Hi there fellow Steemians. I wanted to write this post to give some inspiration to newcomers, or Planktons. (As we are referred to.) Why I gave up in the beginning and what I think since coming back.

I found this Carnation whilst out on a walk today. Isn't it gorgeous?
Getting started and getting noticed can be a real daunting task, so I thought I'd write about my experiences. I hope that it will give you some inspiration to keep going even if you're finding it hard connecting with people and getting your voice heard. I hope that you won't give up and keep writing, vlogging, photographing or drawing. Whatever way your creativity flows.

Before I get into the details I want to thank the following people for their support...

@thelaundrylady, @canadian-coconut, @thedonfreeman, @c0ff33a, @asapers, @eco-alex, @ecotrain, @steemitbloggers, @insideoutlet, @likedeeler, @mountainjewel, @jackdub, @offgrid-online, @trucklife-family, @riverflows, @solarsupermama. I'm sure there are a few more and I'm sorry if I've left you out. These beautiful Steemians have supported me in many ways, from reblogs, generous upvotes, help with understanding the blockchain, emotional support, boosting and pay-it-forward campaigns, curation blogs and so much more. You all really do keep me writing and for that I'm so very grateful.

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It all started late July last year...

Well actually beginning of July but it took me about 2 weeks to get the gumption up to write my introducing post. After that I wrote a few more posts, commented, followed and resteemed. My introducing post did really well which actually didn't help for my future posts as they just couldn't earn the same which was a little disappointing.
During that time my daughter came back to live with me. She was having a tough time and I started to write an article about how I felt that social media and T.V shows were affecting her. I struggled to finish it and it stayed as a draft on my phone for just over 9 months.
It was this combination that led me away from Steemit. I had every intention of getting back to finishing the article, but my home life was more important. The longer I left it, the further detached I felt from Steemit. It doesn't help that I'm quite self-critical and sometimes would feel that my work was just not worth reading.

And to some people it probably isn't... but that's OK.

By March of this year I was looking for a new way to get into Crypto. A friend of mine had written an article about other platforms such as SOLA and LIT. So I joined up with those. I recognized that some of the people who I began to interact with on SOLA were also people that I had followed on Steemit last year. So I opened my browser to see how they were doing. (Some of them were already whales but others were new to Steemit back last year too). I was shocked to see that all of them had high reps above 54 and were earning some serious money.
Needless to say my internal monologue was rather self-abusive.

By the end of April I decided to just write what I felt like writing about and stop holding back. I'm passionate about helping to make this world better. So I figured I would simply write and see where that takes me. My attitude was much different this time. I don't mind if one post earns more than another. Or even if one earns nothing. It's about exposure.
From reading and interacting I have made friends, found support initiatives with their own Discord channels where you can connect and engage with like minded folk. (I was also terrified of using discord too lol) I have only just figured it out and have found it a really useful tool.
@thelaundrylady has truly inspired me to keep going and we seem to be supporting each other through our connection which started out as comments on each other's posts. It also really helps when you have interests in common with the people you are interacting with too. Joining @ecotrain felt fantastic. This is a community that I can really connect with and share ideas. I even managed to finish that article from 9 months ago, which became my first contribution to the Ecotrain Question Of The Week.
The more people I connect with, the more I am finding my way here. I'm still in Minnow territory and have just reached 49 rep while writing this. I was at 43 when I came back.

Just remember patience and interaction are the biggest keys to getting your voice heard.

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Below are some tips that have helped me out on Steemit:

• The best way to get seen in the beginning is to interact with others. The more you read, the more it will help you find your tribe.
• Don't upvote more than 10 posts per day. It affects your voting power and has the potential to make other people's rewards devalue.
• Comment on other's posts, reply to comments on yours and always check back to see if those interacting with you want a response to their comments. This really helps with followers.
• Make comments meaningful and don't spam yourself by begging for upvotes and follows and definitely don't post links unless you've been asked to.
• Find and enter competitions that are relevant. Make sure you follow the guidelines correctly and that will also help you find more followers and be seen.
• Use tags that are relevant. For example I wouldn't use the tag 'steemit' in a post unless I am talking about it.
• Try to avoid using bots. There are good ones out there, but it's best to find the good ones through discord chat channels. Some of these bots won't work unless you're whitelisted.
• Learn as much as you can about Steemit. Every day I am finding out new things. Be it to do with auto voting, joining more communities and even how to power up the SP. You can find posts relevant to what you want to know by using the search function.
• Vote for witnesses. They are the ones that help keep Steemit decentralized by backing up the network.

I hope whoever reads this finds it useful. Here are a few links that helped me recently:
Steemd If you put a / and your @ username at the end it will tell you how much voting power you have left and loads of helpful details about your account.

https://steemit.com/steemit/@ethandsmith/the-beginner-s-guide-to-steemit-part-6-voting - If you follow his account he has other useful help tips too.

https://steemit.com/curation/@steemthat/how-to-use-auto-steem-for-curation - this helps you undertand about curation and how to use steemauto.

~ONE LOVE & HAPPY STEEMING ~

I'm proud to be a member of the @ecotrain community. Come check out the amazing content from other #ecotrain passengers. A group of diverse human beings, sharing a collective vision to help make this world a better place.

@steemitbloggers