If not, you should be!

Keep reading to see how I do it!

Like many of you, I'm fairly new to Steemit.

I signed up last July but hadn't really given the platform, or the science behind it, much thought until this past March. At that time I began to work long days with Hive account@papa-pepper cutting grass across Missouri and Oklahoma. It was during this time that I began to really observe how Hive account@papa-pepper was always making the most of his spare time by creating content on Steemit while on the move. Without being pushy, he was quietly preaching the gospel of Steemit to me by sharing what he was working on, what other content creators were working on, who was responding to him, and what his current payouts were. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Since then, because of Hive account@papa-peppers encouragement and example, I've been blogging and researching, trying to wrap my mind around cryptocurrencies in general and Steemit in particular. The more I learned about all of it the more excited I became. The more excited I became, the more I've had to share what I was learning with anyone and everyone I knew.

I have become an ardent Steemit Evangelist.

However, I don't stand on street corners with a megaphone.......................... yet.

Perhaps one day.........

But what I do do is that I take the opportunities that present themselves to share what Steemit has done for me and for uber popular content creators like Hive account@papa-pepper, Hive account@stellabelle, Hive account@trafalgar, Hive account@teamsteem, Hive account@ausbitbank, Hive account@slowwalker, Hive account@canadian-coconut, and Hive account@gringalicious to name a few.

Most people that I begin talking to about Steemit seem to be quite skeptical of the whole platform at first. Sure, they've heard of Bitcoin, but readily admit that they really don't understand it. To them, it all sounds like a scam.

The first question my potential Steemit converts ask inevitably seems to be:

How can people make money online by just blogging and upvoting other peoples blogs? Where does the money come from?

Once I get done explaining how it all works, they seem to catch the excitement bug themselves, at least just a wee little bit. Once they start looking into it themselves, however, then they catch the full blown fever.

Just like I have.

Most likely, just like you have too!

Here's how I evangelize them:

• Firstly: I explain what Cryptocurrencies are in a way that everyday peeps can understand.

They are essentially "Chuck-E-Cheese" tokens on an online store. For those not familiar with Chuck-E-Cheese, its an American based restaurant "where a kid can be a kid." Chuck-E-Cheese takes U.S. dollars (the currency of the country they operate business in) to buy their in-house tokens.

Children and adults use these tokens to play all the games within the Chuck-E-Cheese Restaurant. Upon finishing a game, if you've done well, you get rewarded with paper coupons with which you can exchange for candy and toys within the Restaurant.

Chuck-E-Cheese has created their own currency (mouse faced tokens) within their own economic system (the restaurant.) Chuck-E-Cheese tokens can't be spent outside of the Chuck-E-Cheese economy. If you take a Cheese Token to Walmart and try to buy a soda the cashier will laugh at your silly joke and ask for "real" currency. If you persist, the cashier may very well ask you to leave. If you still persist you might very well take a ride in the back of a paddy wagon.

Currencies are only able to be used in their designated economies.

• Secondly: I explain a non technical version of the story of Bitcoin.

I begin by saying that Bitcoin was created to be used as an in-house currency between computer geeks and those within the computer programming community. Much like Chuck-E-Cheese tokens, the Bitcoin was only able to be traded between these "geeks" for mutually agreed upon services.

I imagine the first transaction went down like this:

Geek 1 (Harry): "Hey Bart, I need some code for my new giga-app. Can you write it for me in a jiffy?"

Geek 2 (Bart): "Sure thing, Harry, I will do it for 100 Bitcoin."

(Harry): "100 Bitcoin!?? Done Deal-eo! Thanks, bro!"

*(Bart): "NP"

(Harry): :)

(Bart): :P

Perhaps it was all in Japanese, but i'm pretty sure it went down SOMETHING like that.

Now, more and more of these computer geeks started collecting Bitcoins by running their computers to solve complex computer equations. Once they solved these computer equations they are rewarded a Bitcoin, much like the coupons that Chuck-E-Cheese gives to those who play their games.

Til one day there was a computer geek who happened to own his own pizza place. Another computer geek loved to eat this persons pizza but had no money to buy it. In a flash of brilliance, born out of hunger and desperation, the computer geek asked the Pizza Place owner if he would take 10,000 Bitcoin for his pizza. Much to his surprise, and relief, the Pizza Place geek said,

Why, yes, I will!

And so, Bitcoin made the leap from it's own private computer geek economy into the practical everyday real world economy.

Once this Genie was out of the bottle there was no putting it back in.

Soon, computer geeks all around the world were accepting Bitcoin for real world goods and services. Now, Bitcoin is almost universally accepted as money in many parts of the world. In fact, Japan just declared it to be so in their country. In fact, Bitcoin can be sold for U.S. Dollars or whatever currency a person wants. In fact, Bitcoin is made up out of thin air, and then is able to be converted into U.S. Dollars. In fact, It's created in almost the same way that U.S. Dollars are created.

I stop the conversation there, however. I don't want to take these new converts down that rabbit hole just yet. That's another conversation for another time...

• Thirdly: When I evangelize I explain that many Cryptocurrencies have sprung up since Bitcoin.

All of them trying to gain the same level of acceptance. Many have failed, but a few are thriving.

One of those that are thriving is Steemit. I explain that Steemit is a cryptocurrency that uses it's own money called "Steem" that can be traded within it's own economy. It can also be traded for other Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

I zealously describe how Steemit is the first Social Media Platform that combines the social media aspects of Facebook with it's own Cryptocurrency.

I ask the potential convert if they've ever heard of Reddit? Many of them are familiar. So taking them further down the conversion road is easier from here on out. I explain that users create posts on the Steemit platform and other users upvote them based on the quality of their content. The upvote is how Steem is awarded to the creators of the content posted.

I then briefly explain that one of the coolest parts of the whole Upvote system is those who upvote a post earliest actually get a share of that posts earnings. This process is called "curation." Much like a curator of a museum watches over and manages the condition and display of it's artifacts, and is rewarded with pay for his or her due diligence, so to do curators on Steemit get a part of the reward by upvoting quality content.

• Fourthly: I ask the minnow-to-be how much money have they ever made on Facebook, Youtube, MySpace, Reddit, etc...?

I begin reeling the freshly hooked minnow in when I ask them how much money their own postings online have made them? I encourage them to consider that if they are going to post something online they might as well get paid for it, right?

To that, most new converts whole-heartedly agree.

• Lastly: I quote and promote Hive account@papa-pepper.

I end my evangelistic efforts by showing hooked minnows the rewards that quality content creators, like Hive account@papa-pepper have awarded over the last year by investing their time online through Steemit. I take them to any number of well rewarded posts that Hive account@papa-pepper has done and show them his closing taglines.

Don’t waste your time online, invest it with Steemit.com

Person after person is blown away at how an ordinary and non-computer savvy guy like Hive account@papa-pepper can achieve such wild success in just under a year of blogging.

I tell them, "Go and do likewise young Padawan. May the Steem be with you."

()

This method seems to work every time.

Feel free to use it, adapt it, and improve upon it as you and your evangelistic circumstances dictate.

Together We Are Stronger

If you've been won over by Hive account@bluerthangreen 's Steemit Evangelistic efforts please sound off in the replies section.

Thanks for Reading!

As Always,