This short piece is intended for newcomers to this platform (like myself). I want to give some basic advice based on my limited (yet extremely rewarding) experience on this incredible platform to date.
I've become a huge supporter of Steemit pretty much overnight! The concept is so unique and has given me something I never thought I wanted but now consider precious. It ticks so many boxes and all I can think of are all of the other platforms out there that which will be made redundant when people realize the incredible potential of the Steemit.
My first post on Steemit paid out $84 (split between myself and the kind people who upvoted me). I received payment yesterday and tested the speed with which I could convert some of that payout to cash in my bank account. I transferred 25 Steem dollars to Poloniex, then converted to Bitcoin and transferred the BTC to my Coinbase account where I sold it for Euro. I have withdrawn the proceeds and it amounts to €41, which is now sitting in my bank account! The full reward in Euros from that post would equate to about €120. And this generous reward is for giving my support for something I believe in and writing an article I enjoyed writing and hopefully was enjoyed by others who read it.
Steemit IS the future. I have no doubt about it. For those who have just joined here are some pieces of advice based on my short time here:
• Don't worry about payouts at the beginning. Just enjoy writing articles and connect with as many people as you can. The nice payouts will come with time and passion in your writing. I was lucky to get what I got for my first post!
• Spend some time understanding how the platform works and read as many articles as you can. There is a huge wealth of incredibly written and insightful articles on Steemit. Dive in!
• Make a commitment to stay here for the long haul. If you write an excellent post that gets very little attention due to the fact you are new, you can always re-release the article at a later stage when you have more followers. My good friend and very experienced Steemit user 
For those who have followed me, I really appreciate your support and connection and my intention on this platform is to share facts and ideas around crypto-currencies to the Steemit community (as well as the occasional off-topic piece I feel compelled to write). I hope you enjoy what I have to offer and I look forward to reading many more incredible articles on this revolutionary platform.
My three words of advice:
ENJOY, SHARE and SUPPORT!
Thank you for reading and I'll be in touch soon.