This post is for the newbies on Steemit, who are confused about how things work here. I have been there and I can understand how it feels.
On steemit you can make blog posts, write poems, stories, run contests, post vlogs, write travel journals, upload photographs and many more.
To put it simple, Steemit is like Facebook and reddit had sex and had a baby: D
Like you do on Facebook you can post your opinions and let the world respond to it. Like reddit people have the option to up vote your content if they likes it. But, how is it different than Facebook or reddit? Well, Facebook or reddit won’t pay you for the content you contribute, but steemit does that too. yes, Steemit is the social network that pays.
How cool is that right!! Finally all of the talented people out there who doesn’t know to build a website or doesn’t have enough funds to market them on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, can make use of Steemit to promote themselves and earn some money for their efforts being put. I have written an article about Youtube which explains how even Youtube is getting away from original content creators.
But we have @dtube in that case to back us up. You can use your Steemit login credentials to log in there and start uploading videos. There are no prerequisite requirements or censorship to block your voices and opinion. As far as you can produce quality content you are good to go.
If you are into memes, @dmania is your playground. But, I am not as happy about the content in Dmania as there are lot of people who used copied memes from Whatsapp and other websites. Plagiarism should not be encouraged at all, as it kills the idea of Steemit.
Don't forget to write an Introduction Post about you using the tag introduceyourself. Whales will encourage you If they find your Introduction post to be "Interesting". And talking about tags, you can use 5 tags for a post, while the first tag you use out of the five will have the most priority.
If you need tips to write quality blog posts, do check this article from @katrina-ariel
SBD Steem and SP:
SBD aka Steem Dollar:
SBD and Steem are the tokens you earn from your posts.As of now 1 SBD=4.7 USD, like every other cryptocurrency the market rate of SBD would fluctuate, there were times when SBD went up till 18 USD per SBD.
You can convert your SBD into Steem and power up your profile. By powering up your Steem Power(SP) increases. You can also withdraw SBD to a Steem Dollar wallet in any crypto exchange like Bittrex and cash out if you want to.
Steem:
Steem Power(SP): 
Post Payout: Okay you started writing articles and started seeing some $$ attached to your posts and you may think that you will get all of that as SBD’s in your wallet? No this is how the post payout works. Let’s say you have $2.50 attached to your post. You will get your payout on the 7th day. You will get 75% of $2.50 25% of $2.50 goes to the curators who upvoted you. The 75% you get would be divided as 50% SBD and 50% in SP. So 75% of 2.50 is 1.875, 50% of 1.875 is 0.937, which means you will get 0.937 as SBD and the rest as Steem Power.
Reputation: When you start your default reputation will be 25, it increases as you start getting up votes for your content and comments. You can see your reputation next to your username in your profile for me it is 47 now.
Connections matter a lot in Steemit like it does matter in every other platform. You would always need someone to back you up. @thealliance from @enginewitty is an amazing group which supports quality content creators. But like every top notch community, you just can’t walk in for free. All it takes is to prove that you are worthy of being part of the community. You can do that by visiting the admissions office where you will be asked to apply to @thealliance via an application post.
You should also attend Steem fests and meetups to socialize with other Steemians. Don't be shy, Introvert, extrovert, ambivert or whatever vert you are It doesn' matter, you should find time to attend meetups. You will get to meet lot of like minded people. My first meetup was the Bangalore Steem meetup organized by @firepower . Take a look at the meetup post and video.
@Minnowsupport is another platform that would support good content, they have a bot that upvotes your content free on registration. The registration is free and you can find more details from How Minnowsupport can increase your reach on Steemit
Bots: There are bots that will upvote your content on submission of certain SBD’s or Steem. Using bots will help getting visibility for your content as it might end up in the “hot” and trending sections. Paying a bot is easy:
- Go to your wallet, Click on your Steem Dollars balance
- Then Click on transfer In the to section write the name of the bot without any typos.
- In the amount field input the specified SBD or Steem In the memo field Input the post’s url(Don’t write anything else here)
- Now click on submit (If it asks for sign in click on sign in.
That’s it. You should also know when not to use bots. This article will help you on that Tutorial: When not to use Upvote bots
Out of all the bots I have tried @minnobooster is the most profitable upvote bot. I have never been in loss using @minnowbooster.
Here is a video from @piedpiper that explains a lot about the Steemit system.
The Don’ts:
While there are lots of to-dos, there are some don’ts to stay healthy on steemit they are:
- Don’t copy and paste, give credits wherever due (Images, References)
- Don’t beg for up votes Don’t make comments like “Informative post, Great Post, Awesome Dear” etc. Instead make some sense with relevant comments.
- Don’t get into unnecessary comment wars or fights, people with big profiles/whales can down vote/negative Vote you, getting flagged won’t be good at all, don’t you agree?
- Don’t write an essay unless it is necessary (Nobody likes boring essays, keep it simple)
Need some motivation? Read this post from @dollarvigilante
And next time you want to introduce Steemit to a friend of yours, feel free to share my post with them.
Many people initially get motivated to try Steemit, few would quit saying “it’s not easy like I thought it was”. Well, In that case you didn’t try at all or you can’t produce original content, don’t be that person who gives up without trying. Learn from your mistakes, Improvise and go forward.
PS: Thanks a ton to @bikergirl for Introducing me to Steemit :)
Follow me @shonyishere