So you've signed up for Steemit, written your introduction post, and even submitted some awesome content. Now you sit, refreshing your Blog tab waiting for the sweet dosh to start rolling in.

but it doesn't. You get one, maybe two, upvotes, and that's it. That's when you realize Steemit is a big place, and you start feeling like a small fish in a big pool. a small fish, like maybe a...Minnow?

Well it's great news that we have the @Minnowsupport group here just for people like you! The Goal of this guide is to get you ready to join an elite group of Steemians who care about Peace, Abundance, and Liberty above all else, and who are willing to provie a support network for new users, or what we call Minnows. It will not explain every little thing about Steem or Steemit, but should explain why and how to join us at the Minnow Support Project.

Power Levels

Before we continue though, you'll need to be at least a little familiar with some broader Steemit concepts. Not all votes are equal on Steem, and making good posts isn't the only way to make some money here.

• Voting power

On steem, not every vote is equal. Users have something called steem power, which measures how much their vote is worth. If one person with 20,000 Steem power votes on your article, it might jump up by $20 from that one vote! People with a lot of Steem Power are called Whales, and some people try to just get the attention of Whales in order to maximize profits.

• Curation Rewards

But why would a Whale, or anybody, want to give this money out? Well, first, it cost them nothing! voting is free, and your Steem Power has a cool down period, so it becomes less valuable each time you use over the course of a day. but secondly - They're all about their (non)paper money!

When you vote on something, you are curating that content for the greater Steemit community. When payouts occur for that post, curators will be paid 25% of the total value of that post. In this way, people who vote often and intelligently are rewarded for their effort. It also means that many users are chasing Whales, hoping to make an easy Steem Dollar by automatically voting on anything a Whale does. There are a few tools that help do this, such as Streemian and Steemvoter.

And this is where the Minnow Support Project comes in!

The Minnow Support Project

The @Minnowsupport project utilizes these services, in addition to some robots, to automate the voting of posts. Members of the project all add thier own voting power to the bot, and members submit articles to be voted on. The end result? A ton of people voting on your post, all banded together in one voice! this works because of the two services seen above, so when a vote is submitted, the bot votes on it, and everyone following it on Streemian follows suit.

But the Project is so much more than this voting help. It also provides benefits, like:

• Bots

We run bots that can help you find your current voting power, poll information about the Cryptocurrency market, and just have fun.

• Peer Review

Want some feedback from fellow writers, artists, and bloggers? We have a dedicated channel just to do this very thing.

• Follow Trains

You follow me and I follow you and you follow him and he follows her..Join the follow trainand watch your follower count rise!

• Competitions

There are always bounties and competitions being ran by the larger fish in the project. In fact, I wrote this for one being ran by our Glorious Eternal Leader, @aggroed. It's a great way to get some exposure, have fun, and get to know your fellow Steemians. that is the word, by the way. Not Steemers or Steemites, Steemians.

• Geographical Groups

Steemit is a global community, and the Minnow support Project reflects that. We run groups for Venuzuela, Africa, and other specialized geographical areas, so you'll always find a place to fit.

• Community

When I joined the project, I was given free Steem, help registering, followers, and advice on writing. We are always engaged and talking all day, and the whole atmospheric is truly nothing but positivity. Now, there's plenty of ribbing and joking around, but it always stays focused on three things - Peace, Abundance, and Liberty. If you want a group to belong to, this is it.

So What's Next?

First, We use an app called Discord to communicate in real time and run the Bots. This Discord is part of the great PALnet, which is what we call the group that runs the Minnow Support Project. You can join with this link:

https://discord.gg/HYj4yvw

While there is a Steem Chat, it tends to be unreliable right now, and doen't offer nearly as many features as Discord. If you aren't familiar, Discord is like Skype but good. It has multiple text channels for people to talk, like chat rooms, as well as voice channels.

Once you join, you'll be a Guest. You'll want to head to the registration channel and register with the bots, which will elevate you to registered. The Directions for doing so are in the channel when you join, but it will have you send a very small amount of Steem to the bots to prove you're real. If you don't have any, that's ok - just ask and surely someone will help you out.

If you want to join properly and become a Member, you'll be asked to sign up on the aforementioned Streemian and Steemvoter, then follow the @minnowsupport account. Again, the details are inside the PALnet Discord.

For additional reading, you can find details in this video from our own @Rhondak:

https://steemit.com/minnowsupport/@rhondak/tutorial-for-palnet-registration

We really want to see you join us! We are fun, helpful, and care about the Steemit platform. At the very least, poke your head in and see for yourself. If you want further reading and details, you can see our latest announcement here:

https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@minnowsupport/minnow-support-project-announcements-governance-policies

The Minnow Support Project - Come for the upvotes, stay for the people!