Organic growth is hands-down the most effective way to build and keep a following. From day one, I have never followed someone just because they followed me, I've never traded upvotes. I've simply put my best work into everything I do here, and let the Steem boat go where the wind takes it.
I've had a ton of fun over the last 2 1/2 months, and if it weren't for Steemit, I probably would have been evicted from my apartment by now... I've met some good people, and I've seen Steemit be taken advantage of by unscrupulous assholes who are here for nothing but profiting as much as possible.
Some of the very first people I met here were fantastic in helping me get my train on the right track, before I could derail it.
@steevc was the very first steemian I ever commented on, and he answered my noobish questions without judgement.
@aggroed Is probably my favorite blogger here. I've watched him grow as fast as a bull on sterroids because of his compassion for others, and the wit he puts into each of his posts. @aggroed, if you're reading this, keep on doing what you do man! I can't wait to see the whale you grow into!
I've done a lot of curation work around the @steemgigs tags, and even have a couple services I offer. I love the idea of providing a place for skilled freelancers to offer their services without a third party profiting from their work.
I've contributed to the @steemcenterwiki, and plan to write some more pages for them soon.
@fingersik has provided me hours of fun and deep thought with his Dungeons and Steem game. I've been playing D&D for over 20 years, and never expected to see it being played here.
I've gotten a few people started on steemit as well. My girlfriend @cryptomomma is still trying to find her niche, but I want to thank @timcliff for helping us get her account set up.
My little brother @kingkinslow isn't very active, but I'm trying to teach him the ways of Steem so he can earn more than a few pennies per post.
An old friend of mine, @jemmajam, joined and made a few posts, but I think she lost faith before ever really getting started...
I'm currently developing an online survival rpg that will have a steem-based reward system over at @thriveordie. I write a dev blog, and will be hosting many contests and giveaways once the idea has gained momentum.
In the last week, I started the @steemparents account to show my support and love for awesome parents. Of all the dozens of "trail" accounts that exist anymore, there still wasn't a real curation effort behind parenting, and I've taken it upon myself to change that.
As you can see, I've kept myself pretty busy around here, and have spread my tiny tentacles into many parts of the community. Just last night, I changed my avatar for the first time from the old english S I was using to something made by a fellow steemian! The picture I'm now using was made by @stargarden. Here's the full size image:
It's certainly been a roller coaster ride, but I plan to stay strapped in for the long haul! I can't wait to see what my next 500 followers have in store for me!
Woohoo, congratulations! Onward to 1,000 :) Aggroed is pretty awesome!
Yes he is. I love the blunt way he tells it how it is.
His a very friendly. An intelligent one too. My favorite characteristic about him is how well he uses his experience in life to help people and frustration with the world to fuel his passion for making a difference.
Congratulations on hitting 500! I totally agree that some a-holes are here chasing dollars but I have seen less of them in the last couple weeks. I think if the community sticks together and we tar and feather these people we can keep this an amazing place.
I've honestly seen more of it in the last few weeks. HF19 made circle-jerks a seriously profitable business... I just this morning reported someone to @steemcleaners for the first time.
I guess I am seeing less because I am staying out of new, hot and trending. Staying in my circle for the most part. I actually need to cut more people because I am missing stuff I want to see. Now circle jerk stuff I do see with some big names here on steemit, not sure what to do about that.
I am doing the exact same thing. It has been a 1 to 2 followers per day due to my posts or commenting on others posts. I never had a You Tube channel or a Twitter account to pull people from. I started from scratch. I also do not have the privileged of being a young attractive 20 year old to get followers. LOL
I've never had a big following elsewhere either. I am however a certified "inbound" marketer, so I know a thing or two about attracting people without "selling" myself.
That is a good skill to have. Good article you posted!
Congratulations on the big 500!!!!!
You are an excellent example of putting in the time to earn followers that bring value to you; instead of, just shooting for mass adoption where no one cares what you do. It is always nice to see organic growth reach these kinds of numbers. Looking forward to you hitting 1k one day!
Pexels edit with Lunapic
Thank you so much for the kind words! It's steemians like you that make it all worth while!
Very well done @thatsweeneyguy! I'm slowly catching up. :-D
Always remember it's not a race. You can never judge your own success on what someone else has done. Just keep doing what you're doing, and good things will follow 😉
Great point! I'm in no rush. 🙂
One thing I find interesting is; despite only being on here for about 5-6 weeks, my following here is already over 50% of what I have on Twitter.
I love the idea of a onine rpg making use of cryptos!
Congrats on the 500 follower!
I had plans to build one with bitcoin as the reward, but Steemit has definitely changed my mind about that one 😉
I'm glad you like the idea, I've got big plans for the game.
I like your view on how to navigate this steemit world! Good information. Thanks for sharing :)