My first three days on Steemit have been awesome, but I have a few questions…
I’ve officially been on Steemit for three days now, and I have to say -- this platform is amazing.
I’ve especially loved reading your responses to my latest post, “The Internet Of People,” where I wax on about my nostalgia for the early days of the Internet.
While my mom @gatorlynne (who, btw, is publishing a novel EXCLUSIVELY on Steemit, how cool is that?!) has walked me through a lot of the basics, there are a couple of things I’m still totally confused about here on Steemit that I was wondering if you all could help me with.
3 Questions I Have About Steemit
1. Are bid bots necessary for real growth?
I’ve read through @jrswab’s awesome guide to bid bots already, but I’d love your opinion or experience as to whether or not bid bots are necessary to growth. I’d much prefer to grow organically through comments and communities, but if they are absolutely necessary to landing more eyeballs I’ll need to look more into them. Are there resources you recommend?
2. How do you keep track of everything?
I’m a digital marketer, which means I keep excel sheets for practically everything. Since I’m new to cryptocurrency, I’d love to know the systems you use to keep track of your various investments or any resources you recommend for getting started.
3. What one thing has made the most impact on your Steemit experience?
Is there a particular choice, investment, follow, Discord, etc. that has totally impacted your experience on Steemit? I’d love to hear about it so I can sit down and really get cracking at everything this weekend. My favorite find so far has been this master toolkit by @sndbox, which has helped me a ton with formatting.
I’d genuinely really love your feedback, no matter how big or small your account is now. Feel free to comment below and let me know your thoughts.
Check out the latest posts on Pretty Decent:
The Internet Of People
20 Pretty Decent Songs That Consumed My 2017
Hi Steemit! I'm Lexi, And I'm About To Make The Scariest Transition Of My Life
Well, hello there @prettydecent!
Several people have already given you some excellent advice, and the @sndbox guide is also a really valuable resource. I'll try to keep mine short, although I already hear one of the voices inside my head saying "Good luck with that..."
(1) Bidbots: This is purely opinion-- in 99% of cases, bidbots are the refuge of people whose content lack the quality to stand alone and speak for itself. That does not apply to you... your content isn't an out of focus photo of dryer lint with the words "please vote me, follow me, I need money."
On average, bidbots are a losing proposition. I have used a couple of them a couple of times-- with large amounts-- to launch PSA type posts into "trending" (one was a scam warning, the other a tutorial about something that was being misused), on a net-net basis, I lost about $10 on each of those efforts, but I bought visibility.
On the whole, here's what happens: You create a legit piece of good content, pay $5.00 what what seems to be about a $9.00 upvote (looks OK, right?), but then the rewards pool "settles" over 7 days and your $9.00 now reads $7.50 by payout time. But then the curators get 25% of your payout, and you actually end up with $5.62. Of which you actually just get HALF as liquid rewards, and the rest becomes Steem Power. Which can be OK, but if the price of Steem/SBD went down 10% that week (10% movements happen often) you're standing with a loss. Meanwhile, the upvote bot owner is $5.00 better off at no cost and no risk. Not exactly a win-win.
My account has been built 100% "organically." Were it not for the fact that we had some major unexpected life issues in early fall, I would still be fully powered up, which means the account would have about 11,000SP at this point... ALL as a result of simply posting and commenting/engaging. That's a LOT of ching for blogging, compared to what it would take in AdSense revenues.
(2) Yes, I track pretty much everything; Excel is my friend, and I just added columns for the daily price of Steem, BTC and my SP balance to my existing writing spreadsheets. Easy-peasy.
(3) As a one time thing, my intro post was picked up by one of the major curation guilds, and that made me a "believer" in this not being some kind of scam or fly-by-night shady venture. That did make a huge difference in my attitude... not everybody gets a rocket propelled start. Other than that, what makes a big difference is the Steemit Bloggers group on Discord... it's a good group that's centered around content creation. I dig that.
Hi @denmarkguy, thank you so much for that detailed example -- that's exactly what I needed to understand. I definitely understand the content aspect of all of this, but the cryptocurrency and numbers side still befuddles me a little. An example like that is exactly what I needed, thank you.
I'll definitely be tracking everything, too. I feel you on being a "believer" very early. I've been trying to ignore that popular wisdom that you should save all of your good content for later. I want to be as consistent as possible with my production of high-quality content so people come to know me for it! That's why I'm so excited by a platform like Steemit that rewards positive reputation. While decentralized, it's exactly the people-based (not popularity or "how hot do I look"-based) system I was looking for.
Thanks again for your thoughtful reply!
Thank you for explaining the bot mechanics out. I'm her old fogie mom, a newbie on here, too - and just learning words like bot. I like the sound of organic, though. That's my plan, as well. Thanks for passing on such sound advice to her. I plan on following it, as well. Blessings.
Thanks @denmarkguy,
Yeah, I agree with Adsense. I was making $500 to $1,000mo. for many years with some of my Blogs. But then Google Panda and that nonsense came about and my Blogs got the beat down. Adsense can provide some income but it's really not worth the time anymore. Also I'm glad to hear you have positive views on growing here at Steemit 'organically' with good material. That is the route I am pursuing . Thanks again
I'm going to have to give bid bots a thumbs down, only because it is unclear of their future on Steemit. If that is what you primarily use to make money/gain SP and for some reason Steemit eventually decides to give them the boot, that is bad news bears! I think real connections and inevitably connecting to the right people is the best option!
It's strange that I am usually a very organized person. I have lists and sticky notes and calendars and write out my every minute and plan meals ahead, but on Steemit I basically have just written out my goals on a large white board and I try to stick to them. I don't have a terrible amount of organization, but for instance, my current goals are:
Make a daily video
Write a daily blog post
make 30 comments on the #introduceyourself tags (I try to leave helpful comments for people who have just started. It is a great way to lend a hand, but to also potentially gain new followers. I usually follow those people as well, and if their content ends up not being what I would typically respond to, then I just unfollow them later so my feed doesn't get out of control!)
Keep up daily on my current feed. (Once you have friends you want to make sure to keep them by being active on their new posts. It is a lot to juggle, but this one is probably more important even than the other ones.)
Write 20 or so comments on posts that interest me. (While I like welcoming new people, I also want to network with interesting people who have been here a while, so I try to find content I like and then interact with those people. I usually follow them too!)
Try to get 10 new follows a day. (My very lofty goal for 2018 is to have 3,000 followers by the end of the year. I have been able to keep up with my daily goals so far, but it is very time consuming and I definitely have lost sleep when coupled with working out, 3 kids and a full time job! AHHHH!)
Haha. So yeah anyway, this is how I keep track of what I want to do. My plan is to not cash out on any money I make until I have reached a certain level of SP. I want to make sure I invest in the platform as much as possible, and really achieve a steady place on the platform. Then I am hoping to be able to make a fairly steady income and be able to produce great content for people to utilize/enjoy!
I don't really worry too much about what I am making, but I do keep track of who puts in votes for me and make sure I return the favor! I haven't really figured out how to organize all of this other than checking my "replies" tab often and also looking at who has been upvoting me!
I think the thing that has made the biggest impact for me on Steemit is making good connections and friendships. I am currently spending up to 5 hours a day or more on Steemit and it easy to get burned out. Sadly, you have to put in a shit ton of effort before you start to see much result, and it can be demotivating and difficult. If you start to find people you like and enjoy talking with, then it is something that you start looking forward to. I hardly even visit my FB anymore, and spend a lot of time now on Steemit really enjoying the work of my friends. I really need to get on Discord too, I just haven't gotten around to it yet!
Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book! Just thought I would share my thoughts!
If your long posts are all this informative and content-heavy, then if you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to write an actual book. I would start reading it the day it came out, and I’m sure my opinion on this would be the norm.
I also may be biased because I have a serious soft-spot for libertarians and the idealism regarding human nature that goes along with it.
But I’m pretty sure that’s only a very tiny part of it. It’s mostly just that you’re an extremely engaging writer.
That's like, the nicest compliment I have ever received, and it means a lot. Thank you.
Woah, that's really a cool advice. Your goals inspired me to do something like this, and while im currently in the phase when my motivation is kinda low, you motivated me to keep putting in all the effort. Like you said, it can be a bit demotivating, putting in a shit ton of effort and nobody noticing it. Anyways, thanks for the motivation!
No problem! I have found that consistency is absolutely key on here! (And that once you think you have things figured out, you totally don't again!) Thanks for the reply!
This is excellent advice! I set a goal of 25 followers a day for the first week of 2018 and almost hit my goal with a technique similar to yours. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely try to up my game with your methods. Thank you. Blessings
Yeah it is hard to keep up with, but it works pretty well!
Are you kidding! This is incredible! Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply. It always helps me when people translate into numbers — I will likely emulate your strategy for commenting and creating interaction. Going through the #introducemyself tag is a great idea.
I love the stuff you’re producing and will definitely be following along and supporting you in any way I can. Let me know if there’s anything I can ever do specifically! And thank you again for your help!
I've never used one. See my wallet and decide for yourself if that worked out for me (I have a post with a "be an owner, not a renter" which google may find if interested).
I have a post I did a while back with the title of the cryptocurrency bank spreadsheet. That's what I use. I need to update it though as the API it uses is getting hit too much.
Big question. Couldn't boil I down to one thing. Search for my post on relationships, reputation, and rewards. Lots of good stuff there, I think.
I'd normally provide links but I'm on my mobile in bed and should be trying to sleep. :)
Hi @lukestokes, thank you so much! Your progress is definitely a huge inspiration. The fact that you reached that organically is incredible and definitely something I want to emulate here on Steemit. I'll definitely look through your posts and gather more insight, thank you!!
Hey @prettydecent, welcome to the club :)
#1 Sooo from the comments you've received already, I think you get the gist. Steem bots don't seem to be favored here. I haven't read about any Steemians who rose to success utilizing them either.
However, what I recently discovered and literally just got accepted to is @quarator. It's similar to a steembot in terms of automated upvoting, but is not the same thing at all. They're a similar kind of platform as @sndbox. You pay them a certain amount of steem/sbd OR delegate your SP and they will upvote your posts. More info here.
I'm relatively new here (have been posting regularly since December) so I've been really searching for ways to gain traction and I believe that @quarator will be a big one. You have to apply on their @quarator discord channel and they'll review your channel first. If your content is pretty decent (no pun intended lol) then they'll invite you to join.
#2 Simply put: more spreadsheets lol. I'm also in the world of social media and marketing so I live in google docs land. Here's an example of what my sheet look like. I track three things: article performance, how much I'm commenting, and my followers.
#3 Reading a ton of posts, leaving sincere and helpful responses, then inviting them to check out my recent posts. 90% of my followers came via that process. Some people will say you shouldn't ever leave links to your channel on comments, but I disagree with that. I've had tons of people tell me that they were so thankful that I shared a link to my articles as they would have never found me otherwise.
Hopefully that helps! From the look and feel of the vibe you are putting out already, I think you'll do really well! Just stick to it and be in it for the long haul.
Wishing you the very best @prettydecent!
Cheers,
~ @axios
Yes! This is exactly what I was looking for. That spreadsheet is awesome, I think I should do something similar to track my progress and how much time and effort I'm putting in. I'm getting an error when I click on @quarator, though -- is that the right @?
On your spreadsheet, what are you basing profit off of?
Oops! Yes @qurator! Glad you got it. The profit was based off of SBD/Steem when it's at its highs, which is SBD x8... so 1SBD = $8 USD. I essentially won't cash out again until it's hitting those numbers.
Ohhh, smart. It would probably be good for me to track the price ups and downs too, then. The crypto aspect of all of this is definitely what intimidates me the most, which is why I'm trying to gather so much information from everyone I admire #onhere :)
Yeaaaa crypto is a mind melt for sure. It's a whole new world. It'll take time to digest but you'll get it if you keep at it every day :)
NVM, found the @qurator! I will check it out.
I just joined that discord on the wonderful advice of @goldendawne . She is the curator of the chat and page, I believe. I do not understand much of it yet, so I am glad you are checking it all out @prettydecent . You can teach your old mom here how to work it :) xo luvs ya
Here is my two cents:
No, in fact I never touched a bid bot until I did my experiment. This is how growth happens:
All the tracking that I do is in my journal. One example is my end of 2018 Steem Power goal tracker. I am a nerd and love computers but learned that I do better writing that kind of stuff down.
Networking in Discord chat groups like P.A.L. by the @minnowsupport project and @thewritersblock. It is because of these groups that I am as far along as I am even though I only began to take Steemit seriously back in September of 2017. It is because I joined P.A.L that I met @heymattsokol and in turn was invited to join @sndbox.
Thanks for the shout out and linking my post! Happy to meet you and if you ever need anything please feel free to ask me. I am most reachable on Discord (username: jrswab#3134).
Hard work always pays off in the long run and real growth never happens over night.
<3
J. R.
Hi J.R.,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! I really appreciate it. That was my gut feeling re: bid bots too, especially given the controversy surrounding them. In my time in marketing I've always found it better to grow organically by the same processes you mentioned: finding a sweet spot, planning in advance and providing real value. Glad to know you've found success through the same channels.
Thanks again for your answer. Have a great weekend!
anytime! see you around steemit
Hello and welcome to steemit!
You are doing really great, it took me for ever to find out proper formatting :) I am sure you will have much success in steemit and I am following you :)
I see you have many responses, so I will just let you know of a tool I discovered a few days ago steem.rocks
What it does, is that on real time, it informs me of who follows me, who mentions me, who replies to my posts.
Steemnow is another great tool, but it does not show you new followers or mentions. I use it in combination with the first.
I also found out the http://steemit.serviceuptime.net/check_resteem.php where you see in a very neat way who has resteemed your posts :)
There are no real stats (such as facebook, twitter, instagram business profiles) but you have to create your own, in the way most suitable for you!
In steem.rocks you can also see potential rewards, to be honest I do not check it but if surely will be helpful for many. Many of my friends use also steem.supply for it and you can use steemstats.com for very detailed information.
So, recap:
I hope it is helpful, steem on! :)
@katerinaramm
Great list of sites! Thanks! Following
I was just thinking about your question when i found this blog. Here is my take on bid bots, if you had a chance to bid whatever amount you made to make more, would you? Your friends vote for you and a few others, why not share a little extra love on their page by using the bidbots? that is my thought process.
Steemnow.com and google doc.
joining the MSP/ PAL discord, you can too click HERE
Ahhh hello my friend!! Feel you on Google Docs, wouldn't survive without them. I am in MSP now, or at least I have the tab open -- which channel do you normally hang out in?
Hey Lex!
Ahhhhh, I was also going to write a long thingamigo answering all your questions, but then I scrolled down the comments and saw that everyone had done a fantastic job.
I would recommend that you pop over to my page for the post 'What's new pussycat' to get the low down on getting a big @curie upvote. Your content is so good already, there's just a couple of little things to clean up... I want to submit you for @curie before the other curators find you!
Thanks!
Ahhh, thank you @aussieninja! I will run over to that post right now! Thanks for letting me know :)
Hi Lexi! I found you on brandonfrye's post from today, your comment was pretty much along the lines of what I was curious about, too, i.e. about re-investing and steem power. Anyway - this post is AWESOME, and the replies from other folks are really helpful, so I wanted to say thanks. I am totally going to follow you. I am new as well, just barely 4 days now, and finding my way in the world of steem. The whole thing about voting bots was so crazy when I was learning about that yesterday. Thanks again, see you around :)
Hi @mamatalks! I'm new here too, so I totally feel you. I think we're best to stay away from all of that and focus on producing the best content we possibly can. Looking forward to seeing what you come out with! :)
Based solely on reading your blog, even before I got done reading this post, let alone the comments, I was going to politely suggest that you stay far away from the bots.
And it’s not because I have anything against botanical or that anyone necessarily should have anything against bots. If those means match of with their ends, then who am I to try to definite how they choose to make meaning in their lives?
It does, however, seem like your goals are very much decoupled from a pure pursuit of wealth or fame.
The vibe I’m getting is that you want your writing to resonate with real live human beings, with an emphasis on quality rather than quantity.
Not that quantity is bad. There’s a very important place for people who pump out what I think is “lower caliber” content, because, hey, one person’s trash is another person’s treasures and it’s veru possible that what I see as “low caliber” is just me being an unadulterated snob.
Yet, assuming I’m not wholly a snobby priss, I can say that from where I sitting, because your writing is aiming at people’s hearts and heads instead of their wallets, publishing quality content (like this post of yours here!) would seem the be what will add the most value to your life.
And eventually, since you already have the talent and motivation, staying true to your values and priorities will likely end up getting you a significant readership and the remuneration that comes along with it.
So it’s a pleasure to “internet meet you!” I’m looking forward to reading more of your work!
Thank you so much @ilt-yodith! Such high praise. It's lovely to e-meet you too! :)
You're right that my goals here on Steemit are not monetarily driven. I won't say it isn't a factor, but ultimately I do make a living from home already and will be alright. What I'm more interested in is growing a true audience, making friends and finding likeminded people who care about the web as much as I do. In that respect, I don't think I'll need bots at all. :)
nope
you don't...not possible
money
I think you are right, @everittdmickey!
trust me.
I'm a(retired) trucker
truckers know everything...if you don't think so just ask one.
Hahaha I believe you! What is the most interesting place you've been to on the road?
Utapaeo Thailand ...watching a tiger jump over my trailer..that was loaded with bombs..
Omg! I would love to read that story.
I too make a spreadaheet to keep track of my stuffs including cryptocurrency investment, I suppose you are on the right track of it.
Steemit crashed my old impression on social sites and it just made me quit FB without much effort.
It needs to stay focus & should not allow JUNK things in steemit ,which needs to be filter.to make steemit clean.
This is a interesting post for newbies and good to read - Good questions
My word, child, I am proud of you. Your writing has just blossomed. Beautiful, bear, just like you. Congrats on your Steemit takeoff. I knew you would love it here!! I love having you here! Muahs <3 Mom xo
@prettydecent this spreahsheet is helpful for tracking crypto investments. @lukestokes originally shared it: https://blog.coinfabrik.com/live-updated-cryptocurrency-investment-tracking-spreadsheet/
The whole bid bot thing has its pros and cons, I suppose like everything else. May be a necessary evil for now, but in the long run may not be needed.
Finding your niche is key on steemit. I found mine with the trading and crypto analysis that I do on my main account @scaredycatguide
Bidbots - The are a decent way to gain visibility to your work. Use them for good posts with good content and most will not care. Just be sure that you are still working on building an Audience. (Just one point of view, there are many)
Best of luck and welcome!
Thank you, @whatsup! Good to hear your opinion. I haven't seen OneNote -- I'll check it out!
I learn a lot of information because I'm new. Thanks @prettydecent :)
Bid bots are not necessary or even helpful for long-term growth. They are very often not even helpful in the short term. As they got more popular, their profitability dropped into the negative range.
Bid bots are losing proposition for vote buyers.
Only i can help you