I have been on Steemit for about a month now and I have something to say. I love how this platform is introducing a new kind of system that encourages freedom of speech without worries of censorship and how it gives everyone a great opportunity to succeed. But I get kind of upset when I see people become discouraged and lash out at the platform because they aren’t generating any money like how the website ‘promised’.
I understand that adrenaline rush when you first sign-up and you’re in this mindset of “Yeah! I’m going to kill it on here with a few articles”, but then you post your first article and you make nothing. It took me awhile to realize it but this platform really isn’t about writing to make money. Well, it is but it isn’t. You POST articles here to make money, but you WRITE because you WANT to. You should be writing articles that you like, about topics that you’re passionate about in hopes of connecting with others who share the same interests.
(I'm not exactly sure where the picture comes from). This was a picture I stumbled upon in an image dump and it started to change the way I looked at whales and this platform. I hope it helps you looks at things differently too.
When you focus on writing because it’s fun and you like doing it, and then when you don’t make a lot of money off an article it won’t really bother you. When it is not about the money anymore it will become easier to keep on trudging forward. If you make 1 cent - great, if you make 10 dollars that’s even better. You should be so focused on your writing, improving your skills and on the delivery of your content that you will be unfazed by a low income article. When you don’t make yourself feel entitled to a thousand dollars for an article that you wrote in 2 hours you’ll become a lot less resentful. It will also become easier to be grateful for a chance to share your ideas and for an opportunity to make some income. You'll also be much happier when you get 20 dollars for a post and when you get nothing. This doesn’t mean that you should set your expectations and standards low though, keep them high for that is what will drive you forward.
It is sometimes really obvious when posts are done halfheartedly because people are so focused on the end goal that they forget about everything in-between.
Money is definitely the motive, but you have to consider the appropriate steps to achieve your goal.
- Are your posts pleasing to the eye?
- Is it easy to read?
- Is it interesting?
- Is it original and creative?
Etc.
Then, when your post is successful you should look back and take note of everything you did right and continue doing them. And with unsuccessful posts, you should evaluate and see how you can improve. But if you are getting frustrated or upset because you are not getting as much attention as you were expecting; stand back, pause, and breathe.
You already made more money by signing up than you would have ever made on any other social media platform. It is also not the whales’ fault that your post didn’t trend. Success is sometimes just luck, sometimes its hard work, and sometimes its persistence.
When people lash out at the whales, do you think that will make them want to up vote you more? I’m sure the whales would love to upvote everything worthy of an upvote, but the whales are people too. They have lives to live. They have jobs, families, friends, hobbies; they can’t be on Steemit all the time upvoting everyone.
Also, at this point in time of the development of Steemit; I believe that it’s waaayy more beneficial and more important to get those 10 minnow votes instead of the 1 whale vote (but of course a whale vote will always be amazing). As this platform progresses, the minnows that you connect with now may one day become dolphins. That’s 10 dolphins that you are now connected to. Some of them may even grow into beautiful whales, then you all could grow together and flourish. This is a social media platform as much as it is a money making platform. It’s about building a following. It’s about learning from eachother and growing into whales together.
Picture from unsplash.com, by Ian Scheinder.
I’m sure that as this platform grows in numbers, and as us minnows grow and move up the food chain to dolphin status; and as more and more people join; there will be many more opportunities to get noticed. There will be more eyes available to look through articles and find you. There will be more people who will be helping to spread the wealth and feed the hungry minnows. You just need patience, determination and originality.
Also, you aren’t limited to just generating income through posts. You can make some money by upvoting quality content that you enjoy and by commenting. Which I think is pretty cool, you just have to keep going at it. Keep Steeming.
You have a lot of ways to succeed, all you need to do is persevere. Lets all becomes whales together.
Just keep swimming. - Dory
Cherish