The Perfect Steem Blog Recipe?

Greetings Steemians, This is something I've been thinking about lately. What is the "recipe" for a successful Steem blog?  Created on Paint3D by Futuremind ##### This is going to be mostly opinion based. First, one must determine the measure of what success is to him/herself. What success is to me, may be failure to you. So first and foremost I think it is important to measure your expectations accordingly. There are many variables associated to having a successful blog on Steem. I will list first what I see to be the primary variables, or maybe better put, the most important variables. * **Time** - There are plenty of perceptive curators here who have a good idea of how much time a person spends creating content, and/or engaging with the community, and many curators will check a persons blog out a bit prior to deciding whether or not they will utilize their resources to reward the content creator. *(Not everyone has the ability to dedicate copious amounts of time, consider this aspect and measure accordingly.)* * **Engagement** - This is a big one in my opinion, and may take more of your time than content creation itself! Oftentimes success here is a by product of engaging, and that might not seem "fair" or "right" to some, but it is just a component of how humans operate. A friend is sometimes more often going to support a person based on friendship over content. * **CONTENT** - If you're going to be a content creator on the Steem blockchain, this one might be pretty important :) I'm going to touch on this one heavily in this article, and probably get a bit *philosophical*. Content creation is important. Let's talk about it.. I've seen the question of **"should I create content for an audience, or should I create content from the heart, regardless of how popular it may be?"** on more than one occasion here. This comes down to personal morals really. I think first *(aside from measuring expectation..)* you need to ask yourself some important questions, such as: * Why did I decide to blog on Steem? * Am I in it strictly for profit? * Do I have a talent/passion/message to share and feel blogging will give me a sense of fulfillment? * Am I willing to blog and potentially make nothing? There are many different types of content you can create and share here, from article writing *(comprised of many different topics)*, to poetry, art, music, photography, vlogging, ect. But should you mold it in accordance to what might potentially bring the most rewards here? If you are in it for profit and profit alone, YES! *(that's my opinion anyway.)* If you have a passion you wish to share, then I will say no.. but... I think it is important to make your content somewhat easily digestible. *(which is also an opinion.)* One example of this is, how I choose not to make giant paragraphs, because when I see giant block wall paragraphs, I am instantly turned off. It is a strain on my eyes and brain to try to read a gigantic wall of text. Oftentimes I will choose not to read giant block texts. So really, I'm a bit split down the middle here with my opinion on the "create for an audience" topic. If you're a passionate blogger, I think you're selling yourself short to blog about things that don't give you a sense of fulfillment. It really defeats the purpose of why you are here, but at the same time, you might want to create in a way which is easy to read/digest, and might capture peoples attention. If you care nothing at all about profit, and are just fine with seeing 0.00, then please dismiss that and do your thing! ##### "Will investing give me an edge to earn more?" Great question! I'm so happy you asked! :) The short answer to this is: Well yes it really will, fair or not! *(We don't live in a fair world people, this is just a reality.)* And the amount you invest will definitely play a role. If you invest 100-500 Steem, this isn't going to make a major difference, but pop up out of nowhere with 5000-20,000 Steem and you can bet you will attract the attention of a few Steemians. Straight up reality.. Investing also shows the community that you are serious and believe in the potential of Steem. So that is something to consider if investing is a possibility for you. I've seen some *attitudes* about investing.. Like people who've busted their hump to make it to dolphinhood hating on someone who pumps 5k from the exchange. My message to these types is *"get over it.."* If not for investors, you wouldn't be making anything anyway, so chill.. and stop putting yourself on a freakin pedestal. When it comes to investing, that is another thing you will need to exercise some judgement with. It's not up to me or anyone else to tell you that you should invest. If you believe in Steem and are willing to potentially lose your entire investment, then invest. I happen to believe Steem has long term potential, and investing is not a bad idea, but that is just my opinion. ##### Are you willing to contribute more than blogging to Steem? *"What do you mean by that Futuremind?"* I mean, if you have the time to spare, are you willing to do anything else besides content creation and engaging? Do you have dev skills? Do you want to help curation teams? If you get involved with some curation efforts or developments on the Steem blockchain, I can pretty much guarantee you will make better on your blogs. I've seen people complain that *"this person doesn't have great content, why do they make 10 dollars worth of Steem every post?"* Well, do you know what that person is doing *behind the scenes?*.. If you're new here, it's likely you're not going to know who most of the Steemians are, or the roles they play. Content creation is only one aspect. We have many innovators here, and very creative people who come up with ideas to help out the ecosystem. This is something to consider. If you have a very creative mind and think you could help out in certain areas, then utilize that skill! ##### *"But Futuremind, I know this person doesn't really do much of anything and makes big with auto votes."* Did I mention yet how unfair the world is? Here's the reality of it. Some people have been here since the start of Steem, and they've made connections. Some people get autos from accounts with decent Steem Power that aren't even active anymore! If you are new and starting out, a defeatist "it's not fair" attitude will get you nowhere. Do I sometimes feel like some big accounts ignore my content? Sure, I can list off a whole host of accounts who have never voted me a single time in my almost two years here, and sometimes it's a little disheartening, but that is just how things go, and it hasn't stopped me from building my account and contributing to Steem in other ways, so it's not a big deal to me! I just keep on pushing forward! #### "Do you feel like your blog is successful Futuremind?" Wow I'm loving the questions today Steemians! I love you all!!! Yes I do! Back in December of 2017, I was working as a roofer for a very abusive employer. I had been doing that labor intensive job for about a year, and was out there in sub zero temps one day, my hands were numb, and I remember thinking: *"I'm a guitar player, what the hell am I doing out here risking my limbs for minimal wages?"* This is when I discovered Steem, and I decided I'm not going to do labor like that anymore. Even though I could earn as much in 2 weeks as it's taken me two years to earn here.. It's not completely about making profit for me. Sure I hope Steem becomes valuable and all this work pays off, but blogging gives me the opportunity to fulfill my passions and work with my mind, which I enjoy. I'm fortunate enough to get a little assistance for living, and I just barely make it by month to month. I could go out there and work a mindless labor job, but the idea of someone making way more money than myself for *my* labor just doesn't sit well with me, and in most cases I have worked for very abusive employers. At this point in my life, my motto is: *"I would rather die hungry and happy, than die full and miserable."* *(Told you I was gonna get philosophical :p)* So, about 1500 words in now, I think I've covered my thoughts pretty well on the topic and will start wrapping it up. My message to you all *(especially the ones struggling to get noticed)* is don't give up! It might sound a bit "cliche" sure, but anything worth having in this life does not come easily. We're always going to have good days and bad days, that is another aspect of life. Even now, feeling like I have a successful blog, I still have my down days and feel kind of hopeless at times, but the important thing is I refuse to give up, I'm persistent, and Steem is more than just a blogging space for me now. It's a place I call home. Have a great day everyone, and thank you for reading! Much love, @futuremind  Posted with eSteem Surfer