![growth.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcbsfsyHixNKPnETENp86o1PD35hSPXgvKrr3Mbm32i9V/growth.png) --- >

This Is My Conclusion On Why My Audience Doesn't Grow As It's "Supposed" To Do.

--- # Stuck in Growth. First of all, you will face many different obstacles along the way when you're trying to grow your audience. You get passed one of them and another one shows up at the next corner. This is something that will continue more or less forever, but with time, effort and hard work, it will become easier to handle and easier to bypass. --- http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02484/careerchange_2484438b.jpg ## Let me ask you this. Have you ever felt that you've done literally **everything** you can think of and you **still** don't get the results you're hoping for? Have you tried to "expand" and publish content outside your "comfort zone" in desperate attempts to generate rewards and to attract eyeballs and gain new followers? Have you ever been jealous or felt envy when you've seen other authors making "milestone"-posts multiple times per week, due to their insane growth? We've all seen these posts and **most** of us have been in the exact same situation you find yourself in now actually. Even though **many** of us wouldn't dare to admit it. Neither to you or to ourselves. ## My last question is: Have you ever been tempted to publish **less** quality content just for the sake of **publishing** and to increase your chances to earn **something**?

Let's face it. You're stuck...

https://sproutnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/feeling_stuck.jpg As I am not scared of being brutally honest about myself, my temptations and my desire, I have no problem with telling you things like it is. - ***Your growth is stagnant*** and I've been there too! - Like **most** of us. --- http://www.pyragraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/rough-road-ahead.jpg In one of my [previous articles](https://steemit.com/writing/@hitmeasap/2018-here-we-go-101-focus-on-the-new-year-s-resolutions-i-announced-tons-of-photos) I wrote about my growth during these last 5 days, during the time I was **AFK**. I went on a mini-vacation, so I wasn't nearly as active on Steemit as I use to be. I **still** got 79 new followers during that time! ![fromthis.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeU4fSMW3R7uB3uHEZUTVtUV6Gy6wuDzfcMwXSKHeHik7/fromthis.png) 79 **new** followers in 5 days might not sound like **that** much, but it's still an amazing achievement. Especially when you take into consideration that I was **inactive** during **most** of this time. I didn't publish any new content and I didn't comment on other authors articles either... But I **still** got 79 new followers during this time. Another thing I want to share with you before we continue is this: https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmdPgcigBDUgDQ5QPnZr2hz5znpFozGuQ7x7pjvNDqazt4/hitmeasa.png That's the results I had 16 days ago. So in 16 days, I've gained 159 followers in total and I was **AFK** during 5 days! - Now you might wonder **how** this is possible? I am **not** a wizard and I'm nothing near an expert blogger... But I spend **time** and I work hard and that's all it takes. - That, and a bit of luck obviously, but **mostly** hard work and tons of effort. ## Let me break things down in details. First of all, I've been sharing **several** *"how to's"*, *"guides"* and *"101's"* since I joined Steemit in July 2016. Many of my followers have followed me due to the fact that they stumbled upon some of **old** content. Here's **one** example: https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmPb7mtGRkFSaDHkYt5v9cuBqqcdJxFbiQPVD8pPf4z747/tothisdate.png https://steemitimages.com/DQmQpYKcvmAe1rMMfSDR6jgv8CQomvUponzjxoU2hTrSssN/tutorial.png ### I wrote and published that in August 2016. - About 1 month after I joined Steemit. ### Here's Some Of My Previous "How To" Guides. [Easy To Understand STEEMIT "How To" Guides. [For Newcomers Success]](https://steemit.com/steemit/@hitmeasap/my-personal-collection-of-easy-to-understand-steemit-how-to-guides-for-newcomers-success) --- https://symetris.ca/sites/default/files/styles/blog_article_image/public/consistency_0.png?itok=2lC-Rjsv Sure, you can **definitely** have great success on a fluke and on pure randomness, but **consistency** is key. Hard work **will** pay off in the end... Meanwhile randomness **can** occur but will **not** generate any long-term results. http://peaksynergyfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CONS-VS-RANDOM-PEAK-PIC-1210x423.jpg - So which one do you prefer? Do you want to be consistent and **still** have the chance of randomness to affect you or do you want to rely on randomness? - I guess you'll rely on your own hard work and your effort to bring you the results you're looking for.

Congratulations, this is your first step towards your own success!

--- http://ellescoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/promises.gif

"I usually don't tell people what they should do. I show people what I've done myself. That is what leadership is all about."

This is something I've said before and I say the same thing again. I don't claim myself to be an expert and I never try to be someone I'm not... - However, I share my knowledge, my experience and things I've done myself... And others can freely do as they wish with that. This whole 101 is **not** different. I don't tell you that you **should** do what I've done and others **might** tell you other things than what I've stated in this article... - But once you've read everything I have to share, you can decide if you want to take my route or do things differently. What I share with you here is what I have done myself, and I personally feel and believe that this is working perfectly for me. So it **might** work for you too! I **never** promise what I cannot deliver. Perhaps that's due to my past as a freelancer but I think it's more due to the way I'm raised. - An empty promise **can** and **will** have a negative effect, either immeditately or with time. But it will **always** bite you in the ass sooner or later. --- https://image.slidesharecdn.com/navigation-131117002746-phpapp01/95/navigation-9-638.jpg?cb=1384648289 ## Squeeze out the most of your time & effort. While we have **dozens** of different Steemit-tools I rarely use them. I mainly use [Steemit](https://steemit.com), [Steemd](https://steemd.com/@hitmeasap) and [Steemreports](http://www.steemreports.com/). And I use them all frequently. I also **never** ask or beg anyone to follow me or upvote any of my content. I also never ask people to visit my blog as that means the **exact** same thing, even if you're using a different phrase. Another thing I do, is to **remain** consistent, and I try to publish between 1 and 4 articles per day, no matter the value of Steem and/or SBD. ## Why Do I Even Mention That? In all honesty, I've seen more than a handful of authors who've started to publish **way more** content recently due to the spikes in SBD and Steem. Prior to the spikes, they published anything between 1 and 3 articles per day but since the spike they've started to publish 8-10+ articles per day and I am **not** one of those people. - I believe that **greed** is ugly and such deeds **will** hurt me in the long run. At least that's what I personally believe, and that's also the reason for me to refrain from behaving like that. I am **also** consistent and continue to work hard and put in tons of effort even if I don't earn. I've seen **many** articles out there being well-rewarded even though they are **nothing** but crap. - Many or even **most** of my articles are at least 3 times better but I still get 5% or 10% of their rewards... But I continue to work hard because I truly believe that hard work **pays off**. ## That being said... I use [Steemd](https://steemd.com/@hitmeasap) to see the overall engagement. I can easily see **who** upvotes my content and I can see new comments being made on my content. I also work hard to respond to **or** upvote all comments on my articles, because I believe that each authors success will start on their **own** blog. I do this due to my beliefs of growing as a community. My readers spend time writing comments on my articles and the least I can do is to respond or upvote. - ***If I ignore or neglect those around me, I will be treated the same way.*** My reply should be seen as a token of appreciation. A way of saying *"thank you"* for the support and the time it takes for the person to write their comments. An upvote, no matter the value, would also be seen the same way. ## I've seen more than a handful of authors... I have seen **many** well-rewarded and established Steemians truly **neglecting their readers/followers** in terms of responding to the comments they get. - **Don't** be like them! They can **afford** to behave like this because they already have continuous support, but if and once the support **vanish** they don't have a safety-net or a backup plan! And truth to be told... They would have to start from more or less scratch again. ### You can find out more about that here: [Make Steemit An Even Better Place: Interact With Your Audience.](https://steemit.com/steemit/@hitmeasap/make-steemit-an-even-better-place-interact-with-your-audience) I also use [Steemreports](http://www.steemreports.com/) to find out more statistics. I can easily see how many upvotes I've made, the amount of self-votes and the amount of people who've been voting on **my** content. These are the **two** most vital tools in my approach, as this will give me a better understanding and a more in-depth explanation and overview so I can compare my own results from yesterday with the results I have today. - I **never** compare myself with **others**. I compare my results from yesterday with the results I get today. --- https://media1.tenor.com/images/b30733ad3df009f32a78ac237555f123/tenor.gif?itemid=4413385 ## Just Publish! Take it from someone who tried **everything** to find a pattern. I tried to figure out the best possible time to publish to get the most exposure and the most upvotes... But such approach is **doomed** to fail. I've been a member on Steemit since July 2016 and I have to tell you... I've **probably** done most of the things you're doing right now... And I've never been able to find that **shortcut** you're looking for. I've been lucky a couple of times but **most** of the times, I've **reduced** the amount of luck with **hard work** and **effort**. - Because, like I've already said a couple of times now, I **truly** believe that hard work pays off! --- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/541b1272e4b07b5243b01132/t/54233887e4b0c2bfb092a461/1411594392017/IMND+Lyric+Banner.jpg?format=1500w I am still struggling and I still have a long way to go... I will continue to work hard and struggle because I honestly feel that I will **never** get enough or be done or perfect. - Steemit is growing and we're evolving. I will continue to work towards my own personal goals and milestones. I want to reach 2000 followers, I want to reach a total SP of 5000, but I have milestones. One milestone is already at 1000, which isn't far at all. The next step will be 2500 SP and 5000 will come after that. - It will take time... And time, effort and hard work is what I will bring to the table. - ***I will achieve my goals and dreams!*** --- http://www.oseconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Why-blue-2.png ### So Why Doesn't My Audience Grow As It's "Supposed" To Do? There can be **many** reasons. It's either due to the fact that people don't like me or my content. It might be due to the simple fact that they haven't seen my articles. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I didn't make enough comments on other authors content yesterday or the day before... It might be because I couldn't help that one Steemian who faced some problems the other day... - *Who knows?* The **most** important part, is that you **continue** to work hard. No matter the results you get today... Because you **will** reach new levels and become successful with time. Analyze your own behaviour and your approach. Using the tools I've mentioned will make it easy for you to grasp the truth and the reality behind your own success so far... And it should also be an enormous help for you to realize what you need to implement further on... - **Adapt and Conquer!** https://theimpactnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Steps-to-Success-628x353.jpg ---