Entry for The Welcoming Contest [Round #8 - Create a Welcome Message] by @inquiringtimes

Hello Dear Friends,

This post includes an entry welcoming message to a contest held by @inquiringtimes. Thank you so much for your cool initiative!

I was thinking about starting a new series with this post. Starting an original and distinct series of posts is an advice itself if you're a minnow reading this intro :) But I reconsidered this idea after reading some reflective post on time and effort management by a fellow Steemian, and decided to hold my horses (geez @mikepm74, you're basically my personal savior!).

But, without a further ado, in this post I'd like to talk to you about welcoming and supporting new members to the platform, as I perceive the growth of Steemit to be one of the most basic and fundamental issues, for minnows, dolphins and whales alike :)

THE IMPORTANCE OF WELCOMING NEW USERS ON STEEMIT (AND FURTHER SUPPORT)

Well, my experience is that in my first few days here on Steemit I was welcomed by @mikepm74, a prominent Steemian, writer, curator and creator of some really great content and initiatives. I started following him closely and noticed how much was he engaged in helping out the newcomers. He created a series of posts called the Daily Fresh Five, presenting each time five interesting and promising introduction posts by newcomers. You can now follow his series in @thefreshfive blog :)

So I watched Mikey in his cool efforts and decided to follow his lead right away! I started to welcome new users that Mike has picked in his Fresh Five, as well as users that I've found while browsing the introduction category, and also the users who've reached out to me on their own.

I was commenting on newcomer's introductory posts, wishing them luck and giving some tips. I was giving them upvotes, and follows when I felt like it. Later on I was keeping in touch with many of them, revisiting their blogs, trying to socialize. Soon I was able to see what difference does it make to others and to me, and to the whole Steemit, too! Namely:

• I gained many new friends, original and creative thinkers from which I could learn and take inspiration- and this is no joke, I've learnt a great deal from other Steemians, there are many talented and skillful teachers here!

• In many cases I was able to ignite a meaningful connection, even a relationship, not a short-sighted transaction; and this I think is a very good thing for both sides;

• I was able to witness how other Steemians grow and also help them grow! To me, it's a very endearing experience, especially because several people that I've introduced to Steemit have dropped out of it, which made me quite sad- some fantastic contributors lost there;

• Attracting new promising users is vital for all of us, because the more, the merrier- in order to keep Steemit alive and kicking, AND REWARDING, mind you, we need the community to grow stronger and bigger. The unromantic translation to money could be, eh, give to receive! or mo' Steemit community mo' money hah;

• I had a chance to treat others the way I wanted to be treated. I wish I was suggested all those good things that I'm now suggesting to the newcomers when I first got here. I know it would be useful and beneficial to me to know them from the beginning. Example? I followed one little advice from Mike and that's how well it worked out for me. The advice was to show the progress of my artwork in exhaustive and attractive way.

ABOUT MY WELCOMING MESSAGE

Till now I was writing my welcome message from scratch every time, which tended to take some time. But now thanks to the @inquiringtimes's contest I'll be having a ready and well-written one to copy and paste in the comment, after the part addressed specifically to that person. My message will consist of a custom and a common part.

I'll stay true to my heart and include all my standard comments in the welcoming message :)

Hi @inquiringtimes, here's a link to my post with an entry, and my actual entry is below:

Welcome to Steemit, dear @username!

Custom part: where I address the content of @username's introductory post. Usually I write about what i liked in their post and what caught my attention, what we have in common, what I would like to read about more, and give some specific advice designed for this person, when applicable ;)

I hope that you'll find this place friendly and rewarding! I enjoy Steemit very much myself, and I would like to share some tips with you to help make your start here easy and successful <3

I wish I was told several things when I was new here, like you are now. My experience is, that:

• I should read FAQ earlier- lots of crucial & basic info there for you! Trust me, it's worth reading!

• I also wish I joined PAL- a minnow support group on Discord from the beginning (Discord is to Steemit like Messenger is to Facebook). Here's an invite for you and here's the registration manual- you can get a lot of support for your blog there!

• I would also strongly suggest following @mikepm74 as well as @inquringtimes These two prominent users post lots of useful and instructive posts- you may learn a lot from them to your benefit!

• I also should read some comprehensive guide about how to success here on Steemit :) I can recommend one here or here - lots of info about money, etiquette, formatting, good strategies, bad strategies, content creation :)

• Steemit rewards perseverance, high quality and social engagement! I had to be patient, write creative and elaborate posts, listen to other's advice and comment a lot! It worked great!

  ​I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Please ask me if you need any help. I'm looking forward to see more of your posts!

All the best @username,
Klaudia

ADDITIONAL INFO FOR ARTISTS:

Very often I give more specific suggestions on how a fellow artist's content could be improved- in most cases I explain why it's best to show the progress of artwork, or write an interesting commentary, so that the post is rich, educational, entertaining.

CREATING YOUR OWN WELCOMING MESSAGE:

If you would like to come up with your own message for newcomers, perhaps you'll find these suggestions helpful (the text below is another contest entry of mine to a previous contest held by @inquiringtimes- I think it might be useful to others so I kind of recycled it here).

How to properly welcome a new user:

• First of all, I'm very warm and nice towards them, I welcome them, wish them luck and success, offer help if they want - in general I try to be very supportive;

• I react to their content with upvotes, make sure to leave a quality comment, and encourage the relationship for example by follow (especially if it seems we will both be interested in each other's content) and saying that I look forward to see their posts in the future);

• I try to reward value and quality;

• I give couple of general suggestions and some more detailed tips when applicable, but I try to make sure I won't overload someone with info at an early stage;

• I do my best to come back to the newcomers (especially when they caught my attention or when they reach out) so I leave more upvotes and comments and try to spark a conversation, and also many times have I went to PAL and upvoted their posts with bots.

  ​Information that I share with every new user:

In general:

• I almost always start my tips with strong suggestion to read FAQ- because I myself learnt from there in the beginning. It's accessible to every new user, concise but comprehensive and complete.

• Another thing is to invite them to PAL (and recently also to Steemit Bloggers and Steemgigs)- works best with direct invite links and also a link to a post describing how to register on PAL;

• I very often make suggestion to follow some prominent and helpful users, and personally I recommend the one and only @mikepm74 and I'm going to suggest @inquiringtimes from now on too;

  ​
  Special cases:

• Depending on the needs of a particular user, I sometimes give them links to helpful guides or posts concerning some issue, written by other Steemians and less often to mine as well;

• Very often I give more specific suggestions on how their content could be improved- in most cases it is when I visit an artist's blog and explain why it's best to show the progress of artwork, or write an interesting commentary, so that the post is rich, educational, entertaining.

  ​What do I wish I was told when I first got started:

• I wish I was told to read FAQ right away (and that's why I always start my tips for newcomers with this advice);

• I also wish I was told to connect more with users that might interest me- and e.g. to go and search that art category and that I will find great content here, get to know fascinating people and learn a lot from them- it wasn't so obvious in the beginning;

• I wish I was told more quickly to focus on authoring a quality content, that the longer the post, the better and that I should show the progress of my artwork; pretty soon Mike told me about it and my publishing habits changed for better;

• I wish I was told to join Discord, but also HOW to do it & WHY to do it, and how to USE it successfully (how to upvote posts, look for friends etc.);

• Also I wish I was informed about the financial aspects- e.g. that the posts are active for 7 days only and that my upvotes on old posts are wasted.

  ​What information do users need, but not have readily available?

• That it's good to start with an introductory post- and how to create one properly (you know, I had no idea I could start with posting my introductory post, and I never did, and we all know how much can a well prepared introduction earn- and that is crucial for beginners);

• How do upvotes work- that there is a 7 day limit, that timing of the upvote matters; that rewards split into author's and curator's parts, that the voting power decreases with every next upvote;

• How to use Discord for your benefit- practical guide;

• Also info on formatting, etiquette;

• Also an info (I speak from experience) that it's true that Steemit requires patience and consistency, but it is possible to start earning money quite soon, you just have to make an effort- I've witnessed newcomers whose interest burnt out quickly because there was no instant reward- but my experience showed that you also don't have to wait forever for the benefits.

  ​What resources do all new users need?

• Good ol' FAQ;

• Comprehensive minnow guides and more specific posts, but focused on practical aspects- specific instructions with pictures, real-life examples how to use an app or software, for example I found out about Typora from @zeroooc's post;

• Posts on effective strategies and good practices on Steemit - e.g. strive for a relationship, not a transaction;

• Posts on bad practices- I learnt a lot reading posts about e.g. scandalous self upvotes haha or some etiquette faux pas;

• Again, I think that a practical, instructive and illustrated guide on PAL and Steemit Bloggers would be great- showing step by step how to start, register and use it to you benefit;

• I'd also say something like tl'dr quick intro urging them to get familiar with basic issues (FAQ, formatting, etiquette, community and all this good stuff).

Well, I certainly hope my post could be an inspiration to you, guys :)

Love,

Klaudia