Explaining Blogging and Crushing Your Dreams [for minnows] - FollowUp thoughts on heiditravels "10 Reasons Why Steemit is Ideal for Bloggers/Vloggers"
Mandatory cat picture! meow
Steemit really is a great place to blog. I can agree with all the points Heidi made in her post, but I can also see how new-comers might not agree. It's been a tough road for me and surely is very hard for most of the new members around here. Time and time again I come across questions like "how come I don't earn anything?" and in most cases all I see is a new member with a few short posts. It's obvious how the game is played on Steemit, but let's break it down.
Let's forget about Steemit for now.
What is blogging all about?
It's about sharing something with the world. In a way it's like a diary that's intended to be read by strangers. You write down whatever your are interested in, make it appealing to your readers and do it every day. That's about it.
Many people make money from their blogs. Let's look at someone like Sargon of Akkad from Youtube. He started out by calling out all the bullshit in politics and especially third-wave feminism. He didn't do it for money, he did it because no one else did it, he just had to vent. Over time that hobby which came naturally to him became his profession.
When you start your blog ask yourself: would you pay yourself for the blogs you produce? If not, why should anyone else?
"But that trending post has no value! I wouldn't pay for it!" Well, it might not have value to you, but for many others it has. The value might not be something you expect. People tend to get hooked by attractive personalities. They don't necessarily come back to read about a specific topic, but rather spend time with that persona. If you want a big audience you'll have to create an attractive persona, that means knowing your audience and also a bit of acting by your part. Find your strengths and build upon them!
You'll never get far if you concentrate on the size of your following!
Here's a tip: do what comes naturally to you. Once a month has passed you'll probably quite good at it. Now make a decision, do you want to change your online persona or are you happy with how things are going. Find ways to be more attractive, change things up a bit and give it another month.
Imitate the best. Try to adopt a style some great bloggers have you are already following on other sites. Don't worry about being a copy-cat, you'll most likely end up with your own unique style of writing.
If you are happy with your style of posts and are happy doing it, just keep on doing it. You cannot force people to like you, they'll come at their own pace.
It's all true on Steemit too!!!
Build your online persona to something you are happy with first.
I think a great analogy would be life in general. You can't expect success if you don't put in the effort. Most of our problems in life derive from ill conceived thoughts and laziness. If you want to change something in the world start with your room first.
Success MIGHT come over time
Who's to say you'll find success? No one! And you better be ready for it.
While the thought of blogging for money - getting paid for fun - is highly addictive and desirable, it's still a thing for the few. Don't be upset if you won't hit it big. The majority won't. It's just how things are. But Steemit offers the change for even the unlucky ones to get some rewards over time and if you like blogging, Steemit IS the place for you! Just don't expect quick rewards, you'll only set yourself up for disappointment.
Hope this was useful!
If you found things you don't agree with let me know or write a post about it! If you wish to share a similar message, go ahead and write about it in your own words.
Never think about "this has been done before" when you start blogging. Most of what people write about has at some point already been written about. It's all about sharing and looking at things at a new angle. There are always people in your audience who will find your information new and refreshing.
So jump on the train and start writing!
It's a bear!
pictures from pixaby.com
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Some of my previous posts!
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Questions are welcome!
Upvote, comment, resteem and follow if you like!
Have a great day!
Thank you for this post. I needed to read that. I did unexpectedly well on my first two posts and since then very little. My expectations were off and rewards here on steemit needs to be a long game and not the sole focus. Thank you for a needed reminder.
It's all about working hard. When you are on the bottom, you have to work harder at producing quality content to get seen through all the "give me upvotes cuz reasons" posts. I've had some winners, but mostly losers. It's a struggle for sure, but if people are serious about this then they need to make an actual go at it. I'm happy with my content. For the most part I feel like it has some substance to it. I cover as many things as I can muster to write about from erotica to my puppy pictures. Now, it is even harder because there is so much genuine garbage on the "New" tab that it is nearly impossible to get more than a couple upvotes from people who see you in passing. I just want to keep producing good content and keep seeing good content.
Anyway, that was my vent.
Cheers,
@seanengman
engagement goes a long way! Comment and hang out in the steemit chat groups. Also join "Peace, abundance, liberty" group in discord. Might get you some support. Always us the "minnowsunited" tag!
Engagement does go far. I was tooling around with discord. I got frustrated and just uninstalled the app. Thanks for the tip on minnowsunited tag.
I use the website for discord. You can let the bots upvote your content once day there. Might get you ~1$ though :P
It's the general chat where people hang out. You'll never know when someone with a bigger account takes interest in you.
I might give it a go again from my laptop and see what happens.
I also try to produce quality posts here but sometimes I am out of ideas or due to laziness I make short posts or that have no much appeal.
you are right on point, like i always say, good content is relative, what one person considers as good content might not be same to another and vice versa.
exactly!
I agree! People must follow their dreams, if you want to write blog then write! Success is not guaranteed from the start. :))
yes :)
I do have to agree with your points there @sulev . I've never actually done any kind of blogging before, and if you check my blog you'll see that I actually suck. I hate putting up news, I have putting up funny videos, or just clickbaits, so I'm left with only regular content, that most of the times gets overlooked,and I am hardly getting any followers, however the ones that I have are organic, and not forced, so I think I'm doing at least that good :)) haha
seems to me you are doing better than most already! Keep it up! I made about 10$ with the first 1.5 months here. (I did make 500$ for a translation job for an app, but that wasn't for posting, so doesn't count)
Great post! I've only just joined a few days ago so I am still getting to grips with the platform. This is very helpful information to have since starting out can seem so daunting. I will definitely keep this advice to heart as I go. Thanks!
I hear the "how come my post didn't make any money?" question, then I check their profile and they have been here for a week. It's surprising how easy some think success will/should be.
I was the same :P
But I didn't tell anyone, I just felt frustrated and started creating easier content. No need to put your effort into things that won't pay nor make you happy, have fun instead. I also avoided looking at all the payouts on the trending pages for a long time.
Yeah, I need to focus a bit more on this aspect of the whole thing... the blogging aspect. Thing is, I'm generally a pretty private person so writing about my daily life (aside from the more philosophical observations or things that happened way in the past) makes me feel weird... I don't know how people to the vlogging thing!
BUT, I need to focus more on writing.. so I think I will!
Now... what would I pay for? That's a hard one :D
For me that's easy. My vote is worth about 1,8$ right now, that's a big coffee :D
I can live with that!
Very nice written Article
The points you raised are fabulous
Streemit is very ligit way to earn enough money for living
Thanks!
I wouldn't trust my living on Steemit payouts though. The whole crypto world is very volatile.