The link between satisfaction and user retention
It is no secret that a huge problem on Steemit is the retention rate of new users. According to the latest updates by @penguinpablo here, there are around 60,000 accounts making trasactions daily (posting, commenting, upvoting, resteeming) - but we know there are now over a million Steem accounts.
Promises of making huge money quickly does not help, especially when new users see the trending page as the ‘face’ of Steemit, and dont generally understand that the majority of those posts won't earn anywhere near that amount a profit as they have often has hundreds of dollars spent on bots to get them to the trending page. I think if you are new to Steemit or just getting started it is important to understand why you are here, and what gives you satisfaction - let's explore a few examples
Money
The first (and most obvious) reason people join Steemit is because they have heard about this alternative social media/blogging website which is free to join and people are making loads of money. Unfortunately the vast majority of these people come along and blog for a few weeks and then leave moaning that they were underappreciated and the system isn't fair.
Making money isn’t easy
When I joined Steemit I won't lie was attracted by the idea of making loads of money but over time have lowered my expectations and set some new expectations, while being happy to create content, engage with great people and earn a few extra dollars.
My biggest piece of advice to new Steemians regarding financial expectations is:
Lower your expectations
Community
A common phrase I hear on Steemit from people who have been here a while is:
Come for the money, stay for the community
This is certainly something that has truth for me - I have met and engaged with loads of awesome Steemians who have similar interests to me, including music, technology, crypto and Steemit!
For me the community extends outside of the Steem blockchain itself and onto places like steem.chat and Discord where there are loads of different servers and places to meet people. Now that I have been here a while and understand how Steem works I get great satisfaction out of helping out those who are new to Steem with any questions they may have and getting them settled in. I think this goes a long way to retention of users! It can be confusing at first and offering help to others will make them feel welcome, and make it all a bit less confusing
Create content/engage in discussions
As I move on and spend more time on Steemit this is probably the area that motivates me most and creates the greatest satisfaction. Since joining Steemit I have realised how much fun creating content is, and how much you can learn just by researching and sharing engaging and interesting content. Some people come here not knowing what to blog about or just blogging about the most ‘popular’ topics - my advice would be to blog about what you are knowledgeable about or what you are interested in most.
I get the most enjoyment when it is clear that others have read my content and leave comments/questions and engaged in some conversation with me. I try to make content that generates this type of discussion or asks questions of my readers. I also spend time on here commenting on others blogs getting to know them better, and am learning everyday.
Since I have been here I started the #musicdiscovery tag for Steemians to share and discover new music with each other and have been blown away by how many people have started using this tag and it seems we have started a community sharing music with each other. I LOVE music and it has given me some inspiration and helped me discover all sorts of new artists I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
I also started the #7daypositivitychallenge as a small experiment and a way to bring some more positivity to people's lives and here on Steemit. Again I am amazed how many people have taken on this challenge, and it gives me a sense of pride to see how far this has gone.
Summary
Being new to Steemit isn’t always easy, especially when you learn that making money isn’t as easy as you expect. I think lowering your expectations and finding out what generates satisfaction is the best way for user retention to increase.
I do think that because there is money involved, the quality in general on Steemit it quite high - I am amazed when I visit Facebook - its mainly selfies, family/holiday photos or petty arguments!
I think a good piece of advice for people new to Steemit would be -
Think of Steemit as a social media website first - a place where you can create content and share it with others, and think of the money as an added bonus
I would love to hear the reasons that you have stuck around on Steemit for and what advice you might have for people new to Steemit!
I was part of tribe.net - one of the first social networks and it had some of the greatness we see on Steem, in the form of an international group with little boundaries and no censorship. Then it got taken over by Cisco and destroyed quickly. I would like Steem's open nature to become the backbone to a great hub of learning and sharing that empowers the world and helps us heal.
If it doesn't occur on Steem, it can occur on a similar system using a similar architecture.
I think that is the direction Steem is heading in! Its a bit of a slow road to greatness - but I can see Steem being world changing :)
I've been on and experimenting with Steemit for a little more than two weeks, but what you write here is already true for me. I've been wanting to have more of an online blog presence for some time, but I found Wordpress a bit lacking. Despite the small rewards for new users here, they are much better than a Wordpress blog. And just a like a Wordpress blog you can use the post to build a presence or point off to other kinds of content that could bring an ROI. However, it is already clear to me that there are many great users here to interact with, as well as many who are trying to help others both on and off Steemit. I'm not sure whether Steem is the right place for my content, since I am trying to build an audience for information visualization theory and practical tips. The inability to update the content after 7 days may turn out to be a problem, especially if users frown on reposting the content with updates. I'm also concerned that the 7 day reward limit discourages truly lasting, quality content. Despite this though, Steemit still seems like a much better platform than the alternatives. I also like that I get to play a part in Steemit as a grand experiment.
Glad you are here and enjoying your time here.
I often will post or repost content with updates. You will find users who frown on doing nearly everything here. It doesn't mean there is a consensus. My least favorite part of the culture is those who set arbitrary limits on others. If it makes sense to repost your content, do it!
You can use #steempress plugin by @steempress-io to wordpress blogs to post in Steemit, then you can take benefit of both worlds. https://steemit.com/steem/@jesta/introducing-steempress-an-experiment-view-for-steem-s-blockchain-blogging
https://steemit.com/steempress/@steempress-io/steempress-ready-to-curate-steem-powered-wordpress-blogs-with-1-million-steem-power
Keep with it - it takes a while to get the hang of here, but its a great place. There are loads of great people here to learn off! I dont know to much about wordpress so cant comment on that one too much.
Users frown upon allsorts here - there are loads of disagreements because there are no real rules as such. Just try and stick positive and im sure you will go fine :)
@condrat This is a great post!
I recently wrote how I am not sure we should consider user retention at all. However, it does mean something. There are many reasons to have an account and not blog.
Regarding earning, I think what a lot of people miss once they start looking at the trending page is that MOST people here earn more for their content here then they would anywhere else.
Another point, we live in an instant gratification world so many also miss how much the ability to earn increases as you hold stake. It acts much like compounding interest. Everyt ime, I vote I give out more, but I also get back more in curation etc. I don't vote to maximize curation, but if I did, it could increase my earnings.
Many people also come in expecting the site to be fully developed, and the economics to be fine-tuned. They aren't.
Great thoughts and enjoying it here is completely about managing expectations.
Thanks @whatsup!
Yeah its true this is a new avenue and way for people to earn that wouldn't otherwise have the oppurtunity.
Steem is only 2 years old and pretty well developed but people expect it to have all the bells and whistles which it doesnt yet - just needs fine tuning 😆😆
I agree - once I realised I am not going to make mega $$ here i have been having a lot more fun - coincidence? I think not...
I think the reason to join should be chat and learn about cryptocurrency and get paid to discuss it. This should be crypto university! This is where I learned a ton in 2016.
Unfortunately the site makes it difficult to follow topics like you can in more successful sites like google news, Reddit, medium. Stupidly you can only follow users here and limiting to a set of tags you like is super difficult. Even twitter lets you follow tags and notifies you of popular post you might have missed.
smt diversion
Instead of building a good social network site focused on crypto, the morons running steem decided to spend all year trying to sell their crappy half developed system to others through smt. Just get the original mission right first! they missed a golden opportunity to be the place to Leen when the whole world was trying to learn in 2017. Now I just hope they are ready by the next parabolic move after the 2020 halfing.
I expect retention to be weak until the basic characteristics are build out to help people find good relative content.
I agree - get paid to socialise, learn and have fun! Steem can take as much or as little of your time as you want. Some people take it seriously and spend hours, while others share a meme here and there and maybe some music they like - the choice is yours :)
Its still early days for Steem and im sure we will se changes rolled out which will make the interface much more user friendly!
I feel like a broken record here, but there is a lot of effort put forth to make sure expectations are not realistic, especially by one of our top scammers, erm I mean witnesses. The one who last I saw (I don't follow him) was trying to release a token without actually having a token. A pretend token based on no contract?
I came here based on videos from the witness I alluded to above, as well as many people from what I have seen. Then, it seems most are unwilling to look long enough as I did after those expectations are shattered to see what is actually possible if one puts in the effort. And lord forbid the thought of actually investing ones own money should be part of any plans here.
As we see growing in society, the idea of ownership is being replaced for to many as an idea of entitlement. I am not rich, and I have used position trading to invest in my stake a little. I also invest in delegation rental to try to encourage others to stick around by allowing me to vote with the slider and do so without the vote being a crumb that is not counted. Not because I am a saint, but the more of us who grow here the better for all of us.
You are a perfect example of one who took charge/responsibility for your growth here. I had never heard of you, and you started the 7 day gratitude challenge. I learned many things from it (including I won't be doing any more challenges, lol) including who you were. Now while it is true we don't interact a whole lot, so far that project you created and rippled out has garnered you several upvotes from me, and many more over the coming years (if Steemit makes it). How many others like myself became aware of you all because you took charge?
Many people are shortsighted, even among those who stay. Imagine if we all had this same opportunity with Bitcoin or Ethereum when they were worth only a couple of bucks. Suddenly those .002 payouts that look like crap now suddenly look like one might have been way overpaid.
I see this, and I am going to claw my stake as hard as I can, even when it usually is such a small amount (for now). Investing as I can as well. And while doing this, I get the chance to hand money to worthy people/projects simply by smashing that upvote button and handing a small slice of the pool to those I value. This is possibly the sweetest system I have ever witnessed.
@practicalthought now who would you be talking about..... I think its the same guy I followed when I joined telling me how easy it was to make loads of money on Steemit - yes, yes must be! I agree there are people (and news articles) making Steem sound like its easy to make a good ammount of money quickly - and people come and then leave again when they realise its actully hard work.
I agree, I have a real community focus here and as I (slowly) grow, I want to share around education, upvotes and interactions with other new users to help them out - if they are genuinly putting in an effort!
Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate it :) Keep on Steeming!
I have noticed people I know haven't posted in a while. Maybe when steem price rises, things will get better. I have met friends from all around the world. It has been a great experience. Before steemit I wasn't online and never blogged before. Now I have learned so much here and have even started writing poems and stories. I love Steemit.
Great post. I can tell you love it too! :)
Joy
Yeah its sad i follow people who write really good content and then they are gone never to be seen again. Yeah people blog less when the price is lower but this is the best time to blog!
Yeah i am the same i have discovered how much fun writing is - it takes a lot of time but i enjoy it!
Thanks glad you enjoyed it 😁
I did a bit of homework before I joined, so I already had expectations of not making a lot of money any time soon. I have continued blogging here because I see the platforms potential, and I appreciate the community efforts to help each other succeed. Blogging on steemit has also given me a creative outlet I sorely needed. I have been challenged and motivated to be creative again which is worth more to me than the opportunity to earn money here (though the crypto is definitely a sweet motivational bonus lol). I also enjoy all the great content and interacting with new and interesting people.
I think i did different research to you @paradigm42 lol i thought i was onto a gold mine when i started!
Writing is more powerful than i thought - its such a great way to be expressive and share thoughts and feelings.
The Steemit community rocks! 🤗😀
Am love 😍
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Making money doesn't come that easily. I have been on steemit for a couple of months now and I havecome to understand that interactions are important to succeed on this platform along with quality content.
Steemit would become much more fun when huge incomes begin to come in.
Yeah its true that money isnt easy to come by here - but aslong as your enjoying your time then there shouldnt really be a reason to stop..
Yes well it would be nice for all of us to make more money!