1 - Make Steemit Easier To Join
In order to get the masses to join, Steemit should upgrade their marketing significantly.
A few ideas would be to have a popup on new users (users who aren't cookied) with a message such as "Do you want to get PAID to write for Steemit? Join now!".
If a popup is too invasive, an "exit intent" popup could easily be placed so that it only appears as the visitor exits the page.
Maybe a message to unregistered users as they go to exit the website like this "Are you frustrated because most social networks steal your data and never pay you a dime? Then join the world's most PRIVATE social media network that PAYS YOU!".
Also, as someone who recently deleted all social media accounts, the notion of restricting registrations to Facebook and Reddit, especially when the founding principle of Steemit is that most OTHER social media platforms sucks, is quite frankly, the acme of foolishness.
2 - Integrate Social Sharing On All Posts
Why doesn't Steemit promote easy to access social sharing buttons on every single post?
This would make it easier for the runofthemill user (who's not a super genius) to share content on their social media platforms.
This in conjunction with # 1, would drastically increase the number of real organic registrations.
3 - Incentivize Recruitment (Affiliate Program)
Guess what? Steemit would get 1,000x more registrations if there was an affiliate program. Especially an affiliate program that had a vested interested in inviting QUALITY bloggers.
Not to be a jerk, I truly stand behind Steemit and intend on producing boatloads of high quality content for the platform...
But it's crucial to incentivize growth via an affiliate program of some type.
How can you incentive an affiliate program? I'm not sure, there's a million ways you could do it.
You could incentivize based upon a "CPA" (Cost Per Acquisition), or a "long-term value" of the lead.
(So, you get paid for bringing leads, or are paid a percentage based upon the longevity and overall quality of leads generated via your affiliate link).
Either way, this one little tidbit would skyrocket Steemit's growth beyond fathom.
4 - Clearly Demonstrate Funding Source
I've invested ceaseless hours researching Steemit before I joined. The prevelant question is "but where does the money come from? This smells like a ponzy scheme".
Here's the deal.
The average human on the planet has the attention span of a goldfish.
If they have to read a whitepaper in order to understand the source of funding, you're never going to expand as a platform, period.
So, it's vital to demonstrate where the source of funding comes from, so that people can understand in less than 5 seconds, and not 5 hours by reading a whitepaper. Additionally, a clear explanation that people invest in steem dollars would prevent others thinking that it's a scam, or that Steemit otherwise doesn't pay.
5 - Cast A Wider Net (Make The Entire Process Easier To Understand)
Don't make the erroneous assumption that people know what "blockchains", "cryptocurrencies", or "bitcoins" are.
I've been in the IT world for years, and have lots of nerdy friends.
I can tell you, that the vast majority of end users (and even IT nerds) have no idea what cryptocurrencies are.
A ton of cryptocurrency freaks are cursed by their own knowledge, in that they assume cryptocurrencies are widely understood. People have absolutely NO IDEA what bitcoin is, let alone steem currency.
So, cast a wider net.
In Other Words...
Make the entire process easier to understand.
Promote from the angle of "the social media network where you own a stake and get paid", instead of talking about cryptocurrencies on the front end.
Maybe talk about how other social media platforms rip you off, steal your data, and get rich off of you - but Steemit does the exact opposite.
There's a million marketing angles you could generate that are far superior to pushing the "cryptocurrency" angle, that's best left in the back end whitepapers that people can read when it's time to cash out or powerup one way or the other.
Whitepapers should belong in the back end for the nerds who want to learn more, in the front end the angle of "getting paid to blog" should be the primary marketing angle. It's the one with the highest potential for viral growth and longlasting sustainability.
Because, if you confuse people, you've lost them. Period. However, if you attract people who want to get paid to blog, plain and simple, the platform could take off far beyond what it is now.
Thanks For Reading...
This is my first blog post on the site. If you think I'm cool, please follow me and I shall follow back.
PS...
These are my thoughts after being a marketing and tech nerd for the better part of a decade. I honestly believe, that if implemented, Steemit could be unstoppable, in a fraction of the time that it would take otherwise.
Wishing you the best.
I agree with all points. An affiliate program or referral rewards program where one gets extra steem power/dollars for referring new signups would be cool, I think.
Good job dude. You really do a good job with your posts. These are good ideas especially the Affiliate Program. There are other blog platforms that do this I can't remember which one but a friend invited me to join one a while back. I wish I had more power behind my votes for you keep up the good work.
I agree. Social sharing and messaging both. I think they'll get there. Hands full, I presume.
Yup make it easier to understand, but that will just be different layers of user interfaces etc. It's coming!