TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY - ADVICE FOR NEWCOMERS - WHY I’M GLAD I CHOSE TO STICK WITH STEEMIT!!!
It was July of 2016 and my brother calls me with this idea. He tells me about an Amazing new plattform called Steemit that I should start blogging on. Those who were my Facebook friends (I currently am not on there any more...caused too much unnecessary stress and anxiety) knew how I loved to talk and share life and useful tips with people. Some of my posts on there were like short novels lol. I’m sure that’s why my brother thought of me when he found this. 😏
My first thought was
blogging?
I wasn’t too for sure I wanted to commit to keeping up with a blog. Then he start sharing about the curating rewards and how we’re rewarded for good quality content...I then thought more about it. 🤔
Okay, I’ll give it a try.
So off I went getting my membership and preparing my first Verification/Introduction post. I got showed some love for my intro post, a total of about $27 worth of upvotes. I also received some really nice welcomes and encouragement for my new journey. I thought
yes I can do this, I’ll just be me and post about what I love.
Okay I’m not thrilled anymore. I wasn’t getting the attention I expected, the upvotes were sleeping, crickets were chirping, people weren’t visiting my blog. What happened? Is it me or is it just dead in here? What do I need to do to get noticed? I asked myself all of these questions as I was feeling so discouraged and ready to quit. It really makes you feel down when you post about things that are dear to you and no one reads them. It really hurts when you put your time and effort into a post and it just gets buried, no where to be found on the plattform. It’s like my posts were performing some kind of disappearing act and ending up in the Twilight Zone. 😨
So I didn’t take the time that I should have to research the plattform. I searched a little for answers but a lot of things were confusing to me. My husband had been into crypto currency for awhile before I joined so I knew a little about it but not enough to keep me trying. Yep you guessed it, I quit Steemit. A few months after that I was pregnant with my fourth child so that gave me another excuse,
I’m pregnant now and don’t have time to blog.
So I went on with life and never looked at Steemit again for the whole time I was pregnant.
The baby was born on July 24th 2017. About a week later as I was nursing him I started thinking about blogging again. I could easily prepare my posts while sitting in the rocker with him. So I decided to check back in on Steemit and browse around. I can’t remember who’s post I read but it enlightened me. He gave advice about taking some time just to browse the plattform and learn. He suggested to search for posts about Steem and Steemit and gain knowledge on what it’s all about. He also suggested to take a full week away from posting, and just curate and comment. Get to know people, mingle and conversate.
That made a lot of sense to me. The year before I was just focused on getting my posts published, getting upvotes but people didn’t even know I existed. What better way to say hey I’m here, than to go through and read other’s content, give encouraging and helpful feedback and mingle? I wanted to meet other Steemicans and see what they were posting about. I did just that. For a whole week I took time to learn about the plattform and made some really great connections. From there I noticed I was getting more followers, my post payouts went from $0.00 to $0.02 and then to $0.04 and so forth. Within a few months I had consistent viewers and upvoters of my content and I started to feel a little more at home. I knew this time I would stick around. 👌🏽 I was just happy knowing people were finally reading my content.
Let me say this. Just because you may not get a lot of notice in the beginning, that doesn’t mean your content isn’t valuable. I was posting about the same things I posted about before I quit the year before. I just had to get out here and mingle a bit and get to know others. You find out very quickly those who have the same interests will support your work. There are hundreds of posts published here a day, it takes time and patience to start to get your work noticed. As you gain connections it gets easier.
No, it wasn’t an easy task in the beginning. What I mean is you can’t expect to do well here on Steemit without putting in the hard work and effort. There is quite a learning curve but if you take the time to research and read helpful posts (that people put out there to help you from their own experiences), it is possible to do well.
I am so glad I decided to give it another go and stick with it this round. I have been back at it for about six months now and I have gained so much knowledge in so many different areas from reading other’s valuable content. Sometimes I get mad at myself for giving it up for a year but we live and we learn. I have met some amazing people from this plattform and I wouldn’t of if I wouldn’t have given it another try. There are so many passionate people in this community that are uplifting, encouraging, informing and bringing awareness to the masses. A lot of things you find in here you will not find on your local news, I’m talking about stuff you will only find out about in alternative news. I have to give a shoutout to @familyprotection! I have been connected to so many like minded people because of what @markwhittam decided to put together and @canadian-coconut taking on the responsibilities to keep up the account and keeping us informed. If you have children I guarantee you, you will want to check out this blog page. They are bringing some scary truths to the forefront about Child “Protection” agencies and Social Services. We are equipped with knowledge to protect our family just from being apart of his amazing initiative and family support group. It’s dear to me because I homeschool and our children are not vaccinated which puts us in the hot seat for such predator organizations as these. I thank everyone who has been working continuously to bring awareness to families.
I have found my niche and love that I get to share my life and passions while expressing myself. The things I am passionate about, I get to support by curating other Steemicans and resteeming their posts. I now have Steemicans I purposely visit daily to see what their up to and to give them a holler and an upvote. I look forward to hearing from people and chatting with them on Discord. There are some that have been with me since the beginning and we are still going strong. I wouldn’t have had these opportunities had I not taken the time to learn about it and figure out how to make this a fun learning experience. Before I got out there and mingled it was pretty lonely. But all that changed once I put myself out there and started meeting people.
I also had the opportunity of starting a weekly initiative called #NeedleworkMonday which continues to grow every week. I have a passion for arts and crafts particularly crocheting. As I was posting my crochet work it felt lonely. I felt I needed to bring together a community of other crafters where we can share our passions and give advise while inspiring each other. I’m so glad I went with my gut because now we are building a small community of people that support each other’s work. I was able to get some of our work displayed in the art gallery at Steemfest 2017! It was amazing having our work viewed by hundreds of Steemicans. It was like we were there but far away. So if you do any type of needlework I invite you to join us every Monday to share. You can share new and archived work if you have pictures. 😉
So you see there could be lots of opportunities for you if you just stay and hang around. There are so many groups being formed for newbies to help you get connected and to get your hard work rewarded. I want to say thank you to @mikepm74 whom I just met, for the motivation of this post. I love what he is doing for newcomers with The Fresh Five. He is taking his time to go through and upvote potential Steemicans to help get them some publicity and a nice start. I will definitely be supporting his initiative. He reminded me of where I once was and how I had a shaky start. So here I am, giving back and sharing with you so you’ll know it gets better. I know there are others out there that take the extra time to welcome newcomers as well.
Please choose to stay!!! If you know you can bring good quality to Steemit stay and keep working. My writing in the beginning wasn’t the greatest and it still could use improvement. The more I blog the better I become and the more comfortable it gets. As I learned how to format and use Markdown (thanks @scrooger for making this easy to follow Markdown post) my posts started to look neater and more presentable. I wouldn’t have known how to do this if I didn’t research and ask questions. If you find someone willing to answer your questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Get out there and converse, get to know others. Search for things that interests you and follow those bloggers that post about them. Introduce yourself to them, leave them a memorable comment. One thing you don’t want to do is beg for followers. You have to earn your place and that is one thing that is sure to turn people off from you. Steemit isn’t a get rich quick scheme where you can post a few words and beg for upvotes. It’s a place where good reputation is earned, a following is earned and rewards are earned by good and honest hard work. If you put the quality out there, eventually you will get noticed and rewarded for it. Yes it may take some time but you have to be patient. I know we’re living in a microwave society where everyone wants things NOW...but Steemit is more like an oven, success cooks up slowly and it is worth the wait in the end...it just tastes better. 😅
So as I listed in the first photo:
-Earn your Good Reputation
-Hang in there
-Give it Time
-Don’t Beg for Followers
-Create Quality posts
-Make Friends
-Get Involved
-Join Contests
-Find Your Niche
-Research the plattform
-Ask Questions
-Mingle
-Share Useful Content
-Curate and Comment
-Use Quality Pics
-Have Fun
-Experiment
-Converse
-Use Tools
-STAY WITH US!
I hope this information finds it’s way into the hands of those that could really use it. We all have been there...the beginning where we first started. Those who have been around since the beginning are those that decided to put in the work and not give up. Hang in there folks!!! 👍🏽
Thank you so much for reading!
I am excited to have boarded the Steem Engine @thesteemengine. Please head over and check out the blog to see what we’re all about. You can also view the daily curation post.
I am also a proud member of a great team @steemusa! You can also check out our introduction post and learn more about us. If you reside in the United States you could be apart of an amazing group that encourages and supports great content.
When I join steemit on my own in March 2017, I did not know what to do.
A friend help me a little, July I started as well.
Since then I never look back.
You are the first steemian I resteemed a post.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Keep on steemit.
I remember when we first encouraged each other on here and I appreciate you for that. I will never look back again. I’m so glad you stuck around and are doing well ;)
Well, we're glad you chose to stick with Steemit. @apanamamama has spoken highly of you several times and I respect her opinion. So far she's batting 1000. We also look forward to reading more of your work. I'm so glad you joined our group -- finally. (She said she'd been trying to talk you into something like this for a while.)
This excellent post was included in our new curation effort The Magnificent Seven -- a collaborative work by @enchantedspirit and @catweasel. You have received a 100% upvote from each of us to show our appreciation for your post. To see your creation showcased here ... and the fine company you keep ... please visit this link.
We appreciate your support both for our work on this project and for the other creators of exceptional content who make it all possible. (Follow @catweasel to catch our future Magnificent Seven posts. He's really not as annoying as you might think. <--- He always makes me say that.)
Thank you so much @enchantedspirit!! You just made my day with this lovely and kind comment! I just love her dearly. @apanamamama and I instantly connected in here and have kept in touch weekly even outside of Steemit every since. She’s definitely one everyone should know! I too am so glad I “finally” joined such an amazing group of people :D
Thank you so much for all of your support and hard work you are doing. I was honored when I saw I was chosen for the Magnificent Seven, that’s huge to me. Knowing where I started on here and where I am now I am so thrilled my journey has taken off.
Lol okay I’ll take your word for it and I will follow @catweasel! 😅
:) She's great! I'm glad she joined as well. We've got a great group going there!
Great post! Thank you for sharing your Steemit story, I joined this year and am still learning how to navigate the platform. I'm glad you decided to stay, I'm a wife and homeschooling mother also and feel inspired each time I get a moment to read one of your posts. Keep creating!!!
Thank you so much @talea.monet! I am so humbled and happy to know that my posts have inspired you. That is always my goal to inspire at least one person. Thank you for sharing that with me. It’s good to know you are also a homeschool mom!! Kudos to you!! I love that this community is growing with homeschooling families. Continue to stick with it, learn the ropes and meet new friends...you’ll do just fine ;)
Most definitely, thanks for the advice! Happy New Year to you and your family! 🎆🎊🎉 😊
It is my pleasure! Happy New Year to you and yours as well~ 😊🎉
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue #4 (1/1/18)
The STEEM Engine is an initiative dedicated to promoting meaningful engagement across Steemit. Find out more about us and join us today!
Thank you so very much! I am honored that my post would be chosen again! 😃
Sage advice, @crosheille! I had a very similar experience and also left Steemit for awhile because it was so lonely. Then I met you!
Thank you dear friend! I’m starting to realize there were quite a few that did this. I’m so glad we both came back and met each other :) Now we are both apart of an awesome growing supportive community. Yay!! 😀
I discovered this post because @ironshield resteemed it. Thanks for teaching others the way to approach steemit. I really need to improve in the area of interacting with others which is a good way to get noticed. Staying positive can be difficult but it is the only way to make progress. Thanks for the hand you are giving newcomers.
Hello @rabamaker! I am so glad you found my post and commented, thank you. It is really my pleasure to help others and share my experience. I know exactly what it feels like and I know exactly how hard it is to stay positive when first starting out here. I am glad to know you are hanging with it and striving to improve yourself as you go. Keep on going and keep on learning and you’ll do just fine :)
Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
You’re absolutely welcome. Thank you I definitely plan to keep at it :)
Clicking on tags that interested me led me to some people who were interested in discussing things that matter to me. Checking their comments then led me to more posts and more people.
It’s still early days and it will be easier to find people with common interests as the platform grows.
That is awesome @penston! I did those same things and that’s what helped me surf the plattform better. It’s like when you connect with one person you’ll end up connecting with more and so forth. I’m glad you are finding your way around. If you ever have any questions please ask ;)
You've found a good bunch to be involved with (I'm talking about @thesteemengine), so you clearly have some good acumen in this area.
Thanks! Yes I’d have to agree that it is good bunch!! 😊
You're definitely right about there being a steep learning curve, but it's certainly worth it. I'm enjoying my time here more and more as I engage with more people.
Also encouraging to know you can find your feet again after a 'break.' I do a lot of field work, so I tend to disappear into places with poor (or no) internet for months at a time - but at least I come back with interesting stories 😂
Yes it is certainly worth it @holothewise!! It’s good to hear you are enjoying yourself while engaging with others. Connections is a huge part of Steemit!
Lol!!! Yes if you produce quality you’ll always be welcome and I’m sure your followers will wait for your return. I just recently took a 2 week break from all social media and came back and hopped right back in ;) Thanks for visiting and commenting~
Actually @crosheille, that is exactly what I felt for the past week after my #introduceyourself post. After that, all that I get is few viewers.. until I join contests and study this community.. though I still don't earn big but my writing is becominh better.. keep it up!
Please stick to it @davinsh! Your writing will continue to get better if you stick to it. Get out there and conversate, meet people and find some valuable connections. It takes time but it will be worth the wait if you keep at it!!! Thanks so much for stopping in and commenting :)
I quit about a month after joining steemit... It's definitely more about connecting with people rather than just writing a really good post... after realising this I decided to give it one more shot, and I'm happy I did😊
Yay!! Another happy ending or should I say beginning! I am so glad you came back and learned what it was all about. I’m telling you when I stopped posting for that week and really “engaged” that’s when things turned around for me. Keep it up and you will see how much smoother things will be ;)