There are different kinds of platforms on the internet where a writer can use their skill to earn a living . Having tried a few of them myself, I think steemit is a game changer. I will explore the options out there and show us some of the reasons why this is the place to be.

Owning your own website

There are lots of writers on the internet who have their own website and write about whatever they like and have readership enough for them to make a living. This is probably the dream of the average writer. But only a a few persons get to live it. This is because sometimes it can take years to get that traffic you need to keep body and soul together . Most people who start quit eventually. The road is not easy.

Becoming a freelancer

There are great freelance sites now where writers sell their services. Many freelancers depend solely on these sites for survival. Fiverr, Upworks, and Iwriter are some of them. Fiverr is a really nice place. There are top sellers on the platform who actually make thousands of dollars monthly. But it is also very competitive. The way Fiverr works is that an individual seller decides how long and how much it will take for them to deliver a job. The client then orders if they are comfortable with it. On iwriter however, the price and deadline for delivery is already fixed by the site depending on the word count. Freelancers win jobs advertised on first-to-click- basis. The problem with Iwriter is that on some jobs you have even less than two hours to deliver. If you cannot, too bad. The client can also refuse the job and say it is low quality. Problem with freelancing is you can only write what is put before you. Even if business is booming, after some time, it gets really boring. You find yourself just working like a machine without passion. There are many people too who quit because they don't know how to rank on the first pages of search result when buyers are looking for writers. So basically, you cannot decide what to write on and you also have to worry about being visible. The average writer would rather just write and not have to worry about anything else.

The self-publishing route

You can become a self published author. Amazon's Kindle self-publishing controls 60 percent of the ebook publishing market. But Unless you are a celebrity who already has a name, you have to also write what is selling rather than what you want to write. So you may be an entrepreneurship kind of guy but end up writing books on food recipes or about essential oils because they are profitable niches. There is also a lot of research that you must do before picking niches. Then you have to writes books of at least 50,000 words and above. At the end of the day you need to have written about 20 books before you can start earning a good income. It may be wise to outsource the writing of some of your books becausen you may burn out before you have written enough books to start earning something substantial. Add to that the fact that you are also competing against celebrity authors with big budget for marketing, most people quit self publishing discouraged. If you can do proper research to discover profitable niches, write about what sells rather what interests you and can be patient for a year for your income to grow, self-publishing might be right for you.

How Steemit stands out from the rest of the pack

Pick up your pen and write about whatever you want to write about

Of course you have to write what people want to read, but you decide of all the things people might be interested in reading which ones tickle your fancy. That's what this place is about. One unique thing about this place is that an individual can upvote content that is of high quality even though they personally do not need it. If , for example, you profer a solution to a problem new comers to steemit face and it is useful, a whale can still upvote your write-up even if it is not useful to them personally . This is because they can get rewarded for helping others find the post. Also, you may be known for writing in a particular niche but you are free to talk about other things when ever you like. You can be all about cryptos but wake up one morning and blog about Donald Trump's wife. It is totally allowed.
Costs almost nothing to start
Another great thing about steemit is the fact that you need almost no initial investment . You don't need to invest in advertising or keyword research so that you can be visible. All you need is internet connection and motivation to keep doing what you are doing.

Amateurs are welcome

Go on and express yourself. If you do it poorly, the feedback will come in replies, followers and views. Just know that you have a lot of great writers here that you can learn from. Follow them and see how they write. This is a place for growth. Before you get discouraged by poor feedback from your posts You can join one of the groups here where members support one another. You can learn from those who are ahead of you I joined this whatsapp group and they have been helping me grow Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group

You can build a portfolio here

If you still want to write outside steemit you can use this place to build a strong portfolio. just make sure you always write well researched articles. When you apply at other writing sites just show them links to your great articles here. There are lots of positives you can take from being here.

Because of how excited and fortunate I feel to be here, I am always eager to spread the steemit gospel. So, I am really looking forward to attending a Steemup which will hold on 20th of December in Delta state, Southern Nigeria. Many of the guys I know here are really excited about it too and they will be there. It will be fun, especially because this is a festive period. It will be like having Christmas five days early. We will have an opportunity to welcome new people to steemit. The community is growing steadily in Nigeria but there are many people who have not heard about it. It has really been an honour to be among those privileged to introduce it to others. The meetup is being spearheaded by @destinysaid. He is the leader of the Africa Unchained group. I have benefitted immensely from his guidance.
I will share with you all how things went. See you in my next post!