The Steemit platform is a boon for writers and bloggers who have struggled to monetise via traditional means and are looking for a platform that incentivises participation.
If you're new to Steemit or writing in general, you might be stuck in the idea phase of, "what should I write about?" - as corny as this sounds, the answer isn't surprising nor gamechanging.
Just do it
Just start writing. In my experience as a blogger who has been seriously blogging for eight years now, the biggest blocker to writing content is yourself. I went back over some of the first ever blog posts I wrote and they were atrocious, embarassing and not very well-written.
In my experience the more you overthink an idea and force yourself to come up with something unique and interesting to read, the less likelihood that you will follow through writing anything at all. Ideas should be natural and there is no such thing as a bad or good idea.
Like learning to ride a bike or to drive a car, you have to practice and be persistent. Over time the more you write, the better you will become at it. You have to learn to walk before you can run.
Write about things you know
If you know nothing about cryptocurrency or blockchain, but you have a passion for programming or music, write about what you know. I have seen some writers fall into the learning trap of writing about things they clearly have no experience in or poorly researched before they wrote about it.
I actively blog on my non-Steemit blog about development, but since joining Steemit I've been blogging a bit about cryptocurrency, a competition, but I've also written a couple of opinion pieces (one on manspreading), wrote a piece comparing real amps vs amp simulators and another where I talk about how Steemit is the future of blogging.
All of these topics I wrote about I know a little about already. But, if you want to write about new things just make sure they're well-researched so you only produce your best content on Steemit.
Get inspiration from others
Explore Steemit and do it regularly. See what everyone else is writing about, particularly the popular posts which get a lot of upvotes and earn a bit. Take inspiration, see what works and what doesn't.
In my short time on the Steemit platform, I have noticed cryptocurrency related content seems to dominate the platform (which is to be expected), so brushing up on your blockchain and cryptocurrency knowledge might work to your advantage.
Having said that, I've seen music reviews, interviews and competitions do well here as well. Cryptocurrency might dominate the content on this site, but it's not the only way to succeed.
Don't focus on the money
Although I hope to one day make money from my content, don't let it motivate you to write. In my short time on Steemit, even though I have been regularly posting content (a lot of it long-form) I've made almost nothing from most of my content.
Don't focus on the monetary aspect when you write, your inspiration for writing should come from a real place and not one motivated by greed. You'll also be sorely disappointed when you realise there is no shortcut to making money on Steemit, it's going to take time to build an audience and you'll need to put the work in.
Write regularly
One final piece of advice, write regularly. Back when I started professionally blogging in 2010, the best advice anyone ever gave me was: never stop writing. Any idea, however small can turn into a great article/blog post.
I like to keep a text file of ideas in bullet form, sometimes it might just be the title and I work my way back from there. Or other times it could just be a small paragraph describing what I want to write.
Other times I start working on an article and I run out of steam half way through and move onto something else. I have a Dropbox folder which currently has over 500 half finished ideas spanning back to as early as 2012, many outdated. But sometimes I go back and finish one of them.