Hi Steemians!! I hope the Steemforce is with you!

Ok, I'm a dork. It's been a long time since I wrote an installment to this series. As an active blogger since last September, I now have 1095 followers, and have made 2132 posts (including comments). This averages to about 1 follower for every 2 comments. My reputation is 59, and my account is worth a little over $1000. Not bad, but alas, I'm still a little fish. ;)

I guess I would rate myself as someone who falls down the middle. I am moderately successful here, and there is always room for improvement. I believe some actions I neglected to take in the beginning have hurt my growth though, and I would like to share these newbie mistakes with you with the hope that you won't follow in my footsteps.

Newbie Mistake Number 1: Not Learning Markdown

I went months and months only knowing how to italicize. Make your posts interesting and coherent by learning how to make a header, how to post a link with one word, how to properly quote someone, ect. Here is an excellent markdown guide I just saw last night, posted by @blackliberal.

Newbie Mistake Number 2: Lack of networking.

When I first started out, I treated Steemit much like Facebook, I hit that upvote button every time I saw something I liked, and I often didn't comment. I wrote articles that I thought were quality enough to draw others to them. I thought quality posts were strong enough to stand on their own merit. They aren't. When I realized I needed to make connections, I was like a confused octopus reaching out in haphazard ways. My actions were pretty random. I didn't make very many lasting connections this way.

Then I joined discord. The most popular group on discord is PAL, but the sheer number of people there intimidated me. If interacting with thousands of random people doesn't scare you, here's the invite to join them.
Chat rooms generally intimidated me at first, but I was tired of being a lone wolf. I joined @thealliance a few months ago, and it changed everything! @thealliance stretched me to get out of my comfort zone. They are a group of about 200 people who love and support each other on Steemit and discord. A number I can handle, not to mention the members there are fantastic! If you create quality posts, and think you would fit into our family-like atmosphere this post shows you how to join! I also have found excellent likeminded people in the @familyprotection community, @theresistance community, and I'm starting to get to know people in the @informationwar community.

My point here is find your people! They are out there, I truly believe there is a group for everyone here!

Newbie Mistake #3: Not finding A Niche

This goes hand in hand with finding your people, but I'd like to elaborate on it. There's a balance here. If you're all over the place on your blog, it may alienate your followers. If you only do one thing, you may bore your followers. When I was a beginner, I wrote about all sorts of random stuff, but I find that I'm more successful when I narrow it down slightly. At this point I have settled into an enjoyable pattern of writing for @familyprotection, @theresistance, as well as @informationwar type articles. I also include posts in which I just share my life, as well as a pinch of poetry, opinion, and advice. I'm not a great photographer, I'm not a cryptojunkie, I'm not a painter, I'm not a homesteader or gardener, so why stretch myself in those directions? I'm a writer! If you're new, be patient with yourself, and explore what you are good at!

Newbie Mistake Number 4: Not Voting For Witnesses

This doesn't help or hurt my account, but I went a long time not really knowing or caring about witnesses. Now I realize how important they are to the survival of the blockchain. I still have some slots to fill, so if you think of a witness who deserves a vote, tell me who and why in the comments. So far I've voted for @timcliff, @aggroed, @pharism, @blocktrades, @drakos, @yabamatt, @ocd-witness, @sircork, @thekitchenfairy, @enginewitty, @guiltyparties, @krnel, @dropahead, and @steemgigs. That leaves me with 16 votes remaining.

Newbie Mistake Number 5: Not Being Consistent

There were times when I just fell off the face of the earth, and it really hurt me. Every time I took a break, I would lose followers. Several months ago I was benefiting from a curation trail that upvoted all my posts about $1.60 in value. After taking a break for a couple of weeks, I came back, and was no longer on their list of people to upvote. They never came back either. Now I am pretty good at authoring at least one post everyday. I hope you are able to be consistent as well.

So, if you've been here for a while, what newbie mistakes did you make? Do you have any pointers you would like to share with new Steemians? Comments welcome!

Thanks for reading this installment of A Little Advice From A Little Fish To A Little Fish. Remember, I'm a little fish too, and we're in this together! :)

Love, snowpea ❤