So you’ve spent over 3 hours on an absolute masterpiece of a post and can’t wait to immediately post it to Steemit for rave reviews and maximum rewards. But when you finally post it, you notice that for the first 5 minutes, the only upvote on the post is yours. So you keep refreshing the page in the hopes of seeing a change in your views. Regardless of the number of times you refresh your page and close your eyes before checking your earnings, the number of views doesn’t change nor do the earnings. Eventually after 20 minutes, some votes start trickling in, but since they’re from minnows, your earnings remain at a few cents. Hours go by and the post that you basically poured your heart and soul into creating largely goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
But you know what the real issue was? You posted your blog at THE WRONG TIME!
What? There is a right time and a wrong time for posting your blog?
Exactly right my friend! Your success on Steemit not only depends on your current reputation score but also hinges heavily on the time you post. Thus if you post your blog at a time when most Steemians are asleep, then there is a significant chance that your blog will definitely go unnoticed and unread. And if no one reads your blog the first day, chances are especially high that you won’t be earning many upvotes nor much in author rewards for the rest of the week.
This is a very important revelation – you will receive the maximum amount of upvotes and rewards in the first 24 hours! After the first day, your post will get heavily buried under tons and tons of other posts, which will also be put to the same test in their first 24 hours.
The equation however changes quite a bit for a post coming from a dolphin or whale since within minutes, their posts will accrue tons of upvotes, rewards and even resteems and will almost certainly land on the Trending page. Once a post reaches the Trending page, the good times will continue for the rest of the week until payout.
However, I am not writing this post to address the inevitable success of higher-level dolphins and whales on Steemit. I am specifically reaching out to all of you minnows out there who are having a tough time generating enough views and upvotes on your posts. Your troubles often will have little to do with the quality of your post and will have nearly EVERYTHING to do with your reputation score and the time you posted to Steemit!
Why does your reputation score affect the success of your post? Quite simply, most people will be upvoting your post just by looking at your reputation. If you are at least Level 60 or higher, most folks will not even read your post and will simply upvote it after 15 minutes in order to get a share of the curation rewards. If you are at Level 70 or higher, then the quality of your post will have little to do with anything – the upvotes will start piling up from the moment you hit POST. It’s very unfortunate that so many quality posts from minnows get cast aside simply based on reputation, but this is a reality of life in general.
If there is a job opening and only two people are in the running for it, who do you think the employer will choose – an upstart talented newcomer or a seasoned veteran with decades of experience? Just as experience wins out in the real world, your reputation score guarantees the majority of your success on Steemit.
Nonetheless, there are several whales and higher-level dolphins in our community who are always committed to finding those high-quality diamond-in-the-rough posts from minnows and fairly rewarding them. So please continue to produce high-quality posts without worrying about rewards – hard work never goes unpaid so your recognition will come soon!
Now the subject of this particular post is when you should post during the day in order to maximize your upvotes and rewards. Especially important for minnows, the time of your post will definitely dictate the number of people who view and inevitably upvote your post. If you choose to post at a time when most people are asleep, your post will not be read that same day and will most likely be forgotten for the remainder of the week. Also if you post your article at a time when there is a lot of traffic to the site, then you will be forced to compete with highly reputed Steemians and once again your post will get unnoticed and forgotten.
So wait a minute – I can’t post too late at night nor can I post it during ‘rush hour’? Then when is the best time to post already?
Since a majority of Steemians are from the USA and Western Europe, you must try to post when those users are usually online and active on Steemit. Based on my own personal experience, the best time to post appears to be between 1 pm and 7 pm EST from Monday to Thursday. This will ensure that your post is read by the maximum number of Steemians in the Western Hemisphere, especially on the East Coast of the United States.
It is usually around this time from Monday to Thursday that most people are still pretending to be working while they are actually just counting down the remaining hours in the day. And what better way to pass the time than by chilling on Steemit? It is also during this same time frame that users in Western Europe are winding down their day (6 pm – 12 pm) and more than likely, these users will be sneaking in a few more hours on Steemit before slumping off to bed.
A special caveat to weekday postings – you should generally avoid posting from 5 – 6 pm EST as this is when you will be competing with posts from whales and higher-ranked Steemians. Since you already know that it is unwise to drive during rush hour, consider this time period as the “Rush Hour of Steemit” and opt to post a little later after 6 pm but before 7 pm.
Notice that I have excluded the weekend because the hours of highest Steemit activity will accordingly change. It is definitely more variable from Friday to Sunday since most people are outside enjoying their weekends with family and going out at night with friends. But in general, the best time to post on Steemit from Friday to Sunday is between 1 pm – 4 pm EST – a much smaller window as compared to the rest of the week.
Of course, if you are already a whale or a higher ranked Steemian (at least Level 66), you can be rest assured of posting at any time during the day or night and receiving enough upvotes, resteems and rewards to stay full and satisfied. That is because people (and their bots) will already be jumping on your posts and trying to scoop up as many curation rewards as they can. Don’t hate the game, hate the player!
So when do you like to post on Steemit? Have you had a different experience with posting times? Let me know in the comments below and enjoy the rest of your evening!
Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Until next time, keep acing life!
