Hive is a great place to be, a platform filled with people from every part of the world. It is a platform that gives you more than the chance to earn, it gives you connection, and exposure to the world and also helps you to learn as long as you are willing to acquire knowledge.
I joined Hive a year ago and I had to abandon my account for some time after I couldn't attract people to my blog, it was so boring and it hurts because I was giving my best content but no one was checking it out. After a long time of not engaging, I decided to come back because I knew I wasn't doing the right thing before but I didn't want to admit it. I turned on a new leaf and it paid off for me, I started having engagement on my articles and some members on the platform saw the need to subscribe to my blog.
I don't have a lot to show for it yet but I am working hard since I came back and I wished I didn't leave at the beginning because of my laziness, nothing in life comes easily and this applies to Hive as well. If you want to grow then you must be ready to work hard because there is no shortcut to success.
Joining Hive intending to just earn is the first mistake many people make and I don't blame many newbies for quitting because their referral mostly tells them to come and earn so they bring this mentality to the platform and when they don't earn, they feel disappointed and choose to leave instead of trying to engage.
The old things are gone and I am doing things differently which is having a good impact on my blog, these things would also help you or anyone willing to grow their account.
They are divided into lots of parts but they are centered on your engagement on the blockchain.
Engagement
I tell people this is the most important thing for you as an hiver, it has nothing to do with being a newbie or an old member of the platform. Engaging on the platform is been undervalued and that's why a lot of people quit the platform after posting for a few weeks and not getting attention, they come up with the idea that the platform is not meant for them whereas they failed to engage properly on the platform.
As a newbie or an Hiver who wants growth, engaging with others is more important than posting articles during your early days. If I am wrong, what's the essence of writing an article every day when there is no one engaging in it?
You want attention, you want to be showered love then you need to work for it by spreading your wings of quality engagement first across the platform.
I compare engagement on the Hive blockchain to marketing because that is the only way to sell your products to people. We all know you are an awesome writer after everything you have said in your introduction post but why do people need to come to your profile to engage with you?
The truth is that your introductory post is not enough to visit your blog, your engagement is what can make the magic happen. Giving quality engagement on the platform is the only way to win people's hearts on the platform, you have to give people a reason to engage with you.
Imagine you started a company that produces milk and the company was launched immediately after production started, lots of people came to the launching and that must make you feel great but does the crowd that pulled in that day guarantee you making sales?
That's a no, many of them will forget the launching they attended in a few days and the best way to keep their memories free about your product is by constant advertisements, they will see the need to patronize you when your milk keeps popping up around them..
It is the same way on the blockchain, a lot of people will visit your profile when you give quality engagement. It would be hard to resist you when your name keeps popping up here and there.
How do you engage?
Make meaningful comments and reply.
Making comments is not as important as ensuring that they are meaningful because when your comment does not hit the bull eye, it might not win people's hearts.
Read articles before commenting and be sure they are relevant.
Replying to comments on your article is very important as well, it is good to always reply to comments and you can build conversations from there that would grow into strong bonds between you and other members of the platform.
Engage in communities
There are numerous communities on the Hive blockchain that are willing to help you grow on the platform and all you need to do is engage with them, it can be community for stories, sport, music, art, and many others.
Engage with their activities, interact with other members of the communities, participate in their contest if they do organise one.
Participate in contests
Participating in contests allows you to get a lot of things on the platform, they are been organized by individuals and communities for engagement purposes. There are lots of them, they won't just keep you busy but do these things for you.
Privilege to earn
It is difficult to earn as a newbie but participating in contests and challenges can help you earn to grow your account reputation, you might be lucky to win if you put in your best always, and aside from winning, your content will be noticed and appreciated if your entry is good.Exposure
Participating in contests gives you lots of exposure, you will be able to discover great writers and they will discover you as well as long as you are doing a good job with engaging and writing a quality article.Privilege to learn.
Contests help you to learn if you are willing to improve as a writer, there are pieces of knowledge to pick from numerous authors which you can use to improve yourself.
Make quality posts.
Making posts shouldn't be a priority as a newbie but when the time comes for you to do so, it should be nothing less than quality.
When is the right time?
The right time to start making posts is when you are certain about having people engage with your article, it would be pointless having nobody engage on something you have labored to write.
Posting and not getting interaction can be very discouraging, it is one of the things that make people quit. Contests are exempted, you can participate in contests since there will interaction with other participants.
Things that sum up a quality post.
Different factors are put together before you can refer to a post as a quality one. They include;
Error-free article
A quality article must be free from error, nobody is indeed perfect but you must try to reduce your errors to the lowest point you can.
I use Grammarly to correct my works and ensure I don't have too many errors that might discourage my readers, too many errors in the article can turn off your readers.The article must be reasonable:
Don't make up content for writing sake, quality content must have good meaning to the readers, the good followers you gained through engaging on the platform might leave if you make pointless articles and they might be discouraged to engage even if they stay. Your article must be good enough to make your readers want to read to the end.Proper image sourcing
Every writer must be able to source their images properly, plagiarizing discredit you as a writer so you must source for your images and other things correctly to keep a good reputation as a writer.
It is good to use your image and when you are not, you should get the images from a free-to-use image website like Unsplash, Pixabay, and many others.
Be consistent
Consistency is important, you can't be going on and off with your engagement and expect people to pay attention to you. The truth is that you are not the only person trying to win people's hearts and if the others are more consistent than you are, it would be like you are starting afresh whenever you come back to resume your engagement.
Perseverance
I placed this last because of a reason, do you know you can do all these and still have a slow growth?
You might not get the attention of other Hive members quickly but that should not discourage you and that's where perseverance comes in, you mustn't give up no matter the challenges you face on the blockchain.
The saying that Rome wasn't built in a day tells it all, you will be unfair to yourself to expect you to hit the limelight immediately after you start all these. It still requires time but you have to trust the process.
I am inviting @olawalium, @princessbusayo @jane1289 to join the contest, they are Hivers who have impacted me a lot with the knowledge I am applying on the platform and I believe you guys can help lots of people get better with their engagement.
To join this contest, click 👉 HERE. Thanks for reading.
Please note that the image was designed by me using Canva.