5 Tips for Newbies by a Newbie.

Hey Steemians.

I was trawling through the feed today when I came across a few posts that inspired me to write this piece. Starting out on Steemit is not straight forward and it’s a massive learning curve. Thankfully there are lots of great, experienced people willing to help. I just thought I would give my view as a newbie of three weeks and offer a view from a minnow all the way down here. :)

So here are my 5 tips:

1. Reply to each and every one of the comments and replies you receive.

Why wouldn’t you! Is that not why we are all here, to communicate with each other, build up a rapport and in the long run collect a bit of Steem? There is nothing worse than putting your heart and soul into a piece of writing and not getting any response. This is absolutely crucial for us newbies to build a following and gain a Rep. Without fail, I will reply to every single comment or response I get and you can put that to the test if you like! ;)

2. Post a comment on the content you love.

It takes time to search the feed and find posts that have quality and interest you, but it’s worth the effort. If you don’t like it, move on but if you do, think about your reply but make it worthwhile. While it’s nice some times to receive a well done I would much rather somebody engages in the post, challenges it, adds to it or if you agree, say why. I believe you will build up a reputation and following of quality people faster that way.

3. Use your Upvotes.

The general consensus is that we can upvote roughly 10 times in a day at 100% and get a full refill for the next day. So use them! Find some quality posts and reward the authors. If you don’t hit ten a day you are wasting possible Steem for the day and that eventually means Steem for you going to waste too. On that note do you have some Steem? Did you purchase and move some to Steemit? My recommendation is to at least have a little Steem in your wallet to show you are serious about the crypto and the community. People check your wallet and if you don’t have at least a small contribution in there you will lose credence. For some of you this will be a challenge but again, it will be worth it and will add credibility to your profile. There are a couple of links underneath. One from myself on the difficulties of purchasing your first Cryptocurrency and another from @madstacks about owning some Steem.

Link: @madstacks
Link: @cheese4ead

4. Focus on adding value and building a steady following

Forget getting rich quick or possibly at all. If you’re here because you think you can cut corners I think you’re going to get a bit of a shock. Assess why you’re here. If it’s to glean information from some pretty intelligent people then you’re in business. If it’s because you have something to offer and want to share it then equally, you’re in business. Add quality and originality to your posts and comments and you will see the difference it makes. Enjoy the interaction and consider a short back and forth chat with somebody a success. It may lead to all the other stuff later on down the line. For instance, more followers or upvotes and increased Rep. Slow and steady (with a splattering of hard graft) will win this race.

5. Be a positive influence.

I’ll say this once and leave it. Do Not Beg for upvotes or Spam people’s posts. Good people don’t like it. Done! Ok next. Be a positive influence in this space. Already, in my short time here I can see some established people getting frustrated with new people coming in and being negative. Add quality, constructive criticism, by all means but stay away from whining! In fact, I recommend offering solutions to issues that you see because you will get respect for it. Positivity breeds more positivity and when we are happy with each other we hit the upvote and follow buttons more.

Here are two more great posts from other people; one from @tressaried about positivity in general and the other from @uwelang about positivity on Steemit.

Link: @uwelang
Link: @tressareid

I hope this was an interesting and helpful post for all us newbies. If you liked it then a follow and an upvote would be very cool. If you really, really liked it then a Re-Steem to get it out there would be just wonderful.

But what I would love most of all is for you to comment and have a chat about it.

Take it easy and enjoy the Steemit ride.

Cheers, Gaz.