Commenting VS. Creating Content (For Minnows - Is this the Question or Answer?
On a daily basis I see so many new users on STEEMIT for months commenting and posting of struggling to be rewarded with even a few dollars for some pretty well thought out quality posts which have taken users hours to create.
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The process of writing quality content and not being rewarded for it more than the some spare change is very frustrating... What will the new STEEMIT users do once the real aggravation sets in and they get more and more discouraged... LEAVE...
I know that this is a very big topic on STEEMIT and many selfless whales have been trying very hard to get the attention of Developers, Witnesses, and the powers that be that can alter the reward algorithms currently in place. Which in a nutshell allows the highest holders of STEEM POWER to reap a huge percentage of the reward pool.
Some advice for minnows like myself..
I have been on STEEMIT for over 4 months now with a 1 month hiatus in the middle... After the hiatus, I wrote a few decent posts in my opinion.. Nothing groundbreaking - but nominal post.. only to receive .02-.04 per post... Then I had an idea... I started seeking out quality content that interested me and tried to find post that were just recently posted.. Also I tried to focus on post with users reps above 65-70 at the very minimum...
The PAYOUT
Most posts in general seem to be about 5 minute reads.. So I read the posts and If I felt I had something meaningful to contribute to the post interactively or wanted to express my opinion, I did..
I wrote out at least a full paragraph comment, with no typos, and often left the comment with an open ended question for the author to stimulate engagement.. To my surprise, many of the post I commented on turned into replies back and forth between myself and the Author.. Not all - but a large portion would upvote my comment, or replies quite generously - with a few Authors upvoting my comments to to almost $3. More importantly I began to form the beginning of a relationship or connection with the Authors and many had in turn followed me and helped increase my own reputation.. Even more importantly some of the Authors I connected with went on to search my blog for posts - some of which were very short posts and the re blogged them and upvoted them bumping up my rewards..
In conclusion to Commenting VS. Creating
I must say that as it is very important for all users to create content to some extent... If you are a minnow discouraged by your posts not being seen, read, heard or compensated... For the meantime... Maybe scale back the time spent on elaborate posts until your following or rewards make them worth your while and try my technique by focusing on finding the best content by high rep users and engaging with them, truly engaging with them with things that you and the Author can relate to and I have a feeling you will also be rewarded the way I have..
A post that generates $1 from 2 hours of your time composing it or 6 quality comments that generates $4-5 in rewards, creating interactivity building friendships, followers, and getting upvoted and reblogged by users with many many followers...
A interim solution to the current reward system that is flawed in many many ways... For us minnows we can only leave it up to the powers that be in STEEMIT to correct this flawed system and must be grateful for the many high rep whales that actually take time to reply, engage, and often upvote the quality comments left on their posts (we all see the spam comments flood in and its getting worse and worse)
Please be kind and stop spamming the quality posts looking for a handout that is undersizing and most likely you will rarely, rarely receive.. Let's all keep our beloved platform clean and do our jobs of downvoting any and all spam!!!
Please reblog this post if you think its deserving of being read by others or may help other minnows until the reward system is amended to create an inviting, positive, more fair system for first time users and users since day one
NAMASTE
EDIT - A Very special thanks to my friends @boxcarblue @josephsavage and @kkugel2 for esteeming this post and helping it to get more exposure which created more comments, understanding of the STEEMIT system by various viewpoints, interaction, and new friends made!!
EDIT (2) After viewing a post from @boxcarblue regarding simply "Is Steemit Fair?" He had put a quote at the end of it which really kind of opened my eyes and made me think outside the box and wanted to share it with everyone...
"Your rewards are like zen. If you see the zen, you are missing the zen. If you look past the rewards, you will get the rewards." - @boxcarblue
You've got it right. This is a social network. When you start to get social, the money is an after thought. An incidental consequence of a social interaction. I have mentored many and very few get it.
BTW it takes more than 4 months. But when you arrive, you can retire. I did.
Thanks so much for commenting @sponge-bob and reaffirming that excerpt from my post - I hope anyone who has felt frustrated with STEEMIT at one point or another can take something away from the value of building sincere connections with people with no hidden agenda and no hopes for a handout - when you have no hopes your truest words and sincerity seem to just flow out naturally while interacting with users in posts or in chats.
And when people do have hidden agenda - I think most users can see thru the comments - and I'm not speaking of the 'nice post - upvote me' comments... I'm speaking of the few line comments that really are blah blah blah repetition or brown-nosing comments..
STEEMIT certainly is what you put into it..
@sponge-bob - Do you have any advice in terms of the newer users in terms of actually investing fiat into STEEM and SP or just grinding it out and being patient until we 'make it'
I'm almost 40 and patient to retire but retiring younger does sound quite nice!! :)
I invested when there was blood in the streets - Steem was at .000432 in bitcoin. Something like $0.04 cents each. Months and months later, I made all my investment back and took OUT double what I had invested. I was pulling money out when steem was at $2.30+ but when it dropped to $2, I stopped pulling it out. I still have about 2 houses worth of Steem invested.
Having a large balance will get you some eyeballs every time you post. Wallet checkers like to vote on large wallets and comment in hopes of getting that big upvote in return.
Yes, you will gain more votes and followers just from having an SP balance.
But there is money in it too! I had to take a couple months off to move, as you will see in my posts. I went from a shack to a high-rise and took two months to do it. No Steemit posts.
I still made $2000 per month allowing my bots to vote on my friends. (I usually make $6000 with votes and moderate posting).
My advice. Invest if you can. There is money in voting via bot or manually. Keep putting out content that is original. And make it spectacular - try to be the life of the party or get a conversation started.
Every one of my posts takes a couple hours (min) to create. Then 12 to 15 hours of chatting in the comments section - plus returning upvotes for those who vote big on me. It's a full time job. You have to babysit your post all week. Watch for those replies.
Those that won't have a return are those who fail to proof read, hit the post button, then sit there doing nothing and seeing if they get a vote. Or worse, they hit post and go out for dinner and a movie.
Comments and responses is what will get you into the trending page (where more eyeballs go to find the cool stuff).
That's all I can think of for now. I am trying to get you trending - doing my part :)
Hey @sponge-bob, I work hard. Give me a hundred bucks;)
With the bot thing, a lot of people wouldn't bat an eye on pledging $10 - $30 a month to an artist/writer/friend that they like on Patreon, but here, where you can pledge your stake, suddenly it becomes an issue.
I don't get it. That's what is great about this system, you're actually incentivized to support people.
@sponge-bob
While you are at it I'll take a hundo as well - just kidding
To be completely serious with you - that last comment was probably one of the best stories of success and pieces of advice. I am going to give some serious thought and make serious adjustments to the way I STEEM after reading that - motivation from people like you and @boxcarblue really really just make the mild frustrations of STEEMIT - become... not a frustration at all - just a roadblock in need of an already existing detour - Thanks again so much for adding so much great info and sharing a bit of your personal STEEMIT story - I will certainly go back and read your older posts - And thank you for helping to get this post into the trending section - I'm not sure who to thank for the huge upvote but this morning this post was hovering around $1.60 and then I ran a few errands and you and boxcarblue joined the convos and it somehow jumped to $15!!
I suppose knowing who to thank is not the problem - the solution simply was a random act of kindness - that I assure whoever is gratefully appreciated!!
Much love!
It costs me nothing to upvote a person who is getting it right, making new discoveries and setting others on the right track. A nice kick for a job well done.
Aha.... You definitely were the prime suspect ;)
And I literally just noticed the "Art of Artists Creating" post - pop as well - I truly appreciate your support/upvotes and even more so hearing from you that I'm getting it right, new discoveries and setting others on the right track... That means more than words can express to me!!
Thank You again for your time and generosity - I will certainly pay it forward to others as I continue to learn, have the means to compensate others when deserved, and always will promote keeping the positivity on STEEMIT and getting users to find that detour if it isn't obvious.. Good Karma certainly coming your way from some random entity at a random point in time when you least expect it - what's better than that!! :)
This is all so inspiring. Thanks so much for welcoming me and linking me to this post.
"BTW it takes more than 4 months. But when you arrive, you can retire. I did."
To play devil's advocate, is this not an example of first-mover (or early-mover) advantage? Would it be possible for someone starting today to do the same thing? Or is the window gone?
This is a very good point. When I exclude the votes from bidding bots (a necessary evil, IMHO) I have done better from some of my comments than I have done with my actual blog posts, even though they take a lot more time and effort.
At least some of my writing I do to fine-tune my own thinking or make sure my processes are clear and logical. Do you find that your writing also has this benefit to you, or do you mostly focus on creating content that you think people will want to upvote?
To be completely honest with you - from my own experiences creating content - unless it is about a "breaking story" - usually about a crypto currency or crypto news releases it has seemed that there has been no response or reason on the amount of upvotes.. last week I posted two very short posts - less than a paragraph - one was about myself starting a new job which grabbed a few upvotes instantly and then a whale vote towards the end of the 7 days. The other was about a female graffiti artist - mostly a picture with only literally 2 sentences. It also grabbed some upvotes at first and continued during the week.
About 3 weeks ago I wrote a very long post about my life and life in general, well thought out and loaded with great pictures, etc - it gained 1 upvote - which was from myself..
No rhyme or reason that I have seen with trying many different topics - and I still get more upvotes on many comments on others posts than my own.. Hope that answers your questions and keep at it brother - I believe the system will be
Thanks for your honest response. I will keep moving forward and see how things go.
@josephsavage - Anytime my friend!!
Not to confuse things or you any further...( I myself am baffled at the moment... )
Currently at 15 hours since posting this it has earned $1.61 with 45 up votes, 35 comments, and 1 re-steem by @boxcarblue
And.... And... the reply comments Ive posted on here in response to other users statements, questions, and 2 cents have earned me $.94
So If I were to backtrack at this moment to your original question I might suggest to try to try and find a topic which will generate up votes, but more importantly creative some real commenting and engagement.. I think in 4 months this post here has created to the most amount of comments and certainly the largest size comments as well with people speaking passionately on their views... And that truly is what STEEMIT was intended for I think.. Not to post, comment, and reply - But to have a Post that creates an integration of all types of users, in a sort of open forum discussion it that makes sense..
DISCLAIMER: Just my amateur opinion
Lastly - In retrospect again - Which sometimes I seem to forget about - commenting using the esteem app or on a desktop computer really does change the amount of up votes!! using the eSteem App has automatic up votes that are given to some comments by its developers.. Not quite sure of the rhyme or reason on which comments but if you look at the users up-voting my comments in this post there is certain repetition... I guess its an incentive to use the app even tho I don't think they make any monetary gain by users using it..
I just got the same alert from the esteem app 6 times in a row. It really very desperately wanted me to know you replied and get me to respond through the app.
Which is funny, because tapping those alerts opens the app, but it fails to open the content or post that triggered the alert. I am often left to wonder why and where I was mentioned and to use other online tools to find it.
Also with respect to monetary gain... They do get a tiny portion of the value received by posts and comments from the app.
Edit to add proof of eSteem profiting from app:
Was this your first comment to this post using eSteem? certainly the most rewarding... LOL maybe there is an algorithm built in if you use the word "esteem" in the comment it bumps it further lol
That was indeed my first response using the eSteem app. I wanted to test your theory as well as have it generate the beneficiary tag so I could capture it from steemd.
New mantra: if it's worth replying, it's worth replying through eSteem?
I wonder if there is some limit to upvote frequency. It seems ripe for abuse otherwise.
Edit: It looks like there is a frequency limit, as the post before was upvoted and this one was not... unless they're just late? time will tell
New Mantra - Theory Proven - I live the way you worded it also - and yes I do believe sometimes the esteem votes come a few hours after posting time - probably let's their accts recharge closer towards the 100% end of the spectrum -
Using the esteem app for commenting surely is worth it - same applies to posting - however harder to post on a phone - you can always write a post and save it to post once on esteem..
Us minnows gotta figure any and all ways to help us climb the ranks and help the newest users see some reward.. a day 1 user getting .25 a comment isn't too shabby - ROCK ON ESTEEM !!
VERY VERY INTERESTING - The plot thickens LOL - I had updated the post and included the users that had Re-Steemed the Post in a Thank You edit - maybe that was part of the trigger.. Odd that you got the same alert 6 times in a row..
And I get that makes sense why the debs auto-upvote some comments when using the eSteem app - they are benefitting themselves.. I am totally cool with that - not only for the rewards that I receive by using it but also to help compensate them for creating the app.. I'll have to try a little trial of only using the app for a week straight and then only using a desktop/laptop for a week and seeing the differences in rewards... Thanks for sharing that info with the post
Hey thanks this is the advice I have just been looking for, writing good content is definitely a passion of mine and getting rewarded is a great bonus.
Since coming on steemit and also hearing some advice of youtubers I have learned that the mistake I made when starting out online was focusing on earning money, I think its more fun now because my focus is on getting the attention of the audience and i actually enjoy the topics I am writing about.
Well said stuntman!! Glad the post had some insight for you and the best of luck with those deviant rewards on STEEMIT
Very interesting. I've been on Steemit for about a month, and am still pretty clueless about how to get it moving.
I've definitely seen the random responses to posts: nothing on what I think is a really deep, well-written post and lots of votes (and $$) on short, throw-away posts.
On the other hand I haven't put much time and effort into networking, so maybe I need to do more of that.
Thanks for the ideas :)
@retirejapan
There are certainly many posts which appear to have no rhyme or reason for justifyabl payouts.. Those are typically the selfish Steemit old-timers (whales) that stick to their tight know group and upvote each other on 1 word comments to try and camoflauge what they are doing. There are people such as @berniesanders who target them to down vote their rewards for abusing the system -
I couldn't recommend more than to NETWORK - that's what Steemit is all about - a Social Network - Choose who you follow wisely and update the list so you don't lose track of the people that write posts to interact and write about what you would like to read about. Thanks for adding to the discussion of this post -
Lastly - if possible try to use the eSteem app on your phone to comment as opposed to a laptop or desktop - and real those $.22 free upvote rewards that are typically guaranteed ')
wow! i tempted
Try it out.. Take a look at what types of comments I have submitted and the conversations that became engaged.. Its not an easy way out but rather a different approach
obviously, all success include in hard laborious
very true... I just see many many users get discouraged early on without the patience to give it time and put different types of work into an elaborately complex platform with a reward system such as STEEMIT
As much as this is a blogging platform, it is also a social media site. I think this mixing of things as different as Facebook and Medium makes it confusing to people. How should one approach it? The answer, I think, is different for everyone, but as you've hinted, being social and interactive is critical to success. You must find pleasant ways to network, and leaving engaging comments is probably the best way to do that.
I don't quite agree that the voting system is flawed. It is linear now, which makes it much better than it used to be for many people. When it was parabolic, the whales really had all the power. Their votes were the only votes that distributed rewards. Now even users with only 1,000 SP have a vote that is worth something.
If the system didn't work the way that it does, what incentive would people have to invest (power up and hold Steem) in the platform? As it already is, many people just take what they can and cash out. Whales and minnows alike. Much of Steemit's design is based on providing people with icentives to use and maintain the system.
I'll have a 1000 SP in my dreams only ever , wow what an attitude
Are you saying I have a bad attitude? Do you think I'm being insolent and inconsiderate to other's feelings? I can't quite read your tone.
When I started Steemit, I only knew one person on here. I wrote almost everyday and I powered up every post. From my experience, I honestly think anyone can find a degree of success of Steemit.
Thanks so much for your input @boxcarblue !! You are certainly one of the authors on here that blogs a lot and also makes it a point to engage and become interactive with other users and I admire that!!
As for @vaerospace - I can't quite read the tone used either...
And by myself saying that I think the voting system is flawed... I suppose I don't have all of the information and or insight to correctly make that statement... I suppose what I was alluding to was the fact that when new users visit the Steemit Homepage for the first time ever - What do they initially read?
Something to the tune of "Money Talks. The first ever social media platform that pays you to blog, comment, etc..." something along those lines - I know its not verbatim... But the way that the main page is designed with color and type is to allure users to set up an account with the hopes of earning decent money... It always shows a feed of posts earning $175-$250 - So the average person probably thinks - WOW people are earning $200 a post.. If I start today in a month I can probably earn $10-25 a post!! Who knows what people think when they first enter the world of STEEMIT - I do know that knowing it is a legitimate site that pays out rewards in fiat if the user decides to cash out it a big draw point to sign up because who on earth wouldn't like a part time job that they can clock into whenever they want to for 5 mins or 5 hours and earn...
I think he was saying you have a very optimistic attitude, as he won't ever have 1000 SP. A little cryptic, but at least he read your comment!
Hmmm, i appreciate with
me too. I sometimes do a paragraph in comments but most of the time I don't. Engaging with the author is the best way to improve returns (income) thus engaging also to high reps authors with high number of followers makes you visible to others.
This simple things can attract more readers and some followers too. Followed you!
I absolutely agree with you. The first thing I did when I signed up was find the tools to identify top authors and top accounts and followed all their feeds. This way I am learning from the best, and it ramps up my learning curve. I don't think most members think of that.
Maybe Steemit could create some "Welcome to Steem" intro guides with best practices and recommended accounts to follow so that new users can get a better start?
That's a really good idea. I've been here for just over a month, and I really don't know what I am doing!
@dante - Glad you are on the same page as me and can see not only the reward benefits by commenting but all of the other very important effects that can occur by connecting with the right people.. I will follow you as well and check our your blog..
There are some who get frustrated after joining since they've only monetary. Like are real job you need to learn and work hard to sustain it.
Thank you. I bid you more blessings!
@dante01 Well Said - STEEMIT was not designed to be a get rich quick platform by any means and from day one they instilled being invested in it by actively using it, contributing in all facets... The rewards system is severely flawed though and if a user is unable to make a very considerable investment in SP to their account or can bring a large following with them from another platform - the hard work versus reward timeline is just simply way too long for people to stick around... There are so many STEEMIT ghost accounts where users have left... And way too many absurdly distorted payouts to high SP holders and whales simply because they had the means to pay their way up the STEEMIT user ranks/hierarchy
Agree. I just found out yesterday that I have 65 dead followers out of my 400++ hahaaha http://steemit.deadfollowers.info/
Thanks for the link - Im scared to see how many I have now lol
WOW!!! Apparently I have 240 DEAD FOLLOWERS - That stat alone speaks volumes!!! Many of them have seemed to stop posting 2-4 months ago...
Hmmmm - This problem of STEEMIT treading water needs to be fixed asap before the ship starts sinking matey
same here , steemit is sinking no doubt , did not want to say that when I had very similar results
Ahoy! yap I hope steemitcleaners do their part attentively hehehehe
OMG! that's too many.
Interessting tnx for the link , dead followers are always an issue , Im pretty sure people decome very disenchanted with steemit very quickly
they need to innovate to platform asap. the more interactive the more attention it gets.
very very true - I know there are plenty of Developers working on doing so and I know one witness in particular is lobbying for less witness payments to pay for "proposals" of all sorts -marketing, development, etc - Some decision surely has to be made
Very nice post, I came to this understanding a few weeks ago and posted in a reply stating the same. If you look at the number of post I have made, then look at the number of post on my blog you could see that. However I did get a great tip about what user to comment on from this post. Thanks for the information. Also like the idea
Great to hear that and thanks for contributing to this post!! Cheers!!
IT does make sense that new folks should spend some time getting to know other people, and learning how their new 'home' works, before expecting to have a big impact in a community. Your strategy is an effective one!
Thanks for the support - I agree 100% for the first day first week, first month even user - but what about after 4 months?? It seems to me that the 1 month mark or close to it is usually the breaking point for users deciding to stay with STEEMIT or leave
You are bringing up some good points.
But I have been here for about 5 weeks now and at the beginning I tried to comment a lot but often didn't even get any reply on my questions.
So I tried to focus on writing articles which as you said sometimes takes hours for some little reward.
I also haven't had the time to explore all those interesting posts lately, I really need to dig deeper into it myself
However finding a good balance between writing and commenting might be best. This month I'm on a 30dayschallenge to post one own article every day, but from December I will take on the commenting challenge again
Thank you for reminding me!!!!
Keep at it!! Having only been here for 5 weeks I would certainly emphasize the 'commenting' challenge - maybe shoot for 5 - 8 comments - which will probably take the same amount of time or less than 1 post a day and also try your best to comment as soon as possible after the post is posted without compromising the content of your comment - sometimes it's smart to also check the previous posts of Authors to see which ones actually upvote and interact with the comments and which post and be done - I feel like 70-75% of Authors with a rep above 70 will interact with comments -
If there is a post with 200 comments don't expect the Author to reply to all - it would simply consumers way too much time
Take a look at some of my comments that were effective with rewards and maybe follow some of those people
Thank you very much for this detailed answer.
I certainly will try some of your ideas, I just wish I had more time. Haha
Still need to do my real job, well I guess most of us do.
@maxinpower - Anytime!! The one beautiful thing about STEEMIT which has never really changed as far as I know is that people are ALWAYS willing to help, share advice, explain things and also motivate... One of the attributes of the platform I really admire.
And yes - I struggle with the time issue as well on STEEMIT - Working 50-60 hours a week with a 2 year old daughter is quite cumbersome... I try to sneak in 10 - 30 minutes here and there at different times of the day and some days I just have zero hours for STEEMIT because food on the table and family are my priorities in life... If I ever get to the whale status and reap even $100 blog posts Ill quit the day job and be on here 6-8 hours a day and have more time for my family as well :)
Who knows maybe Ill get a christmas bonus and dump it into SP and roll the dice :)
@maxinpower - Oh by the way - how on earth did you reach a rep of 54 in 5 weeks? Did you already know some whales on here that have followed you? It seems like your posts are rewarding more than most would receive within such a short time.. Whatever you are doing it seems to be working well for you
Just a short reply since I'm already in bed
I don't know any whale, well as much as I know. And some of my rewards come from using Minnowbooster. I wrote about it too
I also put some if my yen I to SteemPower, but that shouldn't change the rep
Not sure about the reputation, I'm just writing and commenting as everyone else I guess.
I don't think I'm doing well, but I know some users here earn even less.
And I'm serving the English speaking and the small German community so I try to post bilingually. However most replies are from the German side.
Catch you tomorrow. Have a good one
Thanks for your input!! Much Appreciated and Sleep Well my friend
My two cents worth - just post some cool shit that you like yourself - just like any other blog!
Well said - Thanks for your input @sift666