WHY CONTESTS ARE IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE A NEWBIE ON STEEMIT

Contests are an integral and indelible part of the Steemit community. There are hundreds of them being hosted at any given time. If you are new to Steemit it is in your best interest to get involved in some of them for more important reasons than you may think. Below are the three biggest reasons why, I believe, you should use your invested time for a stronger presence in the community.

3 - FINANCIAL GAIN

Let's be honest, this is why everybody on Steemit, whether they are whale or minnow, is on Steemit. That is not a bad thing. The community grows with the investments of it's members. If you are just starting here contests offer you a way to earn SBD and/or Steem quickly. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is a win/win situation so there is no reason you shouldn't try your luck. For some of you this may seem like the best reason to get involved but I disagree. I believe there are two more reasons that are even more important.

2 - INTERACTIONS

If you want to be successful on Steemit then you are going to have to become integrated in the community. The simplest way to do that is through interactions with your fellow Steemians. Contests offer an easy and effective way to engage other community members who share at least one common thread: the contest. Meeting other Steemians and sharing with the community are instrumental in moving forward and gaining followers. Contests can help you to start creating a 'social circle'. So you can gain followers and you have the possibility of earning SBD. What could possibly be more important than those two things?

1 - LEARNING TO EARN

Many people come to Steemit with delusions of grandeur about the earning potential. I've told you that contests give you the potential to earn both SBD and followers in a relatively quick amount of time, but those pools are going to dry up. The money isn't guaranteed and many of the Steemians you meet in contests are repeat contestants. In order to sustain yourself you are going to have to learn how to create content that other community members will find valuable. Contests will help with that also. Through your interactions with other contestants you can learn a lot about how to put out an engaging post. Many of the people you meet in the community early on will be a part of your Steemit clique. Take advantage of that. See how they are writing their posts. Ask them for advice and guidance. Learn whatever you can about making good quality posts that will draw others to your blog. It is vital if you want #3 and #2 to be perpetual. The potential is definitely there but you have to work for it. For me, learning how to become a quality contributor to the community is the most important part of your success. Forging those first relationships is key to that end, and contests will help you to forge those relationships faster than any other means in the community.

This post is only my opinion on why I think contests are important if you are new in the community. I understand that there are many ways to move forward on Steemit, I am just offering my views on what worked for me. Thank you for reading this article and I hope that it can help some of you to move forward in the community.