Image is Everything
Continuing my Beginners Guide series, I was inspired to write this based on my experience and what I've picked up over the last couple of days.
As new Steemians, we approach the platform, as we do other social media sites. We post quick status updates, share funny memes, and resteem articles, which, to our inexperienced eye, look as though they're a great way to easily earn Steem Points.
Our early blog, becomes clogged with random, unconnected trivia, that, to be honest, doesn't truly reflect the Steemian that we aspire to be, and our creative content gets lost in the clutter. If only there was a delete button.
(Image source: http://www.freeimages.co.uk)
Your Blog is Your Shop Window
When deciding to follow someone, we visit their profile to see if we are interested in what they have to say. As we become more experienced, we filter out those that we find unappealing or irrelevant to our interests.
It goes without saying, that the same applies, when someone views our own profile, to see if we are worth following. So how do we draw their attention so that they click that follow button?
Let's explore a few options that will help to enhance your image and encourage a loyal following that will last long into your Steemit future.
Creating Original Content.
The whole point of Steemit, is to earn rewards, for creating valuable content, that others will enjoy reading and commenting on. A forum, unlike other social media platforms, where free thinkers, innovators and creatively talented can come together to share ideas.
As much as we all love a good meme, or a nice picture, do we really feel that such content is as deserving of rewards, as a piece that is well written, creative and the original work of the author? More importantly, we need to ask ourselves, 'what do I want my followers to see?'
(Image source: https://www.pexels.com)
Original content, of our own creation should, eventually be, what makes up the majority of our posts. Followers will be looking forward to what we have to say, and to keep them interested, we need to produce regular, well written content.
It may seem a little intimidating at first, and you may struggle for inspiration. Look on posts that you, yourself, have enjoyed, notice how they've been written and laid out. Think about subjects that you're passionate about, or in which, you have a degree of expertise.
There are no limits to the possibilities. Are you an avid gamer, do you feel passionate about politics or current affairs, are you on a spiritual journey or love a good conspiracy? There is so much to choose from, so get out there and get blogging, you are more creative than you may think.
A Picture Paints A Thousand Words
When it comes to publishing, from websites to magazines, any good editor will tell you that images are they key to holding attention. In this technological age, our attention spans, when it comes to browsing, are fairly short lived. A page full of numbers or text is likely to be brushed aside, in favour for one, interspersed with relevant and eye catching images.
(Image source: https://www.pexels.com)
In fact, anything which breaks up the monotony of the text, will encourage us to read further. I'm still learning how to use the markdown guide myself, and what I wouldn't give for Microsoft Word right now, but if you can, include headings, list, colours, or bold and italic fonts, then your post will be much easier for your followers to read.
Be Discerning When Choosing To Resteem
Another Facebook habit we need to break, is sharing everything that captures our interest. Everything we resteem shows up on our blog and is seen by our followers.
Consistency is important when creating our image and resteeming content that is irrelevant, poorly written or trivial, will forever be associated directly with our online persona; remember there is no delete option,(you only have to scroll through my own early feed, to see how I made this mistake when starting out).
Before hitting that resteem button, ask yourself if the content is relevant to your usual subject matter, written to a standard which you're happy to be associated with, and/or contains information your followers will find useful.
(Image source: https://pxhere.com) edited
Personally, I recommend steering clear of competitions, offers for free upvotes in exchange for votes and resteems and the type of posts offering reciprocal voting chains. This, is of course my personal opinion, but you'll find your blog quickly fills up with endless trivia, whilst your own hard work gets swallowed up, as these type of posts are everywhere.
The subject of resteeming, is an entire post in itself but, if you want to resteem an article, that impressed you, but doesn't fit into your personal narrative, you can always use the 
Engage With Your Audience
It seems like an obvious point to say 'respond to your comments' but I've seen a surprising number of posts saying "don't post and run". When we're starting out, this isn't too time consuming, and well worth the effort.
Curation is an important part of our life on Steemit and the rewards don't only come in the form of Steem Power. Often, the people who comment, are potentially of like mind, and likely to be someone, we ourselves, would want to follow. It's through curation that we find new friends and build a community, often supporting and advising each other, whilst having fun along the way.
(Image source: https://pxhere.com)
You don't have to respond to every comment, just the ones that involve some effort on their part, and demonstrates that the author has actually read your post. The simple *"I upvoted you, upvote me?" comments, can not only, thought to be rude, but in some cases, are considered spamming.
(Image source: long-term investments.com)
Creating your ideal profile, probably won't happen overnight and your image is likely to change over time, as you find your niche and evolve as a Steemian. This post was created, to offer a few ideas, advice on what avoid and hopefully, help to inspire you as you begin creating your own posts.
As always, comments and other suggestions are always welcome, and I'm always happy to answer questions. So, happy Steeming and I look forward to getting to know you all over the coming months.
(But Only If You Want To)