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When I initially joined Steemit 16 days ago I had reservations. Why would anybody pay me to write a blog? There had to be a catch. I wrote an introduceyourself post and was surprised to earn a nice $20.53 for it, which happens to be around $2.53 more than Facebook or Twitter have ever paid me. Huh, maybe there's something to this I thought.
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My followers steadily rose and I'm now sitting at 379 - nice. Seeing how much I was enjoying the platform and sick of hearing me singing it's praises, my other half joined last week. The next few posts didn't earn much so maybe my first was a fluke. No matter, I was enjoying this platform and read many interesting posts from all around the world. Steemit has a good vibe. I paid attention to great posts offering advice to fresh minnows like myself, from Steemians such as @aggroed @papa-pepper @trevonjb @shayne and many others, absorbing their collective knowledge like a human shaped sponge.
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I began posting about my 3D model project to gauge any interest - upvotes and comments started trickling in. It was nice that my hobby interested my fellow Steemians but I was shocked when part 2 netted me an amazing 208 votes and a whopping $268.44! To top it off it featured on the trending page for a while. Amazed, humbled and very grateful I finally saw the true potential for a newcomer such as myself.
As nice as earning money is, the community spirit that holds Steemit together is I think it's greatest asset. Everywhere I look I find support and encouragement for fellow Steemians. This came sharply into focus for me earlier this week when I read @darthnava 's post where he shared some bad news about an upcoming operation he desperately needs. The community rallied together, made sure to resteem and upvote his post and many donations were made directly to help pay towards his medical bills. @darthnava 's post remains on the trending page and has alone made an truly incredible $16,602.08 with 3304 upvotes and countless resteems. If you haven't helped yet, seriously - why not? If you can't afford to donate some Steem or a Steem dollar or two every upvote and resteem helps.
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16 days in I feel comfortable with imparting some knowledge to freshly arrived Steemians.
- ENGAGE - this is probably the biggest piece of advice I can give.You have to build up your brand and your reputation. You could write the best example of modern literature but without an eager audience it won't gain you much traction. Engage responsibly - by this I mean to take the time to get to know your fellow Steemians, actually read their posts and offer constructive comments. DO NOT under any circumstances go to a post and write Great post. Upvote and follow me - oh and here's my post. Make a point of replying to every comment you receive in an equally constructive way: it shows you appreciate all comments and this builds up your reputation as a great Steemian.
GAIN A FOLLOWING - the more people that follow you, the more exposure your posts will have giving you the possibility of more votes and comments. One of the ways I have gotten 379 followers in 16 days is to regularly open the new tab and search for introduceyourself posts by newbies. I have taken the the time to read their post and gotten to know them, welcomed them warmly to the platform while showing that I have seen what was written. No I followed you, follow me nonsense, it just looks bad - trust me.
DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS - it can be disheartening to see posts making hundreds or even thousands of dollars while you struggle to make 10 cents. It takes time, time for you to establish yourself, get a reputation, develop your blog and get a following that actively engages with you. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. You will not be a success overnight. Do not concentrate on the money, make your primary goal be to create the very best content you can. Check for spelling and grammar, format your post in an eye pleasing way. Take the extra time to refine and present it the very best way you can. Effort shows and effort pays off in the long run.
...and finally...
HAVE FUN!
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