NEWBIES (MINNOWS) : GET UPVOTES! Here's How...

Lately it has become common place to see newbies in particular throwing links up and down in groups on telegram, whatsapp etc, begging for upvotes. It's rather unfortunate but that seems to be the order of the day presently. If you've been on steemit for a while and really observed the trends, you will find out that most people who get a good number of upvotes on their post don't do that by "begging" people for upvotes, they do so because the turn out "quality" in their own respective ways. I know anyone would also beg to differ by saying that these guys have been on the platform for a while hence should not be compared to newbies, but therein lies the point I'm trying to make. They've been around for a while I agree, but they were once "newbies" which in essence means they went through this phase as well.
Let's look at how to get started on steemit as a newbie with the potential of growing up fast, this are my observations and opinions:

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MAKE QUALITY POSTS:

Steemit is a platform which thrives on "unique content". In essence the steemit platform tends to support more and more of original posts (articles, pictures etc). You have to be creative in writing, no one is perfect, yes! But if one is persistent enough you find out with time your writing gets better, the manner in which you outline your thought flow, format your posts and the pictures you use to further emphasize what you're writing about will gradually get more appealing especially for those without prior writing experience. Everyone has a story or stories to tell but the way it is being told will determine if the audience it is being told will appreciate or will be able to relate to it.



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BE PATIENT:

Do not expect that you'll just start getting upvoted immediately you start posting on your blog. I mean if you are an awesome writer it is possible this may happen, but from my own experience and observation it takes a while, it's just like when you move into a new neighborhood, people don't know you and what you bring to the table initially, they will relate with you on a "hi & hello" level until they get to know what you're about which on the steemit platform is mostly through your post and comment, people who can relate to what you're writing on or about will gradually come around and comment on your post, sometimes to commend you or at other times to disagree with you, whatever their opinion is(are) be polite in your response, everybody will not share your own point of view try and remember this when you deal with people.



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MAKE FRIENDS:

Making friends generally is highly encouraged. People who share the same interests with you will be easier to get along with, because there is common ground between both of you, this will enable you to relate with each other and work together on so many fronts.



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JOIN A SUB COMMUNITY:

Join a community and help others, the fastest way to get to benefit from steemit as a newbie in my own opinion is by being part of a community, there you'll meet other members who can help you to understand how things work and also advice you on what to do and what not to do as the case may be. You eventually get to pass this on to other people as you advance as well. There are numerous supportive communities such as:

Whaleshares
Steem For Nigerians
ADSactly
Steem Gigs
Steemit In Nigeria Group
AIR-CLINIC







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COMMENTS:

Read people's posts under your tags of interest, don't just open random posts and comment stuff like "nice write up" or "nice post" once I see stuff like that in the comments section, I believe you didn't even read the post and that's because if you read a post which appeals to you and you agree with the writer or even learn something new from it, you'd comment and point out what it is or how you benefited from the post, this is encouraging to the writer, that appreciation will either enable the writer to take corrections and make their future posts better and spur them to continue steeming not to mention becoming your friend as well.



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CONTESTS:

Participating in contests is very gainful, besides what do you stand to lose? The offer for sbd and other prizes is cool, but so far in my experience contests make you realize what you're capable of and also push you to learn new things.

"Do not be afraid to fail, for in failure lies the ability to learn to achieve success" - handsome9ice

After all said, primarily be true to yourself and remember the real way of acquiring SBD and Steem is through contributing value, it doesn't have to be perfect, no one is anyway. Just keep being real, putting in work and you'll get value in return.