An Aussie Minnowette's First Month on Steemit

According to my husband I could talk underwater with my mouth full of marbles - not that he listens.

When the doc asked him if he had hearing problems I just collapsed on the floor in tears of laughter. Ah yeah he suffers from Wife Selective Deafness Disorder!

How, you might ask, is this relevant to Steemit...?

I like to blog. I have a health blog, I have a book club blog, I have a business blog, I have a travel blog...

Source: Deposit Photos

You get the picture.

So of course one night when I'm chatting away (mostly to myself). Hubby, who is busy researching this thing called crypto says.. "Hey why don't you blog here (Steemit) and earn some money while you are chattering to no-one in particular"

Ummmm okay.. Here's what went through my brain....

a) I thought I was chattering to him - silly me
b) What the hell is crypto?
c) Where is a shoe I can throw at him?

Source: Giphy

Anyway in an attempt to get me talking to someone else for a change darling hubby went ahead and set up a Steemit account for me. Lucky we managed to get in with only one day queue!

So I saw somewhere to let the whole world be privvy to everything I thought was important and wonderful and shareable, and he was rubbing his hands thinking "here comes the cash cow"

So that was the dream.

Here is the reality.

I started posting and curating, without any plan or much thought - (insert buzzer sound effect) WRONG!

There is, believe it or not, an etiquette to doing things the right way on Steemit (As there should be in any social setting)

Source: Imgflip

Do yourself a favour and make the first thing you do when you hop on steemit, find a post that lists tips and tricks. There are a lot - but this is probably one of my favourites (which wasn't around when I joined) but pretty much sums up the key information - lists great resources and gives superb advice on writing posts.

Thanks @krystle
https://steemit.com/steemit/@krystle/new-users-guide-to-steemit-etiquette-and-some-handy-tools

Now if you think that you are going to hop on board and start making millions, or thousands, or even tens... think again. This is not free money - (Sorry hubby dearest)

Source: Giphy

I learnt very quickly - that like most social media platforms - you need to make connections, post and share good content, and make thoughtful comments to build your following.

I personally also found it helpful to invest in SteemPower . Now I'm not giving any investment advice and people should only ever contribute what they can afford to lose, but for me - I saw the benefit in bumping up my power. I only dribble little bits in as I can afford it.. but I will continue to do so - both to increase my own account but also to invest back into the platform.

Now if you know nothing about cryptocurrency, man are you in for fun! That was a whole new experience all of it's own!

Source: QuickMeme

So that being said, it's quite a slow - but I think steady - growth. I'm working on growing followers, reputation and steempower.

I've quickly begun to see that followers are critical. There is so much good content on here that just does not see the light of day, and for a beginner there seems no rhyme or reason to the trending pages at times.

The biggest boost to me moving forward has been finding communities to get involved in.

The first of these was the Minnow Support Project. I was so confused with all the talk of minnows, dolphins whales.. and the Whale War that seemed to be in full flight . All this talk of whales, dolphins, minnows was just confusing as all hell. Plus the politics! Don't get me started!

But the Minnow Support Project is a haven where minnows and newbies like myself could go get advice - meet new people and work together to help build each others profiles. And somewhere we can ask dumb questions and not get hammered! Really useful stuff for a newbie.

(Logo and Banner Created By @justcallmemyth)

I highly recommend checking it out and signing up on the Discord group (Discord...there's something else I learnt) and I will forever be grateful to @aggroed for spearheading this initiative!

Check it out here
https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@minnowsupport/minnow-support-project-problem-statement-vision-statement-mission-statement-and-plan-to-help-you-grow-from-minnow-to-whale-with

The second community and one that is dear to my heart being a true blue Aussie Chick is TeamAustralia - driven by the awesome @sirknight There are Aussies coming on to the platform in droves - and hey we are a pretty good lot, so it's great to have a community of like-minded people to connect with and showcase what's going on down under.

My point to this is find a community - like minded people that you can make a connection with and all help each other grow.

Just in the last few days of joining these two fantastic communities my posts are slowly starting to make a little bit more. I mean we are talking minuscule amounts compared to the trending pages right. But it's about building with consistency sustainability, integrity. And let's be honest. This is where most of the minnows will be for a good while. Very few are going to come in and just get "free money".

I'm okay with that - in fact I'm better than okay. I'm having fun, meeting new people and building for the long term.

Plus I've learnt so much

Crypto - not some game played in a cemetery
Whale - A really big fish in this big pond who occasionally swims by and flashes his benevolent pearly whites on us minnows.
Wallet - Alas, not something I can pull from my husband's back pocket to get some more cash
Power-up - Does not mean slamming my foot the floor in my Hyundai Veloster

So all in all as I come to the end of my fourth week on Steemit, I'm learning more all the time and no I will continue to do so.

I'm looking forward to a great ride. I'm curious and excited as to what my "First year on Steemit" post will look like.

Source: Giphy

Steem On everyone

If you enjoyed this post don't forget to UPVOTE and Hit that FOLLOW Button!

Let's All Share the Steemit Love!

---