I AM PISSED!..and frustrated.
None of MY Friends are on Steemit. Why not?!
I try to get my friends on steemit, to join in early and reap the rewards and it is SO SO HARD to convince them. Why do I even need to convince them to get in here? It's an amazing opportunity to put your skills to work and get instant rewards and appreciations.
WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
If you are one of those that got the steemit bug, you certainly wanted to share this find with your friends. I know that I need to talk about it all the time and always thinking who could contribute and make great content on here.
I reach out to people.
I talk about how revolutionary steemit is and how it could change everything. How you gets vests in the company and actively get to be part of its growth.
I talk to them about the amazing community, the feedback, the support.
I talk about money.
They listen, smile, agree it's cool.
And then they don't do anything.
They say "That's nice" and forget about it.
I am not one of those who made money [ most of my steem is powered up] and although i have cashed out a few euros, it's just not enough for them to be impressed with and "worth their time". I 'd argue this is wrong but time is money after all and choosing what to invest it in, it's a huge decision.
So far, my success rate is about 10%.
That's 1 person in 10 I tried to convince to make an account and contribute. If you are salesman you know 10% conversion rate is not bad. But it is lousy when you realize one thing.
I CAN NOT CONVINCE PEOPLE TO SIGN IN FOR FREE MONEY.
I'm not talking about mega posts, I'm talking the steem you receive at sign up, the future possibilities, the opportunity to sign in now and not in 8 months. And the price?
ZERO.
No personal information needed.
No e-mail sign-up.
Nothing.
A click and you are in a world of infinite potential.
They just don't do it. That's really bad news.
If I can't convince my friends, how could steemit convince the world?!
I wondered why is this happening, what am I doing wrong?
Here's what I came up with.
IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
The innocence died 20 years ago, no one believes anymore that making money over internet like that can be done. Blogging and getting paid is the stuff of talented people with thousands of followers and even then they need to sell ads. Please, don't take me for a fool. This runs deep and it's hard to overcome.
People just can't get themselves to believe this is possible. It's as hardwired as gravity!
I did try to emphasize the revolutionary model and that everything new seemed too good to be true at start. I am not sure this is the way to go about though because nobody offered money for your voice before, they just took. Overcoming this initial skepticism is key, I think.
WIIFY?
So what' exactly are you selling? What is in it for you?
Even good friends wonder what am I smoking. It's not exactly distrust but it sounds fishy and weird.
\They err on the side of cautious.
I DID THAT TOO. First heard about steemit from 
I AM FOREVER grateful for that. But I was just as stubborn as my friends.
Persistence, persistence, persistence.
I also want them to be here because it's FUN. And it will get even better with them around.
TOO HI-TECH.
Blockchain?! Witnesses?! Cryptocurrency?
Nobody understands it and nobody knows about it. Those who do are already here. It's futuristic and miraculous if you ask me, but most people are just overwhelmed and decide to just "pass".
I realized that this is something that needs to go at it backwards: lead with the rewards and let people get in. They'll learn about blockchain by themselves just like I did.
I knew nothing about it 4 weeks ago, now I have a pretty good basic understanding. Oh, I'm still a newbie and clueless on so much, but I can have an intelligent discussion about cryptocurrencies[ don't quiz me though! ]
[edit from comments]
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
People hate change, we despise new although we crave it in the same time. Why join a new social network? Why make a new account, a new password. We're already dawning in our infinite social media river.
I can totally get this, a lot of times I feel the same way:it's just too much. But steemit is worth it and being there before the most will pay dividends hopefully :)
OFF-PUTTING TENDING PAGE
I hive a friend who wanted to sign up but then she said the first page has nothing to do with her. Hot chicks and crypto talk...what can I bring, she wondered.
She's an wonderful artist but felt put off by the whole "vibe".
I told her that's just the tip of the iceberg but her refusal persisted.
This is something that I feel is getting better everyday. More better content coming out every day and creating a heterogenous trending page that can appeal to anyone. That's very good and this trend must continue . the #circlejerk is over..almost.
These are just a few of the obstacle I encountered and some of the solutions I came up with and will try to incorporate. We'll see how well this will work.
I am curious about your experience and your success rate! Let\s hear it and together maybe we can build bigger and bigger communities here and share the fun with our friends!