Hi Everyone!
I’ve been onboarding a few people to Steemit and they’re having the same questions I had a couple of months ago when I started! I was fortunate enough to have @benleemusic willing to answer some questions, so I thought I’d pay it forward and offer some tips I learned from him and discovered as I was figuring it all out!
1. Signing up
Once you’ve requested to sign up, you’ll need to wait a little while before you’re approved!! Don’t panic! It could take a day… or a few weeks! (Depending on how many people are trying to sign up too). Once you’ve been approved, don’t wait too long before you actually start your account.
My mother-in-law @julianavicente got approved a while ago, but we let it lag and then by the time we got around to getting her started, she’d lost the opportunity and needed to request approval again! By then she was soooooo excited to start Steeming that she was checking her email all the time and was worried something had gone wrong and she wouldn’t be approved! It all worked out ok in the end (she's been posting up a storm), but the moral of that story is--once you're approved, get started!!
2. Don’t Forget Your Password
This is super super important. Keep it safely and securely stored in a number of locations!! If you lose it, you can’t ever recover it!! (now that would really be sad!)
3. Uploading a profile and cover image
Once you’ve activated your account, you can upload a profile picture and cover image. You’ll need to store the image on a site. Here are a couple of options
https://postimages.org
https://imgsafe.org
These sites will give you a direct link of your picture which you can then paste in the appropriate sections for profile and cover images (located in settings). This can take a couple of tries. For me some of the websites weren’t working, so I tried a couple and finally got it sorted after a few tries!
4. Research the popular posts with the introduceyourself tag
Look at which Introduction posts are getting a lot of engagement and notice what they’re doing. Some important things are great photos, really sharing with people who you are, what you’ve done in life, what your interests are and what they can expect to see on your channel. Ie are you going to post recipes, music, photography, astronomy, arts and crafts etc?
5. Make a really great introduceyourself post!!
@benleemusic was so helpful in telling me that if I did a great introduction post it can be a really good launch! And he was so right. It’s a way to get off to a great start and connect with some like-minded people early on.
6. Tagging
One question I had (and I’m noticing others have) is when you’re putting your tags in the tag section, do you need to do a comma between each or put in a # symbol? The answer is, no. Just write the word you want as a tag then a space in between each. You can put in 5. I also recommend looking at the tag section to see which tags are the most popular. If you use popular tags you may reach more people.
7. Do you need to use HTML?
I’m not that great at HTML but I do a little here and there… like if I want to put in a heading, a word in bold etc. Some people are much more skilled at this, but for basic HTML, you can just google "how to write in bold steemit" or "how to make a heading steemit" etc and you’ll find lots of resources.
8. Follow other people!
Spend some time looking at other people’s posts and start to find people who’s content you like. Follow them and engage on their posts. It’s a great way to support the people who are leading the way, and you might be surprised what great connections you can find on here! This will gain you followers, but more importantly, you’ll find your own Steemit community.
9. Google is your friend
It is quite a steep learning curve getting started here on steemit (especially if you’re not very tech savvy like me), so google is your friend!! Whatever questions you have, most likely a number of people have done posts about it, so you can learn from them!
10. Don’t get discouraged
It takes time and consistency to find your audience. I posted a couple of things early on which I was super proud of, and I earned very very little. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about every single cent… but given what I put into the posts I’d hoped for more engagement! Don’t be discouraged by this, just keep putting up great content and be patient! If you’re doing good stuff, people will start to notice and you'll find your people!
I hope this is helpful! Excited to see more and more newbies on here!
xo Bonnie
Come follow me!
@bonniepiesse I would add for newbies to be prepared to take things offline as well. I'm in Los Angeles too and I've made real life friends and colleagues on @steemit . I think when we all want to succeed on steemit it encourages us to get together once in a while and figure out how to work together. I find that different than other social media which stays online. I hold meetups and it's been great to give and get support both creatively and financially. It's something that newbies should look forward too, especially if they are in a big city like LA.
Yes!! That's so great @cflclosers! I haven't met anyone offline yet but look forward to that! I'm also in LA--following you now!
The thing I would suggest to people thinking of using Steemit is to not get caught up in the money aspect of it all and just do your thing. Don't let haters try to stop you from speaking the truth. You will never make a lot from this site. Investigate how the site functions. Never pay bid bots for votes, it is a complete scam. Content is King!!!
Well said. It's better to build a real following. It can take time, but it makes the experience much more fun
yes. you are 100% right
Excellent information for newbies! Thanks for posting this.
Amazing Tips! It will help a lot the beginner on Steemit.
This tips are really helpful especially to me as i was just approved 2 days ago. I guess #10 will be my inspiration.
yes. really well. lets follow
That's great, welcome to steemit @eddie23!
Thank you
Really good tips.
Nice.
Thanks for your suggestion. 😊
Great tips there! Would have been helpful to know this early on. Hope someone finds great use out of it. 😁
Totally! Much of this was figured out through lots of confusion and mistakes... and a steemit meltdown or two 😂
Nice rundown! Regarding tip #3, there was a recent update which does now allow users to upload an image direct from their device for these profile purposes, so it’s finally as simple as putting an image in a post!
@bryan-imhoff I didn't notice that, thanks so much for the tip--that's awesome!
Well said. Particularly #8. Engagement with others is critical to getting out there. The more you comment and interact with others on the platform, the more likely they are to check out your profile and what you do (and in turn support it if they like it).
Absolutely @sparkesy43
Numbers 2,6,8, and 10 are the big ones I see as common pitfalls. You'd be surprised how easy it is for people to lose their password and then give up, use tags that they make up themselves and therefore nobody sees their posts, don't follow anybody for some reason, and then just get discouraged because they don't "get it". Great post, good to see varying perspectives on this as time passes and the platform evolves with new users.
Great advice for all new users. @benleemusic has pulled a few people onto this platform. As I approach my 1 year birthday on Steemit it’s good to reflect on the mistakes and great things I have done on this platform over that time too. Thanks for sharing.
really nice advice.. lets follow this
Hola muy bueno, seguro ayudará a muchos. Lastima que no los tuve al principio me habría ahorrado mucho tiempo dando traspiés. Saludos.
Thanks.. I will like to create a community that will help to fight poverty within participant. But I'm having no sufficient funds.
Thank you! I made the number one rookie error of forgetting my password, is there any way to retrieve it or should i just never log out?
Oh dear, that is a major bummer! I don't really know if there are options but if anyone else does, please help @technicalanthony out!
Maybe you could do a post about it too and see if you get any advice? Maybe there's a way to change the password while you're still logged in...
Good to see that you are trying to helping others,
Nice job dear keep it up and keep steeming.👍
lets follow this
This is very helpful. Gonna resteem it.
This is going to be so helpful for new Steemians!! I always get jealous when I see stuff like this because back when I started I had literally no resources to figure this all out.... then i think I sound like an old man “ Back in my day things were so hard ... kids these days blah blah blah”..... anyway, great work Bonnie, this will be very helpful for noobs :)
Haha well you've led the way @goldmatters! I'm still quite a noob myself (thanks for teaching me the terminology!) but thought I'd at least pass on a few things I've learnt 😀
Thanks, it hasn't been easy but steemit has been amazing.
Please check out my new post and let me know what you think. Thanks ☺️
@bonniepiesse, wanted to say you're very pretty😁
I wish the last point happens soon.
The way you described every point is superb.
Kudos!!
Fantastic to see you hanging around long enough to hit your stride :)
Thanks Matt! Still very much a newbie myself but loving figuring it all out :)
@bonniepiesse I would add for newbies to be prepared to take things offline as well. I'm in Los Angeles too and I've made real life friends and colleagues on @steemit . I think when we all want to succeed on steemit it encourages us to get together once in a while and figure out how to work together. I find that different than other social media which stays online. I hold meetups and it's been great to give and get support both creatively and financially. It's something that newbies should look forward too, especially if they are in a big city like LA.
great helpful post. it can change a man life totally. because who have work in your advice, i hope he will earn much. so he can shine easily. not only other people but also i work your suggested site. Thank you so much for great help.
I disagree about making the introduce yourself post right away. There is a sea of introduction posts daily.
Seems better to start by following abd commenting on the people that catch your interests.
Just my 2c
Maybe it's as bit of both :) I think it's great for people to be able to see something on your profile right away, so they at least get a little idea of who you are! But I definitely don't want to underestimate the importance of exploring and following/commenting :)
I would like to add something which in my opinion matters for newbies.
Nice basic intro for new users @bonniepiesse :-) How are you finding Steemit these days? You seem to be engaged in the platform.
I'm loving it @positiveninja!! Still just a beginner myself but enjoying the process :)