When I first discovered the Steemit platform, the selling point was that it empowers content producers, monetize their voice, and is strictly against censorship. I didn't waste a minute and created my first post without even learning the right way to use it, maybe due to the excitement. Anyways, it didn't take long that I finally started seeing the money flowing in my wallet even though I was making mistakes, and the content was awful. I learned quite a lot and still learning something new every day.
As an early adopter of STEEM blockchain who've been using the Steemit platform ever since it launched in 2016, I'd like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts about it. Blogging is my hobby, and I write for fun, and money also (I'm not a liar). I'm an SEO specialist and have also taught many people by running the SEO tutorial series, which proved to be a huge success.
Steemit is the blogging platform where we can blog about anything we like. Before Steemit, I also tried other blogging platforms such as running a site on Blogger and WordPress, etc. Unfortunately, the results were not that great. Yes, I made some handsome amount, but there were many reasons why I switched to Steemit, the only blogging platform where your voice is genuinely monetized.
It doesn't mean that I'd never try blogging on other platforms. No, other platforms have some pros that Steemit doesn't currently have. But, Steemit is my primary choice, and others are secondary. Today, I'd love to share the reasons with you that why Steemit is my primary choice so far, from the blogging point of view.
1. You don't need to own any domain and hosting:
Picking a domain name is one of the difficult tasks. You have to target a specific niche, and if you're looking for long-term success, then the name of your domain must reflect your niche. The best domain names are usually expensive due to their premium quality. It's possible to get a quality domain name at the regular price, though. As an SEO specialist, I've bought many great domains in the past.
After domain name comes the hosting part. You'll have to choose a shared hosting plan if you're looking for a cost-effective way to run your blog. It will probably cost you around $5 to $10 per month or more, depending on the features. You'll have to buy the SSL certificate for your site to ensure security. Overall, your total annual expense would be around $300. Sounds fair enough, right? But, you also have to manage your domain and hosting over time.
When you create an account on STEEM blockchain through this platform, you get your blog URL for free, where you can control hundreds of things. For example, if my username is 
2. Your content is never censored and always stored on the chain:
You can create your blog with Blogger, the company which is owned by Google. You can create your blog on their sub-domain for free. There's an option that you can also use your domain with FREE hosting, which will be provided by Blogger. However, you won't have full control over the code of your site. But the free hosting is the way to start, and you won't even have to buy an SSL certificate for it, which is a plus. Your annual cost will be limited to the renewal price of your domain name.
Free things are not always given with full control. You'll have to follow the rules of Blogger for your content. If people report your blog to the Blogger team (Google), they'll censor you. And no, you don't own your content on which you may have worked for years. It takes only a second to lose all your content production efforts. From the SEO point of view, these Blogspot (or freely hosted) sites don't perform well on search engines, and also lack in the professional look, which affects the credibility of your brand.
When you create content on your Steemit blog, you own it. Everything you write will always be stored on the blockchain, including the edits history, meaning your efforts will never go into waste. Although there's a little limitation that you can't graphically design your blog except for your blog cover and profile picture as of now, but it's quite easy to rank your posts on Search Engines. Steemit has the domain authority of 90, which means that the performance of this domain is excellent on search engines. I've personally ranked some of the articles successfully on Steemit.
3. You interact with a community full of vibes:
Blogging, as a career, is difficult. It looks easy from the outside, but you can only know the depth of the ocean when you jump in it. Building your audience is never an easy thing. You may have to put years of effort if you want to start like many others using your self-hosted domain, and I assure you that your journey is going to be sweaty, just like all other bloggers.
On the other hand, if you start your blogging career with Steemit, or if you keep doing both types of blogging, I assure you that you won't ever regret it. It's easy to build your audience here, provided that you put up the quality content for the community. They won't only follow you, but rather interact with you in the comments section with positive vibes and keep you motivated. You may still have to put a few months of quality efforts in it, but you shouldn't let this opportunity go.
4. You can write on any topic you like without having to create a niche:
One of the problems that a content producer (blogger) face is the selection of niche. If you intend to monetize your blog with Google Adsense, you'll have to pick the niche strictly and always stick to it. Switching niche-to-niche under one domain won't be good unless you've chosen a multi-niche supported domain name.
When you submit your blog to Google Adsense for review, their team inspects your blog to understand its main topic. Your website will be served with your niche-related ads. Mixing up multiple niches under one domain could also get your Google Adsense application rejected.
On Steemit, there's no such thing. You can target as many topics as you like, and keep them separate using the relevant tags. That way, you'll be building your audience in every niche, and you'll discover that our community is supportive and full of positive vibes.
5. Monetization is ALWAYS enabled:
Most content producers choose this industry to monetize their content. They are always hard at work when producing content because they want to make it Google Adsense friendly. One of the most effective ways to monetize the content is by doing affiliate marketing, but you've to be a skilled person. The money starts flowing after years of effort.
On Steemit, you'll have the monetization enabled from your very first day. STEEM blockchain has its two cryptocurrencies, STEEM and SBD. When you create your posts/content on here, community members can either upvote (like) or downvote (dislike) your content. STEEM blockchain distributes its cryptocurrencies to its content creators, which can be easily converted into Bitcoin. Your upvote and downvote value depend on the amount of STEEM you've bought and locked, which then called Steem Power.
When someone upvotes your content, you get STEEM & SBD, which is the same currency operated by this blockchain. When someone downvotes your content, the potential payout (as a result of the upvotes of others) get reduced. If you had $0.00 potential payout and someone downvotes you, it won't affect you in terms of money, but your reputation score will decrease. Each time you create content, it can receive upvotes and downvotes for 7 days. Once the 7 days window gets completed, you will get the final payout. Until then, your potential payout is subject to increase or decrease.
If you're part of this platform, then let me ask you, do you prefer Steemit over other blogging platforms? If so, I'd love to know your reasons. Please write them in the comment section. If you're a guest and still don't have an account here, I'd urge you to join us and discover the power of our community. If you'd like to learn more about this platform, refer to https://steemit.com/faq.html
Remember that Steemit is one of many other platforms that are powered by STEEM blockchain. There are many things besides blogging that you can do here. Many other apps are already built on STEEM blockchain too, and you can learn more at https://steem.io about them. Don't forget to follow me at