Follow me, I'm Getting Out of the Minnow Pool and Becoming a Dolphin, ASAP

You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get
what they want- Zig Ziglar

Steemit is a completely unique animal and figuring it out is hurting my head a bit. The potential is huge and there really is no downside, other than the rabbit hole effect, in which I get caught up trying to make it work when I should be balancing it out with already paying revenue streams.

Here is my dilemma

1. I see that Steemit is the best opportunity I have currently to increase my immediate income. One well received post could easily pay me what I make in a couple of good weeks.
2. Steemit also offers something else I'm looking for, a source of residual income in the cyclical payouts, that I think will become more of a factor as the platform becomes more known as a source for quality content.
3. On top of that, Steemit provides an intriguing incentive in the form of long term investment income, that for some, at least, could represent a legitimate retirement income, should the platform continue to grow and succeed.

So, what should I do?

On the one hand, it makes sense to consume as much information as possible, test strategies and see what works and try to replicate actions that lead to steady (albeit small) increases in my account, until I have enough steem power to lift my own content.

• Outside freelance is typically writing for hire, one time work, one time pay, which means reselling services continually.
• Steemit allows me to produce whatever content I want, but, it also is notoriously difficult to gauge what content will be popular enough to get upvotes
• Trying to find the right combination of timing, title and images to attract readers and votes can become a full time job.

*At what point, though, do I become a desperate gambler, panhandling for five more dollars to put into the one slot machine I know is going to pay off. *

I have had some success

From the posts I have submitted since signing up four days ago, three have made over a dollar and all but two have had at least some payout. As I compare this with other profiles, I note that the majority of posts get very few updates and no payout.

• It took two days to get one post to go over a $20 payout, out of eight initial blog posts.
• The next post after that went as high as $70 and ended up paying out at $53.
• So far I've made about $50 in SPD and gotten up to almost 30 in Steem power.

I wish there was a way to track traffic

On other platforms, there are other ways to track content that is drawing attention, without getting clicks, or upvotes. I don't know that individual sub domain traffic gets tracked, if it does and you know where to find it, let me know.

• I tried Bitly links to see what was getting clicks, but the preview image didn't work that way.
• I did see somewhere and then lost track of, an app that is designed for shortening Steemit links, but I don't know if it tracks traffic
• There hasn't been any conversion from link traffic to signups to my knowledge. It would be nice to know if I encouraged someone to come over.

Nothing clicked until I let go of the "quality content" myth

It isn't that the idea of quality content isn't true, but one steemit author explained that whales are working in their own self interest and building the platform is their number one priority at this stage.

• Sensational, link bait content and promotional pieces attract new users and may get upvoted over better written and produced content with useful information, because "useful" is determined by what is needed at the moment.
• Content that sits on the platform, exists forever. Building a base of high quality content seems likely to pay off in the future.
• Sharing honest, personal content is what finally got the needle to move for me. That is now my focus, sharing my personal experience.

Everyone else wants to know what to do to become a whale, I want to become a dolphin

Here is something I have learned in life, through many different tracks my life has taken. If you can gain a little success, repeating what you did will get you more.

• I intend to study everything I can find on becoming a dolphin and follow the advice of those that are getting consistent results.
• If the needle moves a little every day (steem grows, content gets votes, followers increase) I'm doing the right things
• Patience, persistence and engagement are my buzzwords for this next phase, I'm also setting some goals that I will share later for my steemit advancement.

So, here is my plan, I want to make all of you successful

Seriously. It's in my nature to teach and share what I learn and I want to help anyone I can. So, Minnows, if this is your first day, find me on Steemit chat and ask me quesitons. If I can't answer them, I will find someone who can!

• Shortcutting someone else's journey has oftened helped me succeed in life and the principle is the same here.
• I have always felt that the things I teach others, I take ownership of myself.
• A high tide raises all minnows and as the path behind me gets easier to find, I will be propelled forward to bigger and better things.

So, come on, follow me, we're getting out of this minnow pond!