I just wanted to say a special thanks for everyone since I've now hit over 1,000 followers! The support means everything and I grow all the time with this community. This is one of the only places I know where I get to actively see content and engage with people from around the world. Normally we are filtered to our region(s), so this is especially special.
I've got many goals still for Steemit, but overall I just wanted to share some information about what I've learned in my time here on Steemit since July 2017 so that hopefully you all can improve as well.
1. Don't give up!
This site is just like any other blog site and it takes persistence and dedication to really make things happen. Your goals will be achieved like mine was of hitting 1,000 followers. The rewards do come, even though super slow in the beginning. Keep it up and stay positive. I can tell you from experience that hard work and perseverance does pay off (and I'm not even that successful on this site yet).
2. The power of thoughts in content
I see constantly that people just share a photo or a news article. Although this is nice and I know a picture is worth 1,000 words, it's always nice to have some additional feedback and explanations or opinions with your posts. I've posted updates and shared articles, but I always try to include some background, additional info, or an opinion to go with it instead of just being like "hey read this post someone else wrote". That doesn't do much to generate curation rewards and people can visit those sites independently if they just want basic info. So again, try to always include details. I think this is also true with photos and art. Your picture is awesome and on other social media sites it'd get a like. However, we only get so much "voting power" here on Steemit, so please share some additional exciting details about it to show your followers you are trying and putting effort into your posts for them.
3. Reinvest your rewards!
I convert all of my SBD's (Steem Backed Dollars) into STEEM and then power up to SP. By doing this, I hope to help my longer term goals. This site is a longer term thing for me. In addition, it's also a free roll since you can make money without needing to invest anything (even though you can, of course). I'm not looking at my posts and seeing how much I can profit tomorrow. I'm holding on to them knowing that STEEM is going to keep improving and going up in value. In addition it makes the rewards for other people better, to include my followers. I've witnessed how when STEEM goes up, curation rewards go up, so keep up the faith people and keep reinvesting your rewards unless you truly need them (keep in mind SP takes a long time to power down as well).
4. Don't beg or tell people what to do
I feel like this one should be obvious, but isn't. Don't tell someone to visit your post and upvote you. That's not how this site works. Your goal is to interact with people. They will also interact with you. We all want curation rewards, but we also wanted to be treated like human beings. It never works for me when someone tells me to visit their post. I don't ever do that to anyone else (unless it's something I'm referencing in another post/comment). This idea also brings me right into my next idea...
5. Don't be afraid of interacting with people
Interactions are how this site works. I enjoy interacting with everyone and always do my best to get back to comments and/or replies. We try to learn and improve from one another. By doing this, you will also extend your outreach to people on this site so everyone's networks can grow.
Thank you once again!
Thank you all once again!!! It's a great feeling knowing I hit this milestone and I could't have done it without everyone's support. It is my goal to keep providing great content to you all, so I hope I'm successful in some ways. Stay positive, and Steem on!!!! Cheers