How many of you have had a baby out there? Raise your hands! Did you swaddle her up in blankets and sneak out of the hospital in the middle of the night? Of course not! When your adorable little girl was born you invited all of your friends and family over to see the newborn, didn't you? Your post is your baby on Steemit. At current count, we have over half a million souls in our big, beautiful family available to see the newest member of your tribe.

Do the same for your posts.

We see them all the time in Steemit Chat. Hard-working authors are bitterly complaining that no one is visiting their lonely post. These literary purists would never taint their masterpiece by letting people know it's there. To them, giving the creation a boost in exposure is tantamount to treason. And so they sit, week after week writing hand-wringing blurbs about their unseen article.

New users may think the mere act of publishing a post is enough without a base of support. That's like writing a book and leaving a copy in the woods hoping someone will one day stumble across it. Unless you have a network beforehand or get really lucky, it's unlikely to happen.

Do you listen to music? What's your favorite band? Chances are when they completed their CD they went out and promoted it to jumpstart sales. Rounds of radio station interviews meet and greet, TV appearances, all combine to create a Tsunami of awareness for their work.

Do the same for your blog.

Put yourself out there

Begin as I do by building real relationships with people in the comment section instead of just begging for upvotes. Read the entire article, then leave a meaningful response. Believe me; I check my stats daily. It's noticeable when I see the same people repeatedly upvoting, commenting and resteeming my posts. Their support makes me want to check them out and if I like what I see, I'll give an upvote.

The very act of leaving a real comment will cause readers to check out your blog. Do it.

Use your head when "promoting" your blog

On Twitter, years ago - someone started something called #TeamFollowback. This was a follow-for-follow group. A way to get alot of followers quickly. The problem was, that's all they did - follow you, then they forgot about you, there was no real engagement at all. Don't be that guy.

A great place to start getting to know some awesome people is the PAL (Peace, Abundance, Liberty) server on Discord. Here's an invite from me. Chat with some of the friendly folks there and let them get to know you. DO NOT promote your blog to them. There are special areas for that; you want to make a real connection. Show them you're an actual human being, and they may just decide to check out your blog.

See what I mean? You're increasing exposure to your blog just by being friendly and helpful.

Let’s all grow together the right way.