How I made over $1800.00 in Steem from my first blog-post only and you can too...
Biology lesson No.1: You can't catch a whale if you're fish, you can only make yourself tasty to catch. With that being said.. here is what you need to know in order to be successful on Steemit:
1. U V C (unique valuable content): The best way to get recognized is to stand out! In a pool of fishes seek to be the rainbow fish. Don't just try to copy successful posts. It's great to be inspired by a them, but it's unlikely that a copy will be trending just as well. Instead really focus on writing something unique, be creative and make sure it's valuable! Ask yourself: If I read this post as if it wasn't my own would I upvote it? I think it's important to mention here: It's not about the length of of a post that makes it valuable, but the content! Try your best to make every sentence you write as valuable as possible. Not the longest post wins (what I feel like many people get wrong), but posts that are: interesting, an easy read, fun/entertaining, help others, are a great contribution to the Steemit-Communit, and simply U.V.C!
2. Focus on giving rather than receiving: I know this is a tough one and it's difficult to fully leave out having any expectations, BUT try your best not to have a certain expectation and instead rather a healthy kind of broad hope.. So instead of thinking "This post hast got to make at least $100", think "I hope someone will enjoy reading my post“. It will make you happier and you won't feel any frustration or dissapointment. Also if your post does get upvoted by a whale, it's so much nicer to be surprised by it. When I put up my first post I had zero expectations and was just like „let's see how this works, I will just introduce myself, because why not..“. I would've never thought that from that post only I would make good money (I didn't understand at first how I made that money and what ned's steem power had to do with it) and even after you have made some good money, don't expect every post of yours to top that or go as high. Keep your focus on giving valuable content without expecting anything in return. No expectations = no disappointments!
3. Catchy Headlines + Visualizations: In the constantly expanding pool of fishes, if you want your post to stand out ..your topic, headline, first picture, and first sentence is what makes up your gateway! It's what everyone will see before being interesting in reading your post. So even if you have great content, but your headline and first picture looks boring, most people probably won't bother giving your post a try... and let's be honest.. would you? So the first impression is really important and has to catch people to click on your post, interested to "know more". Include fun pictures and giphys that please the eye, great formatting with sub-headlines always helps with that and definitly ensure that all of your visualizations are content related and support/underline your points. Visualizations are there to assist your writing, to make it easier for the writer to absorb and remember your content. This is something most, if not all trending posts have in common.. they catch your attention!!! 
4. Don't compare yourself to others: When strolling through the "Trending" page on Steemit you will probably find some posts, where you think "how does this person get more upvotes than I did, this person didn't even write as much as I did...that's not fair".. Well complaining about it won't change a thing. All you can do about it is become stronger on Steemit, increase your Steem Power and upvote posts that in your opinion deserve to be recognized. Don't complain, change it.. Focus on your blog! If you contribute value to Steemit and keep bringing great content, chances are you will benefit longer, than someone with a „one-hit-wonder“. If you constantly compare yourself to others you will automatically become one fish in a pool of thousands, but the goal is to be a rainbow fish right? To stand out, be different and let's be real.. would you rather have one lucky post to go viral, or a growing blog that gets appreciated by more fellow Steemers with each new post? 
5. Stay consistent: Consistency is always an important key in order to succeed on the long-run. If you don't want to write a post everday, maybe decide on one day where you sit down and prepare several posts that you can then share throughout the week. As we are in the early stages of Steemit and the pool keeps getting bigger, it's important to stay consistent if you want to be successful in any area of life, including Steemit. Make sure you are determined to stay consistent on Steemit and the more you are eager to see results, the more you should make it a priority to post as often as possible, on a regular base. In the beginning this might seem difficult, because you (think you) don't have the time, but in reality it's just a matter of priorities (more about that: …..), and organization until Steemit has sneaked in your daily routine and become just as much of a habit as brushing your teeth or putting on clothes.
6. Don't overthink, Just Do It: When I posted my very first blog-post I didn't know how to convert Steem Dollar into Euro, I didn't know what excactly powering up/down meant, how to properly format and in general was in the middle of figuring out how Steemit works (and I still am, since there are new features on Steemit every day). But you know what? You don't have to know any of this, because it's not Step 1! Before trying to understand how to cash out and learn about other functions, the only thing you need to know, or question you should ask is: „How do I get started, where do I write my first blog-post?“, everything else will fall into place, I promise. Learn by doing is the key and stop wasting time trying to understand everything in the beginning, before having put up your first blog post. Afterwards, there will be people, if you don't personally know anyone, who will help you out and answer questions you have, you can now simply use the Steemit-Chat. But again, this is not the first step you need to take. Try to approach this like a child.. if you don't know how to walk, you don't have to worry about learning how to run! Just like Steemit is still evolving, you will grow together with the platform and learn something new every day!
7. Experiment, Analyze, Optimize: You can read as much as you want about how to be successful on Steemit, but besides that what you need to do is..find out yourself.. You can hear about something a thousand times and it won't measure up to seeing for yourself just once. Now I guess everyone is wondering.. is there a perfect time when to post? When are the whales up? How many times a day should I post? And there are certain variables you should check before posting, like the time zones, if you don't live in America, check your Stats on www.steemstats.com , see what works, analyze your results and optimize your strategy. Try your best to make every post better than your last! 
8. Be active on Steemit: don't just put up a post and wait for a whale to see your post, go out and promote your content in the Steemit chat, Steemit groups on Facebook, talk to the Community without promoting your post, build relationships with fellow Steemers, upvote other posts, comment and just be active! That does not mean you should be the annoying kind of active on Steemit, meaning: don't spam whales, ask them for money or beg them to read your post. You will just come off as desperate, probably annoy them and you don't want to alienate a whale. But definitly show interest and feel free to involve yourself. Don't just be a publisher, be a reader as well, get inspired, inspire others and make full use of everything Steemit has to offer. 
9. Passion: You don't have to be cryptocurrency expert, professional blogger or anything like that, however you have to be a passionate writer, or at least passionate about what you write. Even if you might think people won't notice if you just write about what's trendy and now what you're acutally interested in and passionate about, in most cases they will! So don't force writing a blogpost. I believe that the best things come naturally. If I feel like I have a lot of great content to share, I share 4 posts on one day, but on another day I don't feel connected to what I'm writing, so I might not post on that day. It's just like with a healthy and fit life. If you are consistent with your workouts and a clean eater, it's ok to have a cheat day. Passion is very important, not only because your readers will feel it, but also because it makes your journey 100 times easier and makes it fun! Just remember:
If it doesn't flow, let it go.. 
10. Don't give up! You maybe made the mistake to have a specific expectation that wasn't fulfilled and you're thinking about giving up on Steemit, but let me tell you something: It is way too early to quit! If you haven't tried posting valuable content for at least 2 months yet, you cannot judge or interpret the results. I myself am not patient at all and constantly have to tell myself with everything: „relax and give it some time“. This is crucial guys! Sometimes your posts get overlooked, and a whale is still a human (for non-Steemers I sound crazy lol), but you know what I mean.. They can only view so many posts a day.
Be thankful for every reader, upvote and comment (no matter the level) and remember.. every post still can get upvoted weeks later, so don't give up. You might think there is already too much competition on Steemit, when in reality there isn't.. think about it: how many people are following the 10 rules you just read? Only a few right? Which means there is still plenty of room for you to become a successful Steemer on the long-run. Just be a rainbow fish!
I hope this 10-step guide was helpful. Feedback is welcomed and much appreciated.
Keep steeming!
Much love💖
- Mrs. Steemit
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