Advice for Steem Engagement Challenge, Season 10

^{Putting the puzzle together}

Steem Engagement Challenge, or SEC as some communities refer to it, Season 10, is right around the corner!

Today I am going to share some advice with you that can help you with your posts in the new season.
Before I start, I first want to share some stats with you.

Let’s take a look at the challenges from the start to now.

Season 1: Started on April 25, 2022
46: Weeks of writing posts
322: Days of writing

If you have written 322 posts, I salute you! Share with us if you have, as you deserve an accolade.
And if you have not written 322 posts, don’t ever complain that you don’t know what to write about, as 322 topics were given to you in a little bit more than one year.

Next, I want to share some stats from Season 9 with you, and for this, I am going to focus on the Steem For Ladies Community, of which I was part.

Now, if you took part in all 6 of the Steem For Ladies challenges, you can subtract your 6 posts from the 1109. This leaves you with 1103 posts.

My Steemian friends, there were 1103 posts that you had to compete with. If your post was not of good quality, your chances of being nominated as a pick of the week were slim. Yes, I know, not all of us are authors, but I have seen numerous times that the best of the best don’t get nominated. In the end, it is not only the post but all those extra small things that add up.

Of the 1109 posts, yours included, I must have read 99,9% of them. I have seen the mistakes Steemians make, hence this post. I am going to shed some light on how to put the puzzle together.

It is my hope that you can put the advice I am going to share into practice not only in Season 10 but also in other contests and your posts in general.

Engagement

Let me remind you that it is an engagement challenge.

"For your entries to count in the Challenge you need to receive at least 10 upvotes and at least 5 relevant and proper comments - so encourage all your friends and fellow community members to vote and comment on your posts!"

Upvotes:

I tell Steemians on a daily basis that they have to increase their voting CSI%. This you can only do by voting on the posts of your fellow Steemians. It only takes 10 votes at 100% every day. If you have more time, it will take 20 votes at 50%. It was one of the quickest things I had to learn with my return to Steemit. If you want others to vote for you, you have to vote for them.

Don’t let your votes be the reason you don't get support for your posts. Lift your finger and vote!

Comments:

The criteria stipulate that you must have 5 relevant and proper comments. Relevant to the topic and proper, no less than 50 words in my eyes. The biggest culprit for posts not being nominated as picks of the week is the fact that they lack comments. I have seen numerous posts with a score of 9,5 and higher that don’t qualify. It breaks my heart when a post fails not because of what or how it was written but due to a lack of support.

What is even more devastating is when authors invite their friends to participate, but these friends cannot even leave a comment on the post. I know we all get busy, but it takes only a couple of minutes to reply to a post, even if you only write 25 words instead of 50.

If the contest states 3 friends, it is best to invite 5 friends in case some don’t respond to your post, and if you are invited, make sure you comment on the post. Engage with those who are participating in the same contest as you. It is only polite to so this.

Your contest post

The guidelines:

So often, I see posts where the contestant did not follow the guidelines. If there are 5 questions you must answer, make sure that you do just that. If the contest is about swelling feet, you cannot write about feet. You must write about swelling feet.

I always copy the guidelines from the original post and paste them on my Word document. From there, I number them and add spaces in between so that they are already in my layout. To be different, I never leave the question as it is in the contest post. I will always change it to be applicable to me. You can also do this.

The rules:

Oh man! The biggest mistake Steemians make is not following the rules. The guidelines and rules are the most important factors in any contest. They go hand in hand. The rules will tell you where the post must be posted, the word count, the heading, the tags, etc.

I know rules are there to be broken, but not in a contest. It is taboo! You have to make sure that you follow the rules from A to Z, and the only way you can do that is to apply discipline.

It is going to be very painful for you if you have written a post that took you three hours, but it doesn’t qualify as you have not followed the rules.

Always check your post against the rules before you post it. My husband laughs at me as I always read the rules aloud and tick them with my finger in the air. It is the only way that I know I do comply. I can hear it, and I can see it.

The post:

I often get the feeling that a post is only written for the sake of writing a post. I always say that children are not stupid. They know very well when things are wrong, or where to look for that birthday gift you’ve been hiding. The same with curators, moderators, and your fellow Steemians. Don’t write a post because you HAVE to. This is when your post becomes boring.

Rather skip that day and write the next day because you are going to enjoy it much more and it will reflect in your work. You will put a smile on a face or a tear in an eye. In other words, you will move your reader if you are in the right frame of mind.

You have to plan your posts. That is one of the beauties of the engagement challenge. You get the topics at the beginning of the week, which enables you to plan accordingly. I always start with the topic I feel most comfortable with. As for the rest, I have a few days to think and plan accordingly.

Amount of words:

Most of the time, the number of words needed to qualify the post is mentioned under the rules of the contest post. The most common word count we will find on Steemit is 350. BUT, all the communities and all the contests are not the same. You have to check the word count with every contest. Some of the communities can be very tricky.

I have a contest that I run on the Steem For Ladies contest, and the first time I increased the word count, almost half of the posts were not valid entries as the word count was wrong.

Remember, you are competing with 1103 other posts. Make your post count. If the required word count is 350, make yours 500.

• It shows commitment.
• It shows you have enjoyed the contest.
• It shows that you have done your homework.

Introduction paragraph:

While we are on words, let me move over to the introduction paragraph. If you write an introduction of "hello, how are you, and how nice it is to enter the contest," it cannot be counted as part of your post. I’ve seen posts where the introduction is nearly 100 words and the rest of the post is only 200. It is not a good post.

Your introduction is the first page of your book, and you have to catch the attention of the reader from the word go.

If you don’t know how to write a good introduction, my advice will be for you to read a post I shared a couple of weeks ago. How to write a good introduction paragraph

Images:

They say you should never judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, we all do it. I know, I am guilty. One of the best books I have ever read in my life was a book I judged based on its cover: "Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?"

Readers of your post will judge it by that first image, the "cover page of your book." If it has a sloppy, unclear, or skew image, it will not attract attention. People read with their eyes; therefore, give them a story not only to read but also to see.

Plan your post and images together. If I tell my family I must just do my images, they already know it will take another 30–40 minutes to post. Take your time with your images.

Let your post be a feast for the eye.

Before I love you and leave, there are three crucial rules you must ALWAYS follow.

1. Be unique! Be different from the 1103 posts you must compete with.
2. Always check your post for grammar, punctuality, and other mistakes before you post it.
3. Enjoy your writing!

Good luck for Season 10!

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