If you recently joined Steemit with the massive influx of users, you probably know how difficult it is to get your posts noticed. Until you build your following, you'll have many posts that get lost in the Steemit abyss.
It's not going to be easy, but if you're consistent, you should eventually see some of your posts on the Trending page. A few of the top authors on Steemit have earned enough Steem to buy a new Ferrari. Could you be next?
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, you need to build a significant following.
So how do I grow my audience?
Let's reverse-engineer this. I'm going to ask myself "What prompts me to follow people?"
Sometimes, I'll come across someone's post and like it enough to follow them. But these posts are usually already on the trending page or resteemed by someone I follow. You're probably not going to get many resteems unless you already have a bunch of followers. And getting onto trending is a tough feat for a newbie, so this isn't a very viable option.
Often, I'll follow people who contribute meaningful comments to my posts, especially if they share similar interests. But, there IS a catch.
After viewing your profile, and seeing you don't have any blog posts, I assure you that the follow button won't be clicked.
If you leave a worthwhile comment on my page which prompts me to click on your profile, I need to see some blog posts from you. If I enjoy some of your posts, I'll probably follow you.
How to grow your following
- Write a few quality blog posts on topics that interest you, along with an #introduceyourself post. Don't underestimate the importance of formatting and pictures.
- Spend a lot of time leaving relevant comments on other's posts. If you've written a post on similar topics, let them know it might be of interest.
- Don't let your interactions stop at a single comment; engage in conversation with them.
- When you follow someone, let them know you started following them.
- Write another blog post.
- Read and comment on a lot of posts.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 again and again.
Commenting/engaging on other's posts is the most important thing you can do. If you're new to Steemit, you should expect these first blog posts to get almost no votes until you spend a lot of time commenting.
What not to do
- Don't leave comments like "nice post," it will be a complete waste of time.
- Don't beg for votes or followers, it will get you nowhere.
- Don't complain. No one wants to associate with complainers.
Get out there, engage with other Steemians, and watch your following grow.
Follow me @shenanigator
If you enjoy my posts, you can set up automatic voting on Steem Voter.
Thanks for sharing your advice. If one thinks about it, it seems to be a logical conclusion to first write some posts. On the other hand, I think it can be frustrating if at the beginning no one notice them.
Personally I think that getting in contact and building up a network takes some time and needs to have some patience.
Right ... but at least I just gave you some more cents. :-)
This is such great advice. I struggled in the beginning and I also found that if you want your posts to earn, you need followers. In order to get followers you have to interact. The more I began to engage with others on their posts, the more I saw my followers count rise. I have re-steeled this post. Great advice for everyone on Steemit!
Thanks for the resteem! The followers aspect is especially important now that curation guilds don't play much of a role.
I am a new steemian, however I think there is one thing that is missing in the list.
And that is the ratio between the number of blogs you actually post and the nuber of posts you resteem. I think that to be a sucessful content creator, one should not be throwing resteems to the left and right, but rather keep the ration somwhere along the lines of 5 own posts, 1 resteemed.
Wow Tim, I am impressed. You are actually right. Doing resteem so many posts will lead you nowhere. Rather you will end up as a spammer.
Thanks for sharing these tips. It HAS been hard for me to get a good following going, even after being here for months (small hiatus at the beginning of the year). Reading this, I definitely need to start commenting and engaging more.
You have a lot of good posts, and I know there are many people on here with similar interests. I'm confident that if you follow my advice your following will grow like crazy!
Your first video was great. Are you going to do more soon?
Thanks so much! Making videos is new for me, and still a bit scary. I'm planning on making regular videos though. Hopefully the next will get posted up for tomorrow if all goes well.
I find leaving relevant and quality comments better than posts. Commenting is a way to engage directly with the author of the post, while when you are posting you might end up in the deep ocean of posts. When I have spent some time commenting, I have seen a significant increase in followers. Very solid post! Worth a read for a lot of new users!
Couldn't agree more! Although, I think you do need at least a few blog posts before commenting will be effective. Like I said in the post, if I click on your profile and don't see any blog posts, I'm not going to follow you.
Ah yes! Sure! And if you comment on things that fits your blog, then even better!
Definitely!
re-engaging is important because lets the creator know how they can improve on their article, what caught their attention. I did not know about Steem Voter as just got back into Steemit from school a few days ago.
Agreed. I think it's important to tell people what you liked about their posts. I'd also say that pointing out areas of disagreement is important. A lot of times that stimulates good conversation.
This sounds like solid advice - I appreciate the fact that you emphasize interacting with people, rather than just asking them to follow you.
Strong enough post that I'll follow you for more, a quick check of your other articles confirms that for me.
Also, you should know I just opened my account yesterday - so don't be too upset there aren't multiple blog posts as you've advised.
Thanks for the follow and comment. I hope you become an active user here. If you have any questions about Steemit, let me know.
Thanks for sharing! I'm new here so it will help me to grow.
Appreciate you reading it.
Nice advice... I usually spend one and half hours to read and leave comments for my followers and people that I have followed sometimes need more time to do that. I just feel have a responsibility to my followers, for giving upvotes, leaving comments, because they also give me upvote and support. :)
I love how active you are on here. I've seen your English and writing improve a lot over the past six months.
Yes... and Thank you for your support. :)
Did you move from AZ to Mexico? I finally got my crown on down in Mexico.
Not yet, but I have my reasons why I don't want it to say I live in the US. How did things go with your crown?
Thanks for reminding me the importance of comments :-)
Is that your Ferrari by the way?
Haha nah, but hopefully one of these days!
Your account value could buy this fake Ferrari:
(It's a Pontiac)
A Pontiac turned into a Ferrari. That's kind of awesome.
This guy turned his Toyota into a Ferrari:
Quite unique!
When you buy that Ferrari, stop by Nu Cavu for a drag race next to some other exotics, it's a great time.
https://steemit.com/cars/@wizarc/fast-cars-drag-race-at-nu-cavu
That could take a while. I don't think a Ferrari will be my first car :( I've got my license but nothing to drive.
Do you own a fast car?
Awesome advice, some of the advice you offer I had to slowly figure it out for myself, but reading your post confirms I'm slowly heading in the right direction.
It would of been nice to find you a bit sooner though. Cheers
@silverbug
This is such a useful post, thank you! It can be quite overwhelming to get started on Steemit. I see the value in commenting and good communication as this is essentially a community. I am so excited to be here and will be implementing your tips! Do you find commenting and interacting helps more than just writing a lot of posts?
Thank you for the advice. I'm still struggling to get noticed. So i've been reading some tips and applying them, and now i'm trying to be consistent. I will try to be more engaging from now on.
Cool, it will certainly get you on the right track.
Gosh, thanks for this, i actually searched on Google for the reason why my posts were not getting any views or upvotes, and your post popped up, thanks alot though, ill try all youve said!
btw i'm new here on Steem!
@shenanigator I love it! Thank you, everyone needs to know how to grow their following!!! If you get the chance, can you upvote my newest post where I teach you how to $20/Day on Steemit? :) Thanks! https://steemit.com/steemit/@parkermorris/how-to-make-usd20-day-on-steemit-with-no-money
This post has been ranked within the top 50 most undervalued posts in the second half of Jun 04. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $23.06 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
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Great advice, all. No one should ever underestimate "It's not going to be easy, but if you're consistent," Key word being consistent
Nice post
Haha. In all seriousness, you have some great information here. I am new to steemit, but quickly realized that trying to get followers is like trying to actively find a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you go out and stress about it, it is likely to be an unpleasant experience. The best approach is to just let it come naturally. Engage in the platform and before you know it, the followers will come.
Thank you for the informative post. I am relatively new posting and was wondering if it felt awkward to declare "I'm following you." As if you are silently asking them to follow you too, but I suppose it does prompt a little more consideration knowing you are followed by that person. Looking forward to more posts from you. btw, I'm following you ;)
Thanks for the advice. I only joined a few days ago and although I have a few followers. I am being quite selective who I follow for the moment as am trying to improve my energies right now, by only view positive posts. As negative post only spread the negative, I believe by only selecting people who post happy and valuable content create a better energy. This my be detrimental to my following but I hope not.
Thank you for the encouragement... I feel the same, that genuine engagement in the community is the Best Practice. I've just published my introduction post, now I'm thinking it's time to jump on producing more content to keep the conversations going!
Thank you for writing this. I was feeling a bit discouraged by taking some time to write posts that weren't getting viewed. I have definitely not been focusing as heavily on commenting so I will be doing that. Thank you!
I was not even aware of anything like steemit when you wrote this, but i find it very useful now. Am new to steemit. After a few post, i realized not many people saw my posts. It made me feel it would have been better if i had not written them at all. After that i understood the fist law of steemit: seek first good followership, and all other things shall be added to you. thanks for this wonderfull advice @shenanigator. There's no reason i should not follow you.
I appreciate this @shenanigator. If newbies were invisible 7 months ago, we're microscopically so now – good luck being seen by anyone other than a few other specks of Steemit dust!
I've only been here for a bit more than a week. My head is spinning with all I'm learning. So much so, that I took nearly 3 days to write this article – partly to get it all out of my head, but also to experiment with sharing as I learn, in a way that differs from other instructive posts I've come across. Namely – rather than sourcing imagery from random places on the internet, I've scoured my own hard-drives.
If you have a moment to check it out, I'd love to know what you think. • Cheers!
https://steemit.com/steemit/@zipplyo/steemit-hangover-9-lessons-from-week-one
Thanks for this. I searched how to get more views and your post was one of the first hits from google. I will definitely be taking your advice hopefully it will help my page grow.
I hope you can get to posting again. Consistency is also one of the major keys to success here.
Really appreciate the advice. Just joined and finding it difficult to get noticed. Hoping that following these steps will help to get some traction! Thanks again :)
Awesome, thanks for reading and commenting!
You mean I actually have to chat with people to get a post seen? Lol, just kidding. I'm going to try to be more social I just have some time issues.... I don't have a lot of time. Great article shenanigator and some helpful comments here too. Thanks guys.
Haha yeah, hope you can use the tips.
I just joined steemit today. Already made a few mistakes. I am glade I came across this article.... Nice Post :)
Thanks! I'm glad you found it helpful!
What about steem power? doesnt that play into it? Sorry im new here ; )
Sure, having enough Steem Power (and voting on your own post) could get you up into the hot or trending categories.
I haven't been on steem long, but have already felt the pressure of posts instantly getting lost. Every time I've felt this way, I try to use it as motivation to make a new post.
"Communities" are coming. Kind of like Reddits subreddits, which should help with visibility of posts.
Great post. No point in having 1000s of followers of the arent engaged in your content! It takes time to build an audience from scratch. Most people give up
Yeah, it's true that most people give up. Consistency is the biggest key to success here. Once again, we see that the Pareto Principle applies here - 20% of people get 80% of the rewards.
Kind of the intuitive path, with the emotional end cut off. A good thing to remember.
It seems logical when you think about it, but sometimes we just need someone to tell us that it's the thing to do. Great post and thanks!
This's quite the insight. Didn't know it could be this easy to get followed on steemit. Had been turned off by all the "nobody notices newbies on steemit" claims. Thanks for framing the situation better
This goes back to the idea of, give, and you shall receive. This is certainly an interesting platform. As a newbie here, I'm learning. There are a lot of things I like about it here, and some things I don't like. Over time, this ecosystem will mature. I look forward to growing with it.
Thank you so much for your advice. This was very helpful. I am looking to become a fulltime blogger / writer and this is a good forum for me. I am now following you.