Wisdom And Knowledge Empower Us.
Welcome To The Knowledge Bank.
Table of Contents
- Before You Start.
- Number Of Articles To Publish Per Day.
- Different Payment Options.
- When To Publish Your Articles.
- How To Interact.
- How To Build An Audience.
- How To Reach The Trending Pages.
- Stuck In Growth.
Foreword:
I am not native in English nor the most skilled writer, but I have been a Steemian since July 2016 so I have both experience and knowledge. What you will learn from this is based upon my own experience, knowledge and my own results. Hopefully, my experience I share within this article will help you a long way... All I ask is that you put what you learn from this article into practice. Study it, learn it, apply it, and the results will follow. That, I can guarantee you.
Before You Start.
You need to be familiar with what Steemit is and how to use it. I will not go in to any details regarding how to create your account, Steemit-wallets or anything like that. This will be straight-to-the-point, but also briefly cover many aspects so make sure to follow each step carefully.
Write Your Article.
The first thing you will see is three different fields. All of them are obviously blank, as this is your first post. The Title is the first thing any reader will see, so you need to carefully craft a powerful, attention-grabbing title for your articles to maximize the readership.
This basically means that most people are more willing to read an article with a good-looking title than they are willing to read an article with a lousy, bad, or confusing title.
Examples:
Good:
7 Ways to Make Money While Waiting for Disability Benefits
This headline combines several useful strategies: it uses a number to suggest a listicle approach in the content, it promises a way to solve a common problem (“make money”), and it adds specificity to narrow the audience
Bad:
A Blog About Stuff
What’s this blog post actually about? Vague titles aren’t attractive in any way to the casual viewer. You might attract a couple of regular readers who already know your writing style and know that a vague title might hold worthwhile content. It won’t do you any favors for attracting new traffic.
My Example:
This is how this page looks for me right now. I have the title and the "meat" (the content) and I'm about to write the tags. Tags are crucial and extremely important when it comes to traction and results, so make sure to use accurate tags. You can use up to 5 tags and I strongly recommend that you use all of them for more exposure.
Examples of tags I could use for this article:
writing, steemit, guide, article, knowledgebank, tips
Tags I should not use for this article is:
photography, photos, vacation, travel, novel, plumbing, diet
Fun fact:
Search Phrase on Google: How Many Articles
One of my previous articles are the #37 search result.Meanwhile the same article sits at #2, if you search for: how many articles on steemit
What I showed you above is an excellent example of how tags will improve the overall results. However, tags are not the sole reason for the article to show up on the search engines. Optimization is utterly important, but with Steemit, there is no need for the average user to be an SEO expert. (SEO = Search Engine Optimization).
Number Of Articles To Publish Per Day.
You will quickly realize that there are no strict rules to follow here. Some authors publish anything between 4 and up to 10 articles per day. Some authors have successfully published even more than that in a single day!
However, there are some things to keep in mind.
You will get better results long-term if you are consistent and produce content regularly, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to publish content each day. If you tell your readers about your posting-schedule, they'll know when to expect new content from you.
That being said, I would never recommend anyone to write more than 4 articles per 24 hour period. It's obviously up to each individual to decide for themselves how they want to approach Steemit, but my recommendation is no more than four posts per 24 hours.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many Steemians does not vote on several articles for various reasons. They might want to spread their votes on a wider audience, which obviously makes them less likely to support all your publications. However, four posts per 24 hours are pretty much ideal to me. It's basically what I personally believe to be the best approach.
It will allow you to write good quality articles, and it will also allow your audience to read and support other authors between your contributions.
But it's more to it than that. By sharing four posts per day, (24 hours) you will also be consistent and automatically spread your publications on different times. This increase your exposure and visibility and will obviously give you a higher chance of getting results. Both in terms of followers and rewards but also in terms of comments and resteems. The latter often yield you even better results.
Different Payment Options.
Power Up 100%, Default 50%/50% or Decline Payout. - What to do?
I know that many Steemians are more interested in SBD as it's easier to understand or handle. Honestly, I don't know exactly the reason for them to prefer SBD, but I know that many Steemians do.
- The best choice is based upon the current values.
Coinmarketcap is a splendid source to help you decide which of the payout options you should use.
The key deciding factor is not if the price of SBD’s is more than the price of Steem. It’s if the price of SBD’s is more than $1 USD. When SBD’s are more than $1, choose 50/50 and then convert them to Steem on the internal market and power up.
[Source: @preparedwombat in the comments below]
Decline Payout should only be used for articles you don't want to be rewarded for or for any type of test publications.
That being said, many Steemians does not change the payout option for many different reasons. It might be because they believe that SBD are about to go up, so they want to "stack" as much SBD as possible before the pump. Another reason for people to prefer SBD might be due to the Power down aspect. It's quicker to cashout SBD compared to Steem, so it's logical for some people to focus on SBD instead of Steem, even though Steem and Steem Power is what will benefit you the most if you're here for the long haul.
When To Publish Your Articles.
You want massive results and you would love to get thousands of followers and hundreds of comments. Most of the authors are looking for the exact same thing and the competition is rather fierce... Which is why you need to know when you should publish your articles for most traction and best results.
Truth to be told, there is no secret formula. It takes hard work, trial and error. Failures and mistakes. You need to overcome these obstacles on your own, because what works for one Steemian might not work for you at all.
It's about your audience, but also about the potential audience you might attract with your publications. You'll never know exactly at what time they are reading articles and you'll definitely not be able to figure out when they would be read your article.
Hard work and effort. These are the key ingredients for success. High quality is another ingredient. Timing and luck is two other factors which plays a rather major role.
There is a handful of things you should focus on. Build your following, interact with your readers and all these sort of things...
However, you need to understand that both timing and luck will play a major role when it comes to getting a highly rewarded post. - Especially for minnows and for Steemians who haven't established themselves enough to have regular support.
I recommend:
- Make a habit of your own.
- Publish multiple posts per day.
- Publish on different hours.
- Stick to your plan.
This will lead to overall improvements and you will get more visibility, traction, exposure, followers and rewards by doing so. By following this, you will also build an audience and get regular support.
How To Interact.
We all know how to type and how to talk, but we don't always do it properly and we often use bad or inappropriate words when we write or discuss things. Even though many, perhaps even most Steemians would say they already know this, I've seen so many weird and rather odd things during my time on Steemit so I just have to include this part.
I will give you two examples:
Example A:
Thank you. Please follow me and upvote my content! - www.your-article.url.com
Example B:
This was a refreshing read. I really love the comparison of "this and that, then that and if and when". I wrote a similar article myself just a few hours/days ago, but I actually missed the part you mentioned about "----------------". I must say that I agree with you to some extent but I truly believe that you could benefit from hearing my perspective. - www.your-article.url.com. - Thank you very much!
Most if not all would agree that the first example is bad. But even so, many Steemians are doing exactly what's stated in the first example!
When you decide to talk with others.
Make sure that you set aside enough time to do it properly. - If you respond to something with an half-assed reply, you'll miss out on chances of both rewards but also followers.
Many authors might see your replies as spam and even flag your comments if your reply doesn't add some sort of value to the article or to the author itself. Especially if your comment is similar to what's stated in Example A.
I have been here long enough to have seen replies with hundreds of dollars in rewards, meanwhile the article had a fraction of that. - And why is that?
Because these people know how to write.
You don't have to be polite in every single comment you write. You can and should respond to something even if you strongly disagree with the content. - However, don't do it by saying stupid things like:
"Go to hell! - Your article sucks, that's wrong blah blah blah"
What you should do, is to point out the reason for you to not agree with the author. Highlight some of his errors or some of the flaws in his articles or ideas. - Interact, in a professional way, without being super polite. - By doing that, you'll start a debate.
And how cool would it be to start a discussion with an author on his article, instead of your own? - That's what your end game is here.
You spread your word across multiple authors content and get exposure while you're doing that. Even without links to your own content. Also, you don't always have to thank people for their articles. - Especially not by simply saying "Thank you!". - That's boring and honestly speaking, people are getting tired of such comments.
Agree to disagree. - There's nothing wrong with that, and truth to be told, other people who's reading your replies might actually agree with you and not the author of the article, so based on your replies, they might follow you. - Or both of you.
- Either way, it's a win for you.
How To Build An Audience.
How to grow your following, how to build your following, how to build your audience. One can call this many different things but all of them are referring to the same thing. Followers and growth.
- You want to gain more followers.
- You want more exposure and visibility.
You want to get more eyeballs on your content because that is how you will ultimately earn more rewards. A quick look at the most established Steemians and you'll see that they have thousands of followers. That's the main thing that makes it possible for these authors to earn the rewards they do. - They have loyal followers who continuously support them. And that is what you should be striving for.
You can build your audience in different ways. I will explain what I do and if someone would take that information to heart and implement such an approach and get great results too.. Well, that would be awesome.
The most important thing.
- Do not beg people to follow you.
Not on any articles you see. Not in comments on your own articles and definitely not on other authors content. Do not beg or spam people on Steem.chat or on Discord either.
Literally hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Steemians are doing this... And it looks awful and will give them zero results.
What's the point in having 10.000 followers if 2 people upvote your content? - This is not Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Get rid of that mindset immediately!
Many Steemians are still living in denial with the "Instagram technique" in mind. That's how they approach Steemit. That is why they do useless things like follow for follow.
I say this one more time. What is the point with thousands of followers if just one or two people actually support you and the content you publish? - No point at all.
A huge downside with follow for follow type of deals are also that your entire feed will be practically demolished and filled up to the cheeks with content you'll never have the energy to look at. If you don't have the energy to go through all of that content, how can you expect others to find your content?
They won't, and you will not benefit at all from follow for follow type of things.
Truth to be told, even if your follower would want to support you and upvote your content, they will most likely not do it, because they will have a really hard time to find your content, as they will probably have, just like you, followed thousands of other people to get a follow back.
A better option would be to promote your content at the proper places.
We have many different Discord channels and Steem.chat to promote our content and to talk to people. Start with that. If possible, promote your content outside of Steemit too!
That's right. Outside of Steemit. Sure, your pending rewards from that specific article might not change if you promote your articles on Facebook for instance. But it's a great way to get more people onboard. Which can and will benefit you in the long run.
How Do I Get Followers Then?
First of all, talk with the people who reads your content. If they leave a comment on your article, make sure to reply! - That's the easiest way to maintain a good relationship and to show that you're serious and professional. That attracts people.
Secondly, make sure to comment on other people's content too. - People tend to follow you if they like your content, no matter if it's a reply or your own articles.
Another thing you could do, is to have an image or a text at the bottom of your article. Just as a reminder. "Follow me if you liked this article" or whatever. - A friendly reminder is much more efficient than begging people to follow you.
And you should obviously be consistent. - Make sure to comment and/or publish articles as often as you can. - Make sure to leave a few comments/respond to comments each day and to publish at least one article per day. If you can.
To build your following or audience takes time. - Don't expect the world for nothing. - You'll have to work hard, but in the end, you'll get some pretty amazing results. - I promise you!
Make friends. - That's a golden rule. You don't have to become best friends with everyone... But you'll have to set your mark. You need to build your own brand. On Steemit, your brand is obviously your username.
Make sure that people remember you. Write good quality articles and put in the extra few seconds to write a superb comment on articles you read instead of "thank you's". - Build your brand - Build yourself!
That's how winning is done!
How To Reach The Trending Pages.
This is probably the hottest subject on Steemit. For most people on Steemit, the trending pages feels "unreachable", but most people are still eagerly trying to do whatever they can to accomplish what seems to be "impossible".
Nowadays with all the bid-bots and vote-sellers it's obviously fairly easy to reach the trending pages. As long as you have money to invest. However, I won't go into any of that because I still believe that it is possible to reach the trending pages without buying votes to boost your content.
This awesome community have time after time broken the boundaries to what "impossible" really stands for.. - Impossible have become possible on Steemit. And I truly believe that is the main reason for people to continue their efforts, while longing for a spot on trending. Everyone knows that it is possible.
Are you not convinced yet?
- Have you heard about the make-up tutorial that reached $30K?
- Did you miss the parody one that reached $10K?
- Do you remember the homeless guy?
And even though we're 2 years old, this is still the beginning!
So How To Reach Trending?
Screenshot from an old article.
And Here's Some Of The Authors:
This is also an old screenshot.
They Have A Great Audience!
Even though I have said this many times already, I'll say it one more time. Followers are vital for success on Steemit and what I showed you above is proof of that.
With that being said...
You won't gain thousands of followers overnight. Like on any other social media platform, building reputation and trust takes time.
Seriously speaking..
I guess you believe that you're worth every single cent in the world for what you create. Most people seems to be like that. For starters.
- Suddenly, they'll realize that things often happens for a reason.
That superb post you saw the other day with $1500+ in potential rewards. That author probably spent 2+ hours writing it and that author have probably been active on Steemit for a long time.
Time and effort. - That's what it takes to crack this nut.
Remember that next time you read a Trending post worth $500+. - Even if the author wrote the entire article in 15 minutes... They've most likely spent hundreds of hours prior to that!
Why Should You Listen To Me?
Like I've already stated, I am not an expert and I'm definitely not the most well-paid author on Steemit. I am far from the richest or the most powerful Steemian. However, I have knowledge and experience and I've also been on the trending pages... Even though it's a long time ago.
Let me show you some of the articles I've had on the trending pages.
All of these articles are very old.
However, even though this is basically over a year ago, I was able to reach the trending pages with my articles. All due to hard work, effort and time. But to back my words even further, I want to show you my results in terms of growth.
You can read this article:
Being Active = Rapid Growth! (12+ New Followers Per Day On Average!?!)
In that article you'll find this:
"you can see that I've gained 38 new followers in 3 days, which gives me a daily average of 12.66."
You will also find this screenshot:
And if we look at my account today, we can see this:
It's almost 3 days since I published that article, so let's divide the numbers like this:
2801 - 2782 = 19
19 / 3 = 6.3
That equates to a daily average of 6.3 new followers. So I do have a superb growth even when I'm less active. Which means that the time I have spent is still generating me good numbers along with my continous contributions.
Stuck In Growth.
Have you ever felt that you've done literally everything you can think of and you still don't get the results you're hoping for?
Have you tried to "expand" and publish content outside your "comfort zone" in desperate attempts to generate rewards and to attract eyeballs and in an attempt to gain new followers?
Have you ever been jealous or felt envy when you've seen other authors making "milestone"-posts multiple times per week, due to their insane growth?
We've all seen these posts and most of us have been in the exact same situation you find yourself in now actually. Even though many of us wouldn't dare to admit it. Neither to you or to ourselves.
My last question is:
Have you ever been tempted to publish less quality content just for the sake of publishing and to increase your chances to earn something?
Let's face it. You're stuck...
Your growth is stagnant and I've been there too! - Like most of the Steemians.
I am not a wizard and I'm nothing near an expert blogger... But I spend time and I work hard and that's all it takes. - That, and a bit of luck obviously, but mostly hard work and tons of effort. Like I said somewhere above, I get new followers and generate results due to the time I have spent on Steemit. So for each minute, hour or day I spend, I will benefit from that both now and in the future.
My contributions doesn't vanish. They're still here, no matter how old they are. They show up on search engines and they attract new visitors. I gain new followers and that makes the growth natural.
This is an old article I wrote.
That article still generates traffic and many of the people who comes to Steemit through that article decides to follow me. That means that my follower-number goes up!
Also, I have shared many different guides, reports and "How-To's" since I joined Steemit back in July 2016, so I have several articles out there and all of them has a good chance to generate extra traffic.
That said, this doesn't mean that other types of content cannot attract new people. In fact, the opposite. This just proves that these articles work, so just imagine all the other content you publish. All of it will have a chance to attract people, which gives you an extra chance to benefit from your contributions.
Squeeze out the most of your time & effort.
While we have dozens of different Steemit-tools I rarely use them.
I mainly use Steemit, Steemd, Steemworld and Steemreports. And I use them all frequently. I've been using Steemit and Steemworld more than any other lately.
I also never ask or beg anyone to follow me or upvote any of my content. I also never ask people to visit my blog as that means the exact same thing, even if you're using a different phrase.
Another thing I do, is to remain consistent. I am trying to publish new content frequently, no matter the value of Steem and/or SBD. However, as I've become a full time student just 2 weeks ago, I have less time to produce content, but I still contribute as often and as much as I possible can.
Why Do I Even Mentioned The Price Of Steem And SBD?
In all honesty, I've seen more than a handful of authors who started to publish way more content due to the spikes in SBD and Steem. Prior to the spikes, they published anything between 1 and 3 articles per day but whenever there's a spike, they start to publish 8-10+ articles per day and I am not one of those people.
I try to be as consistent as possible and I continue to work hard and put in tons of effort even if I don't earn. I've seen many articles out there being well-rewarded even though they are nothing but crap. - I continue to work hard because I truly believe that hard work pays off... And I'm also a living proof of that to some extent.
I have also seen many well-rewarded and established Steemians who're truly neglecting their readers/followers in terms of responding to the comments they get. - Don't be like them!
They can afford to behave like that because they already have continuous support, but if and once the support vanish they don't have a safety-net or a backup plan!
And truth to be told... They would have to start from more or less scratch again, so do things properly and don't put yourselves or your Steemit accounts at risk due to ignorance. - Treat your followers good.
So, you're still feeling stuck?
Just Publish!
Take it from someone who've tried everything to find a pattern. I tried to figure out the best possible time to publish to get the most exposure and the most upvotes... But such approach is doomed to fail.
I've been a member on Steemit since July 2016 and I have to tell you... I've probably done most of the things you're doing right now... And I've never been able to find that shortcut you're looking for.
I've been lucky a couple of times but most of the times, I've reduced the amount of luck with hard work and effort. - Because, like I've already said a couple of times now, I truly believe that hard work pays off!
Thank You For The Support
And Good Luck!
Much of this content was taken and revamped from my previous articles. You can find separate articles here:
- Number Of Articles To Publish
- Payment Options
- When To Publish Your Articles
- How To Interact
- How To Build Your Audience.
- When You Are Ready To Publish Your Post.
- How To Reach The Trending Pages.
- Feeling Stuck In Your Growth On Steemit?
The best way to contact me is through comments on my articles or on Discord
I do have a life outside of Steemit and the @asapers, and I often get multiple messages each day so it might take some time for me to respond. Feel free to message me again if you haven't heard anything in a few hours or a day.