Steemit can be daunting when you start. You can post on literally anything. Or you can spend all your time looking at other posts as you upvote and comment them. Both can get you your start in the network and build you steem. But with so many people on this site already, and with so many more sure to join, you will want to utilize your time properly if you are going to see results.

So what are you posting about? I recommend sticking with topics that you already have knowledge in at the start of your steemiting (yeah I made that a verb). When you already have a handle on the subject you can cut-down/out on time spent on preperation and research. I don't recommend getting stuck on one topic, cause you really will miss out if you don't continue to learn, but, when you need to build an account, you don't want to spend too much time reading other work when you need to produce your own. When you get a good start on steemit, built up steem power and are comfortable as a writer, then start to branch out.

If you need some topics to post about, here are some ideas:

•life (tell us about your first vacation, or that embarrasing story that always gets a laugh)

•hobbies (sports, gaming, shopping, movies, you have to have something you like to do and something that you are knowledgable about it. Find it and share it.)

•teach us something (Where do you work? Bring your expertise over to steemit and blog about it)

•photography (Got the eye for it? Steemit is also a place where photos and video can be shared.)

Also make sure you give yourself a goal for the day regardless of the results that happen after your first post. Tell yourself that you are going to complete two articles today and post them. Even if the first article doesn't get well-recieved, don't get discouraged about the second one. Get it out of your head and push forward. Working hard when things seem glim in a trait that will help you a lot in anything you want to be successful in. Anyone can work when things are going well, but those that can make it through the rough patches will see an increase in their chances of success.

Now for the BIG mistake we are all making. Have you read the story of Narcissus? He thought he was so beautiful that he spent all his time staring at his reflection in the lake. Until one day he worried his reflecting was drowning, so he dived in after himself and ended up dead. Why am I telling you this story? Because like him, we all spend too much time admiring, or checking, our own work. Let's be honest, after you put you post out there you are pressing that F5 refresh button like mad to see how your post is doing. Then you wait five minutes and check it again. Maybe you check it again after another 5 minutes. We all do it. But this process is not only taking a lot of time but draining our mood and energy. If the post is doing well, great, don't get too cocky, just because you had one good post, it does not mean you don't have to work on the next ones. And if the post is doing bad, you will just make yourself less and less motivated with every click of the refresh button. Don't forget to check your articles later in the day to see what is working and reply to comments, but that time you waste watching how many upvotes you are getting is time that can be better spent elsewhere.

And here are some other tips

•Long, well-written articles tend to do better than shorter posts.

•Don't forget about commenting, well-liked comments get paid as well.

•In order to do a link, highlight the text you want to add the link to, click the link icon and paste the link in the box.

•Remember this system uses a blockchain, so everything you post will be permantly saved somewhere.

•Yes I can not deny having a niche can help you build your profile faster, but you're a person not a brand, you want to randomly post about flowers and motorcycles, go for it.

•Don't be intimidated if you know nothing about bitcoins or blockchains or anything with the word crypto in front of it. This is a forum like any other, as it grows so will the topics. If there isn't a topic about something you want to post about then start it yourself.

•You don't have to be an english major to blog, find your voice and write about your expertise.

•Sometimes your post will be on at a bad time and fall under the radar. Don't be discouraged. I personally think its okay to repost it especailly since we currently don't have views.

•If you see something you like, upvote it. It is only polite. You help out the author and you get paid for it. The amounts are still not set but even if it is low it is still payment to vote. There are a lot worse ways to make money.

•But don't just scroll and upvote everything you see. Integrity goes a long way to keeping a system fair. And your voting power takes time to reset to full.

•WRITE DOWN YOUR PASSWORD AND KEEP IT SOMEWHERE SAFE! There is no password recovery system here.

•There are several free image hosting sites you can use to link photos from. Upload your photo, copy the link and post it in the image box.

•The Steemit white paper is like an instruction manuel. Keep in mind changes are still being made. Read it here.

•Take time with your title, make it catchy without being misleading.

•Steemit is not a link farm.

•Post your own work. Even camera phone photos are better than ones from the net.

•If you post photography make sure you add something that lets people know it is your photo. You don't want people to not upvote it becuase they don't know if it is taken from the internet or not and no one wants to do an image search on every photo.

•And finally, don't be an ass. This is more of a tip for life in general but hey, it applies here too.