Most of these secrets and tips aren't anywhere else on Steemit, and I found this hella interesting. Buckle up, you're going to learn a lot of crazy s*** today.
Best known as the author of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, including other work for The New York Times, and Rolling Stone; Neil Strauss joined the roster of Speakers for the yearly Steemit Confrerence known as SteemFest, for it's first year in Amsterdam (2016).
This article is more than a summary. I cover many of his points, while adding some of my own. If you found this article useful, be sure to check out the original video, to see what's not written here! Did I list your favorite part? Can you figure out what mine was?
This Article Contains (but not limited to)
- Writing strategies we all think work on Steemit,
and why they don't work the way we think they will - How to find your passion & Why Niche writing is a SHAM
- Why you SHOULDN'T listen to your audience
- Things that you SHOULD write about, are the things you don't want to
- My thoughts on the message I feel that Neil wanted to send to us
Writing About Your Passion
Strauss points out the 2 things you can look at to discover what your passion may be. (1:27)
- "Find what you loved doing when you were younger, that a teacher or parent did make you do."
- "What would you do if you didn't get paid for it."
Votes Do NOT Equal Value
"One of the dangers is to measure your value by how many upvotes you get, versus how good it is." (2:38)
Never think your votes = your quality. This isn't true, and will discourage you. Everyone who got to where they are now on Steemit didn't market/exploit a given topic, tag, nor niche. They wrote about their passion, and everything (votes, recognition, and rewards) came after. They are not "niche writers", they are writers with a niche.
You don't write for the sake of rewards. When you are writing about what you care about, this niche gets created around you.
Assume That Nobody Cares About You
"Nobody Cares. They don't care about your thoughts, they don't care your ideas. They don't care about what you have to say. They don't care about what you did yesterday, or anything. They do not give a shit." (4:15)
"...And from there, you can make them care." -Neil Strauss
Don't be scared to write something because you don't know if someone else will like it. Assume they won't. By adopting this mentality, you move away from fear, and towards the idea that; "I really like this thing, I want them to like it too." Your goal is to convince and attract your reader to wanting to know more about it.
Getting others excited about what you are already into yourself, is way easier than marketing an idea or topic you aren't actually about or believe in.
My #1 rule of Lying: Once you lie, you have to keep lying. It takes less effort to be honest. I'm not a saint, just really lazy. -
Open Loops > Click-Bait
If you have ever thought about creating "click-bait", you're half of the way there! The goal is to open up with a question or statement (in the title or first sentence) that gets your reader interested in what that one thing is, and then talking about something else that is not the topic. Remember to actually cover what you were claiming, otherwise it's not an open loop- It's actual click-bait.
- Grab your reader's attention (gain curiousity)
- Switch the topic
- At the end, revisit what the answer was to the initial claim/statement
"Can I tell you something that you are interested in that you want to know the answer to, and wait til the end?" (4:24)
Following Your Audience Will Fail
Who's really following who? Content creators who experience some success and popularity often get held back by the very audience that is following them. You may have thought; "How could I be giving them everything they could possibly want... and STILL be failing?" Strauss wakes us to the actuality that no matter what strategy we can come up with;
"We don't know what's going to work and what's not going to work."
Pleasing your followers is a bad idea. The reason this hurts your future content is embracing the mentality to; "Not fix what is not broken". You stop taking risks, expanding, and providing fresh content. Strauss cautions us to not "get trapped in your own success."
Your audience follows you, never choose what to produce based on what you think they want. Not everyone will like changes but staying in this box of expectations will stop you from "taking the lead."
You've played a video game before right? You have to be able to leave the safety of your save point to get to the next level. After experiencing some success on Steemit, it's natural to want to perserve/protect what you've already achieved instead of "risking it" for more.
The secret is that; if you're already writing about what you care about,you don't actually "risk" anything. The very thought of risking...
is the trap.
They shouldn't relate to some image you have to maintain. You want your readers to relate to YOU.
"The stuff you are too scared to tell anyone. That's the stuff you should be writing about." (8:31)
It's understood that as content creators everyone wants to appeal to all audiences and the widest demographic possible. A failed strategy is trying to become this type of "generic" ideal. Showing only the good side that you believe others want to see.
We already see this on other social media where we only show the ideals, and things that make us look good to as many people as possible. There is no depth, and you are building shallow surface connections with no meaning. You need to be a real person to build real connections from your readers to your content.
This is reason why memes work. You read them and think ; "Oh shit, me too!" The goal is to be honest to yourself and others when writing. What makes me really happy on Steemit is sharing something really personal, and someone who relates replies me with a meaningful comment. It makes not only them feel connected to me, but reminds me that I'm not alone in how I feel or think. Being yourself actually works in your favor.
Creating an Iron-Clad System
"I think it's so Imprortant to have a space to write, where the outside world is closed off". (10:05)
Strauss believes that this is the one thing to take away from his talk. Makes sense, how are you supposed to become a great writer if you cannot even finish the blog? A program that he swears by is called Freedom, a computer and now mobile program that blocks your access to the internet and apps according to the time you set. (Just to clarify, I don't use it- but if you try it, lmk!)
It's not free, but he sates that it's worth the purchase. The point is to not be face-first in your tech as soon as you wake up. I will not be covering the other tools, as different things work for different people. I will instead cover the meaning of what he said next;
"Where will power fails, you can create an iron-clad system." (11:34)
I smiled at this. You cannot expect to always have the willpower and determination to do things. Making some type of fail-safe plan will catapult you towards devoting your time to the right places. You can lock your phone up, and put preventative measures that force you to do work. I sometimes deactivate my social media to achieve the "personal space" required. You could even pick up timeboxing.
He brought up an excellent point that we need to be using our higher selves to force motivation to our lower selves to get things done. No one has perfect motivation all the time (even if you think they do).
Getting Technical on Your Next Post
From Inspiration
"If you don't write an idea when you have it- It's gone, or you keep returning to it." (13:15)
Strauss explains that having yourself set up with notepads, memo apps, or anything that can help you note an idea when you are inspired is essential to remembering moments of brilliance. He follows this up with telling us that we have to finish it once we begin. Unless you are writing something longer, posts should be done in one sitting.
Other than writing for #newsteem, all of my posts are actually done in one sitting.
To Completion
"Just write through to the end, and it doesn't matter if it sucks cause no one's going to read it. It's just your first draft." (14:17)
Strauss encourages us to stave off of perfectionism and focus on getting the words actually typed. I try to make it as good as I can first-go, then come back to play with images, links, and formatting.
How to Speed Write and Not Stop
Now, I don't do this personally, but this was an interesting strategy Strauss introduced called TK (to come).
He explains using these two letters as a "place-holder" when you need to fact-check a date, source, or any word/topic that you come across that needs to be added. Similar to using TBA (to be announced) and TBD (to be determined). Write TK instead so that you can come back to it later, and not get stuck trying to write.
Strauss states that TK helps maintain your sacred space and very breifly mentions that distractions break your flow state. The hightened awareness, productivity, and creativity is well-known in sports and gaming called; being in "the zone", this also applies to writing.
Where the Magic of Writing Takes Place
"The art of writing is actually in the revising, it's not in the writing itself." (16:57)
Strauss breaks down the stages your drafting takes place;
1. First draft is for YOU. (It's going to be trash, but only you will see it)
2. Second Draft is for the reader. (Take out as much filler as you can, and only leave the interesting bits)
3. Third draft is for the hater. (fact check, air-tight, controversial. Have everything already written in the content)
Recently, I found myself writing on controversial subjects that I wasn't sure would be liked, flagged, or how they would be recieved. I explained myself to the best of my ability, and placed counter-arguments directly in the original posts.
Don't take my word for it, but if you have ever gotten stuck on how you want to approach a taboo or dangerous topic- This is your ticket. I've been able to write on harder subjects that I know people will disagree with because of #3.
Proof Reading is Very Real
"By reading your writing outloud,
- you can really hear how it rings
- how it sits with someone
- where it's boring
- where it slows down
- where it doesn't work" (17:53)
I don't actually do this, but I always read it in my head as if I were. Think of this as a test run that helps place you in the seat of your audience.
My Favorite Part
"You have to be doing this writing for yourself. If you are doing it for any other reason, then it's the wrong reason." (19:22)
This I thought was the most important thing, and the underlying meaning of his entire presentation. It's saying that if you aren't having fun, if there is no deeper personal meaning for writing then why are you doing it? Do stuff you like! A while back I realized that I didn't care about these Steemit milestones anywhere as much as I used to. Strauss has a real point here that on many sites (including Steemit), your writing is permanent. I can see why now. The monetary rewards stop after 7 days, but your words that you write are on the blockchain forever.
The true value is the content, and to create something you are proud of is the lasting success. Make sure you aren't doing it solely for the rewards, but so you can look back and say;
I'm so glad I was able to write this.
Resources
- steemit.com/@neilstrauss
- Can this social media site make you rich? - An article
wrote about Steemit for the Rolling Stone
- neilstrauss.com
- Steemfest Youtube Channel
- @neilstrauss' presentation at SteemFest #1