Blogging Became a Chore for Me. I No Longer Enjoyed Doing It.
Then back in July I was introduced to the blockchain social media platform Steemit. My love of blogging has returned with a vengeance. I have written more in the last three months than I did in the prior four years on my personal blog RandyHilarski.com.
I started blogging back in 2011 for a few clients. I was paid nicely for my blogging. My blog posts about gold, silver, economics, trade and Panama would earn me $100-$250 per post. I would sit and write 3-4 posts in one day and take the rest of the week off enjoying time with my wife Anabell and beautiful Panama.
At the same time we were perfecting our social media skills and growing an amazing following on Google Plus. We became masters of getting content to go viral on the social network. I was motivated to produce content because my following rewarded me with accolades. It sure felt good even though there was no financial reward.
Then the money from blogging dried up as the precious metals market went into a tough period financially. On top of that the travel website I was writing for about Panama pulled their funds due to issues with the parent company. We were in a pickle. It was time to start monetizing our social media skills since blogging money evaporated overnight.
Blogging for My Personal Brand.
This may seem odd to my fellow bloggers on Steemit but there was a time when a blogger had to find other ways to earn an income. Thousands of bloggers are still struggling and trying to find ways to monetize their work. Here are some of the ways bloggers traditionally make money.
- Affiliate Marketing
- Brand Ambassadors
- Product Reviews with Links to the Products on Amazon.
- Blogging for Brands.
- Blogging for Media Outlets.
- Producing and Selling eBooks and Training Courses.
- Google Adsense Revenue.
- Selling Ad Space on Their Blogs.
- List Building.
Over my years of blogging I have known people who have used each of these techniques to monetize their content. In our case we used our blogging to build our personal brand in order to sell our social media services. It has worked like a charm because over time we built a great reputation online. The hardest part for us is complete. Now it is all about maintaining and growing our presence online. I like to use the term, "rinse and repeat". That is the key to success online.
My Blogging Hit a Wall in 2016.
In early 2016 my love of blogging really took a hit. Our favorite social network Google Plus was no longer fun to participate on. My favorite way to collaborate with fellow bloggers Triberr.com was loosing its brilliance. My blogging traffic was down about 30% over the previous year which sure did not help my motivation. Our business VIP Panama Tours was floundering after the Zika Virus news broke and traffic to our site was down 50%. I was dismayed with blogging.
Then the Blockchain Blogging Platform Steemit Appeared!
I don't know why it took me so long to take Steemit serious. When I say a long time I mean a few weeks. Since Anabell and I are heavily involved in the crypto currency and Bitcoin communities it just made sense that we would start blogging on Steemit. Like I said above, the joy of blogging disappeared. Then one day my friend and client Jeff Berwick of the Dollar Vigilante wrote a post where he made $15k on Steemit. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it.
So without hesitation all of that drained energy came back in a rush of excitement. My first post on Steemit netted me $5,209 worth of Steem.
I was hooked and I decided that I was going to write everyday on Steemit for the next 30 Days. In that time I made about $8,000 in Steem. It was good times indeed. At that time the price of Steem, the crypto currency used on the Steemit Blockchain, was valued much higher than it is currently. Today I typically make between $10-$20 worth of Steem per post.
Those numbers are deceptive because the great thing about Steemit is that when I blog half of my earnings go back into my SteemPower which is my investment in the platform. During my first month I would immediately sell my liquid half of my earnings. Today I choose to invest 100% of my earnings back into SteemPower.
I know you are wondering how we are paid on Steemit. Well we earn when other members upvote our posts. The more SteemPower an account has the more you can potentially earn when the account upvotes you. We like to call the big accounts on Steemit, whales. Medium accounts are called Dolphins and small accounts are minnows. Everyone starts off as a minnow. Most whale accounts are founders and part of the development team. Most of the dolphin accounts are people like myself who rose up through blogging on the Steemit platform.
The next question you might ask is, "where does this magic internet money Steem come from?" Steem is mined like many other crypto currencies. The difference is that a portion of the mined Steem are used to reward content creators when a fellow Steemian upvotes your content on Steemit.com. This is how bloggers are paid in the steemit attention economy. Steems value is based on the perceived value of people holding and trading Steem within the crypto currency economy. The price fluctuates minute by minute like any other currency.
Infographic Explaining How the Steemit Economy Works.
Why Bloggers Should Get Involved with Steemit Today.
If you are a blogging veteran then you understand first mover advantage. I went through this once before when Google Plus launched. I joined early and took the platform serious which helped my growth immensely. The same is happening on Steemit. The platform is currently in Beta but that won't last for long.
We recently had our first SteemFest in Amsterdam the first week of November and it was amazing. The applications for Steemit are groundbreaking. The Steem blockchain will be used to power many other social media applications where you will be able to earn an income in the attention economy.
CEO Ned Scott Opens SteemFest in Amsterdam.
Join Us Today on Steemit and Make Sure to Engage with Other Steemians.
Warning, once you go down this path you will no longer enjoy creating content for platforms where you do not have an opportunity to earn an income for your time and energy.
