A big number of people who are posting content here, on Steemit, hope to make some money out of their hard work. I'm not saying everyone present on the platform is looking to get something for what they do, but it surely is a big motivator, and we'd all want to get some money whenever we post.
I don't think there's someone on Steemit who would refuse $200 on each post they make. That's a clear sign that money are important in our life, and we'd be hypocrites to deny it.
Because of that more and more people focus on getting as many upvotes as possible. Those who maybe get 10 upvotes on each post want to make a lot more, and even those who get thousands dream about getting millions.
I believe we're focusing on the wrong things. I don't think we should focus on upvotes that much. I think we should focus on followers. I know I mentioned the importance of followers in many articles, but this time I'm mentioning it thinking about the future of this website.
In the article I published yesterday called Seriously, start creating good content on Steemit, now! (present of Steemit/future of Steemit I mentioned how this website is probably gonna get more and more users once people figure out they can make money by just posting their work.
Once that happens, the competition for attention will be huge. Not only everyone will want to get the attention of people so they can get money, but once great artists join and great content creators start publishing amazing things, it's gonna be really hard to compete against that.
Now, thinking about what I just said above, imagine how are upvotes gonna help you in that kind of situation. You could have thousands of upvotes on everything you ever published, and it won't matter. If you can't get the attention of people once the masses join, you won't get anything in return for your work.
That's when a big number of followers is gonna come in handy. If millions of people will join Steemit in the future, and you have... let's say 2000 followers, you'll have a massive advantage over everyone who has less than 100 followers. You'll have a community formed around your content made out of people who like what you do and are willing to reward you for your hard work.
Even if great artists join this website, and the content they create is way superior to yours, you still have a big number of people who follow your work and who enjoy what you do.
If you compare that to upvotes, you'll clearly see what's your best bet for the future. I'm not saying you should not care about upvotes at all. After all, that's how we all make money, and we'd all love to have all our posts upvoted by hundred of people each time we publish.
However, I strongly believe you should not try to create content thinking about how many upvotes you can get and how much money you can make. Instead, I believe you should think about people, about how to help them and how to offer them something valuable.
Once you do that, and once others realize your content is worth consuming, you'll get more and more followers that will make sure you'll get rewards even when millions of people join Steemit and it's gonna be extremely hard to get noticed.
So, next time you create any type of content, try to do it having people in mind. Try to create something that will bring value to the reader and that will make people want to stay. I'm sure you'd be happy to have thousands of followers that upvote your content when the price of Steemit is gonna be big, so you better start working for that now, that it's still fairly easy.