“Others inspire us, information feeds us, practice improves our performance, but we need quiet time to figure things out, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearth original answers.” ― Ester Buchholz
Quite some time back, I created a Facebook group for bloggers to share their blog links - and the other day I decided to run a poll to find out how many of them were on Steemit, how many of them had no idea what it was and how many would like to know more.
Plenty had never heard of it, many went off to explore it and some joined – but most simply begged the question “how much do they pay” and went silent after realising that they weren’t going to become overnight millionaires.
I attached a very lengthy and useful YouTube video to the poll and directed people to go and watch it in order to get a better understanding of the platform and how it works.
For those that are new to the platform - I am sharing it here again... (but please note - you actually need to watch it in order for it to be useful - hehe!)
What blows my mind the most is how so many people actually fail to read something from start to finish. I don’t think many of them even got as far as clicking on the video link because they kept throwing the same questions at me – all of which were answered in the video.
I didn’t start the poll so that could suddenly fill the shoes of Steemit Tutor – No, I posed a question and offered an introduction so that those who were interested could go and explore it themselves.
People “want it all” but they don’t want to put in the spade work that comes with acquiring that. If you are not even prepared to watch a video to gain a little understanding of something, then how are you going to manage with the amount of effort that is required to build a profile that people actually WANT to read?!
One of the remarks made on the poll actually made me giggle…
“I joined but I got a low upvote”
You did? Really? What a shocker! Lol
Well perhaps that is because you joined 24 hours ago and have offered absolutely nothing of real value to the community yet – just a thought! (No, I did not say this – but I was thinking it. Lol) and you very clearly didn’t bother watching the video shared either.
It never ceases to amaze me how people expect to click their heels together three times and suddenly be at the top of the food chain, but are simply not prepared do anything of any real weight to get there.
Steemit is NOT a “get rich quick scheme”
Let’s say it together again now… Steemit is NOT a get rich quick scheme!
People REALLY need to get this into their heads – including many who are already members of Steemit.
I am specifically referring to those that repeatedly copy and paste content from elsewhere… and expect those around them to buy it as original content. Surely your lives cannot be THAT boring that you could not think of one single authentic piece of content to share with the rest of us…
Oh wait, sorry… what is that you say? Oh you’re too lazy to do that?!...it’s easier to copy other people’s work, or to insert 10 pictures of nature scenes taken by somebody else and slap in a one liner on how beautiful they are…?
Yes, that most certainly is a lot easier… but you know what they say… easy come… easy go.
Yes, you might earn a few cents or even dollars for such posts, but after a certain point you are going to realise that there is no true appreciation for what you are sharing – and people will generally lose interest eventually.
We all make use of certain resources out there to add to our posts, such as pictures, quotes, facts, graphs etc. but the difference comes in where people who are exercising the avenue of quality content will credit the sources of what they have used as well as the fact that such items are used in conjunction with original content – it is not a verbatim copy and paste routine.
If I visit somebody’s feed or read several of their posts and discover that again and again, nothing they post is actually “theirs” then I completely lose interest because they are simply not adding anything to this community that I couldn’t have searched on Google myself.
I think this type of “sharing” is both lazy and greedy.
Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. - Erich Fromm
As I have mentioned before too, first impressions last and once you gain a reputation for posting regurgitated rubbish, you are not going to be able to rid yourself of that very easily – so why venture down that road in the first place? Your rating here will only drop and you will have to work three times as hard to build it back up (if you ever do).
It would have made a lot more sense to put all that effort into creating authentic and original content in the first place.
There are many amazing contributors here on Steemit who put out some BRILLIANT content, so if you are new to this platform or are looking for a little bit of direction, don’t just start spitting out random, copied rubbish… go and look at what some of these amazing writers are publishing and take your guidance from them.
Personally I am more of an “off the cuff” writer and whatever I share with you needs to have some kind of emotional connection to me, so that is where my inspiration comes from, but if you struggle with finding content to write about – it is as simple as doing a Google search on “interesting blog topics”. I can assure you that there is no shortage of suggestions. There are even sites that offer you suggestive blog post titles.
Here are just a few sites with blog topic and title inspirations which I found in less than five minutes…
101 Blog Post Ideas That Will Make Your Blog “HOT”
103 Blog Post Ideas That You Can Write About Today
100+ Blog Post Title Templates That Grab Attention
Start with those and build from there if you have to – but PLEASE STOP watering down your potential with bubblegum!
Trust me - you have a LOT more to offer than you probably think you do...
Finding the time and energy to create quality content might be a little challenging in the beginning stages but the more you do it, the more naturally it will come - but first... you need to put in the effort - and if you do... it will stand you in far better stead than ANY and EVERY copy and paste job you have EVER done! (even the good ones lol)
So on that note - I hope I have detoured EVERYONE from becoming a BUBBLEGUM BLOGGER ;)
Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
It's definitely not!!! I see a large amount of people fizzle out on Steemit or never really pick up any STEEM (pun definitely intended) because there is so little understanding of persistence, hard work, and dedication in the modern western world! It's all just instant gratification!
As for me, I put my nose to the grindstone and told myself 3 months ago when I joined "I'm going to become successful on Steemit. If others are doing it, I can too, if I am consistent and dedicated enough!"
So far, it's working very well, and I don't feel like slowing down at all! I want to keep building so I can help more and more people achieve their dreams by expressing their individuality and uniqueness.
Thanks a lot @jaynie for the thoughtful piece.
Wholeness,
@d-pend
You put that SO very aptly!!! Love it!!
Sadly, yes - this it the raw truth of it all! (The demise of the future...)
Yes it's truth..
true, be steady with your best strategy
Nicely put!!!! :)
OMG, one of my biggest pet peeves is when you show someone a video, even explain something to them, and they still ask you. I'm like, did you watch the video? Did you read the materials? You go to that website? Everybody always trying to find the easy or 'do it for me' button. Ya. Feel ya. Rant over. Lol good post doll.
What a great post! You are an excellent writer and put a lot of effort in to this post! And, it is very helpful, also!
People will post elsewhere and never get a penny, but they expect to get rich here? And, bash us when they don't? That's unfair! It takes effort!
Thanks for the share!
Thank you @hashclouds - I value your input :)
To be frank one of the reasons people leave Steemit is that at the beginning they don't receive much Upvotes.
I remember I used to get 0 USD for almost 10 posts straight. If I had given up then I wouldn't have been here. I am not saying that I am making a lot $$$ right now but I have made some progress that I can say.
NEVER GIVE UP
That's the word to focus.
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! If only more people displayed a little more originality and perseverance! Thank you for the lovely input xxx
I kind of have to defend those guys a bit as when I arrived on Steemit I was also focused on Money. I got a bit frustrated too and wanted to leave steemit.
It is this moment when you either Make it or Break it.
But right now I am having fun writing and posting quality pictures and having a good time in the Discord.
I hear you - but that is because you shifted your focus in the right direction. :)
I had some help I won't lie one Steemian really directed me in the right direction and after that, all seems to be moving well.
Good thing that :D
Super post jaynie. Truly said that steemit is npt at all a one day match. It requires a lot of effort and self motivation to post quality genuine content which could be read and appreciated by fellow steemit friends. I have been here since the past 3 months and i have also shared my Steemit experiances in my recent post. Ppease review it if u find some time. Excellent post and a value read for all minnows who think they xan get rich overnight. Upvoted, resteemed and following u. Regards Nainaz
Thank you for your wonderful comment! I will take a look at your post soon :)
Many thanks dear. My post wont dissapoint u for sure :) Take care. Have a great day.
I don't run into too much copying and pasting. What I see is excellent original content that gets no support as the "big fish" vote for themselves and ignore the little guys. With less than 30K in active members, I think the big guys should have an interest in helping the little ones succeed, but they do not for the most part.
I recently leased delegated sp which gives me an upvote of 13 cents. This meager amount puts me to the top ranks of almost everything I vote for. Yet, go look at any whale post to see many of the other whales voting for it.
I feel like steemcleaners catches most of the bad behavior on steemit. Unfortunately many votes are voting for those posts as well as the people who vote after bots. I have a bot from a "bigger" fish who follows me with votes worth less than 3 cents. I'm happy for the follow, but mystified by the amount.
With such a small community here, engagement is key. With only 3 comments per post - we are not getting it. I find many good posts to vote for daily that have no support at all. so many people use bots for their voting that they miss all of that talent. It's definitely got me worried for the future of steemit.
I hear what you are saying - but also remember that those "whales" have also had to work hard to get where they are - whether they invested in the platform or not. We should not become dependant or reliant on others... we should focus on being that amazing, all by ourselves!
If we get their support, then great! - If not - Work harder!
That is my perspective at any rate :)
Thank you for the awesome input @fitinfun ;)
It's hard to get their attention when they are in chat, off the platform, and voting with bots. When I first started here I got the advice to got into various chats for the purpose of "sucking up to whales who hang out there". I am not in chats so I do not know if this is a good strategy or not.
My advice to the little people who ask me is to ignore the whales other than commenting on their posts with relevant remarks. So far that has been my best strategy, but few people comment at all, so I don't know if I help anyone much.
I comment 50+ times a day and get few replies. Still swimming here, but possibly going in circles :)
Are you sharing your content elsewhere?
I have about 3500 pieces of content strewn all over the internet in my 6+ year mission to try to help other obese people lose weight like I did. If you search fitinfun on any search engine, you will find me, me, me :)
I have posted almost none of my content to steemit since I got here in June 2017. The vast majority of what I do here is comment and reply.
I'm just now starting to post a bit again. I tried in the beginning but it was not worth my effort. I actually came for the Alexa ranking in hopes of finding new eyes for my content. But my steemit posts will not rank without $10+ payouts, so it's like spitting in the wind to post my links and information to no one. I might be close though and hopefully will get my content links here soon.
Today, I post into challenges and "how to" posts for steemit noobs and steemians on Twitter. I have about 120 steemers on my Twitlist over there. To be kind - we are very weak in our Twitter efforts, so I am trying to do what I can to make us look a little more inviting to others.
I'm not as negative as I sound on the place - definitely trying many ideas and observing the success of others. But I have also lived through a few failed platforms on this journey, so I am a bit jaded.
The best advice I can give you is don't give up!!!! It is normally when we are about to give up that we are simultaneously about to succeed!
What I meant about sharing your content... was - are you sharing your steemit content elsewhere... but you cleared that up by saying that you havent really posted much until recently.
Keep that up! Keep posting. Use the correct and best relevant tags (this is pivotal) the best to chose from being "life/steemit/blog/writing/story/food/travel" etc. you can search the highest paid tags to get more familiar with that.
When you post something on steemit - share it on FB, Twitter and every other platform you are on - and be sure to tag steemit when you do.
You know... I was going to write an article about precisely this today - how to maximise your exposure and generate interest - in fact I got about 4 paragraphs in - but decided to write what I did instead...
I think perhaps I should write it....
Your thoughts on that?
Oh yes - I do that social sharing. I re-post my own posts and also those I upvote on Twitter, FB groups, linkedin and pinterest if they have a vertical image. I can definitely see the monetary difference in some of the posts I promote.
From what I can tell, I am one of few who promote the posts of others, but it's been working for me. A couple of my upvoted posts have gotten good traffic and further upvotes that I believe came from my social media sharing.
I'm most active on Twitter and find my poor steemers very afraid to retweet or click links! My hard fought Twitter engagement rate took a big nosedive when I got connected with steeming tweeps. I've posted a couple of Twitter tips and have more to come.
I coach twitter and have a lot of success, so I hope for the best. Right now 90% of my steemit twitter connections are dropping their links and doing nothing else, so we really need to up our game.
Helping others to understand that social media is a "give and take" would be the most beneficial here. Right now, there is a lot of "we love steemit!" type posting which definitely turns off the rest of the world. It needs to be a "show" not a "tell".
One of my Twitter posts coming is going to be about"
in order to succeed on Twitter.
Unfortunately, my hero, @jerrybanfield just wrote a post encouraging his followers to drop their links and not even bother going to the twitter site at all. I realize there is a lot of do to succeed on steemit, but dropping links without engaging is a poor plan. This strategy works for jerry because he is famous and has a following. The rest of us will have lead balloons with this strategy.
I would love to see your post on this topic and will surely promote it :)
I have an excel file with the tags divided up and try to post to the more "valuable" tags. I think that is good advice, but mostly for the search engines. I'm not sure how many steemers are searching tags, but maybe that is something I should look into.
If you have enough followers on Youtube you get the dolphin votes immediately and your content only has to be average.
If your blog is eye-catching and upbeat, you can then catch the attention of a few of the old dolphins, or the new Youtube dolphins because your blog fits their narrative, and you will earn enough to supplement your income, like the OP, but you are unlikely to become a dolphin in the sense that you can be powering down constantly and your account holds its value, or even goes up.
If you are not an extrovert and not into recycling self-help and motivation, then you could get dolphin support by starting a contest. They like good contests because contests keep people engaged in the platform.
You could even get a whale vote from @blocktrades if the contest is good.
Blocktrades is one of the few remaining whales that actually reads content and votes for what they like, giving decent rewards to minnows as well as dolphins.
Thanks for the tips! Very helpful and I will dive into my you tube channel to see what I can find that might interest people here. I enter contests, but I don't know about running one :)
This is a strong and positive message. I can imagine people reading this and wondering how it will help them make more money and get more up votes. Lol, that's the thing isn't it? You gave some solid advice, because the best thing you can do is be yourself and provide real value. Sure, in the super short term, copy/pasta may make you something, but in the long haul- those aren't the people getting the same followers who care about their content everyday.
I think it really comes down to a combination of getting lazy, and fear that your voice won't be heard. To quote @tojukaka;
What this means to me, is that a long journey is ahead, but many fun adventures to be had along the way. Thank you so much for your contribution @jaynie, you hit it out of the park!
@shello
Thank you so much for that @shello - I really appreciate your input on the matter. I love that quote!!!! So very true, because that is PRECISELY how it should be approached!
Action shows that you really believe. I've been lurking your posts for a bit, but I felt compelled to comment this one. Thank you again for writing some great content <3
And thank you for your lovely comment xxx Means a lot to me :)
The love is real, keep being you. Haters gonna hate c;
hehehe true story ;) thank you xxx
Inspiring! To all newbies who are loosing heart being here for long and not getting instant result, this post will certainly keep them going on & on & on! With the crisp & honest advice though!
Thank you @jaynie
thank you :) I certainly hope so and I really appreciate your positive feedback :)
Sound advice for so many parts of life, not just Steemit! When I started on here, I saw a bunch of random copypasta garbage, but once I dug deeper it's been so rewarding to find a community on here who not only give me amazing content to enjoy and challenge me to improve my own writing/photos/videos/what-have-you.
It is amazing what you find, when you look hard enough ;) :)
nice post dear!! 01289036453# ;-)
You are very original Sweetie
Supeeeerrrrrrr!!!
Success & LongLife
MEOW MEOW
Thank you kindly :D
very nice article
Thank you - Much appreciated :)
your welcome
you are a good writer..
Thank you, I appreciate that :)
You have no idea how much your post cleared a few things up for me. To be honest, I didn't arrive here to get rich. Thanks for the great post. I'm sure you've put a lot of people straight (including me)
Thank you for that! Really hope so :) and glad it shed some light on things for you too :)
I can't believe people who already blog wouldn't want to copy and paste there articles on another platform, or at the very least (if they think steemit will actually hurt there blog), write up a couple of paragraphs explaining what the blog article is about and then link back to there blog. Just blows my mind.
indeed!
I so agree. Some of the worst are the ones that try to pick faults with steemit because they have been on for a month and aren't earning a huge amount. Suddenly it's steemits fault and is a loaded game against the new people etc etc.
You gotta put in the effort!!!
"THEY" can go and "cry me a river" lol - self entitled lazy arses! lol (oops - did I say that out loud) ;)
Wait, did you say what I was thinking out loud!!! :0D
hehehehehe >:D (most likely) lol
Most definitely!
I'm more worried about how the game is rigged for the long term content creators.
I'd be curious to see the hard numbers on how many minnows actually build a healthy audience and are able to grow into Dolphins and Orcas without simply buying Steem outright.
And of those minnows that do grow into a new realm of influence, how many did so without creating a silly daily contest, vote-bot or other bubblegum content?
Just checking, what is a long term content creator?
If you mean person who had been here longer then they are usually more successful than beer folk because they have had a chance to connect and build an audience.
If that is not what you mean though I apologise in advance :0)
I do believe though that it is not necessary to buy any steem to advance to dolphin status. It just takes a bit of work. I think at the least posting daily and commenting/voting.
Long term content creators would be those that are not in it for a quick buck. They are set to create consistent and quality content and still flounder because they do not find an audience.
Steemit's very structure and lack of discovery features promotes ethereal, daily and almost throw-away content. Its not well made to support someone writing a well researched post once or twice a week, especially about topics that aren't Steemit or Cryptocurrency.
I disagree in most of that and agree with a little.
I do not think in general that ethereal throwaway content is promoted or does very well at all.
I agree on the fact that it doesn't work the best for people who post once or twice a week. However I would say that is the same for many platforms. You have to build an audience. it is harder to do that if you just pop on and off occasionally. I think that is the same for most types of social media
Very good post... it was nice to read :)
thank you :)
it not about working hard, it all about patience
If you think success is purely about patience - then you are in for a serious wake up call my friend.
Thank you for the motivation. Always required and welcome. 👍
Thank you for your lovely words! It is always and only a pleasure x
Cool ...I like your content..I'm going to check out your blog ... Keep on writing, just like me too =)
Really amazing post dear 😆 this is so a present topic and I don't understand those people, they miss out on so much by just wanting to get it all without putting any effort 😕 lazy and loosy..
Engage, concistency, and hard work.
Not hard at all 😁 actually superfun
Thank you for sharing this 🤗
Thank you very much lovely!!! :)
Always 😊🤗
Yea steemit is not a get rich quick and lazy people don't succeed on Steemit.
My first post didn't get me much, neither do I get up to $5 in most of post, but I'll still be on Steemit because I've been rendering this same service and was getting absolutely nothing.
persistence.... :)
Hi! I'm happy to choose this post for my "Care To Read "Crossword Puzzle Contest No. 4. I'm posting a link to this post in all my posts related to this contest. I hope it will send some more traffic to your post so that more people become aware of it.
Thank you for writing awesome content!
Great post, and you're totally right. I wonder, though, how much of that attitude is "get rich quick" and how much is just frustration with how hard it can be to make money online.
Still, I find Steemit to be a better deal than most places by nature of the fact that quality and consistency are rewarded.
Thanks for writing this. More people need this reality check. :)
Thank you @joshpeterson :D and yes.... they most certainly do!
Love the way you addressed this topic. The articles you recommend is awesome too. i do have a question for you. Would you recommend someone make a post then go engage with the community or engage first then post?
This is a wonderfully well written post which I found as a link from another post and I whole heartedly agree with the comments you have put. I saw that video before not sure if the guy is actually still using steemit is he?? I have been on here since june and tried so many different things and it is only now, that I said stop and focus on what you know. The problem I still have like many is some comments I look at and think hmmm did they really take the time to review my post or not, as some took me hours to write and they comment within seconds??
Great post, but sadly, a few have got rich quick on Steemit with posts full of screenshots of other people's work, and many have amazing incomes now because they created great content early on, when the whales would vote for $$$, but now they shit post and are paid well by each other.
And knowing the time and effort it would take while I was setting up my other thing, I decided rather not - for the moment. Planning to get back into it - soon.... It is always hard, consistent work that is rewarded.
Although I agree with most of your points, your execution leaves some things to be desired.
Is copying a whole bunch of other people's images and quotes considered original?
lol - Did you read the entire post?? Apparently NOT! Which is PRECISELY my POINT! Start back peddling my friend because you clearly missed the ship that just set sail!
You very clearly missed this part of the post....
Oh, I didn't miss it.
Yes, you sourced your images. You sourced someone else's video. And yes, you sprinkled some original text in between. That original text is treading a well-worn topic on Steemit: how to be successful on Steemit.
So, I still question your execution which was curating a mixture of other people's images and videos and a few words from yourself about a pretty common topic.
Was it really sharing something unique from yourself to the community? I ask not with a goal to aggravate. I'm not trying to troll here. My goal is to push for more originality and soul on Steemit in both talk and execution.
I have to kind of weigh in on this one, She has a bunch of original text and opinions on here, so just stating that fact. Also, I have read this post from beginning to end and based on this response I am not sure you have. This has nothing to do with being successful on Steemit perse, it has more to do with her asking others not to dilute the essence of what Steemit is trying to be, on people believing they have something better to offer than just dribble and cut & paste crap. She gives a couple of suggestions for people to improve but I do believe the point has been missed. I think this is a good type of content to have on Steemit, yes there are some pictures and videos that have been used as almost everyone here does in way context or another but the message is different than the one you set forth above (your own post), so it is different.
Dear Troll,
If you had taken the time to read ANY of the posts on my blog you would very QUICKLY have gathered that I contribute a LOT a valuable content on this platform... but you have obviously NOT done so - because you are a skimmer and a troll - and as such you clearly missed the part in my post yesterday when I said this...
So on that note @somethingsubtle... consider yourself muted ;)
Happy days :D
Felix the Cat will mute this something bla bla bla Troll as well. Felix doesn't like Trolls.
MEOW MEOW
But I like FELIX ;) hehehe :D