Some Facts About My Steemit Journey So Far. The Real Steemit Truth. [Updated For 2018]
![facts.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdoWxbziyJuipr8MvYr84dXe78zyt6w3HdznGjfX8FhaD/facts.png)
This Is The New 2018 Version.
This is the Old Version:
Some Facts About My Steemit Journey So Far. The Real Steemit Truth.
Let Me Explain The Reasons For This Article.
I joined Steemit 21 months ago, and became something we call: "Steemian". As a full time freelancer providing affordable quality solutions for my clients, I decided to dip my toes into this whole "blogging" atmosphere.
![idid.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmUGL8DQYAmzXjxQcWHxwpMwHBeaVWNv6NwTbTsUEynSH2/idid.png)
I was number 15,150 to ever join Steemit and when I joined, there were already a great deal of competition. One cannot compare the competition nowadays with the competition back then though, as we have more than 61,100+ active Steemians at this point.
![21.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcn9ZDw5tdNXQoJvU668CraqcxbVdTxrjyEsxwtpyG2Rm/21.png)
I had an insane start on Steemit, and it was without a doubt the best experience I've ever had online. Period. I did what others did and started to write articles in hopes of great rewards and to earn an extra income. As a freelancer, I've always been all about extra incomes, no matter how much I can make, because each cent will add up into larger amounts. That's the real reason I joined Steemit in the first place. I was looking for a way to earn a decent extra income. I had no prior experience of crytocurrencies and sure, I had heard about Bitcoin, but I was never interested because I loved the smell of real money. I loved FIAT, because I knew FIAT was working for me.
I also never saw myself as a blogger, because bloggers to me at the time, was posting pure garbage on their blogs, telling us all about their breakfast and their boring makeup crap they've bought. Seriously, I'm a guy. I'm straight. I don't waste money or time on makeup and I couldn't care less about what someone I don't even know eats for breakfast.
That is why I never saw myself as a blogger... And that's also why I still struggle with that "title" today. However, due to the existence of Steemit, I was pretty soon caught up in the whole blog-thing and I started to realize that Steemit allowed us to become bloggers, without the necessity to post garbage.
Also, before I continue this article, I want to tell you that the old version of this post still brings new people to Steemit. They join due to my old article and they even comment on that article from time to time.
![old.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmdeCWrhyZ1ZzCRTT3oLXGzMaEhFTzomeuviFeuJKJDpA4/old.png)
![old2.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWxUSYc8DQC6hSAxpGtBZgb1UKPEnxhAoA9xX5VTiVts8/old2.png)
![old3.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmTexr1Q5W2QuEq3Jo7kDM318JojmxpyGHJkBFpKEEhZDJ/old3.png)
The old version is published 20 months ago... And it still brings me new followers and it still functions as a stepping stone for people to join Steemit. - That's pretty amazing if you ask me.
Each article you publish on Steemit can benefit everyone on Steemit. In the long haul. First, you have the potential to earn rewards and to grow your audience in terms of followers. But even months or years later, it can still benefit everyone. Just like a handful of my own articles does. - Keep Long Term in mind and you'll find success.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://insidestl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/MoneyBag.jpg)
Before we dive deeper into this, I just want to show you the rewards I made from this old article.
![rewards.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdh4BJ8Ym4xycjFQA6heaXimXMFLcrZiTRWfNVrLUNmZ4/rewards.png)
Note that this was long before bid-bots. I made $9.45 with 88 votes. During this time, it was also rather common for established authors to feature others in one way of another, and as you can see in the screenshot above, dragonslayer liked the article so much so he decided to feature it within his "hidden gems".
This is how much he earned:
![rewards2.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmQj9J45QdZwbkGYXRDv3NW9oxzjntnSqNwVTPghf7EMA4/rewards2.png)
With 3 times more votes he earned $500+ more than me. For sharing other people's articles. That basically means, slim to none effort on his part, meanwhile he was able to rake in tons of rewards for other people's work.
- Fair?
Not at all. But this has been going on ever since the start of Steemit.
Steemit has never been "fair" in the sense that most people wants it to be. And no, I did not get anything from his rewards, because splitting rewards was not common during this time.
Let's Continue Shall We?
I dipped my toes, I started to publish whatever I could think of and even though I wasn't too comfortable, I did what I could to earn something...
I earned a few cents here and there and I earned a dollar or two for my introduction post. Nothing life changing at all but I was satisfied with whatever I made because it was more than I had before.
I am still to this day, satisfied with each cent I earn because it's more than I would ever earn from Facecrap, Twatter or Youboob.
Suddenly I was struck by lightning!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://accuweather.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/28595b9/2147483647/resize/590x/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Faccuweather-bsp.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3b%2F34%2F285b347343c69a37f020db11fb51%2Flightning-getty.jpg)
The co-founder of Steemit, @dan ( @dantheman ), found one of my articles and decided to upvote it. I cannot tell you the reason for it, but I guess he either liked the article I published or that he saw potential in me or my content.
This was the best experience I've ever had online. This was the time when I started to truly believe in myself as a "blogger" and it felt like I had finally found something that could change my life for the better.
I cannot remember the exact value from his upvote but I earned $300+, $500+ and the highest ever paid out article I have written got as high as $986 (if I remember correctly).
All of that started with @dan. His act of kindness gave me loads of exposure. He did not only give me a ton of money for his upvote, he also put my articles on trending due to this... And my articles started to get exposure in a way I never experienced prior to this. Other dolphins and whales started to vote for my content from time to time and I was so happy and grateful so I was literally laughing all the way "to the bank".
More than a handful of articles I have written and published have seen rewards of more than $300. Both @dan and @blocktrades gave me lots of support in the beginning of my Steemit career... But it stopped eventually.
I took a long pause from Steemit. Not only due to the loss of support, but from the day I signed up to Steemit I was bascially on Steemit for 20 hours per day, reading and learning. - I wanted Steemit to be what I believed it could be... A true life changing opportunity for me and I wanted it so bad, so I had a mental breakdown.
- I drained myself and I had zero energy left.
Due to me being a freelancer, I obviously had to keep enough energy to work, and I truly struggled with that for almost 3 months so I had to put Steemit on hold.
During my break, the price of Steem and SBD dropped down to ~$0.10 or whatever... So it was basically impossible to earn anything from Steemit when I did my comeback so to speak. I have been here, on Steemit since that day, with just a few minor breaks.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://inside.sou.edu/assets/enrollment/svcs-center/images/We_want_your_Support.jpg)
I lost a ton of support during my breaks. I even lost @thejohalfiles which I was fortunate enough to have as a supporter in the early days. In all honesty, even though whale support would be awesome, that's just icing on the cake.
- Steemit is so much more than dollar signs.
Due to all the incredible authors on Steemit, all the compassion and all the talent around us, I have also been fortunate enough to become a better person. Not so much in terms of personality or behaviour, because that wouldn't change. I have always been rather humble and supportive. However, what I have been able to change is my personal mindset on certain things.
I have proven to myself that I can write and discuss about topics I have so long tried to ignore or stay away from. My anxiety, my depression or my panic attacks for instance. My father's death has also been something I never have even tried to talk about, because I have never felt comfortable doing that... And even though I still struggle with certain things today, I have noticed that it is okay to be different. Never have someone laughed at me or my personal struggles here on Steemit. Even though I know that this place is filled with trolls just like on any other platform out there...
They have never been able to affect me. They have never bothered me. I have never been called bad things and I personally believe that is most likely due to my personality and my honesty. I am an open minded, rather humble random guy from Sweden. I am definitely not better than anyone around me, but I am also not worse than others... Even though I might struggle with certain things.
I am not native in English and that's obviously an obstacle each time I'm writing something... But I haven't been "bullied" or anything for that either. If something, it's the other way around actually.
Most of my readers have always been supportive and encouraged me to continue to do what I do, because they like me, my content or they see some sort of potential. Often when I struggle to see this myself, I always remember other Steemians like @teamsteem and many other Steemians who've always been there for me. Recently, during the last couple of weeks, another awesome Steemian started to encourage me. @fulltimegeek. He delegated me Steem Power, he inspired me to do the same to others and he has been supportive ever since.
This is what makes me a better person in the long haul. This is what I want to do for others. And that is why I started @asapers. To encourage, inspire and motivate those around me and to help newcomers to dip their feets. The whole #asapers team wants to help them make a difference on Steemit. And even though we've just started, we've already came to many conclusions and we're all working towards the same goals which is truly amazing.
None of that would've been possible without @fulltimegeek and his generous delegations... But it wouldn't have been possible without the continuous support I've had from @teamsteem either. These two Steemians are by far my personal favorites on Steemit, but they are my favorites for different reasons. There's obviously a bunch of other incredible Steemians out there who've been supportive and Steemians I truly like, but these two I've mentioned are without a doubt the two who've given me the most inspiration and encouragement.
They both give me an opportunity many others would never have given me... And for that, I will always be grateful.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.dribbble.com/users/3554/screenshots/2828927/grateful_1x.png)
I don't like everything I see on Steemit, but I try to not drain my energy on things I cannot change. I am not afraid to admit that I don't have any major impact on Steemit, and due to that, it's unnecessary for me to try to change things I cannot change. Instead, I try to make the best of what I've got and focus on things I can change or affect in one way or another. And I encourage others to do the same.
- Be you, because no one will ever be a better you than yourself.
I am truly thankful for everything I have been given so far and I am thankful for the opportunity Steemit gives me to change my own life and also to have an affect in others lives too. Once people realize the true, inner strength of Steemit, and how it can affect us all to the better... Steemit will flourish, and so will we.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://ffmrecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/About-Think-Grow-Finance.jpg)
Wow $300. Ya that is a little crazy. I don't know how else to say it just crazy.
It was an incredible achievement and experience. I'm still a bit sad that I never reached $1000... Even though I was very close with $986 at one point. Not sad as in not being satisfied or anything, but to break the 1000 mark would've been something to tell the kids at one point. :D
wow.
These words mean a lot, "Be you, because no one will ever be a better you than yourself."
I joined steemit less than a month ago, at first, I thought it was just about uploading post, giving your readers something to always read. And the drive for the reward (sbd) was intense that i had to go look for articles to always publish.
but after publishing, I get little income from every post I make. and then I had to look at a couple of steemians that would just upload even a picture and would make a lot of cash from it. I had to tell myself that there was something i wasn't doing too right and that was INTERACTION AND RELATING WITH THE STEEMIT COMMUNITY.
I had to download the discord app, dedicate 6 hours a day (even at midnight) studying the platform, researching and interacting with my fellow steemians. And I had the privilege of meeting you @hitmeasap, and honestly, meeting you has been a blessing to me. I have learnt so much from you within this short time and I hope to appreciate you for it in my next blog post (when I become 1 month old on the platform).
Thanks @fulltimegeek for supporting great minds. I hope to benefit from your benevolence too someday @fulltimegeek
Wow, such a lovely comment. Thank you very much for sharing this with us. This was really cool! :)
I'd be honored to be mentioned in one of your future posts.
thank you @hitmeasap, I feel honored to be recognized by you. I would surely mention you when I upload the "appreciation post".
Are you on discord app?
I'm looking forward to reading it. :)
Yeah, I'm on Discord.
please share your invite link or a name or means to reach you. thanks.
cheers
You can find me on PAL, The writers block and on Steemspeek. (as @hitmeasap)
Well...I wasn't expecting that! I'm really happy I just spent the last couple of hours clearing out my 'following' list or I might not have caught this piece.
It's so strange too after I'd just been reading a post from #gratefulvibes. Its a beautiful coincidence how sometimes you find an amazing synergy.
All I can say to you is that I have no doubt that you have also inspired and supported other members here during your time here and I hope they too show their gratitude and pay it forward.
Best wishes to you have a great weekend.
and thank you :-)
Thank you very much for the kind words @nathen007, I appreciate it and I hope I've been able to inspire or encourage someone. Especially as it is one of my main goals on Steemit. :)
Have a great weekend!
Am lost of words, you really poured out your mind on this article, this is actually the real truth on what is going on here; you get noticed, great! You dont get noticed; move n, continue to be yourself and dont get discouraged.
Thanks for sharing your experience, every seconds spent reading it was worth it.
Thank you very much @frankabelle, I truly appreciate it and I'm glad you liked it. :)
Yes , i did it was worth my time, and i also resteemed it too🙊
Thank you very much! :)
Another awesome post (that could be why I follow you)
I always wondered how people went big on Steemit - 20 hours a day! - holy crap...
And what all that does to you... Take it easy man!
Thanks @sift666, I appreciate your continuous support and awesome comments. Yeah, when I joined Steemit I was spending about 20 hours per day, which obviously didn't work in the long haul, since I had to work and sleep too.. So I became a true Steemit addict. Nowadays, things are a bit easier, but with this much going on, I want to spend more and more hours on Steemit, as I'm striving towards good things.
I've always loved visiting your page since my 2nd week of using Steemit and you never fail to inspire me.
I would always have a takeaway from every articles I've read. This time, I loved these the most:
It's always hard to admit that sometimes, things will never always go our way and instead of moping around, maybe we can just be satisfied or better yet, do all the best that we can on what we have. 💙
Wow.. This was just awesome to hear and at a perfect time. Thank you very much! :)
Thank you, more!😅
I look forward to reading more of your inspiring posts, as well as your #walkwithme episodes. 😁
Thanks, I love the support! :)
Ha I've never gotten to the point where I've burned myself out on Steemit so hart I took 3 months off, but I'm sure it helps that writing isn't my full time job, so when I take a break I get to focus on other things.
I'm still waiting for that $300 post, but am happy, as you are, because in the long run, the slow consistent rewards will get us further than the one-off whale voted posts.
Yeah, even though I spend as much time as a "full time" Steemian would do, I don't consider myself to be a full time Steemian as I'm still a freelancer and don't rely on my rewards as my main source of income. However, I spend literally all my time online, so Steemit is obviously easy to reach at any given second.
Haha it is for me as well, but being an engineer I get to take some breaks and crunch some numbers. Makes it easier when I don't need to be creative all the time and can switch which part of the brain I'm using, but noticed I still need to take breaks to avoid and recover from burnout.
Hardship often comes with great results.
Sometimes, it takes time for that to happen.
You struggled, you worked hard, thats why you earned the respect and support from many whales, minnows and dolphins.
Although, if you had kept doing what you did and not put STEEMIT in a hold, I think you would have become a large whale by now.
But past is past, I guess !
My best regards are with you àll the way.
That is correct. I can't look back all the time, because if I do, I'll miss the opportunities that lies ahead. :)
I never would have guessed that English wasn’t your first language! Your blog reads beautifully. I also have never written content before, so I was extremely intimidated when I signed up. (I still am to be honest) I just started here end of January and I am really liking it so far. I haven’t gotten any votes like you did but that’s ok. My sister actually got an upvote from blocktrades and I think she almost fainted! I am suprised to learn that there are only 60k active users, I thought there was at least double that. I am not sure my content (if you can call it that) is popular here, but i am writing about what I enjoy. I did use some bots at the recommendation of some people who have been around longer. I do kinda feel guilty about it. Im rambling now! 😂Anyways, I admire how far you’ve come in 7 months even with a break, it gives me some hope!
Thank you very much, I appreciate it! And I've been here for 21 months in total. Not 7. :)
Regarding the 60K users. We are more than that, but there's 61K active users on Steemit according to this:
Source
I don't know what counts as "active" though.
I can see article sharing type things being a problem. I also see pandering in comments being a problem too. I know Steemit's mission is to promote discussion, but it seems like no one is disagreeing or being a little negative towards someone. I think it's because of the allure of an extra upvote.
I do agree with you to some extent. The potential rewards you can earn is obviously a good reason for people to behave. But there's still a bunch of trolls and people who're ready to fight whoever they feel like, at any given point.