Introduction
I have recently been working on building out Steemithelp.net and the various resources available to new users.
As part of the process I have been asking for suggestions as to what further resources I could provide to help new users.
Yesterday @sykochica suggested to me that it would be useful to have some sort of resource on how new users might go about getting attention for their posts and building up a following.
I agree that this may be something that new users may find hard to do particularly since they are likely to be unfamiliar with the resources at hand and they may simultaneously be being asked to deal with concepts and develop skills that they have not previously used to any significant degree.
Just to be clear I'm no expert on this subject. For all I know I have been extremely lucky and just been in the right place at the right time.
Any kind of success will almost inevitably involve some degree of luck and timing.
I will however try to share what I have learned in the last few months with the hope that it will help others. It is by no means comprehensive in any way and I would be grateful for the insights of others in relation to this.
This is by necessity a long post. I have provided lists and summaries where I can to make it easier to follow. I have also used sub-headings to make it easier to skip to the parts that you are interested in.
Attention vs Following
Getting attention for your posts and having a following are two aspects of the same issue and they both reinforce each other.
Looking at this as a problem that needs to be solved we can break it down into 2 parts:
- Post related factors - i.e. the content and presentation of the post.
- Promotional factors. - i.e. how you promote the post and your blog.
Part 1 - Post Related Factors
Most of this is fairly obvious. I am not a professional writer and there are many people in the community who are much better qualified on detailing what constitutes "good writing".
I will therefore only be dealing with the most basic points:
- Topic - is there an audience?
- Tags - are they appropriate and optimal?
- Content - is it any good?
- Formatting - can people read it easily?
- Images - is there visual interest beyond just text?
- Verification/References - is it your work, did you give credit?
- Timing - is your audience active when you post?
- Persistence - keep at it, few people get noticed right away.
Topics
If you post on topics that don't interest people or have low visibility on the site then it may make your post less likely to be noticed particularly if you don't have many followers.
You can get an idea of topics which are popular by going to the trending page and noticing the list of tags on the right hand side of the page - these are the popular topics.
Note this is a double edged sword - if you post purely in the popular topics then you will actually have a lot of competition so your post may be seen but it may actually be less likely to be read.
It could be argued that a better strategy might be to look for gaps that are not being covered and slowly build up your audience there.
My personal strategy is to just post on topics that interest me. I think if you post on something you aren't interested in or don't care about then the quality of your posts will suffer.
I talk about the subjects that I like and that I am interested in. Some topics are inevitably more popular than others and get different levels of activity. Personally I don't worry about that.
Further I think that as time goes on and more people join Steemit there will be a sufficient enough audience for every niche to make this less relevant.
Titles also seem to make a difference in my experience. If the title is not engaging then it is less likely to attract new people.
Tags
I've included tags here as that is essentially part of your "topic". Do not tag "spam" that will result in negative attention and could potentially kill your reputation.
Having said that you can use tags intelligently. For example if you are doing a car post, then you might find that "cars" is a more popular tag than "automotive" - in that case it would make more sense to prioritise "cars" as a tag and only use "automotive" if you have an unfilled tag.
Content
When it comes to content I think it is a very subjective matter. Some people like shorter posts which are straight and to the point. Others like longer and more in depth posts.
There is no single correct way to do it.
Like I said I am not a professional writer and there are people who can advise you on this much better than I can.
If I like what I have written then my hope is always that there will be others who feel the same.
Formatting
The internet is a very visual medium. Posts that are visually attractive and easy to read will do better than those that aren't.
A solid wall of text is about as easy to read as a pile of shredded paper.
That means using good formatting practices to break up the text. You could make a post that is an absolute masterpiece but if it is badly formatted people will move on to something that is less work for them to read.
Use paragraphs, headings, and spaces.
Also learn how to use Markdown - it will greatly speed up your composition and make formatting easier too.
Images
It is very rare to see posts without images doing well on Steemit. Think of it like a race for attention. An image can grab your attention a lot more quickly than a paragraph of text.
Images are not only a means of grabbing attention though. They are another way of conveying meaning and increasing the power of your words - they enhance what is already there. They can also help to break up the text.
Personally I use a stock image site (Thinkstock) as it saves me a lot of time and the photos tend to be of a high quality - this is not cheap though and most people would not be able to justify the cost.
There are free alternatives check out this fantastic post by @mindover for a list.
There is also the Steemit4free tag on Steemit itself where you can find images that I and others have posted which are for free use.
If you are confused about how to add images to your posts check out the "posting" section of my Quick Start Guide here.
Verification & References
Make sure you reference where you got your images from. This also applies to text or any other type of media you may have obtained from elsewhere.
Note that cutting and pasting entire articles or simply posting other people's images on their own is likely to get you flagged.
It is fine to post your own images although it is usually expected that posters provide some verifcation.
This could be as simple as a link to a previous verification post (either on Steemit, other social media or your website).
For a good primer on verification, why, how etc please read this post by @reneenouveau which covers the important details.
Timing Matters
Steemit is still relatively small and if you want to get attention to your post then the timing does seem to make a difference.
For example if you are making a post in Chinese or about Chinese matters it makes sense to post during hours when most Chinese users are likely to be awake.
That is obviously an extreme circumstance but it does make sense that certain issues have more appeal to certain geographic locations and you want to post when those users are most active.
Again as the user base, distribution of SP and number of time zones involved increases this will become less of an issue but it is unlikely to disappear completely.
Further you may also be interested in the temporal activity distribution of accounts with higher SP who might be able to push you higher on the trending page.
Personally I am not sure if this makes a huge difference but I would suggest reading this post by @arcange or this by @markrmorrisjr for more information.
Persistence
This is really important. Few people will get noticed right away unless they have amazing luck or have good connections.
The more persistent you are the more likely it is your work will get seen. It is a matter of probability. That is not an excuse to put out high volumes of junk posts though. That will not help you at all.
If you keep putting out good work of a consistent quality AND on a regular basis you will eventually gather more and more followers.
Right now we are still in the early days of Steemit so any work you put in now will be a lot more effective than if you start when we have a million users or even a billion.
Part 2 - Promotional Factors
These can be broken down into 2 subtypes
- General Networking - talking, commenting, making friends.
- Post Sharing - on other media and websites.
General Networking
This can include anything from commenting on posts to actually meeting people in real life or chatting in other venues.
I am not going to cover every possibility but the more you do to connect with people on a human level the more likely it is that they will follow you and be interested in your work.
It is simple human nature.
Some possible ways to do this are:
- Commenting on posts and answering your comments.
- Helping out other users/new users
- Sharing and promoting the work of other people.
- Getting involved in community initiatives.
Commenting
Commenting is quite possibly one of the most effective ways of building relationships with other users as it happens on Steemit itself.
I often find one of the most rewarding parts of making posts is reading the great comments people make and I am sure I am not alone in this. I also make sure to put aside sufficient time in thanking people for their comments. It shows people that you do actually care and listen to what they are saying.
If I come across someone that never responds to their comments then I rarely go back to their posts no matter how good they are - it negates the point of a social platform like Steemit.
It should be noted that commenting counts as "activity" on your post and will raise it's profile within the "active" posts channel on Steemit. This is a deliberate measure to encourage social engagement on the site so don't neglect it.
Helping Others
Another equally important thing is to help out other users, particularly those who are new and are not necessarily in a position to be able to help themselves. Take a look at this fantastic post by @whatsup on the subject.
Promoting Other People's Work
This could also be considered as part of helping others. It also helps by giving more visibility to good content which benefits us all as a community and a platform. It also makes it more likely that others will copy your example and they just might do the same with your work too.
Community Initiatives
There are a number of community initiatives that are designed to reward good quality content.
The most famous of these is Project Curie - which you can read about here. You can help out these groups by notifying them of good content that you find (make sure it follows their criteria).
Post Sharing
Some examples of places where you can share your posts are:
- Other Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc
- Rocket Chat
- Discord
- Other websites (e.g. your own)
Facebook and Twitter
You can share to Facebook and Twitter directly from the footer of any post. There has been recent talk of "shadow blocking" a process by which Facebook in particular may be reducing the visibility of posts from Steemit.
One proposed workaround to this is to use a URL- shortener such as Bitly. As to whether this actually works it is hard to know without actually knowing exactly how Facebook reduce the visibility of Steemit related posts. It is quite easy to do though and takes very little time so there is not really any disadvantage.
Indeed one added advantage of using Bitly is that it can track some of the basic metrics of people clicking on your links.
This is useful for tracking engagement and the potential effectiveness of your sharing policies.
Facebook Groups
There are various Facebook groups where you can share posts. Here are the ones I know of:
- We Love Steemit.
- Team Steemit.
- Steemitnow.
- Steemit.
- Steemit 101 - for tutorials and FAQs only.
Finally you can also share posts on the official Steemit page.
Rocket Chat - link here
This is the original place for sharing links from Steemit. There was originally only one channel for sharing posts but this has multiplied into a vast array which is constantly changing.
Rather than listing every potential channel here I would suggest you take a look for yourself by using the search function.
Remember to always read the group rules before posting or you will likely get muted.
Discord - (get the app here)
This is relatively new for me and seems to be popular with certain users.
Discord allows discussion and sharing of content much like Rocket Chat but it also allows voice chat.
There are a number of channels that I am aware of that you can use:
- The Steem Pub - here is a link to a post @beanz that discusses this.
- The Steem Venue - same link as above discusses this too.
- The Digital Lair Network - link to a post on it by @noganoo.
- SteemSpeak - here is a link to a post by @steemspeak discussing it.
Other websites
I can't possibly list all the websites you could share your content on. Let me know which places you have found most effective.
Conclusion
As I stated this is by no means an exhaustive list.
I am just sharing my thoughts and I really need the help of all of you as the community to fill in the gaps.
What methods have you found useful for getting noticed and increasing engagement with your posts?
Please let me know in the comments.
Once I have a final list of everyone's suggestions I will create an ammended version of this post to put up on the Steemithelp.net website.
Your Reward for Reading:)
If you like my work and aren't already, please follow me and check out my blog (I mainly discuss photography but I do other topics too) - @thecryptofiend
Photo Credits: All photos are personal screenshots or taken from my personal Thinkstock Photography account. More information can be provided on request.
(Verification for me here: http://www.aapicture.com/about-me)
Some of my other recent posts
- The Other Side of the Coin - Dealing with the Onboarding Issue and Some Ways of Helping
- Get Paid Not Pwned - the Power of Slogans.
- Steemit X Prize Results
- Steemit Quick Start Guide: Step by Step from Registration to First Post
Great and informative post. Useful for a newbie like myself. Also, being a cat person, I love the kitten pictures :)
Superhelpful.. thanks
You're welcome:)
If you have time n interest in mythology... Would u b kind enough n read upvote(only if u like) my take on life after death...
https://steemit.com/life/@bsameep/what-happens-when-we-die-heaven-hell-or-back-to-earth
Great Post
Thank you for the huge amount of effort put in this, The kittens sold it for me, I would like twice if I could!
You're welcome. Unfortunately I made an error on one of the HTML tags which centered all the text and I can't change it now. Thank you for your kind words.
Actually looks quite good on my phone. Thanks for the great informative and helpful post!
You're welcome!
Lol i agree. I’m viewing on my phone as well and the photos, as well as the use of bold/italics make it very visually appealing 😉
Estoy comenzando en la comunidad, encontrar este tipo de publicaciones es muy grato, ya que te ayuda muchissimo. Gracias por crearlo, Good Night
Your welcome:)
Hi thecryptofiend
I am thankful for the time and effort with which u had to come up with ( a beginners' guide like) this. Indeed it is at the very least informative, eye-opening and instructive. While I look forward to a great experience here at Steemit, I must say it would do me great pleasure to be one of your prodigies. That's if you would oblige me. Gracias
Unfortunately I am so busy right now I don't have time for that. @sykochica used to have the steemprentice group in the chat - I'm not sure if that is still going or not but you might want to ask if it is.
The Steemprentice group kind of fizzled out a while back. However, I did just put this post up today where I'm donating some time to give one on one help to users. @eonwachukwu
Was there anything in particular you were looking for or hoping to do/achieve? Trying to help new or struggling people has been something I've been trying to keep focused on for a while here on Steemit.
Feel free to direct message me in steemit.chat or discord (im sykochica in both of those) if you prefer it instead of a public comment. :)
Welcome to Steemit! :D
Thank you for all the information that you put together. It is very helpful for me a newbie at Steemit. I will come back and review several more times. It also makes me more comfortable knowing that information is there for the people I will bring here to this platform. This took lots of time and energy and effort. I appreciate it.
Thank you:)
Thanks so much for putting this together. Really shortened my learning curve!
great post
Thank you.
Thank you for your time and information. It is much appreciated.
this is a very educative post. Weldone bro
As a brand new user as of July 1 2017 I found your post very helpful :) And I will be referencing it again in the future.
Great article and thank you, am at the beginnings of my adventure here... lots to learn. I will be bookmrking and returning to this.
Muchas gracias, me ayudado muchisimo, felicidades.
Am a seed to steemit , i found your very helpful to a beginner like me . Thanks
Hi thecryptofiend,
Thanks for taking out your time. Very informative for newbies like me.
Definitely looking forward to experience Steem community.
You're welcome. Steemithelp.net has some more up to date info.
Great information, will come back to this, have just introduced myself today, next up is putting up a post, but first more learning. Thank you
You're welcome!
Great post, detailed and specific. Very informative to beginners such as myself for learning and understanding this process. Looking forward to my time here.
Great post for a newbie like me! Thank you for gathering the info for all the newbies.
WOW! Thanks for all this info. I just got approved and have spending a few hours , could be read days, trying to find the best approach to making this work for me. I am really quite illiterate when it comes to networking and related things. I have bookmarked this page and am sure I will be returning often with the next few weeks to gain more insights. Your articles have given me some good ideas for the introduce myself page which I hope to be putting together shortly and some future post that I hope other will also find interesting Thanks again! Have a great day!
super helpful thanks upvoted
Thanks glad you liked it.
Nice article!
Very helpful to a lay man like me. Appreciate your time and enthusiasm to help the steemit community <3
Very helpful article and easy to understand. Thank you!! I wished there was a way of saving it so that I can reference it again. I tried to resteem but cant.
I didn't realise it was not possible to resteem - you could bookmark it though.
nice share, highly informative
You're welcome:)
nice one
Wow! thank you for the great information, I just joined today and I'm quite overwhelmed with this platform. Nevertheless, great post and thank you for taking the time to create it for every one :)
Damien
Very helpful! I feel like I've been in the steem community for long with the exposure you've given me! Thank you
You're welcome!
Being a new user on this platform can make anyone feel apprehensive at first. Coming back here for reference. Thank you for this post! c:
You're welcome!
Hi thecryptofiend,
Thanks a lot for your entry-level articles! As for a total beginner who just logged in here today, it gives me very nice overall picture what can I expect from this community and obviously also how I should behave and react. I am really excited to discover Steemit community and hope that most people stick to these nice rules and guidelines, because they will make the entire content enjoyable a lot!
Welcome. I think most people do - there are no strict rules as such and some people will be dicks but the vast majority won't. All the best:)
QUite nice post. As a newcomer thanks a lot for the tips :)
This is my first day learning about Steemit. That was very informative. It must have taken a long time to create. Thank you for your work.
You're welcome. There is more up to date info that is broken down into smaller sections on Steemithelp.net
Thank you for the referral to the update.
I really appreciate the information you provided, thanks. I'll definitely read it again.
Thank you. I have literally joined steemit today, and being older, and retired, I found your post well set out, easy to understand, and confidence building.
Welcome and glad it is useful.
Nice article
Thanks.
Thanks!
Thank you for this great post. The information is of course most needed for newbies, but I also really enjoyed your layout which is clear and easy to read and a great example of how we can edit posts to be appealing to the eye. My first post is still in word being amended so I will probably need to read your Markdown post again when it's ready to be published!
All your photos are also great and I agree that breaking up text with some relevant images does make a huge difference.
I've read a couple of your posts for helping newbies now and I like your caring attitude and desire to help. I have to say I'm confused about this witness and voting or upvoting for whales or support, but I'm sure I'll find some more about this somewhere.
Is there a way to 'save' posts that we want to read again? If we Resteem them does that make them easier for us to find them, or do we need to bookmark them?
Thanks again for great posts and desire to help! :)
Thanks for your kind words.
You could resteem them but after a while they will start to get lost in your main blog page. Right now bookmarking is probably the best way.
Thanks for your reply, I will bookmark posts that I'll want to refer back to.
I've only voted so far and not Resteemed yet.
So the purpose of Resteeming is to share with others so it is seen more and the author can get more votes? Who is going to see it when you Resteem, just those following you? So if you're new and don't have many followers then a Resteem isn't going to be seen much.
Yes exactly only your followers (and you) see it so it is not worth it unless you have a decent number of followers.
Thanks for your reply.
Ok! Thanks for the informantion. But again i want to ask, is there any benefit atall attached for the resteemer?
Brilliant:)
HA HA HA!
Very good :D
hahaha
I think persistence is the number one method to succeed.
It is frustrating and even insulting when your posts get no attention whatsoever. I experienced it, and I know how it feels. I wanted to give up. But something inside me kept driving me on, and now I am gaining an audience and getting results. I would strongly encourage any newcomer to
BE PERSISTENT!! DON'T GIVE UP!
Exactly. I think for me I had several times where I thought about giving up. Thank you for sharing your experience:)
It seems to be the case. I was encouraged to do a lengthier food article after being upvoted on my previous writings. I prepared a meal with photographs taken all the way through, and wrote a recipe and instructions to make it. It's reasonable to say I put much more effort into making it than in my previous posts (combined). And suddenly it got almost no votes at all. It is frustrating to say the least.
Not sure but it does seem to take the fun out of it. I think I need to re-assess what and how I'm going to write here in the future.
I would say just write about anything you are passionate about. Pour your heart into it and be genuine. Eventually you will gain more followers and score more votes.
I felt the same way but I've got so much content (in my head as well as tangible) I simply cant let this early apathy hold me back or discouraging me.
Keep Steeming! Your level of success here will be a direct result of your efforts.
I"m glad you were persistent in replying to my posts, @countryinspired. It took a few times before I finally looked at your page and followed you. I'm glad I did, but it was your persistence that made it happen.
And I appreciate you, and your posts as well!
I always like finding new users to follow, but doing so makes it harder to read all the good posts in my feed. If I don't upvote everyone's post, it isn't because I didn't like it. I just can't read all of them.
I am so with you there! I know I miss good posts. At least I try to reply to all the comments I get. But I can't keep up with all the posts.
It's unfortunate, because there are a lot of good posts that I would enjoy reading, if only I had the time!
So much to read, so little time! Steem on!
I hope you're right! I'm getting a bit discouraged trying to understand it.
Could have used this when I first started. Very detailed plus easy to read. :)
Thanks. Glad you like it:)
If you are new to Steemit and have not been given the important tip to follow @cryptofiend and you are not looking at Steemit 24/7, w ....
Lol. Thanks mate you are too kind:)
Great post! I'm new to Steemit, and still figuring out which tags work best. In recent weeks I started the 'dispatches' tag, since that's the name of a weekly newsletter where I recommend great writing and podcasts. So I guess I'm at the beginning of a long-term process to see whether that particular tag will develop its own following here.
I think it is certainly possible. Send me a link in the chat when you post and I will take a look. In the UK there is a investigative show called Dispatches.
Thanks, here's the latest one, posted about 12 hours ago: https://steemit.com/dispatches/@andrewmcmillen/dispatches-133-synthetic-nervescapes-fire-starters-and-mute-bones
I'm aware of the UK investigative show, but I was inspired by the Michael Herr book of the same name: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4339.Dispatches
Cool thanks for sharing:)
Hello @thecryptofiend you are awesome as usual ;-)
As someone who is still new, I'd suggest NOT whale hunting.
Don't go looking for the big hit straight off. Instead connect with other new people. Remember that over time you will be the 'old hands' and those people you befriended at the start will also be moving up in the ranks.
Look at finding yourself a niche. @pappa-pepper is very successful at this, just like you :-)
Be NICE! No-one want to hang out and follow someone who is miserable and negative.
But the most important thing all newbies need to do is go to my latest post and upvote the hell out of it!
hehe
Great points:) Whale hunting is bad - do what YOU love.
BTW Saw your new post - well done. I'm sure it is the first of many milestones - I have given it a resteem in to get it a bit more attention.
I saw that! I was just about to write you a big thank you note :-)
I also think I have figured out my niche for here, so keep an eye out for that. :-)
I was talking with @pappa-pepper about his baby rabbits and that prompted me to post some kids stories I wrote a few years ago so he could read them to his kids.
The next step is to write some stories about his rabbits so his kids can hear all about the adventures their own rabbits get up to.
I've done a bunch of this sort of writing int he past and it's always lots of fun.
That's a brilliant idea! I think as this community grows we will see more people finding their unique niches. I think it takes some time to really find what fits. Let me know when you start.
Thank you for taking the time to put all this together @thecryptofiend. It must have taken a while! I try to catch a couple of newbies a day - you have seen some of my posts about the platform. It is daunting!
Tags are a problem. Why would you invent a new tag to post into. You would be mad! There is no earthly reason for a third of the tags to be Steem related unless Steemers just want to talk Steem - unlikely. I posted the other day and received no suggestions because, I believe, that right now people post for votes and hope an auto-voter comes along at the right time so new/trending gets it and/or @curie which is doing a great job. You only have to look at the new/hot/trending/active lists to know that the algorithms are weird. Sorry to rant but it matters. See this, as you did ask for it: Steemit and lost in translation
Thank you again. Great to see someone else cares and DOES something about it
Thanks. Yes putting the information together does take a lot of work. I think with people using new tags it is a case of them not realising how to use them properly or that there is a way of seeing what is active.
Thanks for the link I will take a look.
I'm so new but I too found the listings a tad weird !!
Glad I'm not the only one .... thnx ebryans
Some of it is a bit daunting. May I just encourage you to persevere? Please reply to this or any other message if you feel at all lost. I shall assist if I can! I shall follow you and watch how you get on. One of the major keys to success is building a strong follower base.
Thank you so very much, thecryptofiend.
I've already typed up my initial posting but I haven't transferred it as a blog to Steemit yet as I want to get it right.
You've helped allay a number of worries I had.
Further, I am very much encouraged by the fact that although a beginner I have already figured out many of the suggestions you made, which boosted my confidence greatly, thank you again !!
Steemit just may answer a long-time dream of mine - as it has the potential to do for us all - well lots of us !!
I have had the altogether dubious privilege of working out 'The Answer' - to none other than 'life, the universe & everything' !!!!!
By which I mean that I have been able to come a rational/scientific understanding/explanation of it all ALONG WITH AN EASILY DOABLE SOLUTION !!!
REALLY !!!
No really.
This 'answer' , this 'understanding', this solution, although logistically easy - we could easily do it & save both ourselves & all the rest of Planet Earth - is counter -intuitive in the extreme.
Steemit seems to be about the only place one could post something like this - patently no recognized scientific journal would .........
Wish me well !!!!!!
Thank you, cryptofiend
What an intriguing comment. I'm looking forward to hearing more of what you say. I just joined today, and this is my first comment. Looking forward to following you.
Good luck. Let me know when you post- that sounds intriguing - I would like to see it:)
Must had this post to my bookmarks. Lot's of important info :) thanks for sharing it!
Thanks you are welcome. I will post the final version up on the Steemithelp website to in case you do lose track of this post.
Already read all the FAQ in Steemithelp! Very good job!
Thanks. Glad you found it useful:)
Excellent - I was wondering if there was a facility like Steemithelp website I will look it up.
Cool. I am still working on it but there are already a few articles up. Let me know if there is anything in particular you need on there.
I hope others - including the whales in particular - will appreciate the continued effort you have put into this and in helping newbies in general. Your posts helped me a lot after I signed up, and what you are doing now is going to benefit this community in a big way as we grow. New members of the community need this.
Resteemed, upvoted and shared.
Thank you so much my friend. You are too kind:)
This is a great article. Useful not only for new users but also for users like me who has yet to build a strong base of followers
Thanks. I'm glad it is useful:)
This post has been ranked within the top 10 most undervalued posts in the first half of Dec 01. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $26.56 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Dec 01 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Thanks.
Great job as usual, helping out the community and new content posters. You da man. A+
Thanks mate:)
nice subject
Thank you:)
Fantastic article, you explained things so clear and simply....I am new on here and I am trying to connect with people, but it will all be up to me to make a bigger effort not to stay invisible :)))
Thanks glad you like it.