A Crash Course in Steemit for Complete Newbies

Hey Steemian.

Sup?

I know, right? You finally got that e-mail from Steemit and your account verification went through! Congrats! Now you can join this growing community and share your content with the world!

So let's get down to brass tacks, okay buddy? You clicked on this, an article written by someone who's only been here a month, but can remember what it's like those first few days. Maybe you read the FAQ, maybe you've got a friend who's on here and convinced you to give it a shot, but there are a few things you should know before you really dive in.

1. Re-familiarize yourself with basic HTML

Posts look better with headings, italics, links, pictures, videos, and the like, and HTML is how you do that. Have no idea how to HTML? A guide is a simple Google search away. Also, refer to the preview below the text window to make sure everything looks right. It updates as you type your post.

2. Do an "introduceyourself" post

Go ahead and click. I can wait.

Welcome back.

See how many there are? Steemit averages a new introduceyourself post every 40-70 seconds, so you have to make sure you stand out. If you're curious, here's my first post on Steemit. If you've already posted, don't worry, but notice how mine has photos, background, qualifications, personal story, and a sample of my personality. This is how you separate yourself and are taken as a "promising newcomer" instead of "obvious alt account #496".

3. Getting to Know Those Numbers

Go to your main blog page. See "Wallet"? Click it. I can wait.

Welcome back. Let's go over those numbers. See the number in parentheses after your handle? That's your reputation! You want it above 15 at all times, and you start at 25. How does it go down? Put simply, by being an asshat. Starting flamewars, pissing people off, plagiarizing other peoples' content either here or around the net, just being the type of person no one wants to be around.

How to raise it? Post, get upvotes. That simple. Reputation score is mostly a measure of what kind of person you are, not the voting power you have. There are absolute angels on here with a 70+ rep with practically no account value, and peeps with average rep and an account worth that would pay off your mortgage. Getting your rep above 30 is how you shed the "newbie" moniker.

Click your wallet again. I'll wait.

Back? See "Steem Power"? THAT is your upvote strength. Likely, it's around 15, which means your upvotes will carry a value of about $0.004 SBD. See the number underneath your Steem Power that's in parentheses? That's the Steem Power that was delegated to you by Steemit. As you get upvotes, write posts, etc., and earn Steem and SBD, the delegation amount will go down.

This is normal. Don't panic. Once you reach 15 Steem Power, the delegation is fully returned to Steemit and you're on your own. At this point you can Power Down, but DO NOT POWER DOWN. Hold onto the Steem Power, because that's your upvote power. Do. Not. Power. Down.

You want to know about the Savings Account? Until you've got crazy amount of money, don't bother. You want your SBD and Steem accessible in the beginning.

4. Simple Guidelines for Posting

1. Tags are the most important part of your post. The first tag is what it's "sold" as. You want to have 5 tags for every post, but make sure the first tag you use best represents your post. Some accounts won't resteemed if the primary tag isn't their wheelhouse.
2. If you're using material from other sites, try to cite and reference properly. You're writing these posts to make money, so you have to credit or reference anything that's not yours, sometimes even if it is yours.
3. Do a double read-through before you hit post. Once it's on the blockchain, it's forever.
4. Post when you're inspired, or try to every day. If you can't, don't beat yourself up over it. Writing's a muscle, it takes time.
5. Always upvote your own posts. This is your work. Own it. :)

5. Rookie Mistakes

1. DON'T UPVOTE EVERYTHING!!!!! You only have so much voting power and it takes a while to recharge. Check your Voting Power at Steemd.com/@yourusername. The more you upvote, the less they're worth. If you're starting out and you see a post you like? Follow the creator and comment on the post, but make it a thoughtful comment. Creators deal with so many users hounding them with comments to follow them back, resteem them, upvote linked posts, and they mostly tune it out. They'll appreciate it more than a minnow's upvote.
2. DON'T POWER DOWN. I've met a couple people who, after getting 15 Steem Power, immediately powered down to see what would happen. What happens? Your Steem Power is converted to Steem. Over 13 WEEKS. You already busted your butt getting that Steem Power, don't give it up so easily.
3. DON'T STALK THE WHALES. You're not getting an upvote from them, buddy. Sorry. Just work on your own stuff and build up until minnows are begging you for upvotes. :)
4. CRYPTOCURRENCY ARTICLES ARE OVERSATURATED. Unless you're actually in the crypto game and can speak intelligently on the path everything's going? Ease back to maybe one a... day?
5. THE BLOCKCHAIN IS FOREVER. Which means you can't delete posts. Once you hit "Post" the tags are locked and can't be reordered, and after a few hours it can't be edited anymore. After a day? It's forever. No deleting. So think before you post.

6. Find Your Community

There are a lot of communities on Steem. Artists, writers, bloggers, photographers, cooks, foodies, gamers, critics, musicians, the list goes on, but they all have a channel where they generally congregate. Find it and write another "introduceyourself", but tailored for that community, with their community channel as your first tag. That's where you'll find your friends, fans, collaborators, and partners in crime. Just be respectful and show you're passionate about their passion, and you should find your niche.

7. It takes time to build

In the beginning? Don't treat it like a job. Don't treat it like you're going to be rich in a month, because you won't. Just post the stuff you want to post, comment on entries you like, and reply to every comment you receive. The rest? You can learn as you go, or read one of the many, many, many articles on Steemit that answers your question. :)

Happy Steeming!