So you just got your confirmation e-mail regarding your Steem account, you login through some of its various interfaces and you're prepared for your first blockchain post. Lets assume you haven't used a similar platform, for the sake of this blog post. You might have heard/read that writing an introductory post is the best way to start blogging in here, and it's definitely a great idea. Do that!
Right around the corner of your introductory post, there are people already waiting for you. Wait, what? Someone's waiting to welcome new users? Not exactly, but yeah, most of the new ones are welcomed to the community with comments and upvotes. Rarely do you get unnoticed, when you use the proper tags for your introduction post. It's a warm attitude coming from some of the old veterans of this platform and a way of advertising themselves as well. Don't be fool, it's not just about warm embraces and nice words. Yeah, advertising works for bloggers as well, and a "healthy blog" knows how to make itself known in this world.
Things aren't that simple though and after that first post you might find yourself rolling article after article, and post after post, with minimum attention towards them, or even none. Feels like all those that welcomed you in the introductory post, "with cookies and joy", have completely vanished from the platform. They aren't actually, they just are welcoming others fresh new comers, or just doing their thing around here. Now you're on your own and you have to find a way to attract their attention back to you again, and the attention of others as well. The more the better. BUT remember, that in the case of daily posts and quality attention, the more the better doesn't apply. I would say it's "the better they are, the more will come and consume your content". Throwing ten posts a day left and around not saying basically anything, but simply spamming, or even worse plagiarizing, won't set you on a pedestal
If you are someone like myself, you will find yourself running out of enthusiasm and positive vibe quite fast, when you are left all alone on this platform, and all that welcoming attention is gone. BUT it's perfectly fine. Don't quit, Stalone didn't quite either, after the first punch in Rocky. He just kept going further and that's his advice and stainless steel motivation for you, the one that I click baited you with to open this post. What did you expected? Some super secret potion formula, on how to make your blog "the Rambo of Steem". There isn't such thing...
I know that not every post that you will find on this platform is great, or at least worth your two minutes of read, but if you believe in your blog, and the content that you are sharing, you shouldn't be stopped by the dim light you currently run under. Most of the people that are... STILL, blogging around here after years and years, and thousands of posts, have gone through this phase as well. It takes a while to get attention and make yourself known on Steem, and I'm not talking rock star like @galenkp, but to somehow "earn your tribe" and not live a lone blockchain life, which in my opinion is very important.
That tribe is the confirmation for your blog, saying that it matters, and it's not just simply "matter on a block, in a chain". Don't get it twisted, this post, doesn't have the "secret potion" to make you a trending page regular hero either, or a SBD potato, but it's meant to take you out of the deception that you might encounter after a few weeks, or even months, of blogging...pretty much for yourself. I know that on my own. In my first two-three weeks in here, I was basically blogging for ghosts, almost no votes, and the ones that I would get were plankton like myself, and in terms of engagement I was very often the target of "nice post sir" spammers, and that was pretty much it.
It's not that now I've become a great blogger, or that I have attained anything spectacular, but I haven't quit either, and by doing that, I discovered that Steem is far from perfect, but it holds in its womb, quite some nice hives/communities and some nice dudes and gals, which are definitely worth the time spent online, in what I call the new social media. I don't own a Fakebook account, although I did for many years, I am using twitter though, but neither ever had or has the amount of attention that I give to this platform and my blog. It's really one of a kind, and your experience on it can be frustrating in the beginning, when you don't have anyone to introduce you to the world and help you make connections, but keep moving forward. People will come on your way...
Well, if you start posting bullshit, or behave rude, they will leave as they came, but if you are a nice guy/gal, and that little thing that you share is, to say the least funny, many will stay. People are made for communities and love hanging around, online communities are increasing by the day, and Steem makes no exception for that matter, so why quit too soon. Trust me, you will regret it. Instead, I would recommend any new user to continue sharing whatever he/she feels like, as long as it's not spamming or plagiarizing, and most importantly to engage with others sharing similar passions or opinions.
Quite often engagement is much more important, and productive at the same time, than just simply posting two times a day, and do the lone wolf walk. I know that from my own experience. In the beginning I was too busy posting three or four times a day, that I wasn't reading any post or commenting on others posts. My engagement was null, and pretty much the same was my progress as well. It's logical though, that when you talk to people, they will come and talk to you too, and sometimes will follow you, and before you know it you have upvotes and comments for every post of yours, and the world doesn't seem cold and cruel anymore. Moreover, as a new user, be happy you haven't been around in the time of paid upvotes saga and fake boosting, twisting your mind on what the trends really are, because you would have probably left the platform easily, like many did.
Many did so, due to low attention towards their blogs, and I can say I understand them. I haven't left though and preferred "the organic growth", because I didn't agree in paying bots, which I actually respected, and kept going further. Now the platform is cleaner in my opinion, and it's even easier to get noticed, than it was two years ago, especially if you have something interesting to share, but in the beginning you'll probably have a few hills to climb, till you get on the highway, cruising along others.
The main idea is to not get diluted over time. If you were excited about Steem, when you first heard of it and joined it, keep that excitement in an envelope and whenever feel like walking in a ghost town, open the envelope. Sooner or later, folks will come your way, upvotes will pour on your posts, and people will engage with you, as long as you pretty much do the same. No matter what, don' quit. It's simply not worth it, for what Steem is as a project. Even if you don't have time to blog for hours a day, there's appics that can help you keep in touch with just a pic and a few phrases, dtube and threespeak to offer you a vlogging opportunity, on the run, and so on.
The first steps will for sure be shy, for most of you new ones, but as long as you keep that excitement envelope near you and you have in mind Stalone's piece of advice, you will find a nice virtual world in here. Patience, determination, and an open mind coupled with beautiful ideas and words, won't let you ride alone in here. You just have to...keep moving forward.
Thanks for attention,
Adrian