Stop Writing For Pay, Start Writing for Relevancy
When I was first introduced to Steemit, I already established myself as a mediocre writer having spent years writing for several blog sites and media outlets which ranged from military friendly sites like The Havok Journal to more traditional media like Fox News and Huffington Post.
Not once did I get paid for anything I had ever written.
My friend recently told me about Steemit and one of the things he mentioned right off the bat was not money but rather the growth of the site--and that is what attracted me.
Steemit is a site that is in fact growing rapidly. Look at the numbers in just the past couple of months--rapid growth may be an understatement.
He went on to explain that Steemit can compete with social media like Facebook, Medium, Reddit, and Twitter.
In a very short time, I realized he was absolutely correct with that statement considering all those aforementioned platforms are social/community based. From my observations, Steemit is no different and possibly even more community based than those more traditional social media platforms.
Who doesn’t like community based entities?
Censorship always annoyed me when it came to my writing and as a fellow writer in the more traditional media spheres, my buddy knew this could be the key to lure me onto Steemit.
Many writers are turned down when seeking publication. The reasons for this vary but I will explain two of the key reasons--editors are lazy and just don’t want to edit your work or two, your piece is not considered “timely” meaning, it does not fit the current agenda the media outlet is trying to push that day.
Steemit does not censor your material. Sure, you are responsible to edit your own work but truthfully, the Steem community is more interested in content and not grammatical or spelling errors--THANK GOD!
You can post about survival, prepping, cryptocurrencies, gardening, parenting, etc. The subject lists are endless which means, no matter your passion, you can write about it and post.
The very last thing my friend explained is the money aspect of Steemit. Yes, you CAN get paid to write however if you are writing simply to get paid, you are not truly embracing Steemit for what it is worth. Steemit is not about the pay and the odds are, you will not become some millionaire just by writing here.
I hate being that guy to bring reality into play but simply put, if you write solely to receive some form of economic compensation, you are wrong.
Write because you have something to say. Write because you are passionate about the subject. Write because you want to engage. Write because…..you are a part of a community. Write for relevancy.
Why?
Because as a member of a community, YOU ARE relevant.
Thanks good to know, sometimes it's a learning curve.
Yup. Hardest thing to learn is to simply stop trying so hard and just be happy.
Totally agree. The more people contribute to the community, the better the network becomes and everybody gets to benefit!
thank you, yes knowledge of other cultures is enriching and everyone should be open to new and better ways to do things, and only by sharing these thoughts do we give value to ourselves and everyone around us.
Solid advice for Steem noobs! good stuff, brother!
FYI...if that is an Eclipse on your profile picture, I just became your biggest stalker :) "From The Shadows" Ex Umbra
Hah that's actually gargantua, the black hole in Interstellar. So it's kind of like an eclipse :)
Very well put. Most of the people who are churning out garbage content just to get paid will probably give up after a couple of weeks anyway because their posts will lack the real substance that can only come from time, effort and passion
Likely, yes. Key is, in my opinion, folks need to simply write because they have something they WANT to say. I am going strawberry picking with my 4 kids later this afternoon. It is something my two year old twin girls have never done. I WANT to take pictures and WANT to write about the experience not because it is strawberry picking but for young parents--a piece where it showcases "family." Something to potentially gain just one small piece of information to help others with twins...I dont know but I think it could be interesting....So to me, its not about the subject, but about the desire and passion.
Good post, very useful. I find the hardest thing is gauging what the population on here will like..
Never worry about what others will like. Write with your heart and people will see it and come to you wanting more. Its like being in a relationship--if you don't make yourself happy first, you will never make another happy. Just keep writing and write what you are passionate about.
That's a good point, sort of like with anything else in life, you can't please everyone all the time. But you can please some of the people some of the time lol.
EXACTLY!!!
:D
So true, I'm a novice ''writer'', I really just want to share my passion
Share your passion and others will come.
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