So you want to get more upvotes on steemit, but you don't have any followers? and no one knows you here?
One of the first things to might try is to make people know you by commenting on them. maybe post links to your comments too so they check them, maybe even offer to exchange upvotes!!
But what you might not know is that If your comment adds no value to their posts, they will ignore you, and worse.. they might FLAG you as a scammer!!
What Are The Comments That Add No Value?
Before I talk about comments that add value, I'll talk about comments that don't.. some of these are:
Comments That are Just "Great Post", "Nice" and "Thanks": while these comments are in fact very good comments and most people will like them, they don't add value and they can easily be faked. if you do these comments once in a while then it's ok!! But if most of your comments are like these then it's a problem. because you might look like someone who just comments without reading the posts!! It's no bad in itself, it's bad because there are easy ways to avoid it (see below).
Exchanging Upvotes: you might upvote someone's topic, and comment "please upvote mine". That's a very terrible idea!! because when you are newbie, your vote is meaningless while those who stayed on steem for months have more powerful votes. it's like giving someone One Dollar and saying to them give me Ten Dollars!! Don't ever do that!!
Exchanging Follows: is also looked down upon here on steemit, when someone follows many people their feed will become unbearable so most steem users will want to follow as few others as possible. you begging them to follow you won't help you.
Copy/Pasted Comments: anyone can (and will) see your comments section (here's mine), if there is the same comment on more than one post, even if that comment is related to them, It is considered Spam. you don't want that happen to you.
Comments That are Unrelated to the Post Commented on: even if your comment is good in itself, if it doesn't have a meaning in the context of the Post you commented on, then that comment adds no value!! and many people Hate That.
Self-Upvoted Comments: some people hate that with passion, and might FLAG you without looking at the comment at all. and no, this probably isn't their fault... By upvoting your own comment, you are using their own Post to earn yourself money. that's how it will be seen.
Why Those Comments Are Bad?
All these types of comments make you look desperate for Follows & Upvotes, like you don't have any creativity at all.
Steemit is a website that values Originality !!
That's why the community upvotes original work. and that's why you find most people say the sources of the Pictures/Quotes they use & that's why you find most trending posts are interesting (arguably, because there are still many stupid posts there).
The Vision of steemit community, is a website that Original Work gets more money that low-effort works. many people are working to make that vision reality... as a newbie your job is to write more and more Original Content until people start to recognize you.
But when you make comments like those, you not only look desperate but you also destroy that vision of the community members. and to protect that vision they will FLAG you... yeah!! Flagging costs them money but they are ready to do that to protect their vision.
Lastly: These comments are not bad on steemit alone, they are bad everywhere... it's just, other social media platforms stopped caring about them.... and on steemit there is money involved.
How to Write Comments That Add Value
Now that you know how wrong you were, how to fix that? well.. in my experience with social media I can say follow these steps and you'll be alright:
Find a Topic That You Are Interested In: don't even get close to the topics that don't interest you. your reply won't be good at all even if you followed the next steps.
Read The Post Carefully Before Commenting: you can read only the first part of each paragraphs (because it's the important part in it) but you have to read Each Paragraph!! that way you'll know how to reply, and since it is a topic that interests you (1) then you will have something to say.
If you want to say "Great Post" Say what's Great About it too: when you say what you liked about it, you prove to the one who posted it that you read it. and they will also be happy knowing what other users like... some bloggers focus more on the things their audience like, so this is a good information for them.
Ask Questions: But make them good questions and ask them to learn or start conversations. and follow (1 and 2) first... someone might talk about something in the post and then answer any question you might have few lines later. if you asked a question that is already answered within the post then this will get backfired at you.
Write Your Thoughts: when you read something you might remember something else right? some bloggers love to read comments that Quote part of their posts then say something like "This part made feel like this, or remember that show I watched when I was young"... But not everyone will like this... some people will group this with comments that add no value.
Engage in Discussion: Nothing makes a blogger happy than someone who exchanges ideas with them, when the Poster reply your comment. reply that comment too with something interesting.. That's what I call making friends and that is way more important than money on steemit.
Engage More in Discussion: Don't only reply the Post writer, reply to other comments too!! and use what you learned in (2,4,5 and 6) on how to reply these comments.
Don't Ask For Upvotes/Follows: if you upvoted their Posts or Followed them, then it's your choice. they aren't supposed to Vote/Followback. if they liked you enough they will upvote you by themselves.
Don't Promote Yourself Ever... Unless: you are providing something that will help them. as @locikll said to me once: "write to them something like "I actually wrote a post similar which gives [explain how your content is different]".
Link to Other Similar Content You Have Read Before: this works just like (9) but instead of your posts, you will link to posts by other people. that will make both writers happy (The one you commented on, and The one you linked to) it helps to mention to them that you linked their article.
Conclusion
Don't Be a Jerk !!
It's not hard to write comments that add value, you just need a little time to read the posts & some thinking.
If you don't know how to do that then it's ok, just "LEARN!!". You should be happy to enter steemit even if just to learn how to do that. there are many people who don't on Facebook, Reddit and Twitter that their communities gave up on trying to inspire Originality anymore.
Comments that add value don't make short-term profit, they only slowly create connections and that will long-term benefit... But comments that don't add value not only don't have long-term benefits... they have short-term consequences too!! That's terrible for everyone!!
If someone likes your comments enough, they WILL check your posts, so make sure you have good posts ready... also don't expect to earn anything in the first month of steem (some people do though). at this time you should work on getting connections not money!!
And Finally, you might ask me.. " @ahmadmanga how come someone new like you is giving advice likes these?"
Yeah I'm fairly new to steem, But I have some experience on other Social Media. I've been in this situation (from both sides) and I know how wrong it is to not add value to posts.... I can say for sure these steps above will help you getting Upvotes, Followers, Replies (and even friends) in the long term.
What do you think about this post? can I improve it somehow? I know I should work on "why those comments bad" section but don't know how to improve it....
and sorry if my English isn't good as it's not my native. If there's something wrong in my English please tell me no matter how small it is.
special thanks to @zeronumbers for his feedback. and to @olyup for the nice comment that I'd qoute:
- If you read something you like, say something that matters.
- Treat other people like real people.
- To make friends, be friendly.
Seems obvious, but it's not.