This week’s challenge in the Information Finding Championship is to help a new Steemit user so I am going to offer up a Steemit growth strategy to help new users increase their reputation, their STEEM, and their following. Using this approach a user can generate around 2 to 4+ STEEM per week depending on their efforts. But before I begin I would like to preface this by pointing out that I plan to convey the strategy in its pure form which may make it come across as cold at times or even a bit “cut throat.” As such, I leave it up to the reader to decide what aspects of the approach work for them and I encourage new users to ultimately do what feels right when interacting on the Steemit blockchain.

I would also like to mention that the foundation of this strategy is super simple and may even seem to be overly obvious to many individuals. However, there are some nuances to the strategy that are important to its overall effectiveness, so I highly recommend reading the details rather than simply glazing over the headlines and moving on. With all of that being said, let’s begin.

The Foundation of the Strategy

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Dear New User,

Though you should have a few high quality posts on your blog in order to entice other users to start following you, the principle concept behind my strategy is that posting your own content is actually an ineffective way to grow on the platform - especially if you are new. In fact, in my opinion you should only post about one to three HIGH QUALITY posts per week at max (notice the extreme emphasis on the words high quality). There are several reasons why you should not waste your time creating content which are as follows:

1. As a new user you do not have a strong enough following to generate consistent revenue on your posts and developing a following of actual users (not bots) takes quite a bit of time. Without a following you likely will not receive any votes therefore, creating a post yourself is actually a waste of your time.

2. Since your reputation and your wallet holdings are low, your posts will likely be ignored. Sorry but this is a harsh reality of life that is to be expected in nearly any circumstance. Basically, as a new user you need to prove to others that your content is worth reading otherwise why should they waste their time on you?

3. Your posts will rarely be seen by others. Though it is possible for a new users post to be spotted by a dedicated curator or a random individual trolling through the Steemit tags, there is really no reason to assume that either of these scenarios will happen for you. Far more posts go unnoticed then ones that actually get spotted. As such, the likely scenario is that your post will be buried under the avalanche of the continuous post stream made by others. So until you develop a large enough following to ensure that your posts will end up in multiple newsfeeds, you should assume that no one is going to read them.

With these basic principles in mind I am suggesting that when you first join Steemit, creating your own content is actually an extremely inefficient and ineffective way to grow on the platform. Instead, it is far more effective to grow if you spend the majority of your time commenting on others posts while using my strategy. By doing so you will not only get more STEEM and increase your reputation, but you will also get more exposure to a wider Steemit audience which will hopefully gain you some followers (i.e. other users often check out the blog of an individual who leaves an interesting comment on their post which is why you do need a few interesting posts on your blog).

The Strategy

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The foundation of the strategy is super simple and like I mentioned above seemingly obvious. All that it entails is that you vote and comment on others posts. However, what is not so simple and what may not be obvious is how you can actually increase the efficiency of your commenting and maximize the chances that you yourself will receive a reciprocal up-vote on your comment, which is the magic of this particular growth strategy. Instead of hoping for up-votes on your own posts, you are going to maximize the likelihood of receiving an up-vote on your comment on another users post. Below is an outline on how to do just that.

1. Canvas the platform.

In order for this strategy to work you need to start by voting and commenting on a lot of different posts. To start, do not waste your time commenting on a post if there is a low likelihood of you receiving a vote in return. To determine this, start by looking at the users comment vote history. Go into their blog and select a few of their posts that have comments in them. Ignore comments by bots and look only at comments made by actual users. If the blogger tends to vote for their followers comments then you know that there is a good chance that they will also vote for your comments - if they are meaningful. Similarly, if the blogger does not tend to vote for comments made on their posts then you can assume that they likely will not vote for your comment either. Begin following bloggers that up-vote comments and move on from bloggers who do not. Eventually you will create a roster of users in your newsfeed in which you can comment on any post and know that you will likely receive an appreciation vote for your comment. Each up-vote for you increases your reputation as well as the STEEM in your wallet.

2. Comments must be meaningful and must be preceded by an up-vote on the original post.

A failure to convey that you have actually read the post itself and a failure to up-vote the original post may result in your comment not being up-voted or worse, may appear as spam. Spam like comments may result in you receiving a down-vote which is literally the exact opposite of what you are looking for. This principle basically follows the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" mantra. Would you want another user to comment on your post without up-voting it? No - so why would you do that to someone else? Also be aware that it is extremely easy for users to figure out if you voted on their post or not. For instance, I get notifications for each up-vote that I receive which not only tells me who up-voted me but also the exact weight of their up-vote (i.e how much the vote is worth and what percentage (%) the user scaled their vote to). This brings me to my next point.

3. Track your up-vote responses.

First and foremost, the reason that you are commenting on other posts is to receive an up-vote in return so it is imperative that you track the up-votes that you receive. You do not want to waste your time commenting on a post if the user is not going to up-vote your comment so you need to know who is actually up-voting them. I have found that the easiest way to track who up-voted my comments is to use a Steemit app that has a notification function. For instance, I am currently using Partiko – an app on my cell phone which I have found to be highly effective. The app sends me notifications if and when another users up-votes or comments on my post or mentions me in one of their posts. If this is something that you are interested in feel free to use my referral code https://partiko.app/referral/leaky20 - it will give you 3000 Partiko points which can be exchanged for up-votes on Steemit and will also give me additional points as well. If you do decide to use my code I will gladly start following you and up-voting your posts as a way of saying thank you. Okay moving on :)

4. Analyze your up-vote responses.

Again, this is about effectiveness and efficiency. You do not want to waste your time commenting on posts that do not result in you receiving an up-vote. You also want to maximize the amount of STEEM that you generate for each of your comments. With this concept in mind it makes more sense for you to comment on a post that will result in an up-vote worth $0.15 then it does to comment on a post that will result in an up-vote worth $0.007. Similarly, it is more efficient to comment on a short post worth a large up-vote then it is to comment on a long post worth a small up-vote. (Note the irony here. I myself write incredibly long posts and my up-vote is only worth $0.007. It would seem that I am not doing my self any favors by sharing this strategy. But F*** it. Also, I always up-vote comments on my posts and return the favor by visiting my dedicated followers who inform me that they are not a bot and/or that they read my post).

5. Create a hierarchy of efficiency.

Following the principle above you may have to create a sort of hierarchy to maximize your commenting efficiency. This hierarchy will strongly depend on how much time you spend on the platform and what you consider to be your priority. Short posts worth a large appreciation up-vote should obviously be at the top of your hierarchy. From here you will need to decide for yourself if it is better for you to make several comments on short quick read posts that have a small up-vote return or to make one comment on a long post that has a large up-vote return? Similarly, enjoyability of what you are reading should also be factored in as well. If you find a user who creates short posts that are enjoyable to read and generate a large up-vote, well then you have just struck gold. They should be your priority. Don’t f**K that one up.

6. Drop the dead weight and use the advanced prisoner’s dilemma strategy.

Users who do not bother to give you an appreciation up-vote are basically dead weight in your feed for this strategy. Unless you are actually interested in what the blogger writes about (in which case you should always up-vote their material to show your appreciation and encouragement) I’d say drop them from your feed and replace them with someone who consistently up-votes your comments. In cases where the individual used to up-vote your comments but has recently stopped, I would say keep them but tweak your commenting behavior by implementing the advanced prisoner’s dilemma strategy which goes as follows: First give them the benefit of the doubt and offer them your vote. After that, simply mimic their move. If they don’t vote for your comment then stop up-voting and commenting on their posts. If they start voting for your comments again then keep up-voting and commenting. Basically just mimic their behavior - if they stop you stop. Start up again after a break and repeat the process - give them the benefit of the doubt by offering up the first vote and comment then simply mimic their next move. If they continue to snub your comments after several pauses and attempts then continuing to vote and comment for their posts becomes a waste of your time. No hard feelings, simply drop them and move on or ignore them in your feed.

Benefits to this Strategy

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As mentioned at the beginning of this post the strategy may seem a bit cold and “cut throat” at times so I would like to emphasize that if you enjoy the other bloggers writing then you should probably up-vote their material regardless of whether or not they return the favor and up-vote your comment. This strategy only really applies to your growth on the platform, not your enjoyment with interacting.

But aside from growth in the form of STEEM, reputation and an increased following there are also several other benefits to this approach as well. For instance, up-votes and comments by users that convey the message that a post was actually read and appreciated encourages users to keep posting. The strategy itself of stopping the up-vote and comment stream if your comment is not up-voted by the other user also encourages established users to give back to their dedicated followers. In this way the strategy creates an atmosphere of reciprocity and a sort of symbiotic teamwork structure of growing together. Similarly, established users will often visit the blog of their dedicated followers and up-vote their work as a sign of their appreciation which again plays into the teamwork approach.

The strategy also creates community. Comments not only demonstrate to an individual that their post is being read by an audience rather than simply floating out in space, but they also create dialogue and discourse between users. Individuals get to know each other and in many ways develop online friendships with others, which is a huge plus in my opinion. I started using this approach in its pure form long ago but have since made online friendships that I value far beyond a back and forth up-vote.

Finally, the approach increases the likelihood that only high quality content is being created on the platform by reducing the tendency of new users to make a lot of low quality posts simply to gain exposure. Instead of writing about whatever happens to pop into their head at any given moment, new users spend the majority of their time commenting on other quality posts – which I am suggesting is actually a self-servingly beneficial use of their time. Since low quality posts for the sake of exposure are relegated to the comment section of other users posts instead of being made into an actual Steemit article, the quality of the platform improves because the quality of the posts improve.

That’s it. That’s my strategy for growth on the platform. Feel free to share your thoughts and even your criticisms of the strategy or any of the tips and techniques that have worked for you in the past and/or present. Thanks for reading!

Images from Pixabay