I would like to introduce a brand new Steemian that I think will be a rising star and beautiful asset to the Steemian Community, @gracefulhearts

https://steemit.com/newbiesteemitday/@gracefulhearts/hello-steemians-let-me-introduce-myself

Welcome, welcome, welcome, @gracefulhearts - Your Steemit name reflects your energy so completely!

I was immediately drawn to @gracefulhearts photo on her introduceyourself post because it reflected so much introspection and wisdom. When I began to read her post, I was just blown away by its authenticity and 'grace':

If dust bunny corners and dog slobbered windows could describe my view of the world, it might actually be accurate.

She further states this beautiful metaphor regarding a current situation in her life which brought her a profound thought.

I recently had my floors redone and the workers left a mess of vinyl dust and fragments all over the garden, and the phrase came to me to “treat the outside as the inside,” for both are our homes. I think if people adopted that intent, the Earth would be in a much better place!

Grace's interests are streamlined with her creative aspirations to not only improve herself on the inside but also on the outside. Her listing of life interests reflect this so beautifully:

I am also involved with yoga, hiking, healthy food, and am in the active phase of writing a musical….songs, dialogue, and stage settings.

Not only is Grace a creative writer, but she also includes Feng Shui and helping people in her physical therapy practice.

I got the distinct impression from @gracefulhearts introduceyourself post that she was intent on being an active participant with the Steemit Community which is another reason I feel she would be the perfect candidate for mentoring and support. So, I reached out to her to offer some support and help to get her going.

I've not been on Steemit that long myself, but I definitely experienced the hurdles involved in taking in an overwhelming amount of information and learning what's involved in just getting your post out there! It seemed so contradictory to me in the beginning, spending the majority of my time fighting with the very basics.

Luckily I was able to help Grace get started with some suggestions that I hope alleviate some of the mystery so she can concentrate on 'creating':

• MARKDOWN - A necessary part of posting on Steemit. It's a useful tool in order to create awesome posts but also 'save' your work. Once your post has reached it's payout, you will no longer be able to go into the edit to see the syntax you used so it is most useful having that Markdown file available to refer back for future posts.

  To download: http://markdownpad.com/download.html

  This is a free app. I just recently upgraded to the professional so I could have more tools but for newbies, the free app works just fine and you can make the decision later to upgrade or not.

• WRITING INSPIRATION:

  Writing Prompts!: I found this wonderful website with so many writing prompts to help in coming up with things to write about (if you find yourself in a slump): http://https://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/

• IMAGES: in your posts I think is important to set the tone and feeling visually - The two that I prefer using.

  https://www.pexels.com
  https://pixabay.com

  Always 'source' your photographs/information when applicable:
  syntax to use: first upload your image and then followup with ---> [Source](YOUR LINK TO SOURCE HERE)

It should look like this:

Source

-This was taught to me by @lynncoyle1 who spent HOURS with me trying to get this right!

• TAGS: Tags are 'important' - You are allowed 5 tags to use - no caps, oneword, separated by one space between. For newbies, the newbieresteemitday tag will be important. I had no idea what this was initially, and then @davemccoy helped me so much learning about this amazing program to help new Steemians.

  It helps to look at the tag categories on Steemit to get an idea of what to use although heavily used tags are not necessarily the best tags as this means your post will likely get lost in this big ocean that is Steemit

• VOTING:- Steemit is not like facebook or twitter where you just willy nilly upvote things you like (you're likely going to run out of Steem real quick!) Votes are precious, use them wisely.

• COMMENTING: Personally, I approach this with 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. If someone took the time to support your work and comment on your post, then you should acknowledge their efforts and comment back your appreciation for taking the time to do so. Also commenting on others' posts is showing your support for their work - Community, community, community!

• UTILIZE DISCORD! This is by far one of the most important components of Steemit for a newbie. This is where newbies have the opportunity to gain added support from Steemians, gain knowledge about respective interests, join communities that support each other and network. Also, the @ifc and a few other groups have a marketplace for those that want to pursue selling goods and services! Pretty cool! You can also take classes and learn new things to improve your Steemit experience and yourself! And of course, make lots of friends. Can't recommend enough.

  I do recommend downloading this to your computer/device rather than in a browser as I've had some trouble in the browser.

  https://discordapp.com/

• USEFUL PROGRAMS that will help managing your Steemit account:

  https://steemworld.org/@YOURACCOUNTNAME
  https://steemd.com/@YOURACCOUNTNAME
  https://steemnow.com/@YOURACCOUNTNAME

• BOT OR NOT TO BOT (and other self-promotion): I have only just recently starting using these as I was unsure before about it. Unfortunately, it's difficult for newbies to get exposure for their posts and it's rather depressing to see a post you've put your time and tears into, sit there with 1 vote. It's not personal, it's just that Steemit is such a vast ocean. I think these bots and self promotion are helpful (rethinking it).

  I asked @jan23 to help me with safe bots to try out initially:

  @thundercurator send 0.121 SBD
  @automation send 0.01 SBD
  @shares send 0.10

I use this program but I'm sure there are others: https://steemworld.org/@gracefulhearts

Very important! You will need your 'active key' for this transaction. Never, ever, ever use your active key for posting - only use your 'posting key'.

A useful program to monitor bots:

https://steembottracker.com/

Utilize Discord Post-Promotion! As you join various groups that align with your interests, you will find that most have a section for 'post promotion'. Usually these have some 'guidelines' for posting your link so make sure to find the 'bell icon' to the upper right to find out what those are before you post your link.

• SUPPORTIVE GROUPS: that will help you build your account and learn/grow:

  https://steemit.com/@qurator

  https://steemit.com/@newbieresteemday
  --> Discord: https://discord.gg/2ZcAxsU

  Minnow Booster: https://discord.gg/Q3KpvC

  Isle of Writ: https://discord.gg/WZUyAT

  Writer's Block: https://discord.gg/pDrPuv

  https://steemit.com/@asapers

  https://steemit.com/@thehive

  https://steemit.com/@minnowsupport

• CONTESTS! This is a fabulous and fun way to build your account, meet other steemians and improve your Steemit knowledge! I highly recommend this for newbies! You will learn soooo much! And have fun doing it.

  https://steemit.com/contest/@welcomewagon/100-votes-for-a-week-are-you-next
  https://steemit.com/@ifc
  https://steemit.com/@newbiegame s

To name just a few! Steemit is full of contest opportunities.

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I hope that this serves as a reference for not only @gracefulhearts but others starting on their Steemit journey.

Thank you @IFC , @apolymask for being supportive during my own growing here on Steemit and creating this amazing contest in which to dream and write!

Big thank you also to @beeyou, @davemccoy, @lynncoyle1, @curie, @newbieresteemitday, @asapers, @insideoutlet, @c-squared, @thehive for being the big presence that you are on Steemit and being the consistent 'Help the Beginners' superstars!

You all do so much for this Community!

Special thank you to @deliberator for inspiring this great quest!

As I write this, @gracefulhearts is enthusiastically preparing her first post! So excited for her - It's going to be fun to watch her blossom here on Steemit! Can't wait to see what she shares with us.

In the spirit of Steemit, let's give @gracefulhearts a healthy dose of Steeemit love as she embarks on completing her current project of writing a musical….songs, dialogue, and stage settings! Oh my!