So, I routinely follow @penguinpablo. He keeps some great stats. Recently he showed how Steem had 8,000+ signups in just one day.
Now, mind you, many of these folks are paying $70 USD to get an account. I find this is pretty mind blowing!
New Users
So, if you don't know me. I'm Aggroed. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a PhD Chemist by formal training. I just quit my job and I'm working in Cryptoland full time. My major responsibility is fulfilling the charter of the Minnow Support Project (@minnowsupport) which I helped found with @teamsteem, @ausbitbank, and @canadian-coconut. The goals of the project are to spread the values of Peace, Abundance, and Liberty, to grow the Steem ecosystem, and to help train and retain minnows (new users).
At the moment the primary account @minnowsupport sits at 85k Steem Power. We use that to provide free upvotes to users. Come join us in Discord and after you register we let anyone use the community account to upvote their posts twice a day. It's not a ton of money since more than 1,000 people use it every day, but it's a great start on the platform and can help you get off on the right foot.
Community
More important than a little bit of money on your posts is the community that you can find in the PALnet Discord Channel. We're over 7,000 Steemians now. These are people that can be your friend, your translator, your teacher, your business partner, your makeout partner, your w/e. It's a lot of people tied to the Steem community and crypto in general. That's crucial because it's the number one thing that will determine your success here.
Don't start authoring when you're brand new
Tons of people spend hours on a post when they start expecting to get handed a lambo, and are upset to find no one gives a shit. Maybe you're lucky and catch some nice upvote or something, but largely when you're a brand new user your content has less than 1% chance of standing out. So, if you like writing go ahead. If it's fun WOOT, but don't expect to get loaded from it if that's how you're starting.
Comment and make friends
What you need is loyal followers who will upvote your post and comment on it and help you grow. The best way to have that happen is to start by commenting on other people's posts and making friends in Discord. I'm not talking about f4f or that sorta shit. I'm talking about leaving good comments, starting healthy conversation, maybe even helping other people with your special skills, and gaining a loyal following from that.
The single most useful thing on the platform is a high SP account that really values your content, but it's hard to get noticed, so you have to build up your following over time. The best way to do that is actually through commenting. if you're brand new here write up some really short form content and make some introductions, but 80% of your time should be finding content that you like and writing authentic comments on it. First, the upvotes you get are likely to be worth more than than you get on your posts, and second it's likely you'll get a follower. This is especially true if you stick with it a little bit. @spendorhub is a good example of this on my previous posts and as you might notice it might just get you a nice mention in the middle of a post.
Comment a lot, author briefly... what else?
Be patient. It takes time to start a new business and make it into something. If you're not bringing in an audience or following or fame from something else. You're just some dude or lady on the platform then you have to be patient. This place takes time. Folks are interested in supporting good people, and there's definately some feeling of "you have to pay your dues." So, don't expect it all to come right away.
Growth here is non linear. It happens in spurts. So, you're posting away and no one cares for a while. You make less than a buck, but somehow a whale happens to catch it and you get hit with an upvote or resteem. Then you catch some followers and have a little spurt. That doesn't happen if you aren't consistant.
Don't be an asshole
The urge of everyone is to be as selfish as possible when they get to Steem. I'd highly encourage you not to be. Try to think about how you can help other people. Do that a lot and you'll earn a lot. If you spend most of your time thinking about how you can simply enrich yourself it likely won't get you far. There are some notable examples otherwise... but if you're going to be an asshole you better be really fucking entertaining cause this platform doesn't respond well to it in general.
Find a model
Honestly, after 1.5 years here I still think that @kaylinart is the gold bitcoin standard of what a good Steemian looks like. She posts well. It's thoughtful. It looks pretty. She's charming as hell. She interacts with her followers really well. She's my goto. There are some other good examples of this and others will have more specific interests or are more camera happy, but the point is find someone doing something that's working and try to mimic it to the best of your ability with your own flare.
Don't rage and do ask for help
Lastly, don't go full rage quit when things don't work out. That usually happens cause you catch a flag and your first instinct is to go ballistic. Don't be like that. Try to avoid being an asshole for a while and you should be able to dodge most of that, but if you do happen to get embroiled like this then don't get lost in a fight here. Just chill, try to deescalate, and find something else to talk about.
If you are stuck find some people to help you. You may need language help. Tech help. IDK, this place is complicated so there's lots that you might need. Ask for help. If you're feeling frustrated then try to relax and let's see if some folks can help. Anyway(s), it's nice to meet you. It took me 8 months to get anywhere on this platform and now my goal is to help new people do it faster than that. Here's wishing you many blessings of Peace, Abundance, and Liberty and much success on the platform!
PS
This may be neat and cool and brand new for you, but Steem and Discord is home for a lot of people. It may end up being your home too. It's hard to see that on day 1, but Steem is a pretty incredible place. Try to treat it with some respect. We've built something pretty awesome that you're now stepping into. If you want the community to embrace you then it's best if you honor the space you're in.
Really good advices.
But I think missing one important thing...
Starting Steem for money brings frustration in short time.
I am a newbie yet so maybe my advices are not as valuable as yours but what I would say is :
Stay positive.
FD.
Use Steem and let it make money.
Great reminder! Thanks!
Great post. Probably the best one I've seen for a first day person, which I am. It seems very overwhelming and I'm not a tech person so I was just getting there. I love this concept of steem, I think, and have been looking for a decentralized alternative to traditional corporate media and internet structures. Thanks again.
Why are they paying $70 USD to get an account!?!?
Yes, That's quite confusing.
This is amazing advice @aggroed. Thank you.
I started on the platform a couple of months ago, it has been working well because I posted solid articles concerning topics I am an expert in. I was lucky enough to have been noticed after a few weeks, and it really fueled my enthusiasm. But the thing is, I believe I might have been lucky... My follower base is still fragile so I am reverting now to what you are suggesting for beginners. Reading, reflecting on other people's thoughts and commenting when relevant. I did this before, but I am upping it up a notch now.
I am also glad that up to now I have been able to help and inspire other Steemians. Some messages have had more positive effect on me than the payout associated with the post!
As a newbie, I would have loved to read this post when I started and I strongly encourage new users to apply your words in their exploration of the platform.
Steem on!
I agree with you; that a post like this early on in this platform would have been suuuper helpful. Still, learning new things everyday!
Just curious, what have you changed? Are you posting more now instead of commenting more?
Hello Riju.
To write quality posts takes a huge amount of time for me (4-8h/post). I have to synthesize my ideas, do some research, write, create relevant and attractive images from free to use images on the net, proof read, do a little html to make it come out right etc... Then I post, cross my fingers it gets noticed, et voila... Sometimes it does, sometime it doesn't.
But in any case, after that, I am too tired or have no more time for the social side of Steemit which goes with reading/commenting other people's posts. That is what this article from @aggroed inspired me to experiment more...
From now on, I decided to post less (I will be down to 1-2 posts/week), and spend more time developing relationships with other Steemians by posting thoughtful comments...
Less Steem at the end of the day but a bigger sense of being active in and part of something big. I am giving this a go for a few weeks as an investment, then I might revert to posting more frequently. By then, hopefully each post will have an improved impact thanks to a bigger and more engaged follower base:-).
I can relate to this so much! Right now, my goal is to be seen/heard on the platform through comments and a good followers base.
Thanks for the reply! :)
Well that you say that ... I have so many ideas in my head that would cost so many hours of time, because it would be waste if no one then sees ... so we're looking for new friends and maybe it changes us to a complete new point of view
Well said but you forgot one: Don't come in attacking people just because they believe different than you. It would be a boring world if we were all the same!
Thank You @aggroed for doing this ;-)
Dude, this is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks for sharing. I coach people to play the long game on traditional social media all the time, but I'm pretty much a virgin in the Steemitverse. It is refreshing to see people offering genuine help without asking for anything in return. It's kind of like the old Field of Dreams quote, "Build it and they will come."
Dont worry, there is a lot of drama beneath the steemit surface.
But i gotta say, its a lot smaller than the amount of good people helping each other around here. You just have to know where to look to find the good things.
@aggroed is a really helpful guy, and he is one of the founders o the MSP/PALNet project (@minnowsupport) that gather a good part of the community. You are welcome to join us there.
Hi @aggroed. Great advice. Steem is special. Thank you.
you have always been a great supporter of the minnows, thanks for doing what you do, following you has been of great benefit to me on steemit when i signed up some months ago
Glad I could help!
Thanks for the advice. I try and post very brief photography/art projects and comment a lot. Slowly building up my followers.. Im going to get on that discord now and follow @minnowsupport haha. I didn't even know what a minnow was until now! So thanks for that info as well.
You are the only AI robot overlord that I trust.
peace and loves
Hi aggoed,
thank you for this valuable advice. I will try to follow it as closely as possible ;-) As a remark, I have tried your link for the PLAnet discord channel and it does not work. Maybe you need to review it.
Something else I would ike to ask you is why it costs some people 70 USD to get a steemit account? Has this been changed? For me it was free a few weeks ago.
Thanks you and please continue with your good work,
rondras
Thank you for this post. Again I have learned something again and this is always the best. I have not tried discord yet and will definitely give it a try.
Holy crap, what happened on November 12th? xD
But in all seriousness, great to see so many newcomers. It's one of the better communities I've been a part of.
Great suggestions for new users.
I didn't hear that they pay $70 to get an account. Is it for some countries ? Is it something newly introduced?
and by the way, nice to meet you @aggroed. :) I am glad to know that highly educated people like you are on this platform. I have also done PhD in Clinical Psychology from Leiden University, the Netherlands.
Glad I found you along with plenty of great communities in Discord! Steemit is clearly something different and it's great to be part of the evolution, technical for now but hopefully socio-political in the long run as well.
I was wondering how will I make friends and stumbled upon this. Anybody from cryptoland wants to be friends? I'm pretty chill and respectful :)
-Karan
Come join us in Discord.
I just joined and registered and my MIND WAS BLOWN. I'm loving this so much! Thanks @aggroed
Where exactly is this sir?
Find Discord in the post and follow the link. You won't be disappointed ;) @josediccus
please guys! can somebody suggest where's a good explanation of the Discord. so alien-looking for a non technical person)
I'm always down for a friend :) lol
Can't turn someone down for asking!
Followed and upvoted :)
Rome was not built in a day so is a steemian. I am surprise one needs to pony up $70 to start a new account now. That is not cool at all. I thought the new fork was to remove fees to creating an account? Maybe me being too optimistic?
I have been on steemian enough to say your points for newbies to pick up is critical. Without help one would not able to grew and reach further on steemian. I am having a blast and wish every new steemian and expert steemian to have the same. There is so much to do and learn that there just is not enough time to do anything else :) Thanks.
Really 70USD is to make an account now on Steemit!!!
Wow ...
When i start i made my account for free and now this amount and still so many sign ups... Crazy!
I keep encouraging my friends to make account too. Its worth it.
I know it's worth it, there is no question about that i was surprise by the price.
Honest to be i even didn't know that now people need to pay to make an account... i thought that is still free!!!
I think it is still free .... must be paying for Steem Power so they don’t have to start low?
fow, By what I got from the post, it is only the US members who must pay to join.
Are you from the USA?
No, I’m in Canada. Just far enough away lol.
Sweet, fellow Canadian. But yeah, looking at the chart of when the 8000 sign up day was, it was in December, and it seemed the Poster implied that during that time the new users from USA must pay the 70 bucks. And I would assume they still would be today.
It is pretty crazy. But, keep in mind that it is only US Citizens who must pay. Steemit is worldwide :) So only a small percentage of new users would actually be paying that price. You didn't think Trump would like you making un taxed money off a site like this do you? lol
Great advice :) I've started posting analysis on alt coins...check out my latest update on FunFair..cheers
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@benkalashnikov/funfair-fun-update-64-profit-in-2-days-aiming-for-long-term-target
Ohh thank you so much for the information. Cause im just new here ! Thank you again and hoping to have fun here at stimeet. @aggroed
Everything leads to maintain this great investment and make this family stronger and stronger. Good post!
Welcome all new users to this magnificent platform!!
As you said, comment a lot - so Im commenting :D
Check out my latest post - Thanks
this isn't thoughtful. This is selfish. Try again.
Thanks @aggroed . I am pretty new to steemit and still reading and learning the ropes , this post helps alot and look forward to reading more of your advice. Thanks again
very nice article as usual. as i am pretty new to steem myself, i can somehow relate...
i never was much of a blogging-dude. i am pretty much doing the things you suggest: find content i like, follow people i like and commenting on stuff when i find it appropriate.
as my steem power grows, i think about my "first original, genuine content", but i take my time...
Nice advise
some people see dead people. i see typos.
I see furries.
http://www.furryfandom.info/
extraordinary
I have long used discord. and thanks for all the minnosupport projects that have helped small fish like us. we really appreciate your help.
Hay @aggroed it's very good content and really gona help many newbs and it's at the article also helps me to understand some of the most important thing to do here.
Well I think it's a proper guidance for all new steemitian.
I am happy that people are now recognised steem and steemit.
Great advice @aggroed thank you. I was looking for some direction on how to build a good account following as I'm relatively new to this platform. I found this post to be really useful
those are very important tips and behaviors to take in account. And very useful.
Is it no longer free to join @aggroed ? Some friends been waiting for more than 2 weekd to be approved, could it by why they are still on the wait?
it costs Steemit money to give out accounts. We're changing that soon with the next hardfork. If you want to speed it up you can create accounts for money or with delegation.
I see
Glad I read this so I can inform them now as they keep asking and I didn't know the answer
Thanks!
Great post! My account is 6 days old and I was starting to realize commenting was the way to go. Anyway my voting power is down to 50% because I went a little button happy. Will take your advise and stick with commenting and short posts until I figure out what my purpose is on Steemit.
Simple and straight to the point tips. These are great advices for everyone, really. Some people who start getting bigger tend to forget those little bits.
Great advice..and steemit costs $70 to start an account now?
no
Well..maybe they can afford THAT Lambo you have in the picture after a few author publications first starting out.
Am new to steemit too. Really hard place to be real
Yeah you are right. there are a bunch of new voices out there. They are real human beings. Let's not delegate them to a pool of statistics.
Hi @aggroed , what a wonderful pleasure I had reading your post I will be re reading this again as it is extremely useful , it is true too many people think of the wealth more than the fun , Yes everyone would like to become rich I most certainly would love that to support the family but This for me is something i can share my fun times with , I hope we can become friends and share general banter in the future look forward to reading more from you much love , deeviras x
good times! I'm in Discord a lot. Find me there.
Hay my name is ubay. I have read your post. Iam so happy to read that you are so care with beginner on steemit. I hope many people like you in steemit.
Hi there @aggroed, its @Josediccus here, well I guess many have missed their way all we get these days from some new members are upvote me and nice post
U just said it all...that advice is priceless..when you take out time to explain to people what they do not know or understand..you are a very good person..all you said happened to me ..but with these ur step guiding advice..am back on track..and I know a lot of new steemers will also be happy with this advice..you just made my day.thank you
Great advice @aggroed. Some stuff that I have suggested to new members as well is to find a mentor, when you do provide content "don't just throw out a bunch of rapid fire junk, and resteem content that is valuable to the people that follow you. Oh and it is important to understand that the whales are whales for a reason and new users are not going become a heavy hitter any time soon unless the contribute significant economically or with processing power to the system.
@aggroed Great info! Speaking of asking for help... What is the best or most efficient way of finding various communities on Steemit? It would be nice to go to a board that lists users by major categories they post in. Is there such a list some place?
Discord. And then network.
However on a more serious note, I congratulate you on your P.h,D.
I have read several of your posts since I joined a few days ago, and your content is great. There is little doubt to where your heart is on this project.
I also see the incredible potential for this project and will be investing heavily both financially and intellectually, as I do have my MBA in Business Administration and Human Resources and will be pursuing my Doctorate in Business Administration later this year. I am also the CEO of a successful corporation (Billett Enterprises) that owns several businesses and specializes in venture capital investments and start-ups, offering guidance, management and support.
Anything that I can do to help the community and the Steemit ecosystem or to future projects you may have please let me know and looking forward to conversing with you on future topics.
Sounds awesome. I'm looking to start talking about Steem to VC groups to encourage investment and make wealthy friends. Let's connect. You can find me in Discord
I have attempted to connect via discord to your group and it isn't working. Further, I tried the website https://minnowpond.org , and that also is not working.
I've been doing this consistently, and I am happy to say that I've come across fantastic people. I feel that I still have a long way to go, but I think I'm moving forward like a turtle -- slowly but surely. :)
Thanks for the writeup. Didn't know about discord yet, but will give it a look.