instead of writing comments. I have practically witnessed people pushing out 7-8 articles in a day but they are reluctant to write even a single comment.
It is advisable to spend more time on commenting since comments are also posts. Though rewards per comment may seem a bit less but when you are thoughtfully commenting on at least 20 posts a day, those little rewards combine to give you a massive boost.
More Visibility and Increase in Followers
The success on steemit is directly proportional to visibility on platform. The more visible you are, more people will follow you, more people will visit your blog and more rewards shall come your way.
But it is easier said than done. People spend countless hours interacting with other steemians on Discord channels and through other means. One of the most efficient way to put yourself on steemverse map is to comment on other people's post. You will be surprised to see how quickly your following will increase.
For instance, if you have 300 followers and you are continuously writing blog posts, chances are that very little amount of people outside of your followers' circle will visit your posts. But placing an intelligent and wonderful comment on another steemian blog post who happens to have 3000 followers will benefit you more in terms of visibility since your "great comment" will be visible to so many people. This visibility will help you gain some following and your future blog posts will be even profitable.
By Leaving Comments, You are Not Doing Author any Favour, You are Doing Yourself One
If you are new to steemit, you will soon come to realise a harsh reality that the steemit community generally does not like to upvote or comment on other people's posts. Now, there are many factors involved in this phenomenon as to why this is so and probably I will cover it in my future posts. No matter how good your blog is, most of the people tend to see your wallet first to check if their comments or upvotes will earn them any returns or not, which sadly, excludes 98% of the active community.
I would like to highlight here that by leaving comments on other people's post, you are not doing authors any favour. If anything, you are doing yourself a favour by promoting your content, your brand and your profile. No matter how miser your approach towards giving upvote is, you should never stop commenting.
Commenting is Better Than Posting Average Content
I have a rule here on steemit...
If you cannot create a great post, do not create a post altogether
As I have mentioned before, It usually takes 5-6 hours for someone to create a great post. It is not possible for anyone to come up with quality content after every few hours. If it takes you less than an hour to create a blog post then you might want to revisit your strategy here because that kind of post can never be a great post. Take some time to research on subject and then create a detailed post on it.
But what do you do when you are not creating a blog post?
Do commenting instead. There is no need to create unnecessary below average blog posts just to show the world that you are active here. Your activity on platform will always be measured by quality and not quantity. Writing comments do not involve a lot of time. They are quick to compose and keep you active on steemit.
I would advise everyone that when you are done posting a blog post, immediately turn your guns towards commenting. The more you comment on other people's blog, they are likely to visit your profile and read your latest post.
11 Advices Regarding Commenting
Based on my own experiences, I would like to share 11 advices related to commenting with my fellow steemians:-
Don’t post crappy comments like "Nice Post" or "Thanks for Sharing". Even if you believe that the post is so complete in every aspect that you possibly cannot add anything to it, you can simply write down your own experience on subject and then appreciate author's take on it.
Don’t hesitate to post a counter opinion in comments. You do not necessarily have to agree with everything author has to say.
Voice your differences with author or with other members in a polite and humble manner.
Don’t participate in flag wars. In a flag war, if you think that a whale will back your comment up with 20$ worth of upvote, then there will be another whale who will give you flag of worth 25$.
Do not post spam. No matter how creative or clever spam you come up with, a real steemian will be able to recognise it and it will get you flagged.
Try to post detailed comments. lengthy and well crafted comments often catch the eye of public and author. Make sure that you are able to convey your message properly.
Do not beg in the comments like "please upvote me" or "please follow my blog". Your comments are reflection of your personality. Keep it untainted.
Do not upvote your own comment unless you want it to be visible. Authors generally don't like when someone leaves a comment and then upvotes their own comment.
Do not waste time commenting on people's blog who do not appreciate or reply to your comments. Leave them be.
Do not hurry in posting a comment. You being the first one to comment has nothing to do with the amount of upvotes you can get.
Do not drop links of your own blog posts on other people's blogs unless the link is absolutely relevant to the subject.
Conclusion
In this guide, I have discussed in detail as to why steemit considers comments as posts. Also I have managed to highlight that why every steemian should focus more on commenting. In the end, I have shared some of the advices related to commenting with fellow steemians.
I would request you to consider upvoting and resteeming this post so that it could gain more visibility. And of course, comments are more than welcome :)
Thumbnail image is designed on free canva tool. Bruce lee picture is taken from his famous interview while the comment over it is written by me. All other images are taken from pixabay
Very informative article @jbn. Thanks.
I worked out very early on that I could get much traction by commenting than I was getting on my blog posts so that is where I spend the majority of my time. That, and replying to comments on my own posts.
However, it is only in the last couple of weeks that I have learned that you can still comment on posts that have paid out.
But . . . just to clarify, If I post a comment on someone's blog and nobody upvotes it then there will be no payout on it. Is that correct?
Also, I wasn't aware of the 75/25 split. That's useful to know. Sort of obvious now I think about it but I just hadn't considered it before. Primarily because I'm mainly commenting hoping new people will visit my posts, rather than for the money.
And one more point of clarification . . . if I reply to a comment on my own blog then that reply becomes a post in it's own right. Is that correct?
Thanks! 😊
Since comments are posts, and posts only earns rewards when upvoted, then I think that it's correct to say that there will be no payout on the comment.
Yes. Any comment you make on Steemit is a post even if the comment is on your own blog. At the same time, posts are different from articles. All posts are not articles. All articles published on Steemit are posts. I hope I won't cause more confusion with this.
It is as I thought then. Thanks for the clarification @stojay007. 😊
Gillian i was writing a detailed response for you but i slept halfway through it. Its 1 past midnight here and m drowning :p i will reply to all of your queries tomorrow in morning..
No problem @jbn. Get a good night's sleep. 💤
Spot on..
First of all, thank you gillian for your response. Your support is always appreciated. Now to answer your queries :-
Yes, there will be no payout. Actually when steemit was created, there used to be a reward for author who wrote parent blog, which was somewhat 25% of the earnings of commentators. Now that reward quota has been removed (i dont exactly know in which hardfork they did so). So now your comments are 100% yours. If you earn upvotes on your comments, you will be paid, if your comments do not receive any upvote, payout will be zero.
It isn’t exactly 75/25 split. It depends. Generally it is 75/25. For instance if you have written a post and you get an upvote seconds after posting it, you will get 100% of the upvote. If you get an upvote after 15 minutes, the split is somewhat 85-15. After 30 minutes it is 75-25. With each passing minute leading upto first 30 minutes, the percentage will change. However, beyond that, it is 75-25%.
Yes that is correct. Each comment you post, no matter where (that includes replying to your own comment too), will be considered as a post itself.
I hope that i have answered all of your queries, if there is still left any, please by all means, do not hesitate to send it my way ^_^
Thanks @jbn. I've copied and pasted your answers into my note file in case I forget again. it seems to take a long time to really get all this information to stick.
I did have another question for you but I've forgotten it again now!
If it comes to me again I'll let you know! 😊
NO problem at all. I will be happy to help you whenever you will ask me a question.. ^_^ cheers
I think comment can really influence a post. Most of the time, people tend to look first if the comment is good or bad before reading the article. If there's nothing interesting in the comments then they usually just go away.
Interesting take on the subject.. people filter through posts by a lot of means.. this is the first time i am hearing that people scroll through comments to see if there is anything interesting going on or the post is worth reading. I didn’t know that..
I tend to be one of the people who read the comments before reading an article or watching a video. They are like points of reference and they manage to grow my intrigue to see the content or abandon the intention to do it. In this case it was different, first I read the post and then I went down to check if some commentator had my concern, to know if the comments should be voted to be paid and someone actually asked the question.
Very grateful for the information. I will continue to review your blog to see what else I can find that is useful to me.
It's no lie that I got most of my rewards from comments. The problem is, I have nothing to say for most topics that is more than a line, so I usually don't bother at all.
Well you should.. like i have said in the post, if you think that you have nothing to say, you can write down your own experiences related to subject.. commenting has pramount importance if you want some visibility..
You make it sound easier than it is. Most of the times someone else already said what I would say and I don't want to repeat the same thing.
Maybe you should try to comment on more anime related posts.
I understand what you are saying but there are literally thousands of posts everyday.. you can easily skip to next to make a comment
I totally agree with you when it comes to commenting. Commenting is very essential because bridges the gap between us all. I believe that even this comment has made a connection between you and I
I couldn’t agree more.. ^_^
I've done a number of posts over the few months I've been on Steemit where I talk about the benefits of commenting. I talked with one guy who told the new Steemians that he mentored that they needed to be doing 30 meaningful comments per day to start with. That would get them enough exposure to get started.
There are so many people here who are fighting for attention. If you're not willing to do the work to bring them in, they won't come. They'll go to someone else who is doing the work. Leaving comments is sort of like marketing. You're leaving messages from which people can see the quality of your work. If it appeals to them, they might visit your blog and end up "buying what you're selling."
It's nice as an author to have people post meaningful comments because then you can know that the audience is engaging with what you're saying. The spam comments are annoying, but they're not unexpected.
The thing that resonated the most for me was that I shouldn't pressure myself to post. I've had a goal to post once per day and it has taken a lot of work to do so. I don't just post a picture, I post articles that take time to think up and then create. I see people posting 3-4 times per day and I think I'm doing something wrong, so I appreciated you saying that quality is more important than quantity. It's a good reminder that I needed to hear. I'd rather be know for high-quality work every few days than low-quality work multiple times per day.
First of all thank you so much for taking time to write such a detailed response.
Your words remind me of myself when i started out on platform. For some odd reason, i made it a target for myself to post at least once everyday. Soon i realized that i was running out of ideas and i was putting too much pressure on myself for no reason. There was a point in my life when my 15 months old son (19 now) would not stop crying on certain instances and instead of attending him, i was busy writing posts. I am not proud of it.
So i have kind of learned this lesson the hard way that posting everyday will not get you anywhere. I have come to realize that i have got to stop treating steemit like a ticking time bomb. This platform is not going anywhere and i have to learn to keep the balance between this and my family.. so now i post like after 3-4 days and i couldnt be happier.
Comments, however are a different story. It does not take more than 5 minutes of your time and is totally worth it..
Somehow it makes me feel better to know that others are going through the same struggles. It seems that you've found a solution for yourself. I think one of the contributing factors is a number of accounts that will only vote on content every 24 hours. Therefore, to maximize profits, there's an urgency to post every day. Some of them are subscriptions that cost an upfront fee, so in order to make that cost back, there's pressure to post. I need to get rid of that mentality. I'm still making small gains on posts, so I shouldn't worry about sunk costs.
I think another reason to post more often is that people are generally following so many other authors that the thought is "they'll miss my posts, or stop following me if I'm not producing content." I think that's a lie too... or if it's true, who cares? Like in your example, taking care of yourself and your family is more important than making sure that your steemit followers don't forget about you.
You're right, comments generally are easy to fire off. You can read a quick article and dispense some sarcasm back in the form of a comment. ;)
Thanks for the dialogue!
Your struggle is real and i have lived through the exact same thoughts and moments..
There is one more thing regarding what you said about followers leaving you. If i am being totally honest, i have made followers based on my content quality. When i used to post average quality level post, my followers did not grow in numbers. Believe it or not i had 22 followers for a complete month with zero increment.. however the moment i started making long quality posts, they started to incease by leaps and bounds.
Forget about maximising your profits... this is a never ending loop. You will never be satisifed with the amount of upvotes you get.. the hungrier you’ll get, the farther you will wander off from life.. keep it simple.. rewards will come to you. Take 3 days to post and before making the post, research on it a bit to refine the quality of your post.
And you are asbolutely spot on about comments ;)
I think I've actually earned more from making comments then on my blog posts. Also don't underestimate how many followers you could gain from making good comments.
Whereas your blog posts usually disappear pretty quickly from the Steemit front pages (New & Hot), comments usually get seen way more often. Especially if you comment on popular blog posts.
Absolutely wonderful description.. people generally dont realize that with commenting, there is big money involved. Plus comments are wayyy wayyy better when it comes to advertising yourself.. they are much better for visibilty than blog posts..
I have been busy the past weeks and I have missed my steemit family and yes, commenting, for me is really a very important part. What I usually do is to read their blog, upvote it and leave a comment. I do this and it's very time consuming at times because I make sure to have read the article from beginning to end. I can't steem at work anymore, I have a new job and I've also been very busy for the transition aside of course, from taking care of my nanay who suffered from mild stroke. I have always spend enough time in reading your posts, sir and yes they're all resteemable (for me at least) and of course, very helpful to me and my followers. I've been asking this question before and now the answer is here. I am so glad I do this for every article that I read. God bless you po and thank you so much for your heart to all the newbies like me here. Please continue to guide and help us through your posts, sir. :-)
Excellent post, I agree with almost 100%. People here totally neglect commenting, they are missing out.
this was new information to me
Mind blown!
I don't know about not spamming though, you just need to be really classy about it.
Aah.. funbobby.. glad to see you again .. i am pleased that my post was helpful to you and you learned something that you did not know before..
I checked out your post.. it is for a good cause and i have rightfully made my contribution to it. But, I thought the link that you were posting here would be about spamming. But it wasnt. Did you accidently use the wrong link?
no, providing an example of classy spamming ;)
I wouldn't spam on my own behalf but I am pretty hard up to get these Venezuelans a computer. Thanks for your help!
I wouldnt consider a link to a post that helps another human being as spam.. i wish you best of luck.. and lets see if you remain this much witty when u ain’t drinking :p
that's the difference, if you get someone to click something they like it is fine, if you get them to click something stupid they will get mad.
Great article..
About point 8 , you have to upvote sometimes, otherwise your comment will be buried under the spammers
totally agree, you leave a good comment, and if you do not receive a vote, it will surely be left in the garbage, so this well elaborated one (question or answer), anyway, is a great article with a lot of valuable information,,, thanks @jbn
Well.. you are not wrong. But some comments are meant to be ignored. Not because they are not upto the mark. Its because the author on other end is also a human who can mistakenly miss your comment..
Ehtically speaking, you should only upvote your own comment when you want it to be visible because it contains great piece of information that you would like everyone to read first before they respond to your post.
I agree
I agree with the fact that commenting on blogs is better than posting below average posts. Reading and spreading the words of dedicated steemians is what I am sticking with at the moment
Resteemed bro!
Absolutely right.. thank you so much for the resteem. Means a lot..