❓Answering Common Questions: I'm getting frustrated...Are my Expectations too high? 🙍
I've been here for two weeks, spent hours on my posts and not getting rewarded. Is it worth it?
Does that sound familiar? This has been the case for sooo many Steemians over the last year. Some sticking around, some fading away. For a few people, your expectations may be a little out of whack. Like many aspects of life, becoming successful here is a mix of putting in the time and effort, creating content people are interested in, building relationships and being lucky (i.e right place, right time.)
Don't expect to be making hundreds of dollars a post. Try to stay excited about posts that earn your first penny, that first dollar, that first $10, or that breaks loose for $50 or $100! The real goal is progressing your self and your skills, ideally building up a little payout consistency from your following.
Q: What are some things @sykochica learned early on that were helpful?
(Some one asked this question in another guide comment. Sorry I couldn't easily find the name of who asked it.)
When I was trying to find things to post about, I got in the mentality that if I'd ever seen someone else write on that topic I wouldn't write anything myself. Even if it had been a while since the other person had posted it. Once I got over this it was a lot easier to make my 'post ideas' list. There's always going to be others that have written on topics you want to talk about. You have a different way of framing the information as well as a different following. More than likely others will never see the other persons post.
After you read someones post and feel you have a comment to write them..do it BEFORE reading the other comments. Soooo many times I'd get through all the existing comments and either find someone else had written what I had to say or I was just exhausted afterward...both keeping me from commenting.
Don't try to reach all audiences at the same time. For example, sometimes I'm quite able to get in depth, providing a lot of technical details...but if I do, the layperson doesn't understand what I'm saying. On the flip side, if I don't put enough details, the technical person isn't getting the in depth information they are looking for.
You're never going to please everybody with the same style. So find what audience you are focusing on, and try to speak in terms and complexity they can easily digest.
Q: Why is content as good or better than stuff out, but they're earning way more? Is my work just not that good?
Just because you're not getting a lot of votes or high payouts doesn't mean you're content is poor. It takes a while to get noticed on here, even when your content it rather strong. But it's always good to see how you are able to improve your craft over time.
Comparing your posts to others is a common trap!! While I understand where this comes from, wondering why your travel blog post of equal or greater quality is earning $5 while the one on the trending page is at $500 is really comparing apples and oranges. For the most part, people who you see on the trending page have other things that have contributed to their being there such as putting in many hours of behind the scenes work here, been posting everyday for a year, has built a relationship with many users, and more.
Q: How long does it take to make good money here?
While this is a bit different for everybody, I usually say come in with the mindset of the first stage of things taking about 2-3 months. Some people get lucky at the beginning or have an existing following (here or elsewhere), but most of us are new to blogging, starting from scratch. Most of us aren't going to be earning $20 a post or more for a while.
Now, how much denotes 'good money' changes for each of us. But also leads to a slippery slope of thought of depending on Steemit for money. While anything we earn is quite nice, it's important to know that a big vote could stop coming, the price of steem could go down, or something else that would make your payouts drop seemingly out of nowhere.
You're better off viewing earnings here as a nice bonus. Don't expect to be getting rich off it.
Q: I want to quit my job! Can I just do Steemit fulltime?
Short Answer: NO!
I totally understand wanting to quit your job and just post on Steemit fulltime. I've been there myself and how wonderful that would be. However, as content creators we don't have assurances on getting paid. Maybe in the future this could be an option for some of us, but right now it just not a good idea.
Feel free to ask me anything. I'm here to Help!
Previous Helpful Posts for Newbies
❓Answering Common Questions: Why am I not getting votes? What can I do about it? 📷
❓Answering Common Questions: Why am I not getting votes? What can I do about it? 📷
❓Answering Common Questions: Where does the money come from? 💵
❓Answering Common Questions: Should I use 100% Steem Power or 50%/50% Payouts for my Post❓
❓Answering Common Questions: Reputation and Flags! What's this Number by my Name? #️⃣️
❓Answering Common Questions: Steem, Steem Power, Steem Dollars and What Should I do with them? 💲
What's this Slider Bar and Vote Power Percentage? What's the Difference?
Why Newbies Should be Excited about the next Hardfork
Answering Common Questions about Voting and Curation
Don't Miss the Show! Follow the Steemit Talk Podcast (STP) Account
New STP Website!!
Are you new to Steemit and Looking for Answers? - Try https://www.steemithelp.net.
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Frustrated
Good blog @sykochica
As a steemian who following you for some time, i just want to say that you have very good, unique unforgettable blogs about your self and life
Your influence in the community is far more than the rewards.
Keep it up :)
Such kind words...thank you! :D
I do appreciate the long time support. I have seen you in there.
Helping others has definitely been my favorite niche to be a part of on here...even if I end up burning out from time to time. Cracking out on anything enough will do that, lol.
I definitely hope to continue in this role for a long while. I'm sure at some point I'll get back to the more personal pieces though...when guides/faq's/newbie initiatives fall out of vogue again.
Well i'm planning on going full time after my exams tomorrow. Technically i'm not quitting my job, rather I won't be searching for one.
So yeah i'm going to be a full time Steemian come Thursday!!! I bet you'll support me all the way!
That's absolutely awesome!! Huge congrats to you!
I'd seen a few comments in here on the full time statement I'd made, so I wanted to clarify a bit on it. I'm in full support of those Steemit users (like yourself) who are able support themselves on it. There are some people that will get this opportunity, especially when living in places where $1 USD (obviously exchanged into local currency) has a lot more buying power than here in the US. For those who do live within a higher cost of living, it's a much harder thing to pull off.
I had mentioned it since there seem to be so many that seem to be going for that goal two or three weeks in and getting frustrated when it doesn't happen quickly. This line of though typically leads to that person hitting the 'this isn't worth it anymore' mode, leaving the site...which I want to prevent.
I've seen the time and work you've put in here...you've earned your place among the few full timers. For others to try to achieve that, they need to follow in your footsteps of effort. Many seem to just think they're gonna be striking it rich in a month or so.
Haha! Yeah I totally get you. Everybody needs to realize that we've got to put in the work before we can start to enjoy the benefits.
And you're also right in the sense that it's a lot easier for me to live off my earnings here because sometimes I make the equivalent of a month's salary from just one post.
Wow! 🙈
Simply think value in and value out. The more you put in, the more you get out.
I started with those $0.01 posts. Now I am part of numerous crypto projects on various levels with posts making much more because of the value I have worked into things of which numerous accounts who have also put in their work give me more STEEM which in turn is allowing me to share more steem.
Oh, I definitely remember those days.
I'm still amazed with everything you've managed to put together while traveling to boot!
Many are :)
My recent 11 cent post - why you don't make 100's of dollars yet about this same idea went viral, and it's the first one I've had so successful in such a long time.
I've been a follower of @sykochica for a long time. I fully love the way that @sykochica made the point in such a very nice, short and sweet way:
...I think I might even quote her in one of my future blog posts (I would link to her of course for the thank you).... :)
Freaking great post there, I love it! It's nice seeing you get a payout like that!
It really is an important things for new people on Steemit to understand.
Thank you for reading so much of my stuff such a long time! You've been a great supporter for months. And feel free to snag that line. :)
Nice post, I have been here for 2 weeks and i was already starting to ask myself the same question, and the only thing i could answer is; get the right followers and make the right friends. you cannot push people in following and upvoting you, they have to do that themselves.
Then i started commenting on posts and noticed that the quantity of followers is groing. They must like my comments.. and that is a good feeling. Steem on!
Exactly!
And you're spot on with leaving good comments getting you new followers. Most people naturally go look at the blog of somebody that does that. So you don't even have to ask! :D
And welcome to Steemit! I'm glad you're getting your following building up! It really does payoff in the long run.
Thanks! Got to say I was never of interested in Facebook etc, but i find steemit very addicting. Steem on!
I think it's just like anything else in life...if you come here for the money, you are never going to get it..
If you come here with the intention of blogging things of value for others to take in, then you're much more likely to find success.
The passionate person that genuinely cares about the work they are putting forth will ALWAYS trump the individual looking for a quick buck.
I am quickly starting to notice that everything is about connections within the community. You can blog and blog and blog, but until you start to connect with others, no one is going to notice you.
Indeed... I agree with you. Start to connect with others is important.... wait your avatar is rainbow dash? My daughter love it .:)
I dont know...who's Rainbow Dash? Must a kids show I assume. I just stumbled upon it while looking for an avatar...I thought it was funny! ha
That is The Little Pony character. :)
Either way...the pony stays! ha.
Hooray for rainbow dash! :D
This is spot on for most people that start here. We can't all be lucky enough to be a celebrity or already have a following on other social media sites.
I started here knowing the one person (who had told of Steemit) and that was it. It's easy for people to forget the importance of the social media component of this place.
your suggestion, tips, and guidance always helped me and I know, people out there will get benefited as well.
As always- the post is useful, nicely drafted and well arranged. Most importantly, a ton of info.
@sykochica
Thank you!
thank you for your posts. They are helping me get through this. I've felt a few of these thoughts that you've listed. I do understand how it works because of you and a few others. I do get frustrated because I'm trying to raise awareness about my journey with invisible disabilities to create a better future. Steemit has been wonderful and so have you. I know it's slow starting and I wish, like many others, that I could just snap my fingers and my message would catch on. That's not really reality though. I appreciate you and the steemit communit. thank you for your help.
You're very welcome! I'm glad to have been helpful. :)
I can admit I've been there myself, those times where I felt like I was putting in so much time for which the returns just didn't seem to be cutting it for me. But I can also say that with some time, work and a little luck things can pick up. Before I had started here last year, I hadn't written for at least 10 years, not been a very social person (especially on line) and my closest experience with crypto was hearing about bitcoin. Lol
If you want, we can find a time to do a little one on one work to see what we do to try and pick things up for you.
that sounds great Thank you for the offer. I would love to do that. I keep writing these very personal posts and I get great feedback. I just have to keep trying. :)
I'm exhausted this evening. Even though I'm not quite able to spend as much time as I'd like right now, a couple of things came to mind that you may try in your posts.
First I wanted to say you have some VERY powerful stuff with strong writing. So I really don't think you're issue is the content itself...you've got that down pretty well. All these tips are more with marketing and/or readability.
Source
It didn't seem your story included the military, so I tried to find something ptsd more civilian, but they didn't come up quickly and I've got limited time tonight. If you do a google image search, click tools and set usage rights to labeled for reuse...everything it shows is safe from copyright concerns.
Try tweaking your title. Personally I try to go as short as I can. So my first though was something like PTSD: Life After Death or Life, Death and PTSD. It could also be something emphasizing your struggle, what you've learned, etc. We've got about 3 seconds to get someone to click on your post, so a title has to grab people, so focus on writing titles around the key buzz words that pertain to your post.
Remember that in list view, the first sentence (which includes headings) is shown along with the title and thumbnail pic. So if you start the first paragraph with " My PTSD began back in '02." I think it would help grab people.
Try to break up text when that long. This can be done with a heading and/or page divider where applicable...ideally every 3ish paragraphs. Using headings and bolding important words/points also help to let people follow while just scrolling down.
The life and health tags you have are great. You might try working in a psychology and/or story tag in for some of the others. These have a bit more traffic on them.
These are just some quicker things you can try out to see if they help. Remember that your content and writing is really strong! Now it's just a matter of getting more eyes on it. :)
While it can seem cheesy, you might try something like 5 things I've learned from ptsd or some sort of 5 things... post.
Wow, fantastic advice and instructions. Thank you. I have tried to post a few pics in text before and when I do the box where the pic usually is blank like there's supposed to be a pic but there isn't. It's just an empty box. Of course when you click on the blog it totally works but it doesn't show up in the preview. Thank you also for your guidance. My posts sometimes start out with a little different intention and I start writing and it takes me on a similar but different path and I just go with it. I should redo the titles and first sentences. Thank you again. I really appreciate you and your help.
I'm happy to help out.
It's definitely way easier with strong content. :)
How are you putting the photo in? Copy/paste image, upload from your computer, link from a hosting site (like imgur)?
You might just try swapping methods, resave the file as a different image type (jpg, png, etc), or a different image hosting site.
I've had that happen before. Changing stuff fixed it. Upside is that it will fix the thumbnail for you. In steemit.chat just paste post link along with image link of the first post image.
Your posts are always very helpful. Keyword is not trying to get rich off steemit but see the rewards as bonus. Thanks for this quality post
Thank you!
Exactly! :)
Hello, @sykochica! I have more things to ask. I bought some steem power (about 150 sp), but when I vote, the post in the better situation only increases two cents. Why?
I'm not sure I quite understand. Like , why you only give two pennies when you vote after buying 150 steem power?
Yes un