14 Tips For Steemit Newbies I Wish I Knew When Starting

I spent well over 5 hours writing and editing this post. So if you find it helpful, I'd be SUPER grateful for if you could share this with anyone you think might get value out of it.14 Tips For Steemit Newbies I Wish I Knew When StartingI've been fortunate to be a part of the Steemit community for the last month so I'd just thought I'd share a few tips for those of you who just joined the Steemit family.I'll be the first to admit, when I first joined Steemit I was a bit overwhelmed. It took a little bit to get the hang of things, but boy am I glad I did.I hope these tips help you get more out of the Steemit community. :)

1. Get A Basic Understanding of How Steemit Works

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This of course isn't mandatory, but in my experience spending an hour or two trying to understand the technology behind the platform is super important.You don't have to nerd out about this by any means, but I suggest you first start reading the Steemit White Paper.It took me several reads before I really felt I had a 'passable' knowledge of it, and I'm still by no means an expert.You should also spend some time browsing the tag Steem-Help. There's a ton of really good information being posted daily, from how payouts work to how to properly format your post - hint using HTML might cause things to freeze.Don't be afraid to ask questions, and engage with the community. The vast majority of Steemit users are more than happy to help -- they were new once to.

2. Introduce Yourself Using the#IntroduceYourSelf tag.

After you feel you have a baseline line knowledge of how things work stop sitting on the sidelines and jump in!The first post you'll want to make is a post introducing yourself to the community. Remember, first impressions matter! So be sure to take your time here and really stand out.You can title your first post with a quick line about yourself. For example,"Hi, I'm Bud - digital marketer, travel enthusiast, from Chile."**When choosing your tags for the post, including "Introduceyourself" is all you need to be good to go.Here are a few pointers when it comes to writing a good introduction post!Keep it short. It doesn't have to a single paragraph, but at the same time don't make it 103194 pages either. The point is to give the community a quick overview of who you are without boring them to death!Include a recent photo of yourself: preferably with some kind of "proof" it's really you. Many Steemit users have been writing "Hi Steemit with the date" and it has been quite successful.As far as sharing your story, If you're not sure what to write about here are some suggestions -Share your what you do for work. Are you an entrepreneur? Writer? Do you travel the world? Be sure to let us know.Share how you'll contribute. What is your skillset? Do you know excel better than anyone else? Do know how to cook a mean breakfast omlette? Did you create the first tipping bot on Reddit for Dogecoin? Let us know!
Share why and how you joined Steemit. How did you find Steemit? Did a friend encourage you to sign up? What made you pull the trigger and join the community?You don't have to hit every point above, they are just suggestions after all.After you write your post give it several reads and hit post! Congratulations, you're an official member of Steemit!

3. Proofread Your Posts

The best way to start off on the wrong foot is by posting a sloppy post! Part of bringing your A game to the community is taking your content seriously.Make sure to proofread your posts! You *DON'T have to be a *professional writer or know exactly where each comma goes, but give it your best effort.It's important to note, not everyone who uses Steemit is a native English speaker. This is perfectly okay.For example, My good friend @dudutaulois is making a killing on Steemit even though he doesn't think his English is very great.If English is not your first language it might help to have a friend of yours give it a quick read or two.Do your best and you'll be fine.

4. Dabble In Steemit Chat

Steemit Chat is actually one of my favorite parts of the community.It's still relatively new and can be a bit noisy at times, but there's no better place to start building relationships with users from around the world.Take some time to spend time chatting in each of the various channels.Start with the "general"** channel and engage there. Overtime you can pick and choose a few different channels you find interesting.The purpose of the chat is to have actual conversations. Don't go around posting links to your post without permission.Instead, take some time to listen to the discussions going on and jump in when you think you can provide some value.One thing I like to do, is see who is following me on Steemit and reach out to them directly via DM.I'll usually leave a genuine comment and just introduce myself. I've made several very strong relationships by doing this.It goes without saying, don't be pushy or inauthentic. Which brings me to my next tip..

5. Don't Spam

OK, this tip I knew before I joined Steemit. It goes without saying, the aim of the community is to bring value, so please please please don't spam.How do you know if it's Spam?You can ask yourself a few of these simple questions,

• Does it bring value?
• Am I just trying to get upvotes for little or no effort?
• Am I proud to post this?

If the answer is no... Don't post.Nothing ruins the community faster than spam. So please do your best to produce/share content your proud of!Don't worry if what you have to say has been "said before." As long as you're adding your own unique position it potentially valuable to the community.

6. Experiment!

For the most part, this community is very understanding and welcoming. Assuming you're not a spammer, it's perfectly okay to try a new things!Maybe you've never written a poem before! Now is the perfect time to do it!Maybe you normally write long posts but want to try something short! Go for it!Intent matters. As long as the community thinks you have good intentions you should feel comfortable and free to share your voice with the world.Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

7. Don't post more than 4 times in 24 hours.

This was something I actually had no clue about when I first started.Thanks to Crytopgee @Crytopgee I was informed that you are actually penalized if you post too frequently.Remember this a marathon not a sprint! It's tempting to want to post 10 times a day, but do your best to resist this urge!If you're intending to be a part of the community for the long haul, you'll have plenty of time to share your content.A good rule of thumb when starting is 1-2 posts a day if you're feeling ambitious!Try and pick a posting schedule that works for your lifestyle and stick with it. :)

8. Start building relationships early.

Steemit is a relationship driven platform. It gets pretty lonely if you just show up to post and then call it a day.You can start building relationships by not only producing/sharing valuable content, but by also engaging with the community!Leave comments on posts that moved you! Add to the discussion, share your two cents!Don't leave a comment just for the sake of leaving comments, instead try to contribute a new thought or idea.I normally try to leave at least 10 meaningful comments each day. Since I've started doing this not only have I made a lot of cool friendships, I've always seen the engagement on my own work skyrocket!Drop a comment and say hi!

9. Experiment With Tags

As with any great social network, there is a ton of content for you to consume here.Don't be overwhelmed. Seriously.Start with checking out the homepage, and then explore some other tags that you find interesting.There's plenty more to Steemit than the homepage!Check out some the awesome photography. Or the amazing travel stories. Learn more about the government.Just make sure you have some time to spare, cause it's quite the rabbit hole.Not only will reading other tags make you more knowledgeable, it might give you some great ideas for future content and posts.

10. You don't "suck" if you don't make money at first.

Don't become discouraged if your first few posts don't do much. It's normal and completely expected!It's not fun looking at your first few posts that failed to make a few cents. Believe me I know.At the time time it's important to remember you're new here!If you look at the posting history of the "high earners" you'll notice that it took them time to build some momentum as well.This is not a get rich scheme. You have to keep posting consistently before you'll see lasting results.

11. You Can Disagree — But Please Be Polite.

It goes without saying this is a community built upon mutual respect. You may believe anarchy is the answer but that doesn't mean everyone is going to agree.Don't feel afraid to share your opinion by any means, but don't result to name calling or putting someone down.I've had a few 'heated' discussions so far here but in the end everyone involved came out more knowledge upon.Just because Steemit is new and a "free" social network doesn't give you permission to act like a dick.Remember, everything you do and see on the Steemit platform is recorded in the blockchain. :)

12. Use Markdown NOT HTML

Make sure to edit your posts using the Markdown language, not HTML. If you're unfamiliar there are plenty online tutorials to help get you started.When I first joined, I would write my post in a wordpress blog and transfer it over. This worked at first, but eventually started causing the post to freeze.For my current writing process I use https://stackedit.io/editor to write and https://www.steemimg.com/ to host all my images.After I upload the image I just copy the link into my post.

13. Don't upvote every post!

Your upvotes matter! Make sure you're using your upvote power to reward content you find genuinely valuable, not just out of habit.Unlike sites like Reddit, where you can upvote haphazardly, your upvotes have limited power on Steemit. The more you upvote in a period of 24 hour period the less effect your action has.So use your upvotes wisely. I've heard a good rule of thumb is to only upvote 20-30 times in a 24 hour period.Your upvote gauge is like a stamina bar. It goes up slowly over time. Use them wisely.

14. Make Money But Have Fun

It's no secret that the appeal of potentially making good money by doing something you normally do for free is an awesome proposition, but don't overthink it!Think of Steemit as a giant experiment. You might not ever make a "killing" on Steemit! You might not be able to retire after posting 3 posts!But if you come here with the right intentions and add value to the community you will come out on top.Build relationships. Expose yourself to new ideas. See if you have what it takes to produce popular content.

The Steemit community is exactly what you make it!

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