Post in #introduce yourself. Your first post should be relatively short and you should add a photo of yourself. As in life, first impressions are important on Steemit. Talk about what you are going to bring to the community. Proofread your content before posting, this will help increase your reputation and the amount you earn. The most important part is the title, write something that will draw attention to your posts.
To generate interest in you and your posts, talk on Steemit.chat. This is also a great places to get advice from veteran Steemians. Power up! This will increase how much you earn on your posts and how much you earn by liking popular posts.
Comment often and follow at least 10 people every day. This will help to promote your posts - plus you can earn from your comments just like a normal post.
Don't spam, and don't plagarize. These will harm your reputation, plus you can't delete a post (can only edit). Don't just link to an article/external site, write something unique and creative. I can find all the news I want on google.com/news.
I have found that the best tags to use are: travel, photography, life, money, and bitcoin.
Don't post more than 4 times a day, after your 4th post your earning potential decreases significantly.
Make sure you post at least once a day, if you don't have anything profound so be it, its important to stay active in the community.
It is also very helpful to add photos, I try and do this with every post even if I am just linking to google images. Add a photo by typing
. I use postimage.org to upload my photos (use the direct link).
The best times to post are from 12-1PM, 4-6PM, and 8-10PM (EST). These are the times when the most users are active, therefore increasing the number of people who will see your posts.
Don't get discouraged! You can earn on Steem but you need to be patient and create quality content on a regular basis. This is the key to getting a good following on Steem and consistent earnings.