Blogger @stellabelle wrote the definitive Handbook to Success on Steemit, which you can find here: Guide to Killing in on Steemit or Anywhere Else

While reading it, several thoughts came to me and I figured I'd share them to expand the conversation in my own unique way.

Authenticity and Vulnerability

Steemit is a place where you can make good money blogging -- but only if people upvote your work. This can become a mental trap, as you might get stuck writing things that you think will be popular in the hopes that some whales will upvote it and it'll start trending which means $$$$$

The problem here is, you don't have a damn clue what's going to be popular. I have been more active in two weeks here than most people will be in two months, so I've learned a LOT in a short period of time, so listen to what I'm about to say because it'll save you some time.

I wrote a lot of stuff because I thought it would trend. I contrived content to fit popular tags rather than doing what I really enjoyed doing and having fun with it. The result was disappointment: It didn't work. Don't make that mistake.

Remember that Steemit is a place of constant change and innovation. This isn't just regarding technical development of the platform or the blockchain underlying it -- I'm talking about content, too. I'm talking about YOU. You aren't going to be able to compete with what's trending, because what's trending will have moved on to something else before you've even pulled up your pants.

Rather than trying to chase the trends like a dog after a postal truck, simply be yourself and post about the weird crap that you like. If you check my blog, for instance, you will see a lot of different stuff. Yes, I post a lot about Steemit, but it's not to contrive a competitive trending post -- I do it because I honestly am fascinated by the platform and how to use it to grow a presence. I also post about philosophy, music, culture, politics (less frequently lately), retarded mental farts, etc.

Expose yourself, emotionally. Be vulnerable and unafraid before a world full of teeth and claws. The reality is: people who might do the things you fear are only projecting their own insecurities onto you. It's nothing personal if someone criticizes you or trolls you or calls you stupid or ugly. They're only saying that because they criticize themselves, and they think they are stupid and ugly. Stay positive and believe in yourself.

Really.

This is your time.

Besides, it's not inherently the content of your posts that will get you recognized in the first place. If you don't already have some kind of base built up, it doesn't matter how good or bad your posts are: they'll fall flat. So just be authentic so that when your audience is ready to give you lots of support, you will be ready to put your best content out to the world.

Trial and Error

If you're just starting out here, trust me when I say that you don't really know what kind of content you're going to make yet.

This platform is very free-form. It's like mental diarrhea. People are pooping and farting all over the place.

Personally, I love that about Steemit. I love seeing other people's flaws and warts and ugly stuff, because I have no problem being Authentic and Vulnerable myself.

What I'm saying is that you need to be ready to fail. A lot. In fact, you need to be so ready to fail that you can't wait until you fail again! You have to be so eager and excited to try something different and stupid that you can barely contain yourself. You'll be at the grocery store, and you'll see that one fruit that looks like a spiky rock, and you'll be SO EXCITED to get back home and post about it that you just might pee yourself.

That's how eager you have to be to try new things.

Regularity

When you post often, you are contributing to the ever-flowing stream of creativity on Steemit, and some things will begin to catch on. And then you will catch on to the way things work around here. And before you know it you'll be writing posts that get lots of comments and actually bank you a fair amount of money.

Regularity has a lot to do with Trial and Error: If you are always posting new and exciting stuff, then you are posting often. And if you are posting often, then people have a good reason to follow you.

Remember that passion and dedication combined with great content can inspire an audience, making your work more attractive and your feed more interesting. People will want to follow you to hear what crazy view you'll throw in their face next.

This is very important.

Being Social

I think that you could almost call the larger social networking sites "Antisocial Media". They suck. Bad. The people on them mostly suck. The comments you get -- if you're lucky enough to get them -- suck.

It's bad.

But on Steemit, partially because there are a lot of authentic people here who are unafraid of exposing their vulnerabilities, engagement really is social.

I've stressed this before, but you really need to comment around here. Becauese if you don't, it doesn't matter what you post on your blog, because nobody is going to see it.

You have to comment 10, 20, 50 times more than you post. And you need to be "real" in those comments.

Find some really good blogs and follow them (check out the people I follow: they're all great accounts to comment on because they have large audiences and post high quality content.) Get a recognizable avatar that stands out amongst others. When you do that, people will start to recognize you when you post, and they'll start to get a sense of your style from comment to comment, and if they like what you're doing, they'll follow you.

Make sure you have at least a good "Introduce Yourself" post, and maybe a few resteems of some super high-quality content that you really really like. This will help for when people click over to your page from a comment you've made. They'll see what you're doing, and it'll already look like good quality stuff (resteems make your account look beefy because people will see a lot of $$$, and introduce yourself posts always do well so long as you craft a halfway decent one.)

Do this and you'll build up a following and a reputation so that when you really decide to get serious about posting content, you'll actually have an audience to test your content against.

Conclusion

I'm not the biggest thing on Steemit.

Far from it, actually.

But I do recognize that I'm doing really well considering where I've come from and how quickly I've gotten from where I was to where I am now.

For now, Steemit is a great place for people who have flexible, creative, experimental minds -- people who are eager to try anything and fail. If you are that kind of person, you're probably going to like this place. And it'll reward you for who you are and what you are willing to share about yourself.

In many ways, Steemit has take the "You" from YouTube and claimed it for its own.

The people who post on Steemit are actual people (well... except for the bots. but you know what I'm saying), and they are sharing their hearts with the rest of us -- or at least they should be.

Really, if people adopted this kind of advice, Steemit would be known for being a raw, authentic, extremely active place. It would be the kind of place that advertisers would be drooling to get their stinky claws glommed onto, but can't -- because their kind aren't welcome here.

Tell me what you think. I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

Follow me @shayne