The Perfect Steem Blog Recipe?

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(Edited)

Greetings Steemians,

This is something I've been thinking about lately. What is the "recipe" for a successful Steem blog?



Created on Paint3D by Futuremind

This is going to be mostly opinion based.

First, one must determine the measure of what success is to him/herself.

What success is to me, may be failure to you. So first and foremost I think it is important to measure your expectations accordingly.

There are many variables associated to having a successful blog on Steem. I will list first what I see to be the primary variables, or maybe better put, the most important variables.

  • Time - There are plenty of perceptive curators here who have a good idea of how much time a person spends creating content, and/or engaging with the community, and many curators will check a persons blog out a bit prior to deciding whether or not they will utilize their resources to reward the content creator.
    (Not everyone has the ability to dedicate copious amounts of time, consider this aspect and measure accordingly.)
  • Engagement - This is a big one in my opinion, and may take more of your time than content creation itself! Oftentimes success here is a by product of engaging, and that might not seem "fair" or "right" to some, but it is just a component of how humans operate. A friend is sometimes more often going to support a person based on friendship over content.
  • CONTENT - If you're going to be a content creator on the Steem blockchain, this one might be pretty important :) I'm going to touch on this one heavily in this article, and probably get a bit philosophical. Content creation is important. Let's talk about it..

I've seen the question of "should I create content for an audience, or should I create content from the heart, regardless of how popular it may be?" on more than one occasion here. This comes down to personal morals really. I think first (aside from measuring expectation..) you need to ask yourself some important questions, such as:

  • Why did I decide to blog on Steem?
  • Am I in it strictly for profit?
  • Do I have a talent/passion/message to share and feel blogging will give me a sense of fulfillment?
  • Am I willing to blog and potentially make nothing?

There are many different types of content you can create and share here, from article writing (comprised of many different topics), to poetry, art, music, photography, vlogging, ect.

But should you mold it in accordance to what might potentially bring the most rewards here?

If you are in it for profit and profit alone, YES! (that's my opinion anyway.)

If you have a passion you wish to share, then I will say no.. but... I think it is important to make your content somewhat easily digestible. (which is also an opinion.)

One example of this is, how I choose not to make giant paragraphs, because when I see giant block wall paragraphs, I am instantly turned off. It is a strain on my eyes and brain to try to read a gigantic wall of text. Oftentimes I will choose not to read giant block texts.

So really, I'm a bit split down the middle here with my opinion on the "create for an audience" topic. If you're a passionate blogger, I think you're selling yourself short to blog about things that don't give you a sense of fulfillment. It really defeats the purpose of why you are here, but at the same time, you might want to create in a way which is easy to read/digest, and might capture peoples attention.

If you care nothing at all about profit, and are just fine with seeing 0.00, then please dismiss that and do your thing!

"Will investing give me an edge to earn more?"

Great question! I'm so happy you asked! :)

The short answer to this is:

Well yes it really will, fair or not! (We don't live in a fair world people, this is just a reality.)

And the amount you invest will definitely play a role. If you invest 100-500 Steem, this isn't going to make a major difference, but pop up out of nowhere with 5000-20,000 Steem and you can bet you will attract the attention of a few Steemians. Straight up reality..

Investing also shows the community that you are serious and believe in the potential of Steem. So that is something to consider if investing is a possibility for you.

I've seen some attitudes about investing.. Like people who've busted their hump to make it to dolphinhood hating on someone who pumps 5k from the exchange. My message to these types is "get over it.." If not for investors, you wouldn't be making anything anyway, so chill.. and stop putting yourself on a freakin pedestal.

When it comes to investing, that is another thing you will need to exercise some judgement with. It's not up to me or anyone else to tell you that you should invest. If you believe in Steem and are willing to potentially lose your entire investment, then invest. I happen to believe Steem has long term potential, and investing is not a bad idea, but that is just my opinion.

Are you willing to contribute more than blogging to Steem?

"What do you mean by that Futuremind?"

I mean, if you have the time to spare, are you willing to do anything else besides content creation and engaging? Do you have dev skills? Do you want to help curation teams?

If you get involved with some curation efforts or developments on the Steem blockchain, I can pretty much guarantee you will make better on your blogs.

I've seen people complain that "this person doesn't have great content, why do they make 10 dollars worth of Steem every post?"

Well, do you know what that person is doing behind the scenes?..

If you're new here, it's likely you're not going to know who most of the Steemians are, or the roles they play. Content creation is only one aspect. We have many innovators here, and very creative people who come up with ideas to help out the ecosystem. This is something to consider. If you have a very creative mind and think you could help out in certain areas, then utilize that skill!

"But Futuremind, I know this person doesn't really do much of anything and makes big with auto votes."

Did I mention yet how unfair the world is?

Here's the reality of it. Some people have been here since the start of Steem, and they've made connections. Some people get autos from accounts with decent Steem Power that aren't even active anymore!

If you are new and starting out, a defeatist "it's not fair" attitude will get you nowhere.

Do I sometimes feel like some big accounts ignore my content? Sure, I can list off a whole host of accounts who have never voted me a single time in my almost two years here, and sometimes it's a little disheartening, but that is just how things go, and it hasn't stopped me from building my account and contributing to Steem in other ways, so it's not a big deal to me! I just keep on pushing forward!

"Do you feel like your blog is successful Futuremind?"

Wow I'm loving the questions today Steemians! I love you all!!!

Yes I do!

Back in December of 2017, I was working as a roofer for a very abusive employer. I had been doing that labor intensive job for about a year, and was out there in sub zero temps one day, my hands were numb, and I remember thinking:

"I'm a guitar player, what the hell am I doing out here risking my limbs for minimal wages?"

This is when I discovered Steem, and I decided I'm not going to do labor like that anymore. Even though I could earn as much in 2 weeks as it's taken me two years to earn here.. It's not completely about making profit for me. Sure I hope Steem becomes valuable and all this work pays off, but blogging gives me the opportunity to fulfill my passions and work with my mind, which I enjoy.

I'm fortunate enough to get a little assistance for living, and I just barely make it by month to month.

I could go out there and work a mindless labor job, but the idea of someone making way more money than myself for my labor just doesn't sit well with me, and in most cases I have worked for very abusive employers.

At this point in my life, my motto is:


"I would rather die hungry and happy, than die full and miserable."
(Told you I was gonna get philosophical :p)

So, about 1500 words in now, I think I've covered my thoughts pretty well on the topic and will start wrapping it up.

My message to you all (especially the ones struggling to get noticed) is don't give up!

It might sound a bit "cliche" sure, but anything worth having in this life does not come easily.

We're always going to have good days and bad days, that is another aspect of life. Even now, feeling like I have a successful blog, I still have my down days and feel kind of hopeless at times, but the important thing is I refuse to give up, I'm persistent, and Steem is more than just a blogging space for me now. It's a place I call home.


Have a great day everyone, and thank you for reading!


Much love,
@futuremind



Posted with eSteem Surfer



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26 comments
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how to shitpost :]

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Huh?

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That's what most people probably think.
Gimme the tut on how to write much about nothing to get them steem!

Posted using Partiko Android

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(Edited)

lol, well I can't deny there are definitely some people like that in the Steem space, but I do see plenty of hard working Steemians as well. It's definitely not a perfect system, and probably never will be. Too many biases, disagreements, and opinions involved. Humans just don't agree on many things.
¯_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for stopping by friend :)

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To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

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You bring up many valid and interesting view points Jake, some of which
Are a sensitive topic for me.
(How do y'all get that gray box when c&p)
Why did I decide to blog on Steem?
to show my friends on FB that you can get paid for posting
Am I in it strictly for profit?
I was at first
Do I have a talent/passion/message to share and feel blogging will give me a sense of fulfillment?
I believe I do, and from the interactions with others, they seem to think so too (talent wise)
Am I willing to blog and potentially make nothing?Do it every day

"Will investing give me an edge to earn more?"

Until very recently, this was an out of the question, moot point.
In fact, after 2 yrs on the platform, when I started out and the price of Steem was well over a dollar and my account value was several $K to a low over a year ago when I was seriously considering giving up, I cashed out almost everything, and realized $435 USD.
This was a real TRIUMPH for me, to be able to finally say:

¡¡I am a PAID AUTHOR!!

That was a real boost to my sense of self worth. Would I do it again
Now? Probably not.

Engagement This is a big one in my opinion, and may take more of your time than content creation itself! Oftentimes success here is a by product of engaging, and that might not seem "fair" or "right" to some, but it is just a component of how humans operate. A friend is sometimes more often going to support a person based on friendship over content.

I have a problem here, my mental health conditions make it difficult for me to interact with people.
On FB, I don't FOLLOW ANYONE, I almost Never go to my newsfeed, because I don't CARE to see your babies photos or your trip to Disneyland etc...
I also ABHOR the "like" button, I don't CARE if you "like" what I posted; if you truly LIKED it, you would SAY SOMETHING about why you liked it.

So likewise here, I only go to my feed when my VP is full and I need to
"shed some steem" and I will
A. look for content by those who have supported me
B. as a sub category, I will only upvote things that I find deserving of it.
C. very rarely I will go to the General Feed, and if I see something by a totally
Unknown entity (to me) that is exceptional, I will upvote it, even resteem.

I too, hate large blocks of text, and I'm almost doing it here now
I have more to add, but this is more than I put in one string ever, so I'll
Just say great questions, and I hope I haven't offended you, nor any of
The drive by readers.
Thank you @futuremind

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(Edited)

No offense taken at all Jerry, in fact I feel this is an excellent and well thought out comment, and very much appreciate you taking the time to digest and reflect on my thoughts!

I'll address some of your thoughts as well to the best of my ability.

(How do y'all get that gray box when c&p)

This box? ☝️

Here is a screen shot with the markdown code for you :)

image.png

Why did I decide to blog on Steem?
to show my friends on FB that you can get paid for posting

I personally became tired of facebook and all the drama and eventually deleted my account. I have some opinions about the company that I will spare, but in a nutshell, I don't see facebook doing any "favors" for humanity.

Am I in it strictly for profit?
I was at first

I see nothing wrong with blogging for profit. I think someone who is blogging "strictly" for profit should be very good at their craft, and really if they are very good at it, they could probably do better working for a corporate blogging site and/or cross post here.
I like the idea of having the "potential" to earn while sharing my passions, and my posts do earn baseline rewards from autos, so I am grateful and pleased with the support I do receive.

Do I have a talent/passion/message to share and feel blogging will give me a sense of fulfillment?
I believe I do, and from the interactions with others, they seem to think so too (talent wise)

With anyone who thinks you are talented, I concur!

Am I willing to blog and potentially make nothing?Do it every day

Well, value is relative to the value of Steem, so a post you make 10 cents on, could potentially be 1 dollar in the future if the value increased 10x, which is not by any means out of the realm of possibilities!

"Will investing give me an edge to earn more?"
Until very recently, this was an out of the question, moot point.
In fact, after 2 yrs on the platform, when I started out and the price of Steem was well over a dollar and my account value was several $K to a low over a year ago when I was seriously considering giving up, I cashed out almost everything, and realized $435 USD.
This was a real TRIUMPH for me, to be able to finally say:
¡¡I am a PAID AUTHOR!!

I remember at one point I think I had around 500 SP and my account was worth more than it is today lol. If any time is a good time to invest, it's probably now, but there is really no way to know that unless you have a crystal ball of course, and I think it's a gamble either way.
I do believe the "invest what you're willing to lose" mentality is a good one when it comes to crypto :)
If your post makes 1 penny, you are a paid author! Albeit not a rich one :p

That was a real boost to my sense of self worth. Would I do it again
Now? Probably not.

Definitely it's a feeling of accomplishment. Personally I went into Steem with very long term mindset. I do cash out a little Steem (for other cryptos) from time to time, but none of my crypto has been turned into cash. I see nothing wrong with exploring different projects and doing a little trading for gains :)

Engagement This is a big one in my opinion, and may take more of your time than content creation itself! Oftentimes success here is a by product of engaging, and that might not seem "fair" or "right" to some, but it is just a component of how humans operate. A friend is sometimes more often going to support a person based on friendship over content.
I have a problem here, my mental health conditions make it difficult for me to interact with people.

I understand Jerry. Life is tough in many ways for many of us, but we just do what we can. Sometimes I am not very present on Steem, other times I am super present. Just depends on different factors. It shows that you do your best my friend.

On FB, I don't FOLLOW ANYONE, I almost Never go to my newsfeed, because I don't CARE to see your babies photos or your trip to Disneyland etc..

FB is a joke to me, I don't give a rats ass about FB :) Same reasons mostly, and some political ones.

I also ABHOR the "like" button, I don't CARE if you "like" what I posted; if you truly LIKED it, you would SAY SOMETHING about why you liked it.

I get that. It can be tough sometimes. I try to follow up with many steemians and simply don't have time to comment on everyones posts. This comment alone is taking quite some time out of the day, which I'm totally cool with, but no way I can get to 50 other people today and write comments like this one, just isn't happening..
Another aspect, is.. Sometimes I "like" something, but really just don't know what to say! It's weird but that does happen from time to time.
If I upvote your content, and don't comment, the above reasons are likely why, but I do try to drop thoughtful comments as much as possible.

So likewise here, I only go to my feed when my VP is full and I need to
"shed some steem" and I will
A. look for content by those who have supported me
B. as a sub category, I will only upvote things that I find deserving of it.
C. very rarely I will go to the General Feed, and if I see something by a totally
Unknown entity (to me) that is exceptional, I will upvote it, even resteem.

Definitely a good way to Steem! I try to keep my VP above 80%. Some days I just don't care and will blast it as low as 50% haha. At the end of the day VP is not worth stressing over to me. I keep that "profit" thing secondary, but I do like to maintain some efficiency with my voting. If I like something, I will usually just vote it though regardless.

I too, hate large blocks of text, and I'm almost doing it here now

Nahhh, you did pretty good ;)

I have more to add, but this is more than I put in one string ever.

Once in a while, when I have a great deal of thought in relation to a post, I will make a Post Response Post.. It's a thoughtful way to create a post, and in my experience other Steemians tend to like it because it shows someone was thinking about them and appreciated their content. Although it is a little "risky" in a sense, because you never know when someone will get offended... People tend to get offended easily these days.

Thanks a bunch for the great comment @jerrytsuseer!
I'm very grateful you spared the time, energy, and deep thinking into my post! :)

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(Edited)

( so is this the way to do it?)

If so, in all the markdown style instructions I've ever seen, this is a first
For me
Ah! I forgot to insert a space. Thanks @futuremind, and thanks for your reply.
I am so happy to have that mark down clue now.
One more notch in my "portfolio belt" of tricks

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(Edited)

My pleasure @jerrytsuseer,
I'm happy you have a trick in your portfolio now :)

So many

C

o

o
l


things you can do

With

Markdown





Strikethroughs can be fun too.

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ENGLISH

Yes, that is one of the
Main attractions of steemit and the blockchain for me

Hindi

हां, यह स्टीमेट के मुख्य आकर्षण और मेरे लिए ब्लॉकचैन में से एक है

And this being able to pull left or right (though it doesn't seem to be working right now) I always forget something
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                  To Pull Left  

 

Or right
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Hi, @futuremind!

You just got a 29.2% upvote from SteemPlus!
To get higher upvotes, earn more SteemPlus Points (SPP). On your Steemit wallet, check your SPP balance and click on "How to earn SPP?" to find out all the ways to earn.
If you're not using SteemPlus yet, please check our last posts in here to see the many ways in which SteemPlus can improve your Steem experience on Steemit and Busy.

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I only write from the heart. I came here just as an experiment: can I write the stuff I like talking / thinking about and, as a welcome side-effect, make some small change too? Answer is yes :-) It's never been much and probably will never become much, because you're right about the engagement angle, and I just don't have the time or energy anymore... Typing a response like this is a rare thing for me lately... What I can do to support the community is try to write consistently and try to maintain a certain level of quality, never power-down and always upvote content of those who I know to write quality content almost all of the time; you're the newest addition to that list ;-)

Come to think of it; you curate a lot, don't you? If so, where do I delegate to up your VP a bit? It won't be much of course, but anything I can do to spread the love, pls let me know.

Thanks for another useful read my friend: I'm sure it'll be of help to many trying to find their way on our beloved platform :-)

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Thank you for your kind words and time @zyx066,

Engagement is definitely a tough one! Thorough responses to posts which require critical thinking sometimes take me 1-2 hours just for 1 comment! That being said, it boggles my mind a little that many people in the space seem to not be cognizant of this aspect, especially considering many people have full time jobs and obligations outside of Steem.

I do my best, but like you I feel it's pretty important to weigh out the benefits of dedicating too much time to certain things in life.

It's obvious to me that you write from the heart and are an empathetic deep thinker. I very much appreciate your writing, and it has become somewhat of a morning ritual of mine to read your posts :)

Come to think of it; you curate a lot, don't you? If so, where do I delegate to up your VP a bit? It won't be much of course, but anything I can do to spread the love, pls let me know.

Yes, curating is pretty important to me, especially curating Steemians on the lower earning spectrum. The way the curation system works, this isn't conducive for earning great curation rewards, and it's my opinion that it's very flawed. Content creators are our bread and butter here, so it makes sense to empower them so they don't give up.

Currently I curate for eSteem, and have curated for OCD and Helpie in the past. Some months back I had to make some cuts for myself (which wasn't an easy choice), I was spending upwards of 8-12 hours a day curating lol.

That is a very kind gesture to offer some delegation to help spread the love. Thank you so much!

There are a couple of ways you can delegate. The easiest method is via the steemconnect route. Here's a link, and I'll provide a screenshot with how to customize the delegation amount.
https://beta.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&delegatee=futuremind&vesting_shares=100%20SP
image.png
The highlighted area is the number which dictates the exact amount you wish to delegate. (that link could be used for any other account as well by simply replacing the delegatee account name.)

You can also delegate via https://steemworld.org/@zyx066 with steemkeychain, and on the Steempeak frontend using keychain. There are probably some other methods as well, but those are the most familiar for me. If you are interested in learning those methods just let me know and I will be happy to provide screenshots. I'm also reachable on discord futuremind#5073 if you ever need help with anything. I'm always happy to help however I can.

Thanks again @zyx066, you're very much appreciated! :)

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Done! Steemworld is great; made it so simple, which is about the right difficulty-level for me :-) Thanks for the good work you do my friend 🙏🏼

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I'm happy Steemworld made it easy! :)
I saw it come in, thank you so much my friend, I will utilize it to help the community grow!!! 🙏🏼

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Hi Jake. I just do what I think is the right thing to do. And leave the rest to cause and effect. If it works, fine. If it doesn't work, then I have to work harder, find out why it didn't work. And so, life goes on.

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Very wise words Vince. I think many people measure success in terms of monetary gain. To me success is measured in other ways. It's not about what you have or don't have, it's about how you feel, and am I doing things which make me feel good. YES!

I've been reflecting quite a bit lately, and oftentimes I put pressure on myself based on the opinions of others. It's time to stop that nonsense! I'm happy with my achievements, and that is all that matters. I've beaten the odds and statistics with many things in this life, and you know what? I'm very proud of myself for what I have achieved.

Thank you for your kind words and wisdom my good friend :)

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Howdy Jake, Yes, you shouldn't put pressure on yourself based on the opinion of others.

We know our strength and weakness better than anyone else. We should be contented that we have done our best, and wait patiently for the results. Sometimes, it may take a bit longer for people to find us. Sometimes, we have to go back to the drawing board, and rethink our strategy. That's how we learn what works, what doesn't. That's how we improve ourselves. That's how we gain experience. That is life. 😊

Have a great weekend.

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Dude, put out your fist, we do a fist bump and then the gayest fucking handshake of the century! Absolutely agree on the power up option that may increase influential power. Imagine when you power up 200steems when Steem price was $6.50 😂😂😂 until yesterday, my 5000steems haven't cover my investment yet.

On a side note, also agreeing on whether this is my passion. Initially, it was solely make a post to get it voted so I get paid. But [Steem talk] opened me to another level of trash. In a good way. Most of the time, when I write a topic, that's not even what I wanted to write, but as I go along, I start to dig further and further, I kind realize writing itself is a learning pattern for me, to reflect what I did wrong and what I can improve.

Cheers and thanks for sharing.

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I start to dig further and further, I kind realize writing itself is a learning pattern for me, to reflect what I did wrong and what I can improve.

You said it all right there!

Some things I've gained out of my experience with Steem, and the people here cannot be measured in any monetary sense.

I've gained something here that no amount of money can provide.

If I take a step back and forget about the value of Steem for a moment, I'm able to see a bigger picture, and it's that attitude that can help me say confidently, that my Steem journey is a resounding success!

Thank you for your thoughts and uplifting words. Fist bump back at ya!

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Hi @futuremind, I think there are a lot of things that must be considered in order to succeed in creating a steem blog like being able to display interesting posts that are sustainable. Social interaction also determines success. Have a nice day, sir

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Social interaction and what we learn here is the ultimate measure of success to me. Thank you for your thoughts and kind words miss @elianaelisma
Have a great day miss.

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