Dear fellow Steemian - About followers and upvotes

Dear Steemian,

Header sunrise

We're seeing a big growth in our numbers. Many new people are discovering this amazing platform with its wonderful community. I am sure that for our new members, as for most of the existing members, the promises of riches are one of the reasons they are here. Like this Steemit slogan I like the most:

Come for the money, stay for the community!

I hope this will hold true for a long time to come.

Now, both exisiting members and new members are always on the lookout for a wider audience. Some enjoy the sense of community, others enjoy the extra upvotes that come with it. Whatever the reason (a bit of both maybe), we all have our own ways of gathering this bigger amount of followers. With this post, I want to address one of the tactics I have seen more of lately.

"I followed you, pls follow me."

This is what I've been seeing more of these last few days. It probably has to do with the higher amount of new members who are still trying to find their way. I'm writing this now to tell you that this question does not work. Sure, if asked to another new member, some might do this. If asked to a long standing member though, all this does is piss them off and make them want to follow you less.

"Then how do I get followers?"

Just write interesting stuff. You can do this in the form of your own blogs. If you write your own blogs, make sure it's original content. If you share someone else's content, at the very least you should add value and link back to the source. You can also write valueable comments. Give you opinion on whatever someone else is writing about, participate in discussions. Say more than just "Upvoted" or "Nice post".

"What about those upvotes?"

Don't ask for votes in your comments either! If people like your content, be it your own posts or your comments, they will upvote it. People know how this site works. Even new members quickly understand what that upvote button does and how it works. We can 'like' something on Facebook, we can upvote something here on Steemit.

I know it takes a while to ge used to something new. To find your way around and to find what works and what doesn't. Luckily, Steemit holds a lot of nice and helpful members who are always willing to explain these things to you. Just look at all the posts being written for our new members right now.

Participate in conversations and add value to the site. That way, followers and upvotes will naturally follow!

Edit: I want to share this one great tip from our fellow Steemian @Sumsum: "Get involved in contests you will find likeminded people, new followers will find you and it´s really fun. Have fun on steemit and magic wil happen."

Don't forget to Upvote, Resteem and Follow!

My Deviantart image used as a header for my blog posts.