UPDATE: Contest is now closed for new submissions.

Thank you so much for your submissions! I am so honored to see so many stellar Steemians who wish to grow and learn and give back to the community! You gut have made me so proud! I didn't think I could be prouder of my fellow Steemitzens, but you all have completely blown me away <3

It is very difficult choosing just one. I am going to take a couple days to really dive deep in hopes I make a solid decision. I will be doing this again! This is so amazing, you are all amazing, I feel sad I can only choose one, but I will be mentoring on a regular basis. That is how amazing you all are <3

Thank you again so very much for your entries!

I'm giving back to my cherished community with a profitable, valuable, and unique opportunity. The contest you've been asking for is finally here!

I write a lot of posts with helpful advice on how to succeed on Steemit and am asked the question, "How do I get followers and upvotes?" a lot. The first thing I wish to share is that is the wrong question to ask :) A better question is: "How do I improve my approach and content so I provide value to the community?"

I have been studying and honing marketing and writing techniques for the web for quite a few years before discovering Steemit. As an author, I learned how to advertise and promote my work to increase readership and sales. As a consultant, I learned the importance of giving something for nothing to rise above my competitors. Working as a copywriter showed me that it's not necessarily what you say- it's how you say it. And during my webmaster years I ran several high performing websites and grew their linked social media accounts.

So when I joined Steemit in June 2017, I had most of the tools and know-how on what to do, what works, and what doesn't. And having been here for seven months now I am well-versed in Steemit etiquette. I am by no means an expert, but I have a great working knowledge and strive to be better and learn more each day.

I started on Steemit with zero investment. I built from absolute scratch, and when I posted my 100 follower milestone after being here for three days, many community members said I'm a Steemit natural.

And when I hit 1000 followers in only 23 days, I was told it's almost unseen on Steemit!

I want you to do the same!

Steemit has been amazing to me. I am honored to be a part of such a caring and supportive community.

So how do you get followers and upvotes?

I'm going to show you how!

I am going to mentor a minnow! The winner of this unique opportunity will have a personal mentorship with me: one on one attention for 30 days. You will learn the techniques I used to grow on Steemit and you will put them to action. I will show you the basics of internet marketing, Steemit Do's and Don'ts, how to format posts to make them aesthetically pleasing, building your "tribe", attracting readers, getting involved in community groups, and making the community a better place.

You will learn SEO, rank, keywords, optimal paragraph size, how to know what to write, catering to your audience, and how to build your brand. Basically, everything you need to know to grow and advance, and succeed on Steemit, as well as any other internet platform.

Even if you cannot enter this contest, please tell me what you would like to see more of from me. I am here for you! Please share what topics you would like me to cover more of as we settle into a brand new year :)

RULES

This contest runs one week: from today's posting to Tuesday January 23, 2018 at Midnight PST.
You must be a minnow to enter.
You must be dedicated to Steemit for the long haul. The winner will be someone who believes in the Steemit platform and long term potentials, is dedicated to immersing themselves into the community and providing value to their fellow Steemitzens, and is committed to the continual advancement of themselves as a person, as a Steemian, and as a representative of this rapidly growing community.
You must have time to dedicate. At least two hours a day for 30 days, starting one or two days after the contest ends. If you cannot make this time commitment, please do not enter into this contest. I will host more of these in the future so please only enter this contest if you can keep the time commitment. You will be learning from me in private chat and then creating, formatting and publishing one post per day for 30 days. And you will be joining and interacting with community groups, considering my feedback on each day's post, and commenting on other peoples posts. Every day. Consider the time commitment, including time you will be spending each day on your own to research information for your blog post then write and edit it, find relevant and legal images, etc, before you enter.
Resteem this post. We are a community of like minds, and we are all here to succeed. We are better when we help our fellow citizens! We stand strong as a group- that is what is propelling Steemit as a force to be reckoned with, the future of the web! Yes, your chance of winning this particular mentorship may be a bit less by sharing this post, however by giving this more visibility you are not only being a generous role model, you are helping this idea spread far and wide. I would like to see more mentorships like this from more Steemit power users. Spread the Steemit Love!
In the comments of this post, tell me why you deserve this mentorship. What will you do with what you have learned? Be creative and compelling, treat this like a mini interview- why should I choose you over the others? What will you be blogging about and why? How will you be an asset to the community? I am the sole judge, so impress me!
I reserve the right to pause the mentorship due to extenuating outside circumstances or to stop the mentorship at any time at my discretion. If you are plagiarizing, not being kind or attacking other users, engaging in illegal or immoral behavior, not taking part in the teachings, or for any reason that would make you less than a model representative of Steemit.com I reserve the right to stop the mentorship and transfer it to someone else. I am giving my time, my experience, and my assistance, and I expect a high level of professionalism and dedication.

Take your time on this! The contest runs for one week so polish your entry before posting it in the comment section. And be sure to cover everything so there are no loose ends :)

I look forward to your entries! Good Luck!