http://i.imgur.com/dLTCsbc.jpg?1
<sub>Photo credit: Dreamstime.com</sub>

I see way too many brand-new Steemians complaining about low payouts or followers.

“My first post only made a few cents… it's not fair!”

This is a little silly to me. Who would ever expect to earn a bunch of money for making a single post on a website? I do understand that some new users get huge payouts right away - but they are often already well known in the cryptocurrency community, or have a very compelling story, or maybe they just got lucky!

If Steemit was a get rich quick scheme, it would be a scam. I’m glad it takes a little effort to get off the ground, as it's a sign of the site’s legitimacy. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

<h3>Five Months of Follower Statistics</h3>

http://i.imgur.com/6NCVZt8.jpg?1
<sub>How I feel when I don’t have enough followers yet</sub>

To give you an idea of how much patience you need to build a good following, here are my follower statistics from the last five months:

Feb 12: 58
Feb 19: 65
Feb 26: 71
March 5: 76
March 12: 76
March 19: 82
March 26: 83
April 2: 92
April 9: 106
April 16: 114
April 23: 117
April 30: 119
May 7: 133
May 14: 167
May 21: 181
May 28: 220
June 4: 250
June 11: 312
June 18: 364
June 25: 405

Whoa! It took me my first four months to get my first 200 followers, and then one month to get my next 200. 

The growth seems exponential for me and many other users - you have to grind your way up to your first few hundred followers, and then the network effect kicks in and your posts become much more visible, which makes more people see you and decide to follow you.

What I’m trying to say is: Be patient, be humble, and do the work! If your experience is anything like mine, the rewards will really start to happen after the first four months.

Good luck and happy Steeming :-)

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