Last week I did a survey about what 3 things newbies should do during their first week on Hive. 115 Hivers responded with their suggestions. I have grouped all the suggestions into similar categories. This post will talk about the top 12 suggestions for newbies to do in their first week on Hive, and I will also share some of the invaluable comments from the respondents.
The top 3 suggestions are as follows. Out of the 115 people that responded, 71 people mentioned the importance of engaging with people. 59 people suggested newbies should join communities. The third most suggested thing for newbies to do is to make a self introduction post. 50 people suggested this.
The rest of the top 12 suggestions include Read and Learn, Follow people, Power up, Ask, Tags, Create good content, Create your profile, Secure your keys and Learn formatting.
ENGAGEMENT
This is without a doubt the most important thing for longevity on Hive. Many newbies fail to recognise this, and just post without engaging. Some don't even bother responding to comments on their own post. Engagement is important, but meaningful and genuine engagement is what we really like. Try to avoid two word spammy comments like "Nice photo", "That's beautiful", "Looks yummy"
| Plenty of outbound engagement on other people's posts with more than two words | @galenkp |
|---|---|
| Find authors that are interesting to you and engage with them by commenting on their posts in a meaningful way | @nikv |
| Read members posts and if they trigger something in you, respond. Be sure you respond to every single comment on your posts. | @bigtom13 |
| Read lots. Comment insightfully or not at all. | @mattclarke |
| Engaging means voting and commenting on other peoples posts. This spreads your name around and will show people that you want to be part of the community and again not just reap the benefits and rewards. Meaningful comments go a long way, don't just comment to comment. | @Pusen |
| Dont get desperate and leave what are almost spam comments everywhere, when I see comment slike follow me I follow you or the like I generally just ignore tham as I am sure most do, and they may have a negative impact on your experience, be real in your comments and interactions | @Tattoodjay |
| Network like this is real life. Genuinely comment about people’s posts, ask people questions, and you will quickly grow while also making friends. People will naturally check out who you are and what you post, so don’t go asking everyone to do so. That just ruins the experience. | @Howweroll |
| socialize learn that this is not only a bank ... It is also a social network! | @oscurity |
COMMUNITIES
Communities are where people with common interest and hobbies post and engage. Choose communities that align with your interest, and not because all the posts get high payout out there. For example, don't post about your pet in the travel community.
You don't have to post in the community, you can just engage if you want. For example, if you like art, but can't draw or paint, you can still join the art communities and engage with the artists on Hive. As @enforcer48 says, Don’t force themselves into “content creators”
| Explore Hive Communities - Hive is more about power to the people than writing a blog post. The crypto is made from the connections you make. | @raymondspeaks |
|---|---|
| Find and join at least 5 communities | @asgarth |
| Participate in various challenges and initiatives that communities have and get involved with these groups before you start blogging regularly | Anon |
| Know the communities where you create content and read their rules. | @elizabeths14 |
SELF INTRODUCTION
Never underestimate the importance of a good self introduction post. The self introduction is about you, who you are, where you're from, your hobbies and interest, what type of content can people expect from you, what value you can bring to Hive. If you want to stay anonymous that's fine, but tell people something about yourself. @Hivewatchers suggested newbies to Verify identity.
Let us know how you found out about Hive, and if a friend referred you, mention them in your post. That helps to add credibility. We're not interested in your parent's name and occupation and how many uncles and aunties and cousins you have. The post is about you, not your family.
| Check the #introduceyourself catagory to see examples of a good Introductory post and a poor introductory post. Make it good because there are some orcas and porposes that are more than willing to upvote and help launch a fresh new face | @kerrislravenhill |
|---|---|
| Introduce themselves and disclose if they already share content elsewhere that they might share on Hive as well, to avoid plagiarism accusations and gain trust | @minismallholding |
| intro post for sure and don't make it short put some effort in | @scubahead |
| Create decent introduction post with photos to illustrate the best aspects of who you are. Use the #introduceyourself tag | @samstonehill |
| Make a good introduction. It is something that not everyone does (including myself) and it is necessary. Many newbies do their introduction in a mediocre way looking for votes and I think that should not be the idea. The idea would be to let others users know "This is me, I'm here and I really hope to be welcome". | @perceval |
| Respond to all comments on your intro post and "do" the recommendations | @fionasfavourites |
READ AND LEARN
Hive and the blockchain can be very daunting for newbies and there is a lot to learn. Spend time learning about the different aspects of Hive, even if it's fifteen minutes a day. @orestistrips three suggestions for newbies is "Read Read Read". There are many tutorials and guides, and the best place to start is @newbies-guide.
| Read (or if you prefer videos, watch) everything you can find on how the Hive ecosystem works. | @traciyork |
|---|---|
| Learn about Resource Credits and how it will affect your interaction in Hive | @ybanezkim26 |
| Learn about keys and permission and safety | @simplymike |
| Look into how things work on the platform. Understand some stuff like: curation, communities, power up, bandwith, deligation, witness, reward | @trangbaby |
| Understand the "basic etiquette rules" of the Hive blockchain, to avoid (as much as possible) "unpleasant" exchanges, downvotes, etc., which would quickly discourage them, if they don't know "how it works." | Anon |
| Learn about Hive rules and blog etiquette ideally through a mentor or fellow Hiver | @discoveringarni |
FOLLOW PEOPLE
The mistakes newbies make here are at two extremes. Some don't follow anyone at all because they're only interested to dump their post and hope for a big upvote. They're not interested in anything else. Others follow too many people including whales that never post. On Hive, you should follow people because you want to read their content, engage with them and grow your network. Following too many people can make your account look spammy.
| Follow like-minded people and not those with high reputation and big wallets | @erikah |
|---|---|
| Follow only those who have similar interests you yourself, don't use stake size as a factor in who you follow | @slobberchops |
| be selective about who you follow, do not fall into the trap of following because someone's followed you or your blog feed will eventually be filled with content of no interest to you | @lizelle |
| follow 10 other accounts (min) and leave them a comment on their latest publication | @french-tech |
POWER UP
There are many advantages of powering up on Hive, and people will be more willing to support you if they see you're here for the long term, and not just to make a quick buck. You can take part in #hivepud that happens on the first day of each month to power up. That's another great way for newbies to engage with other people.
| Set post rewards to 100% Hive power because of resource credits | @starstrings01 |
|---|---|
| Power up hive. A great way to get recognized is by showing you're interested in investing in the platform and not only reap the benefits and rewards. | @Pusen |
| Set their rewards on 100% power up - that should be the case for the first 100 weeks if you ask me. | @crazy-andy |
| set it to 100% Hive power as you'll need the juice to react, comment and keep posting | @scubahead |
ASK
If you can't find the information you need or are unsure about anything, just ask people. 99% of the people will be more than happy to help you out. The 1% who don't respond is when you send them a Hello message, and don't follow up with your question. Personally I always ignore those messages on Discord. If you have a question, just ask it, you don't need permission. It's better to not get a response, than to get it wrong and receive a downvote or be banned from a community.
| Ask questions. It takes some time to find out how certain things works | @Digi-me |
|---|---|
| If after reading you have many doubts, do not be shy and ask on the servers, it is better to ask than to do something that will make you make a mistake. Don't be afraid to ask to clarify your doubts. | Anon |
| Don't be afraid if you don't understand everything straight away, take your time on hive | @chris-uk |
TAGS
Most of the suggestions about tags is to use the #introduceyourself tag when you make your self introduction post. Other than that, tags are a good way for people to find your posts when your content doesn't fit into a community. Use them wisely.
| Post your own content using tags relevant to the content in your post so it is easily found | @c0ff33a |
|---|---|
| Look at what others are using for tags and how they format their posts | @Solominer |
CREATE GOOD/INTERESTING/QUALITY CONTENT
Not many people suggested this - maybe it's so obvious and expected.
If you look at many well supported posts on Hive, you will see they either have good upvotes because curation guilds value the quality, or there are many comments and interaction because people find the content interesting. @gems.and.cookies suggested "Never do a post less than 100 words and 3 photos." Whilst there is no hard and fast rule regarding word or image count for a post, you'll see that single image post or post with little or no words rarely get much support.
| Create content that is enjoyable and adds value to the platform | @Warpedpoetic |
|---|---|
| Write a solid introduction post and follow up with several good posts for people to view. | @galenkp |
| Create an interesting content | @damm-steemit |
| Produce good content | @Yanipetkov |
| Write in your own words | @coolguy123 |
CREATE YOUR PROFILE
Your blog header is the first thing people see when they check out your blog. Creating your profile will give a more professional image and helps to show people you care about your blog. Many spammers don't bother with it, don't put yourself in the same category.
| Make sure blog header and info is filled up and external blog or social media (if any) is linked to their Hive account | @discoveringarni |
|---|---|
| Create decent profile description, banner & avatar | @samstonehill |
KEYS
The five long string of keys is probably one of the most confusing things for newbies. They will become valuable in the long run when you build up your account. If you lose them, you will lose everything you have earned. No one can reset your account.
| Get a good understanding of what keys do and have them securely backed up and preferably handwritten down somewhere for safe keeping | @Castleberry |
|---|---|
| Back up your keys!! All of them. Write your master on a paper wallet RIGHT NOW. Save it as many ways as you're comfortable with—back up your keys!! | @dandays |
LEARN FORMATTING
A well formatted post makes it easier for people to read, and shows your effort and professionalism. Curators read many many posts each day, if yours is difficult to read, they may pass over it for curation.
| learn a bit of formatting/markdowns to prep for first post | Anoynmous |
|---|---|
| Learn all about formatting posts with markdown | @guiltyparties |
FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM
Finally, here is a selection of wise words from people who know what they're doing on Hive. You will learn a thing or two from reading this.
Don't post anything. Explore the place, spend your time finding interesting content creators to follow, communities you like, comment on content, vote, and try to get a feel for the place. A week exploring is enough time to help you get inspiration on what you may bring to this blockchain @justinparke
Temper expectations. Don't come in thinking that every post you make is going to be worth $20-60. Understand that it takes time to build a following. It should not be just about the rewards. If that is the case for you, then you probably won't be successful @Leaky20
Be curious. Look for content that interests you and keep communicating with the people who create or engage with it. Huge potential for gaining useful knowledge around here and that's a valuable capital even without the monetization @manoldonchev
Do not plagiarize, spam, or beg for votes. slavekitty69
Expect nothing until you have at least 200 followers. You'll get them from your insightful comments on others' posts.. @mattclarke
Don't run away if the reality doesn't match your expectations in the first instance. Everything needs a bit of time. @mipiano
Enjoy reading the content that other hiveans are sharing in your community, engage with them, share your stuff, get some rewards... and the most important, have fun! @jotakrevs
Don't think about how to earn a lot of HIVE or HBD - just enjoy! @damm-steemit
Have fun! Don't be a stranger. @dandays - The Luckiest Guy I Know
Most of all have fun and don't focus on the rewards or you will miss out on all the other awesome aspects of Hive @melbourneswest
Last and not the least, if you are a newbie, and made it to the end of this post, you are already off to a good start on Hive. Please follow @newbies-guide where there is a lot more information regarding different aspects of Hive. Hope to see you all around.
Thanks to everyone who took part in this survey and provided your invaluable input.
