How I Make Steemit Work for Me

By the end of this post I promise your next article will make at least $1 or more. This article is intended for those who have yet make a buck.

Are you one of those writers on Steemit finding it impossible to get enough of the the right votes, to earn money and steem power?

Yes, then this article is guaranteed to help you. If you follow this advice your next post will get you the attention you need to get started.
No, then maybe you have some extra advice you can add to the comment section.

These are the general rules I personally try to adhere to when I write a post. Of course all rules are meant to be broken when the time is right. Using my own articles both the hits and the crap as examples I will explain why some did well and why others did poorly.

First Rule

Only write about something you are truly passionate about. Choose a topic that you find interesting and really want to share your thoughts and ideas about. A passionless article will smell like rotten cheese from a mile away.

For example this article I really wasn’t interested in.
https://steemit.com/sports/@solarguy/olympians-ladies-go-ga-ga-for
I made this post because of two factors. I got a comment in a previous post and then I read a comment in someone else’s post by a lady complaining Steemit was posting too many sexy women and not enough men. I tossed this together. I really expected it to get some attention. It failed horribly.

Even after I got some friends adding me to their feed I have still posted articles that lacked passion. They earned me a little money because they were informative and interesting to the people that already knew me. But they weren’t “OMG look at me” quality.
https://steemit.com/crypto-news/@solarguy/kim-dotcom-is-about-to-revolutionize-the-world-again 0.34 cents not many votes but i was poorly attempting to appeal to the crypto currency crowd which to be honest I'm really not that into, yet. I was faking it and it showed.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@solarguy/you-thought-steemit-was-tough a few votes. No payout.

Check out the articles I was passionate about.
https://steemit.com/cn/@solarguy/383cyy not only did i spill my guts out I used another language to attract others. I will talk more about that soon
.
And this opinion piece.
https://steemit.com/history/@solarguy/south-china-sea-why-it-matters-and-why-it-s-the-way-it-is

Second, keep the articles as short as possible. Avoid rambling on. People have so many articles to vote on we are less likely to read an article that takes more than 5 minutes (1000 words or less) from an unknown author. This of course does not apply to all articles. Use the standard essay format but break up the paragraphs more so it’s easier on the eyes.

BUT if you have not yet made $1 on steem trust me for now. Under 500 would be ideal if you want someone to truly finish your article. That doesn’t mean sacrifice quality. It means talk about less things, for now.

Once you’re making $$$ you know people want your opinion and they will pay attention to you for longer.

Use pictures but not too many.

Third, make people relate to your topic. It is no longer enough to simply tell people what you think. You need them to understand how it relates to them. There are many good articles I read that are very informative but by the end of it still didn’t see how it mattered to me and I save my vote for something that matters. Don’t you?

"Crediting pictures and sources is in fact helping people to relate to your post. Use links as often as possible. It builds credibility and we can all relate to that." -SolarGuy. Don't forget to quote people, we like that stuff.

Use a headline that my makes people want to learn more. The first sentence of the post will show up in the description. Be sure to use that to encourage people to click. Look at my past posts for examples of hits and crap.

If you are a good writer and clever you can make anything relate to anybody in some witty way with a whimsical play of words. This is what separates passionate writers from the rest. I could use more of this talent.

This is my most successful article. I really did not expect it to earn more than $10sd yet it cleared $500. I was however quite passionate about it. I truly believe in its message. When I wrote this I was hoping to appeal to travelers and a good reason to visit Canada. I wanted to test and grow my audience.
https://steemit.com/cn/@solarguy/go-topless-and-support-international-women-s-rights-day $540 and got the votes from Dan and Ned. Best feeling even though I also got my first and only flag ever. It took me by surprise. To be honest I was quite happy but really was hoping for a more intellectual article to be the one that took off. Anyways, I’m still loving it.

Fourth, find a niche. Find something others aren’t doing. Or at least not enough of and this will be less competition for votes in more popular tags.

You see I post many articles in Chinese and English. This really appealed to the growing Chinese community that was hungry for Chinese content. And you can see I'm genuinely passionate about life here, it was fitting for me.

Fifth.
If you are not using facebook and twitter to help market your posts start now. Do not play the twitter game of using misleading headline to attract clicks. Steemit users often will not vote for being mislead to a rubbish article.
There are several fb groups to post links in. Twitter uses the hashtag #SteemPower or #Steem. You do that a couple times and your twitter following will grow and evolve too.

Use the right tags in Steemit.

Check out Steemit.chat to also help spread the word of your new post.

And last and final. Please post a link to your next post in the comment section of this post. I will help you the best I can. I can give you tips and spread the word.

Check out my posts. Some were hits some failed but overall 80% of my posts earned some money. The 4 weeks or older posts have reset.
Please remember this is mostly advice for people who have yet to make a $1. Share you experience with us in the comment section.

Please feel free to add me to your feed with a follow. Or Twitter @SolarThings

And one last thing I nearly forgot. Read and re read your article until it is perfect before you post. Trust me. Even the slightest grammar mistake will drive some people away. It's a pity but a reality. A misspelled or absent word could lose a vote. As I read this for the fourth time.