Steemit For The Newbie -what I've learned in less than 2 weeks

I've been here on Steemit for 9 days now and, while I certainly don't know everything there is to know about the Steemit currency and this social media platform, I have done my best to do some immediate research to better understand how to utilize it.

From what I can see, Steemit is the social media platform designed to circulate the Steem currency; Steem, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars. Creating original content, upvoting, commenting, and resteeming are what will get you ahead when it comes to this type of platform. If you want to hear more details from someone who has been around a lot longer than I have, check out this post by @mindover.

This is by no means a "get rich quick" sort of route. Think of Steemit as more of an investment, like stock; you invest your money into stock shares, watch those companies, and choose to cash out when they reach a high peak. It's the same here; you invest your time and content into the platform in exchange for Steemit cryptocurrency (remember, there are 3 different types), and can choose to cash out when the currencies reach a higher exchange rate for USD. For now, I'll be putting all of my Steem into Steem Power. Why? What @mindover said right here: "Also, the more Steem Power Units you have, the more your curation vote will count. You will have more influence on the site and you will also get paid more for upvoting other people’s work. (When you upvote someone’s work, they will get paid more as well.)" Want to see how much it's worth and when? Check that out here.

Tags:
Use tags wisely, and only use those which tie into your post. You can go here to see which tags are used most often and get the most posts, comments, and payout amounts. If you post under different blogs/personas/businesses, develop a unique tag for each. For example, I have a family blog, and a nature blog, so I'll start putting #GideonAndMara and #TheOrneryBiologist on their respective posts; #UsborneBooks and #MarasMenageries will be used for my business-related posts, and so on. When adding your tags, choose 4 and a unique. And remember; your first tag is the main category and will show it posted there. For example: "business, shopping, fiberarts, handmade, marasmenageries" - the post would be posted in "business".

Re: Tags - Main Category
How should you determine your main category? I'll share the breakdown of how I chose the top 5 tags for this post.
Go to Tags - They show up in alphabetical order.
I clicked on payouts, to see which ones created the most currency, and picked -in order- the ones that related to my post. Steemit, Steem, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain
So I have my 5. Now to pick which should be the main category, that first tag.
I clicked on comments and posts, and both revealed "Steemit" being the top one. So, in theory, this post should do well considering how I picked my tags.
In theory. We shall see.

Title:
This requires a learning curve; one which I've not mastered yet. You want something that catches the eye of whoever may see it. Short, informative, and to the point. My new approach will be putting the main topic first, followed by a few words expounding on it. See the title of this post.

Content:
Be real. Be you. Don't copy and paste someone else's work. You can link to other Steemit users, their posts, or articles from other sources, but let your blog be your work. I frequently link out, as it can bring more consumers to my businesses, more readers to my blogs, and so forth. The nice thing about Steemit is that we can be anything! Blog about whatever your heart loves, use the appropriate tags, and see who else holds your topics dear. The communities on here are amazing, diverse, and such a great way to meet new people - I've already met several folks who live in my state or are planning to move here.

Re: Content - Photos
Photos are huge. People just like posts to be heavy on the pics. The best photos to put into your posts would be original; ones you've taken yourself. But that's not always possible, and with posts like this it would either take a lot of work to create original pictures, or I would end up putting some awkward pic of me sitting at my messy desk into my post.
Just no.
You can use other photos, but you need to include the source, or use a site like Pixabay. It's free to create an account, and has thousands of photos that can help out when you're creating content and trying to find that perfect photo.

Another thing to note: the first photo you add to your post will be the one that shows up in your feed.

What I have yet to learn:
How to convert Steem Dollars to Steem Power, for investing.
How to later cash out.
How upvoting//payout works, and the breakdown of why people with more Steem Power can give larger amounts in upvoting.
... and probably much more.

How long have you been a Steamian, and what have you learned?