Yes I had a steemit flag made to celebrate this milestone that I reached today!
From 90 to 1000 followers
How did I do it? Well, for starters I tried to keep putting my work out there. And I engaged with people on the platform by going to their profiles and reading their posts and commenting on them. I searched out content that I felt brought quality to the platform and content that was related to my interests. I started engaging with people in these areas, and many others, and building relationships. I also worked on leaving comments that would add quality to the platform and that were relevant.
I’m not going to lie it wasn’t easy. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last 11 weeks on Steemit. And luckily I’m in a line of work where I was able to make the time for that (I breed Labrador dogs). There were definitely times when I got discouraged and it took perseverance to keep going, to keep engaging on the platform and producing content that was important to me. And a lot of the time when I started getting discouraged I would read posts that inspired me.
Starting out
My journey on steemit started in July, 2016. A friend of mine at the time would not stop going on about cryptocurrency. And I actually learnt most of what I know on the subject from him. But then I heard about steemit through the crypto grapevine and this friend didn’t really know much about it. So I signed up and decided to see what it was all about.
To say the least, I didn’t become very active on the platform right away. Writing had been a passion of mine since I was a kid, and I excelled at it in school, and even travelled all the way to L.A. in my early 20s to intern in writing at a studio. But there was a lot that I didn’t understand about steemit, and I didn’t really know what I was doing yet as a blogger. Shortly after this I took some time to figure out how to go about blogging about the things that were important to me.
Health research and how to get it out there
I had previously spent the last several years researching food ingredients, GMOs, agribusiness and the food industry, and I wanted to figure out the best way to get that information out there through blogging and the internet. After a few months, I realized that one of the best ways to encourage others to eat healthy and find out about their health was to provide easy recipes that they could actually use to do this.
When I became really active on the platform
Then in May, 2017, I came back onto the platform, and started posting this content and really engaging on the platform. I had 90 followers at the time on May 23rd.
Now, eleven weeks later, I’ve reached the 1000 followers mark! I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of my followers. I’ve been really surprised by the incredible support and encouragement on this platform. And it has really helped me to grow as a blogger and as a person.
The things I’ve learnt on steemit
I have learnt what a long-term investment in the platform really means, aside from financial matters.
What I've learnt makes a long-term investment on steemit is building meaningful positive relationships with others and engaging on the platform. That’s not to say that quality content isn’t important, it’s the backbone of this whole operation. But in addition to that I think that one of the key elements for long-term success is taking the time out of our day to support others work, and go out and find quality content, and engage with other users on the platform. Because quality content can't survive without these actions. And by supporting each other in this manner we ensure the long-term success of Steemit.
There are no shortcuts
Another thing that I have learnt throughout this process is that it’s not worth doing anything half-heartedly. I’ve learnt that if I want to do something, it will be the most rewarding and the most fun if I strive for professionalism in it, no matter what it is.
So over the last few months, I’ve been actively working on improving my skills in creating content. I've found ways to improve the formatting of my blog, I've learnt more about how to use a camera and photoshop. I've worked on my writing skills, and I've learnt from the examples of so many of the amazing bloggers on Steemit. Some of the people who really helped me in these ways were 
And even though it was a lot of work, I had a blast doing it, and I got a lot out of it. And I don’t think there’s very much in life worth achieving that can be done without rolling up your sleeves and putting in the hard work for it. I think generally quick fixes don’t really work, and I don’t believe in shortcuts.
What to expect
I will continue to share my recipes for guilt-free sweet treats and other healthy foods. And these will include research on the health benefits of the ingredients I've used. I will also be blogging about my travels, healthy restaurant reviews, and my venture as a dog breeder, and the dogs that I’ve raised.
Curating as well as producing my own content
I've noticed when I haven't posted any new content in a few days some of you have asked where I’ve gone. And the answer is that I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m just on the platform curating and engaging with others on the platform by checking out their content. And I find that task equally as important as creating my own content, so my time will be divided between those two activities.
I’m really glad to be able to say that I’m a member of this community
It’s been a real gift and a surprise to find that there are so many like-minded people on this platform that I have built relationships with and whose opinions I really value.
And I think I’m honestly a changed person after becoming active in this community. I’ve learnt so much from reading others posts about all aspects of life. And the ones I’ve been really blown away by are those about social change and health. And I have to say I was not expecting to find so many people with incredible ideas in these areas who are making a difference by getting the information out there.
So THANK YOU! I can’t say that enough! I’m so happy to be here, and I look forward to one hell of a ride to come!
Much Love,
Natasha