Eureka!
This word alone should be enough, right? Wrong! I could use a thousand words to describe my encounter with steemit and yet it wouldn’t be enough.
Yes, I found it! I found something I never knew was exactly what I needed the day I found steemit. Or rather, the day steemit found me.
Like I mentioned in my introductory post, steemit found me through a phone call but I was being such a jerk that I almost passed on this great experience. Okay, maybe’ jerk’ is a rather strong word to use here but skeptical or rigid was my middle name. When my sister 
“…it’s a social media where you can post those your stories and get paid for it….” My sister was telling me.
Yeah, right! My thoughts and response were heavy with sarcasm.
Now, don’t blame me. I’m from a country where internet fraud and other fraudulent schemes thrive. I’m also a young doctor, undergoing his internship program at the time. The later meant I was busy as I could ever be.
Anyway, fast forward to five months later. I was on the verge of completing my internship program, I was dissatisfied with medical practice in Nigeria, I was frustrated at my inability to really do what I loved doing most – writing. I was scared my talent was leaving me as a result of disuse.
For fear of repeating my introductory post all over again, I would just refer you to it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@uc-phoenix/freedom-to-create-introducing-myself-on-steemit-doctor-writer-and-dreamcatcher
My point is, I was looking for something different. I was looking for the freedom to create. I wanted to be free enough to draw my own world and paint it in colors I love.
It was in the course of thinking of a way out and looking for this freedom to create that I would encounter steemit again. I saw it next time on facebook. I was just idly going through posts on facebook when I saw it mentioned again. This time a chord was struck inside of me. Why not find out more about this? I would call my brother 
Expectations….
Now, my first expectation from steemit was getting paid for my writings, obviously, eh? The second was meeting or creating a group of genuine creative writers that would help each other hone their skills better. The third was growing in reputation and making more money, still obvious right?Lol…. Lastly, I want to one day to be in a position to help give others this same opportunity to create and earn.
Testing the waters/ my first forays….
My introductory posts would take me a few days to write. After watching the videos made by the likes of 
My Approach….
So, I had to keep doing what I ought to do. I watched videos, read posts and articles targeted at helping minnows/newbies and I discovered what I would like to call the 5Cs approach – COMMENTS, CONTESTS, COMMUNITY, CONSISTENCY/CONTENT CREATION AND CULTIVATING FRIENDSHIPS.
Now, don’t get me wrong I didn’t have all these figured out at the onset. The initial excitement just made me keep reading posts after posts and watching a few videos as I gradually stumbled upon them one by one.
Allow me to tell you the story of how I discovered these 5Cs.
COMMENTS
You see as a newbie, if you care to read a little on other steemians advice to minnows, one thing you would notice they keep emphasizing on is making meaningful comments on other people’s post. I followed this advice and it didn’t take long before I got a few upvotes here and there, the first two being from a fellow Nigerian 
CONTESTS! CONTESTS!! CONTESTS!!!
You just have to take part in them. Contests are created for newbies!!
My first week on steemit was spent actively seeking out contests I could participate in and fortunately I ended up being a joint winner for my first ever contest which was a writing contest put up by 
Now, let me tell you beautiful things about contests that you get to benefit even without winning.
You get to be read by the big fish who put up the contest, in my case it was 
Secondly, almost all contests I’ve encountered allow you to make a post of your entry on your blog and by doing so, you still get to earn from your entry whether you win or not.
Thirdly, it’s an avenue to encounter other brilliant minds also and like most cases in life where one thing leads to another, one contest actually leads to another.
Permit me to say here that a good chunk of what I’ve actually earned on steemit so far came directly and indirectly from contests. So you see my dear friend, the importance of contests cannot be overemphasized for newbies.
COMMUNITY
My first ever community on steemit was 
Also, a more beautiful thing about joining communities on steemit via discord is the opportunity these communities avail you to make friends. Standing out in my list of friends I’ve met on discord and steemit communities are 
Oh! And haven’t I mentioned the community I have received the warmest welcome so far? 
You see, I have discovered communities are key to having fun and making progress on steemit. I know I may sound a bit like I’ve gotten the hang of it all but that’s far from the truth. I’m just a newbie who is still learning the ropes and have only just decided to put down his observations.
CULTIVATING FRIENDSHIPS
Before I talk about consistency/content creation, let me spare a few words on cultivating friendships as this also relates to communities.
Another thing I’ve noticed on steemit/discord is the friendly atmosphere that helps to cultivate friendships.
You see,
CONSISTENCY/CONTENT CREATION
Now, I have saved this for last because this is one area I’ve failed in. Yes, I may give excuse that I was moving to another city and changing jobs and blah, blah, blah but excuses will always be excuses. Let’s not give them a chance.
You gain the attention of the big fish by creating quality contents, making good comments and participating in contests but a less tasteful lesson I’ve also learnt is, there are a lot of posts out there equally clamoring for their attention and you may lose their regular upvotes once you stop being consistent. So you only keep that attention, once gained by being consistent. Be in their face! Be like the proverbial fly who kept dancing between the eyes of the cow until it got its own share of the meat.
As someone who believes in practicing what you preach, I’d rather stop here and leave you with an advice from
Don’t learn the hard way like me. Do not lose what you have gained by being inconsistent.
Grateful heart and looking forward….
If you’ve stayed with me up to this point and have resisted the temptation to check my wallet, then allow me shock you a bit. In these first 30 days of steemit, I have barely earned a total of 15SBD . So forgive me if I sounded like someone already making hundreds of dollars from steemit. That’s because I’ve found a home in the system and I’ve got faith that I would eventually get there with time.
So this is me being grateful to the entire steemit universe and all who has been involved in my first thirty days of steeming(pun intended) adventure.
Thank you very much!
All pictures used in this post were from https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo