Hmmm... what strategy should us newbies take to get the best results on Steemit?
I've been here less than a week, and I'm torn. I'm unsure whether I should continue posting or, instead, just making comments for now. I must admit I feel like blocking aside a chunk of time for thoughtful comments seems to have been much more useful than posting.
I could spend the same amount of time - or probably much more - crafting a well thought out post, finding the perfect images for it, editing, and then watch it get lost in the notorious Sarlacc of Steemit. (Woohoo, just coined a new phrase - that's right, you heard it first from me!)
Sarlacc of Steemit
Seriously though, I seem to have gotten wayyy more follows and interaction - along with some occasional upvotes - by going on a mad commenting binge and connecting to fellow Steemians one by one. (Not including my intro post).
For those of you who have already been through the minnow ropes, or even if you're going through them now with me, what do you think?
Should we, as minnows, continue to spend countless hours on original content only to see it perhaps make a few credits (going with the Star Wars theme here 😅) and then disappear down the Sarlacc? 😱
Or is it better to spend all of our time, let's say at least for the first month or two, commenting like your life depends on it and networking that way?
Eager to hear your thoughts!
You are right sometimes it's better to comment, but the comment must be thoughtful and engaging. Many people just seem to just leave a comment to get an upvote, instead of commenting to give feedback to the poster. Anyways since I work a lot, 50hrs, sometimes I just resteem and comment. They all count as posts! 👌🏿 Great post
Well put, I work a full time job as well...even though my time is limited, I still want to make every little comment count. I never write something short and generic like "great post" "really interesting", etc...or maybe I'll start my post with that, but then write at least a few sentences (and oftentimes much more) on my specific thoughts, whether I agree or disagree, and if I have any follow up questions or want to discuss something related.
If you're going to do something, you gotta do it right or not at all!
PS - Impressive you still find time for thoughtful comments with your 50hr/week job, consider me a new follower :)
Just got home from work, usually check my replies before hopping into the shower. Thanks for the follow, I am now following you as well. Keep on keeping on and keep those posts coming!
Likewise, cheers to that!
Although as I mentioned here, I'll slow down on the posts for the next few weeks at the very least and work on building connections and engagement. When I feel like I've reached a good level, then it's full STEEM ahead :)
Nice, I think I will mix it up, few posts here and there, but commenting, upvoting and resteeming for the most part. Great job, make sure to post your results to this experiment lol
Yep yep, I definitely will! I'll probably wait til end of August at least to properly judge the results.
Engagement is way more important than posting until you get a lot of followers.
That's been what I've noticed so far at least. The key though is to have quality engagement, and that draws in followers. If they see a good reply to someone else's post, they will most likely follow you.
I also think people should add a blurb about what their interests are too, for the people with nothing and just an icon are usually not followed by me. They would have to have a very good discussion with me to investigate them further.
I'm on here to write about my passions, physical security and private investigation. My physical security study isn't for the commercial side either, and I plan to focus on residential security instead to help more people.
Most people that go for the PSP certification through ASIS do it to do the corporate side since they get paid 1K a day. I'm not in this for money though, and I simply want to help people live in secure homes!
Our conversation in the other thread is a good example of quality engagement. I found and followed you because of it. Thanks!
Great comment, I am very happy that we have so many great people in steem community. :)
Thanks, @bobrock!
Hehe nice of you to say, nice connecting with you as well! I definitely appreciate the folks who take the time to write a well thought out response, even if I don't agree with them completely (although many times I do anyway), as long as they are expressing themselves politely, that's great. The main thing is I can see they care and took the time out of their busy lives - like you have! - to show that they care.
Agree completely with the profile photo, blurb about interests, and a well-written intro post can never hurt as well. Mine is pretty weird, but hey, at least you can tell I had fun with it! -> https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@jobsande/hey-i-m-jobsande-digital-nomad-i-love-travel-budgets-drums-and-bananas-peanut-butter
To be honest I don't know much about physical security and private investigation but looking forward to hearing what you have to say on the matter.
Hi @jobsande. There are a lot of comments here, so I may be repeating what others have said. It's likely no one's going to see your post, or pay attention, or vote on it. And so what? I've started posting for my own amusement and development, and I've been looking for people with good content who i can start a conversation and hopefully a friendship with. I've found this place is very much about community and simply finding where and who you fit with. Just have fun. I've also started to notice that people I like will mention other people in posts or comments that I discover I like.
Hey @travelman - well I wouldn't say no one...since you certainly saw it ;) But you're right, at this point I'm not counting on too many eyeballs viewing my words. I think I will continue to post a few short updates, like this color challenge I stumbled upon is something quick and fun to do (https://steemit.com/colorchallenge/@jobsande/color-challenge-thursday-green-insect-on-an-apple). It's also good practice for using basic markup and spicing up my posts a bit!
Absolutely, all about community. Like I've mentioned before, I'm here for the loooong run - that's the whole concept of Steem Power after all. Nice meeting you!
I'm a newbie too - just started yesterday - and I have to say commenting seems to give me much better results.
Although I'm sure that changes once you develop a more significant following.
And speaking of developing a following... you can add a new follower to the list! (>‿◠)✌
Just keep lines like "Sarlacc of Steemit" coming haha! 👌😆
Aw shucks mr. grapes, you're too kind. Followed back!
Well, if you enjoy my quite bizarre sense of humor, feel free to check out my intro post too ;) https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@jobsande/hey-i-m-jobsande-digital-nomad-i-love-travel-budgets-drums-and-bananas-peanut-butter
Exactly, comment, like I am doing right now ;-)
yep, if you couldn't tell that's exactly the way I'm leaning.... my thinking was that after 1 or 2 months of commenting like crazy, when our Steem Power is high enough, then we can begin transitioning to more postinf of original content.
PS - followed!
Great post. I was wondering the same thing. Back to comments! Thank you.
STEEM ON!!
glad you found that helpful! yep, not very clear especially when you're new... and nice gif by the way :D
Just followed you, looking forward to future interactions
Too true! Thanks!
Likewise 👽🤘
A little bit of both I think. However maybe a strong emphasis on commenting?
Also hi! Am new too. Like super new. Like today new. Still trying to figure this place out. Value is in learning!
Yep, I've been doing both but about to slow down on the original content for now.. although I have tons of ideas, I feel like they will make a bigger impact when I have a larger following so for now I'll let me ideas blossom through my comments.
Welcome by the way! Don't get discouraged in the beginning, might seem like an uphill battle but I have a feeling if you stick with it, after a bit of time it will get easier and pick up more and more STEEM ... ok I really need to stop making that joke :P
Oh and quick piece of advice, you might want to put a profile photo asap since you look more legit that way.
Thanks for the tips. I will definitely get a some sort of picture up at some point. Gotta find something that captures my good side! :)
haha well for now at least batman is better than nothing!
I do a little of both, but I've went on to using Discord and the upvote support from there. Besides, Discord feels like home, lol.
Thanks - yeah I haven't had the best luck on Discord/ the minnow project (see https://steemit.com/minnowsupport/@jobsande/help-how-do-i-know-if-minnow-support-project-is-working) but I'll keep trying!
I'd say it's best to follow the old 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time commenting and socialising with other users and the other 20% writing content.
It's easy to feel disheartened with your post payouts, especially when you've spent a lot of time writing & researching. You don't get that with commenting and you still stand to gain upvotes and, more importantly, relationships in the process.
I've heard of the classic 80/20 rule/ pareto principle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle) as advocated by Tim Ferris, and totally agree it applies to tons of situations. In this case though, my thinking is why bother posting original content at all, even for 20% of the time when it doesn't make any significant impact? That is..until one has a significant following...but at least for brand new accounts I'm not convinced it's worth it outside of the intro post.
PS - Dogecoin millionaire? Much amazing. Very followed :-)
Original content still has the largest potential to earn a reward on Steemit. You can split it up your time however you like though, spend 20% of every day's Steemit time or dedicate a day to writing a post.
You might find that people view & upvote your post after reading your comments.
Fair enough, I suppose I haven't seen the return on original content yet - especially compared to my comments - but I'm sure that's because I've only been here less than a week.
Here's how I see it: I can always get "lucky" and have a well written post get lots of comments, upvotes etc...BUT the odds of me getting lucky this way increase with the greater number of followers and Steem Power I have. It's like playing blackjack - you can win and bust the dealer at any time, even when they are showing a 10, but you have far greater odds when they are showing a 5 or 6. For now I still miiight write a post or two to test the waters, but I'll probably budget only 5-10% of my time for that right now...though I definitely plan to expand that as time goes on and my account grows.
am new here and many people advice me to keep commenting and eventually i will get noticed , i made my first post about luck and i made many annoying comments on other posts to get attention until i realize that it's not how it work and people will see me as a spammer so i stopped making those comments and started to make more quality comments
;)
I was recently discussing the same idea with a friend. He thinks that posting at least one or two post a week is worthwhile and continuing to comment. I have noticed that my own posts don't generate nearly as much of an award as my comments do, and I was curious to know why that's so.
I feel kind of like I am limiting my audience by not posting my own original content so I am going to post at least a few original content pieces during the week and spend the rest of the time commenting on posts I enjoy and learning more about Steemit.