I was amused to discover that one of my more notable followers has just posted in this vein, and I hope I don't dilute their power too much in this, but at the same time, I know I have to do this.
@positivesteem/working-smart-at-steemit-sharing-my-cheat-sheet
If you check out my page at SteemWhales, you can see for yourself how fast I have escalated my follower count. I have got maybe somewhere near 1% of Steemians following me. It matters a lot.
1. Networking
This is crucial. Your followers see your posts in their feed. Do not underestimate their power to boost your profile.
Follow everyone who follows you, if your goal is to be in the top list of followed Steemians, when you have time out from making your posts, go and look at it, and find posts that you can contribute thoughtful comments to. This can put you high on their comment list, and expose you to other users.
Don't just leave it at commentary. Go to the various chatrooms, and talk to the people, and amongst them you will probably find people who already follow you. Genuine interest in their stories and their posts and mutual aid support will help you a lot.
With the new ReSteem function, this goes double. When you are in a creative pit, you can always help out your mates. The more you have built your SP with high voted posts, the more you can help. You will win their loyalty as well.
2. Mood and Time management
You can't make good posts, when you are feeling bad. The ideas fade back into the background of your mind, and refuse to be visible. Whatever you need to do to improve your mental state, is more important than even a roof over your head, especially if, like my current roof, the environment as a whole is taxing you mentally.
One of the greatest things about this, is you don't have to be a time management specialist. Steem is highly stimulating, and you can just jump from one thing to another. Having, like I do, an attention deficit, is not the disadvantage here as it is in the 'real world'. Sure, maybe it would help if you had a bird's eye view of your efforts, might help, but not everyone has the advantage of this perspective. Jumping around can actually be an advantage here. Opportunities do not have a tendency to sit still, or to be easy to spot.
3. Relax
If you feel like you are on the edge of a cliff, you can't be productive as a Steem Creator. Stare down that abyss, and jump at it. Even if it might seem you are going backwards, sometimes, you just need something to snap you out of your complacency and get that sense of danger and body fear, to get you going.
If you, like me, tend to imbibe to relax, and you are worried about it diminishing your precarious financial situation, just remember you can do nothing if your mood is not good. That feeling of abandon liberates a lot of subconscious mental power. The content of what you actually do, does not matter a whole lot. Attitude is very important.
4. Pay attention to the little things
Even if it comes up just briefly, and from an unexpected source, sometimes the smallest things can give you the idea for your next big winner. Even sometimes something unspoken from someone around you, a random encounter with an object or a situation, can suddenly unlock a killer post lurking just under the surface.
5. Realise the situation you are in
Before you took the plunge into the Steem ocean, probably you had little opportunities for advancement. If you are like me, the whole rest of the universe was a dead end trap. Rewards for Steem creators is not just about liquid currency, boosting your Steem Power. Intangible things like follower count matter, as does exactly who is following you.
So does keeping abreast of things that relate to your particular specialities. Maybe you can go for a week and produce nothing of note. I was struggling with the problem of providing a visual example of the mathematical principles of my gravity hypothesis, and after a little while, realised that I can use analogous phenomena and some fantastic visual supports to boost my work.
When I first started, I was much more casual. The event horizon was much further in the distance. My situation is somewhat extreme, compared to many, who have established social support networks, established careers, and the like. But a good story, this is the essence of what makes a good post, even if it is mostly just documenting something you did quite distant from a computer. Presentation is important, but without substance there is nothing. You might win a few votes from a flashy presentation but people will get bored if they just skim through your post after your juicy pitch.
In conclusion
I am by no means an expert on marketing, creative process promotion and enhancement, or life in general. These are the points that have worked for me, as well as placed big obstacles in front of me, that I realised I had to dispense with as quickly as possible...
I have not delved into details in this post, because plenty of other people have covered them quite well. Like, that you should always upvote your own post if you are confident that it will get attention. It might be worth throwing a little into promotion payments too. Details like post composition, I have discussed before. It needs to be breezy, but visually stimulating, even if most of the post, like this one, is textual. A good heading picture, and a catchy signature can go a long way.
Good luck in your Steem Creation Careers, my friends, and thanks to you all for your support and inspirations.
We can't stop here! This is Whale country!