(Header image: some of the artwork I shared on Steemit for the past one month)

Today marks my first month anniversary on Steemit. I have learned many new things on this platform and I truly enjoy blogging and sharing my art with the community here. For my one-month anniversary post I would love to share 10 tips that I use and I hope they can benefit other newbies too.

Tip #1: original content

This is a big thing. Admit it, we are here to make money. Steemit offers a great opportunity for everyone especially those from the third world to earn extra income. But do please follow the rules. Do not plagiarize a.k.a copying-and-pasting articles you found on the Internet and pass them off as yours. That's thieving. Recently I flagged a guy who were posting articles he lifted off from some news website. He didn't even bother to edit them. So his articles contained odd phrases like 'source image: Getty images', words from advertisement - things that didn't make sense. How lazy could he get? Last I checked his reputation score had been reduced to 5. Bet I wasn't the only one who flagged him. If your English is poor, try to write using simple sentences or you can write your posts in your native language. My English is horrible so I use simple sentences all the time.

Tip #2: do not fish for votes

Do not comment on someone else's post with things like "upvote for upvote", "follow for follow". That is a bad strategy. Nothing turns me off more than someone who visited my posts with sole intention to rope me in their spamming strategy.

Tip #3: always reply to comments

It's rude not to. I can understand if you received hundreds of comments and can't reply to everyone. But if you are a newbie, please reply to comments made on your posts. You want to build a good reputation here. When you are not replying, your silence is an indication that you are not interested to interact (some people might think you are a snob) and that is one best ways to lose followers.

Tip #4: utilize your header image

A clear and attractive header image attracts visitors. Use images with 'landscape orientation' rather than 'portrait orientation', Why? Well if you decided to promote your post on Facebook, image with landscape orientation appears more attractive on Facebook. See my examples below. Which one looks better? By the way if you don't have suitable photos for your posts you can use public domain images from pixabay.com. And don't use random images you found on Google. Most likely you will infringe on someone's copyright.

header image1.png

header image2.png

Tip #5: update your profile

Upload a profile picture and give a brief information about yourself. Why is this important? Look at this example:

When I clicked on Kalemandra's name, a box appeared. It has her profile picture, a button to give her a follow and a brief description about her. Now this simple information gives me an idea about someone without actually going to their page to see their stuff. She stated that she is into drawing and painting. Since I have the same interest this attracts me to visit her page and see what she has to offer. Now if she doesn't have all this information would I feel motivated to visit her page? Of course not. You can lose potential followers if you do not update your profile.

Tip #6: visit your voters

Visit your voters' pages, read their posts and if you have something to say leave some comments on their posts or give them an upvote (or resteem or follow). And most importantly say thank you to them for voting on one of your posts. This tip is originally from Hive account@walkingkeys . Please give him a follow. He has some amazing tips for newbies.

Tip #7: don't just follow the top guns

I understand the lure of following the whales. But don't limit yourself to just following the old timers. I follow a lot of minnows/newbies because I genuinely want to support them. This way we can grow together in this platform.

Tip #8: list some of your recent posts at the bottom of your newest post

No matter how awesome your posts are, if no eyeballs see them, they are useless. Promote your older posts, preferably those that are less than one week old, in your newest post. Who knows your older posts might benefited someone who is yet to discover them. And of course, you can even earn some upvotes too.

Tip #9: find your tribe

Blogging in Steemit is more enjoyable if you interact with people who shares your passion and interest. I am not saying that those with different interests is not worthy to follow. What I mean is that you will feel more motivated to blog and you naturally find it easier to interact. Use the tags section to find people with similar interest. Another good way to find your tribe is to participate in challenges - it could be anything; photography, baking, cooking, gardening, drawing. I have been participating in art challenges and through those contests I discovered new artists to follow. (And of course winning is optional but being awarded some SBD is a great bonus).

Tip #10: create a strategy

If you want to grow in Steemit you must have a strategy in place. Those top earning whales worked hard to get where they are now. They wrote post after post, they interacted regularly with the community. Their success is not a random luck from thin air. I created a simple strategy for myself to help me focus on my goal and this is my 'to-do' list on daily basis. It doesn't have to be elaborate.