If you browsed through posts sharing about how to be a successful blogger on Hive( especially for newbies), one consistent point you'll find is "consistency". Go ahead and check it out. Consistency is a very valid point, but so far, I don't think there are many posts about how consistency can be achieved. So I decided to go ahead and write about it.
If there's anyone to write about consistency on Hive, I don't think it should be me. I've struggled with inconsistency this year, and it's not entirely my fault. Almost every day, there's a client breathing down my neck for me to deliver a gallery. So tangible amount of my time is spent doing photography offline.
Prior to being engaged with offline work, I've been pretty consistent on Hive. I've won Hive Buzz weekly awards 9 times, and monthly awards once. For the monthly award, it means that I made a post every day for one month. That's a pretty daunting task, especially for a newbie. However, in this post, I'll be sharing tips that helped(s) me to achieve consistency(while I was consistent) on Hive.
Now, I know many authors have published tips especially on this subject matter, but my desire to share on this stems from a question bothering the @hive-naija community. The question is; "How to get more Nigerians on Hive?"
Yesterday, I shared my opinions on @nonsowrites post. This post is an afterthought of my comments on his post. However, it is not secluded to Nigerians, but available to every newbie on Hive.
Getting people to join Hive is a hard task, but making them stay seems even harder. And it's a pain when it(newbies leaving) happens, because to some of us that have been here, we've seen the benefit of consistency. So if you are a newbie reading this, it is my hope that this post helps you to achieve consistency.
Tip 1: Work within your niche.
Some of the complaints newbies usually make when they join are; I don't know what to write about, or I can't write long articles. These are valid complaints, but they wouldn't be if you work with the things you already love to do ie; your niche. It's easier to write about things you participate actively in. It could be sports, music, gaming, photography, cooking, etc.
Communities offer the opportunity to align with a group of people based on your niche, on Hive. I don't think there's anything one can do that doesn't have a community on Hive. Even shadow chasers have a community.
Now, working with your niche might make things easier, but it doesn't take away all the problems that hinder consistency, or what to write about, or how to write it. Some days, it can be tiring to write. And this brings me to my next tip.
Tip 2: Create a posting schedule.
Being consistent doesn't necessitate posting all the time. In fact, there's an unwritten rule about not making so many posts within a timeframe. Consistency in the context of this discussion means "staying" and engaging. There are other ways to maintain an active presence on Hive aside from posting. One of such ways is engaging posts. But that's not the talking point of this tip.
One of the ways to ensure that you can be consistent on Hive is to create a posting schedule. This will help to create tangible and valuable posts because, with a good schedule, you can have ample time to create and work on a post.
You can decide as a newbie to start by creating a minimum of 3 posts per week. You might even go as far as mapping out specific days to post. You can decide to create posts on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. That means you have two days between each posting day to come up with or gather content to post. I reckon that everyone doesn't have the same offline activities, so you can decide to create any pattern that works for you.
Tip 3: Join an active Hive community offline.
This tip was part of the things I shared on Nonso's post about onboarding Nigerians, and why onboarded Nigerians don't stay. It might seem redundant, but it's actually effective. I know it's effective because it worked for me.
I joined Hive(Steemit) in 2017(on my other account @kodeblacc), and like every other newbie, I struggled with the newbie process. I struggled with what to post, how to post, and how to get value for my posts. It was even harder to survive then because Hive wasn't as organized as it is now. It felt like everything was randomized. It required more hard work and tenacity to survive. But community made it easier.
At the time I joined, I was hooked to an offline community on Whatsapp. It felt like family, and in this family, everyone was carried along and pushed to succeed. You could see live reasons why quitting wasn't an option.
If you joined Hive with anyone's guidance or help, there's a chance that you have been grafted into an offline community. Especially a community of/for your country. If you haven't, please find and join one. It'll do you a lot of good.
After my interaction with @nonsowrites, I'm sure we'll soon get an active Hive community offline.
Tip 4: Choose to be consistent.
This tip wasn't planned. It formed in my head while I was typing this post. I realized that a lot has been said, and a lot would be said about consistency on Hive and its benefits. The tips I've shared are useful tips that have helped me, and I'm sure they'll help you too, however, it's your decision to be consistent in the end. And consistency is hard work, but there is gain in it.
All the whale accounts you see today didn't start blogging from last year. These accounts have been built over the years with consistency. It's not magic. On my own end, I've seen the effects of being consistent on my posts.
I started out on Hive earning less than $3 on a post. Now I get a minimum of $10 upvotes on my posts. It doesn't mean I post better content now than then. I feel more people noticed my work overtime and got attracted by it. That's how my earnings improved. Yours can too. Simply make a decision to be consistent.
PS: This post talks about consistency on Hive as it "can" result in getting you value. It doesn't necessarily mean that consistency=value. You can consistently participate on Hive without adding value to the community. So while you are trying to be consistent, also try to attach value to it. Value begets value!
For the newbies, I hope you find this post insightful. I wish you good luck on your Hive journey.