"Thou Shalt Steem No Posts Above Thine Own" - And, Like, Especially Don't Resteem Posts "To Bookmark Them"

Resteems destroy your feed. Luckily, there's a simple formula to determine how many you should use:

IF (Resteems) > 0, THEN (you've used too many).

There, I said it.

Of course, it doesn't apply quite the same way to all established users, and these users know who they are.

However, for the vast majority of Steemit users, it's the truth. Until a Resteem filter exists, this is a tool fraught with more peril than benefit for the budding blogger extraordinaire.

Must be some wiggle-room in there. I don't have strong opinions on goat milk, personally.

By the way, in case you were wondering what the heck that was, it's the "Ritual Decalogue" from Exodus 34:11. It's interesting enough for it's own post.

Here are some things you don't want when someone comes to your blog thinking about following you:

1. Them clicking on a Resteem that takes them out of your blog, never to return.
2. Them being unable to find your content, concluding you are a serial Resteem'er, and leaving.
3. Them deciding your post frequency will overwhelm their feed, so they do not follow you.

All of these outcomes are increased in likelihood if you Resteem too often (or at all).

Only one of these paths leads to following you.

Frankly, early on, you probably shouldn't Resteem at all. As @Geke pointed out in the last post of my series on gaining followers, most authors will not even know you Resteemed their work. I no longer receive browser notifications for Steemit (and when I do, there are hundreds), so I only know if a post of mine gets Resteemed if I see it in someone's feed, or they tell me in a comment! (To be fair, I do like those comments...)

Sure, you might say that users can simply check you on ChainBB if they want to see your posts in chronological order without Resteems.

Do you really want to add an extra barrier of entry / separate-website-bar to deciding whether to read your content and follow your future work? Any marketer will tell you there is no debate to be had here, the answer is no.

It was not rhetorical.

Resteeming is an act of charity, lending your exposure to a post or author that you think deserves more attention. The curation rewards are, most often, a rounding error.

The truth is, though, it's not really a loan, it's a gift.

You're not getting "back" any votes that go to your Resteems, or prospective followers that skip your feed.

Let's look at a successful author, @JerryBanfield. Thanks to his recent post on the "Steemit More Info" tool, (click me) we can see a nifty graph of his posting habits over the last two months.

See how much he Resteems?

Note also the consistent posting schedule - not too few, not too many.

Do you really think you know audience management and content creation better than this guy does?

I rest my case.

Even worse than an intentional Resteem of quality content, is the "Resteem to read later."

Names and avatars removed to protect the innocent.

I still see this happen everyday. If you care at all about your blog, do not be this person. I will not follow a person who does this, as I like to at least rationalize that my feed could be useful again someday.

If you have any additions or errata for this post, please let me know! I will see that they are voted to the top of the comments, and will make the appropriate edits (if possible).

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Sources: Wikipedia, @Geke, Pinterest, Google
Copyright: Calvin and Hobbes, JerryBanfield, Patrick Bradley, Carol Jacoby