Dear Hivers,
Hive's popularity calls for our undivided attention. New users are looking for ideas, guidance, and valuable insights to learn faster.
That is why I have prepared this ultimate guide to assist brand new users. If you belong to this new club, then these 19 tips will stimulate your mind – show you what's important – and will be an instrumental foundation for your growth.
Note: These tips are the result of my Hive + 8 years of blogging experience. Therefore you will see these tips are designed to avoid mistakes and discover new insights – so you can take your Hive experience to the next level.
Let's start:
#1: Start by expanding your boundary
If you have signed up, there’s a good chance that you are in love with yourself. You love your profile — your wallet — and your notifications. Self-love is great.
But you might want to get out of your profile — and explore what’s out there. This is the first important step: to expand your boundary.
Because you see, Hive is a social platform — so have a bit of social fun here.
#2: Read. Read. And Read.
Hive is a gym. And reading is a gym equipment that will keep you fit. In other words: the more you read, the more you know about the authors — what they do — and what the platform actually is.
Plus, by reading more you are also feeding your mind the right food.
#3: Know that rewards will come.
You came here for rewards? Great. No one is judging.
But remember this: Hive is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You can’t fish for loopholes to succeed here. It works both ways: HIve offers you something and you should offer something in return.
Basically, add value to the ecosystem and it will give you back the returns.
#4: Find like-minded Hivers.
Behind these words are humans. These are Hivers you can easily follow and connect with. So find like-minded people like you.
Recently, I have also started doing this because you never know what comes out of it. So always remember to follow people with good reputation. This way you can learn what's working.
(Any reputation score over 50+ is good).
#5: Engage with your heart.
Moment you come outside of your profile, not only do you get to read but also engage with new people. Lately, with initiatives like #POSH, engagement is considered equally important.
For more details, check out this post: 9 do’s and don’ts of engagement
#6: Understand Hive and Hive Dollar.
On the surface level, it is important to know what Hive and Hive dollars actually are. You should know the relationship between them — and how you can benefit from it. A bit of economic understanding helps, you know.
Read more: Hive dollar + Hive
#7: Pick what’s relevant to you.
Hive is full of content. And that is why, right out of the gate, you should pick the topic of your interest. You can follow people – check homepage – sidebar to discover content you can relate to.
Once you have read enough, and followed enough, you can move onto writing content.
#8: Write content that matters.
Two key points: First, think twice about your post's headline. Make sure it is clear and easily understandable (simple yet so important).
Second: Offer good content. Content that adds new information – value – while respecting your readers... and the community guidelines.
#9: Please don't copy.
"Hey Sid, can't I just copy-paste content?"
A lot of people will be watching you here. The Hive community doesn't appreciate spam and abuse. There's a reason why we have a downvote button.
Plus, take @hivewatchers for example. Or @Jaguar.force. Their job is to discover plagiarism. You don’t want them to expose your dark side, do you?
Always go with original content. (It also makes you feel good)
#10: Format your content for readability.
When writing content, apply simple formatting techniques.
Use subheads — write short paragraphs — pick simple punctuations — and sprinkle images. All this will collectively make your content a delight to read.
Additional resources: 5 Powerful Formatting Tricks
#11: Participate in something new.
Don’t know what to write? Good.
You can now pick something new by exploring tags like #contest and #challenge. Once you go through these tags, you will find several initiatives.
Pick, think, and write. (What a fun creative process, isn't it?)
#12: Add tags before publishing.
Not just any tags but the right tags — these right tags will bring attention to your post. It also helps curators to discover your content.
Tip: If you don’t know which tag to use, simply check out a couple of posts and scroll down to find relevant tags.
#13: Use apps to stay closer to Hive.
- Esteem - You can use this instead of Hive.blog
- Peakd - Similar to Esteem
- 3speak - For uploading video content.
- Dblog - For a custom blog on Hive.
#14: Explore communities
You can publish your articles on related communities. I personally publish on OCD and GEMS. To explore all the communities, click here.
#15: Don’t forget to encourage others…
There’s an age-old quote from Buddha about the power of giving — and why giving changes your life. It is true even here.
Not only is it a good practice to look upto each other but also to give as much as possible. If you can vote? Then vote!
Tip: Don't forget to check your voting bandwidth on Hiveblocks.
#16: Don’t compare yourself with anyone.
Why is this person doing better than me? Look at her followers — her posts — and that ridiculous payout… I certainly deserve better?
You do deserve better. Only if you can drop comparison — and accept discipline.
Because very soon you will discover that — not just on Hive but also in life — anyone who works consistently gets lucky. Therefore throw comparison out.
#17: Want help? Just ask.
You know, I ask a lot of questions. Most of them are silly. For which I have no answer.
So I go to ask witnesses, old members, and the community. Point is: If you want anything? Simply ask here. No one is judging.
- We also have AskHive community
- Check out the Discord channel as well.
#18: Say YES to Patience
Shortcuts rarely work. In life. And on Hive. So if you are here for personal gains, you have to accept patience. Do not be disappointed with no engagement, no rewards, or less votes.
Just consistently offer value over a period of time and the community will see it. Then they will give you what you want.
(The returns are often multiplied).
#19: Celebrate your time
Hive is a true community-driven platform with variety of people – who are into business, trading, photography, art, writing, and so on.
So when you are here? Just celebrate your time with the community. You can be raw, real, and authentic. Plus, be enthusiastic and positive.
Just have a good time, you see.
Wow.
That's quite a list, isn't it?
So there you have it... all the important tips and valuable insights to take your Hive experience to the next level.
From reading to writing to participating in this ever-growing community... these 19 tips have showed you all.
One key point to remember: Hive is a self-fulfilling system.
You add value to the Hive ecosystem. And it adds value back to you. That's why it is one of the hottest attention economy platform in the blockchain industry.
And with this, we complete this article. Once again, I hope and wish you found these tips useful. Pick what you like, test them out, and see what comes out of it.
And if you have any questions? Feel free to let me know.
Cheers,
Sid
Liked this article? Feel free to comment and upvote and reblog.
Very useful information here. I'm pretty new here still and haven't spent a ton of time exploring the communities and everything that people share, so I'm going to make it a point to do that more often now.
I also just discovered and started using eSteem yesterday, and I have to say it's fantastic! It's already replaced my normal browser usage :)
Thanks for sharing this @sidwrites!
Hehe!
I am glad.
Oh yes. Gotta love the @Esteemapp. It is sleek! :)
I still catch myself using Peakd every now and then (i keep esteem open and peakd for wallet balances lol), but esteem is pretty much the workhorse now. Pretty neat that you can earn promotions/tiny boosts just from daily activity (although i did see they hardcore a 3% beneficiary in when you post through them).
You know, I didn't know about the ESTM tokens until someone recently told me. And they were also used to boost posts. Very unique concept. Got the Mac app (which, unfortunately, crashes).
Peakd has been my go-to tool for several reasons.
Overall, happy we have so many options, no? :)
A true writer at heart, I see ;) (SPONSORED CONTENT TSK TSK).
Haha, I love having all of these options though. We're spoiled! I'm still sitting here trying to think of something to build for HIVE/contribute to.
Have you seen @Dapplr? Looks like Instagram for HIVE, it's so gorgeous! Can't wait to give that a try when it's released.
Love the sponsored nudge. Wish it was true. :)
Interesting. Same here. Want to build a dApp but my coding skills are like Covid-19. Bad and uncertain. :)
Yep! Said YES to their proposal. Beautiful design. And a game-changer. Will keep the community hooked!
Soon soon, your writing seems to be getting a lot of attention (which is awesome btw, grats!)
Lmao, yeah, I'm still super noob w/ anything past intermediate CSS/JS. Would love to build something though..
Yep, can't wait to give it a try out!
After rebrand, we have removed all beneficiary percents, now 0%. Try out ecency.com!
Will definitely give it another go - I was using it for a while but then opted for dapplr once that came out.
For desktop though im all @LeoFinance now - that extra 10% LEO really kicks ass!
Posted using Dapplr
👍Good to have many choices. Good luck and keep up the great work.
Btw, We are launching ECEN token soon and Points are great way to distribute tokens widely. So now that our onboarding is in place, mobile app + desktop app + website with one click sign up, we will be focusing more on tokens aspect of Ecency. More info in future posts!
Engage. That gets the best results. Talking and interacting with others is the best way to get your name out there.
Absolutely. I remember how we started as well. Saw your name, read your post, engaged - and then found Giftgiver. Participated in the contest too.
And now we are here. Engagement is super-important. Here. And in life. :)
Yep agreed especially now bidbots dont exist!
Hello @sidwrites,
Excellent publication. It is very useful not only for those entering the platform for the first time but also for those who have a good time navigating with a broken compass. LOL
Apart from joking, I think your advice is valuable at this time to help with the differentiation of HIVE, because it helps to focus on new members of the community.
Thank you for stopping to give advice.
Haha! You said it better. Thanks!
I would suggest for a new user that they spend some time understanding this place before they do anything like posting. I spent my first month commenting and reading posts trying to build up some sort of following first. there is nothing worse than posting and receiving a big 0 for your effort. I seriously recommend any new user to take their time and start slow. I am still here two years later and that is exactly what I did. Do not worry about rewards as it takes time and getting comments on your posts is more important in the beginning as it means people are reading them.
Extremely valid point. I saw a girl who posted a quality article recently, and she had a following of only 4.
Without an audience, we are really talking to a dead wall. That is why #2 was important combined with consistent engagement.
You said it better. :)
Unfortunately that is the reality of this place. 8 hours a day over two years and it is now easier but only just. You have to go through a period of acceptance which is also understandable as no one wants to support someone that is also going to disappear. Most of the older users have seen people come and go and why some of the returning users probably don't get as much support. I know certain names I will never vote again..
We will have a continuous flow of users - entering and exiting. It is part of any online community, as you know.
That is why I also made a new plan just now.
Because like you said:
I am surprised no one has discussed this before.
The problem is with most new users is they expect too much for doing very little. Wait until Hive is at $4 or $5 this place will be flooded and they disappear as fast as they come. I think we have all tried to get people we know and also fairly reluctant too as well. All of us have been let down at some point and as much enthusiasm as you have this is not going to be easy. Hive will grow over time but we honestly need a decent app that draws people in. A decent game or something which we don't have unfortunately.
True.
You are right. I also feel we have two problems: one of development, and the other of marketing. I often compare Steemit to Medium - and see how Medium simply took off... like a rocket... literally changing people's lives.
It is a shame because something clearly went wrong here.
Expecting that it will take time to get some traction on here is important. Those who expect a get rich quick scheme never last. Putting in the effort early pays off. Cant expect people to know who you are straight away.
You nailed it. Patience is the key! :)
Great post, this article really needs to be posted in a newbie community where people can see it for years to come ( though a lot will change )
Question: If OCD & Gem weren’t the upvote spots, would you still post there ? ( you don’t have to answer )
Thanks!
And to answer your question, you know I really like... posting. Even mentioned the issue here.
In short: the game needs to change. Curators should find us. Not the other way around. :)
Excellent answer dude! You really have the attitude of gratitude. I read that post. You really are a great blogger.
It is the GOOD in you that sees this, you know!
Hehe! Truly appreciate the compliments. Almost 5 am here - and I am smiling. Thanks to you!
Just in time. I'm a newbie myself and I'm still understanding how this works. This blog is a great help! I even clicked the other links in this blog. Thank you so much!
I am absolutely delighted. Feel free to ask / share anything. Following you my friend!
Thanks! Appreciate it 😊
Great content!
I really love no.16 that you said don't compare yourself with anyone. I will do my hive’s blog the best.
Haha! Yes. What's life when we start comparing? We lose our path!
Thanks for the simple and easy to understand tips. Don't mind if I share it in my HIVE community facebook page. :)
Oh please. Go ahead and share it. :)
More than happy, you know!
Very very informative and useful content thanks for sharing I really appreciate and impressed
I am glad you liked it brother!
Pretty great tips and tricks that you have here, mate. Cheers for sharing, I wished that I'd found something like this back when I first joined Steemit, all those moons ago :-) I think the most important thing to do on HIVE, is just to have fun. Create, engage, have a laugh - it's all in the name of building a stronger community. Eventually, the bounties of that laughter will come back to you in full!
You nailed it. What's life if we don't enjoy doing what we love? And have FUN while at it? :)
Excellent advices. I've been thinking about expanding my content myself because I feel like I've been stuck. Thank you for these tips. I will follow them to the letter!
I am glad I could do my part. Let me know if there's any question. I would be happy to share my thoughts... and learn together.
Some nice little tips here. Engagement is definitely key. For a while, I had no idea how communities worked and only very recently discovered how to post in the #LeoFinance community.
One thing that I have noticed, is that creating a new account on Hive is still a little clunky. I wanted to create an account for my wife, and certainly can do once I get some liquid Hive again. But I was quite willing to pay for an account using Fiat, and this option isn't available right now.
I wonder if there would be any value in giving people the option to use Fiat to purchase Hive accounts. Is the demand there yet? I doubt it.
About community: I recently discovered #LeoFinance as well. Do you post from their website?
Sadly, fiat will always be an issue. Crypto and fiat are two wild animals ready to fight. For your wife, you can make a free account through Esteem (it is instant right now). Let me know!
I haven't posted from their website yet. Probably should.
Reminders are very efficient
for a long term plan for any hivers.
New or old we all need this to straight the course.
Kudos!
I am glad this acts as a reminder. :) Hope and wish you enjoyed them reading as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Thank you! This helps me a lot! I'm not really new to this kind of platform as I have already used steemit before but to read this article refreshes me of how beautiful it is to write. Looking forward to do some blogs again. It's been a while!
I will take that as a compliment. Thank you so much! :)
YES! YES! YES!
Thank you very much. I joined hive today and im having some trouble to understand it. Posts like this are very helpful. Merci
Haha! I am so delighted to see this. Thanks!
Thank you for this! I left Steem a while back and just recently decided to get back into things here on Hive and was looking for something of a “Getting Started” guide. This was perfect!
First of all, welcome back. :)
And I am glad I could do my bit. Love your intro, brother!
I think I fall in the category of the "new users" that you were talking about in your post. I was looking at the 19 and couldn't choose a favorite, but to look at it another way, # 6 is the one that I need to understand more. Maybe someone already wrote an article about it, I would absolutely love to check it out and find out more... thanks @sidwrites. Keep safe. :)
Right.
#6 has always been complicated. The whitepaper has it all and it was tough for me to understand it too (spent 3 days and I have no finance background). Give it time and keep exploring (do read the article I linked to).
Thanks for dropping by!
This was a good one to read and thoroughly helpful to newcomers, which brings me to the conclusion that I really need to steal some time away from my other responsibilities to learn the economics of blockchain, specifically Hive. Since I've decided to focus my time and energy here. I'm sure it was tough to understand but I'm an optimistic dude, and I need to figure it out sooner or later. Thanks again @sidwrites. Keep safe! :)
Interacting is the best... I really miss when we are in the Steemit... Lol
Hi Kenny, I am from 2017. I remember it was an explosion of comments. Left and right. The activity was absolutely monstrous, to put it lightly.
Hive has been calm. With #posh activity though, I think we will see a surge in comments (just look at this post).
Glad to connect with you! :) (And love the animation header on your profile. How did you do that?)
Yes.. I remember you... (^^)
Its GIF (^^) I will do a footer by the request of my filipino mate here! LOL
I believe in HIVE more than Steemit, but I am thankful to Steemit site of course.. (^_^) Keep in touch bro!!!
3 years later? Haha! Love that. You have some sharp memory brother.
Right. We continue our journey here now. Let's enjoy. :)
This post should be seen by every new hive member.
All solid, helpful points.
#1 is so very important when attempting anything new
#18 this must be stressed, the sticking with it will make the biggest difference for people.
keep at, keep creating.........write it they will come.
Well played, Hive on.
Haha! I will take it as a compliment. Thank you!
And yes, it starts with #1 (always) and ends with #18 (patience is the key to anything, isn't it?).
Glad to see you here.
Haha! I will take it as a compliment. Thank you!
And yes, it starts with #1 (always) and ends with #18 (patience is the key to anything, isn't it?).
Glad to see you here.
Those are great tips, @sidwrites!
Another great topic would be to emphasize the importance of quality over quantity. It not only attracts more readers, but prevents the unpleasant experience of being flagged for spaming the chain.
You nailed it. Nothing can beat quality.
Dear @sidwrites
Here we have another newcomer friendly content. I agree with you regarding all the statements above. In addition, for the ones who are there to earn money, I can say that when you forget about the aspect of money, you earn more.
Just be involved in the ecosystem and feel yourself as a part of this huge community then you will realize that your wallet is getting thicker :)
Thank you for such an informative post mate 😌
So true. Less we think, more we get. Funny.
Thanks for sharing the truth! :)
great content mate, there's a tribe for newcomers but I don't remember his name, this post fix good there.
nice tips not only for hive but for bloggin, everyday is a learning experience, blogging on blockchain totally changed my mindset a few times, cheers!
Oh yes. It is started by @Condra.
Wonderful experience, isn't it? For the first time ever, everyone gets rewarded!
extraordinary publication we put it in our discord as a useful hive post and send as a must-read to all new users that we bring to the platform. Do you give us permission to publish a suitable copy in Spanish?
Sorry for the delayed response. I would love to know more.
we are a promotion project and we are incorporating users to the hive. We already recommend reading your post because it has in one place all the advice we give you when you enter. everyone speaks spanish and we would like to make a post on
that
language inspired by yours. It would not be an exact translation but an adaptation to Spanish. of course mention us and we put the link of your post
Thank you so much for this post. This one is going in to the bookmarks.
I am looking forward to not only joining communities but also starting new ones and getting more people on here. Happy holidays 2021!
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i always love reading advice and tips on how to do things here on Hive. This post really helps a lot. 👍
Hehe! Good to read good advice, isn't it? Glad you are on the RIGHT path.
I ain't gonna say much, but this is really useful. Well done!
You said what's important. Thank you!
Great content! Thank you for such valuable instructions.
Least I could do. Let's have some fun!
Great list! Good job :)
Thank you! It took me a lot of hours to write this one (actually, took more time to edit and rearrange the list - to create a logical flow).
Glad to see you here! :)
You are welcome. Been active 2 years here, and #3 is true, it sure took a long time hehe. I remember after first 6 month of consistenc it started to pay off hehe. Patience, yes man you need a lot of it. And i found #12 confusing from the start, what tags to use for what content and i find that still confusing. And i think for new users also it is a challeng to get it right. Laitly #15 is what i have focus to be better at, commenting on new users post and letting them now of contest they can join and so on :) btw following you now :)
Sorry for the delayed response.
Hehe. For some reason, rewards are highly motivating... for everyone. Just gotta keep our eye elsewhere. My measure was votes (number of votes).
For which I had to focus on reaching out to as many people as possible.
It is a good simple trick worth trying.
That's great. In fact, encouraging others gives us joy too! :)
With that said, voted you with the little I have! :D
Np. Have a great day :)
I'm new here and this article is very helpful! I will pick and test out haha ❤️
Hi @vicvperezdelara, so glad to connect with you. And yes, pick what excites you and go all out. Haha!
Love the heart. ❤️
Let me know if I can do anything. :) (Always love content - marketing - writing). Following you now!
Hola. Soy nueva en Hive blog. Tengo experiencia en steemit. Me gustó tu articulo. Muy dinámico y preciso en dar informacion. Graciassss. Votaré y continuaré leyendo basado en tu articulo. Todavia no voy a publicar, necesito conocer mas la comunidad. Gracias
Cierto, voy a ponerlo en práctica, tus recomendaciones, en realidad, no lo estaba aplicando, hay que ser constante y agregar valor de contenido siempre, también, como lo mencionas, seguir a las personas que tienen buena reputación, y leer sus post para aprender bastante de sus estilos hay que ofrecer constantemente publicaciones .Gracias por su valiosa información
Really useful and informative. Thanks a lot!
Thanks to YOU for reading it. :)
You're Welcome! Stay Safe.
Nice one, great to see something really nice and simple, and applicable to all on the trending page.
Yes. Wrote thinking both old and new users in mind. Though mostly feel like brand new users will benefit more. :)
Great tips Sid. You have a knack for education, for sure. I've linked to this post in the Beginners Tips group, so hopefully it will be useful for a long time to come.
Thank you @condra for your support. Truly appreciate it.
Thank you for detailed write up. It is helpful for sure.
Least I could. Glad to see you here!
This is great, even for people that have been here for years like myself, good to have a refresher once in a while. Solid article
Hehe! You nailed it. Refresher is the word! :)
.....true ;)
very good this post, all you need in one post. very important that people understand that this is not a bank.
Yeah! Those who think, leave too soon! You said it best.
This post is vital. Some of the things mentioned here might seem obvious, but they're far from it, especially for new arrivals to this community. Others are crucial even for people who have some experience with blogs, coding and blockchain.
Thank you, excellent information and very easy to read!
So true. It is the obvious that needs to be repeated, really. Glad you caught this. :)
Thank you, Sid. Good reading and very useful as well
Muchas gracias!
Very happy to see this @Loretrina. Have an amazing Hive time! :)
Loved this article very complete and helps me a lot to understand to improve how to share in this community, really good article!
Absolutely glad to know this was helpful. Let's improve together!
My view about these good tips are more than just a comment. I made a post on the effect and my opinions as a starter here.
https://hive.blog/hive-174578/@prezzie/thoughts-and-response-to-ultimate-tips-by-sidwrites-one-love-keeps-us-together-on-hive
You know? I loved your post. I even sent to some people on Discord group. This is how you do a "commentary" - perfect and very well written. Are you a professional writer?
Love the way you elaborate and encurage the needys...thank you!
Super-glad to know this. Thank you so much!
Really well written, Sid, but you already know that! Great job, friend!
Thank you! Wish you all the best here.
Hi, I am new here. Reading your article was enlightening for me. Thank you :)
Hello new person, I am so glad to see this! Wish to try that Turkish coffee soon!
you wish try :)
This is a amazing post, I am new to the hive community and felt like i was lost but with these pointers, I finally have a compass and I can steadily find my way and my place on the block chain. Thanks a lot for the help.