It's been a while since I qualified as a Steemit minnow, but I still remember what it was like to be desperate for any sort of reward. It's tempting to try and game the system to make more or to spam people with pointless comments to try and build a following.

There is a better alternative.

For a start, don't worry about curation rewards. If you only have a few SP (Steem Power) then the chances are you will only make a few cents each week. I'm not saying don't vote. By all means vote on posts that you enjoy to show your support, but don't just go for the big ones. Support other minnows. They will really appreciate getting more votes and it can help their reputation.

To actually make something you can make good comments on posts. Don't just say 'Great/Interesting/Informative post, upvoted!' and tag the author. The fact is that your vote will not give the author much and will not earn you much, so there's no need to shout about it. Actually read the post and write something relevant. That could earn you a vote. If your comment looks like it could have been written by a bot then it's unlikely to do you any good.

Don't write 'Please upvote my posts'. That smacks of desperation. If your comment is interesting enough then people may do so anyway. Just be sure that you have some good posts for them to check out. The 'whales' and 'dolphins' are unlikely to vote up generic images or other content that shows no real effort. They are looking for good, original posts that make Steemit more attractive to the world.

Some days I make more from comments than from posts, but then I have put in some effort to make them interesting and relevant. Steemit can be a conversation and not just a voting 'circle jerk' as some cynics may suggest.

In some cases I am voting up relevant comments just to get them above the spam. The default sort order for comments is 'trending', so good comments should float to the top. I may just give a few percent of a vote, but that's enough to affect the order. I'll reserve my flags for the worst spam.

I believe in Steemit. Do you?

I'll buy guitar picks for Steem Dollars

If this post is over seven days old you can vote up one of my newer posts to reward me.

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