Discussion topic: Should your Steemit content be driven by passion or upvotes?

There was a girl I knew in college who told me she hated it when artists say they write their music for their fans.

"I'm so sick of all of these musicians saying 'we do this for our fans.' I'd respect an artist so much more if he/she said, 'I write music because I'm passionate about what it stands for.' I'd rather listen to someone sing a song they're passionate about than listen to a song that was written to appeal to the masses," she told me.

It's an interesting point.

The same debate applies to Steemit. Should you blog about the things you are passionate about? Or should you blog with the intention of appealing to Steemian upvoters?

I'd love to see this discussion unfold in the comments section, but I'll provide some food for thought below.

---

Blogging to appeal to the masses

Is it wrong to create a blog post you think will be popular among the Steemit crowd or has a good chance of being upvoted?

Before we answer that, I think we need to understand why Steemians upvote content in the first place.

There are a few different reasons: affinity for the blogger, interest in the subject, to encourage similar content, etc. But one reason (which is significant, especially when we consider whale voting) is rewarding the content that is most likely to bring in an audience/drive traffic to Steemit. The biggest Steem holders have the most at stake when it comes to the success of Steem/Steemit; therefore, they want to support the kinds of posts that they feel protect (or enhance) their investment.

I can say that I've definitely written blog posts in the past with the goal of marketing Steemit to an outside audience. Here is an example of that. Often, these types of blog posts tend to be rewarded/upvoted by Steemians who see value in this type of marketing effort.

I think it's natural to want our blog posts to be successful (in terms of upvotes). Let's face it: It's a great feeling the first time one of your blog posts reaches $10. Or $100. Or the trending page.

But, I think this can be a slippery slope as well. If we completely leave behind the subject matter we are passionate about to chase the almighty upvote, I believe the quality of our content will start to slip as well. This is also the kind of situation where many would argue Steemit turns into a circle jerk.

Blogging fueled by passion

I think the majority will agree that this is the healthiest and perhaps most sustainable motivation for creating blog posts.

We all have things that we care about deeply about. One example I came across recently was @mother2chicks and their Weekly Chicken Gazette. When I come across these types of blog posts, my first thought is, "this is awesome!" I love seeing people write about the things they are passionate about.

Another one of my favourite writers (who is clearly fueled by passion) is @surfermarly. She cares about a lot of things, but she has woven her love of surfing into so many elements of her blog, including the amazing charitable cause she founded: @dreamsoftheocean.

And even my better half, @theactiveglutton, didn't start her Steemit journey by asking me: "Wade, what's popular on the site?" She told me: "I'm going to write about food, drinks, the outdoors and travel. This will be fun!"

I don't think you can go wrong when passion is your North Star.

---

Can you do both?

I've aimed to try to achieve a balance, where I can blog about content I care about, while still gaining support from Steemians.

A good example of this is my 20 questions interview series. Journalism is my background, and I love the process of interviewing people and asking them thought-provoking questions. I am passionate about this type of content. But beyond my own personal passion for posting these interviews, I've come to understand that this type of content is incredibly beneficial for the Steemit platform for a few reasons. 1) The influencer who I interview is introduced to Steemit when I share the completed interview link. 2) The influencer notices a dollar amount at the bottom of the post and is intrigued by how a blog post was able to generate money. Often, this leads the influencer to research Steemit and consider joining the platform. 3) The influencer often shares the interview on his/her personal social media channels; therefore, his/her audience (often, 10s or 100s of thousands of people) is exposed to Steemit content.

So I'm not sure if there is a right or wrong answer to the question I initially asked, but I do believe you can do both.

---

Comment below about what motivates you to blog on Steemit.

Does your blog reflect what you're passionate about? Do you blog about what you think others will find interesting or what is valuable to the platform? Or do you aim to do both?