I've been doing very well with promotion services (and 
It's amazing how well the entire process has worked out. But there is still one obstacle that keeps it from being fully profitable. There is still one intractable obstacle that could throw a wrench in my plans.
I think you all know what it is.
The Price of Steem
At the time of this writing, the price of Steem has stabilized somehwat. But over the past week or so, we've seen some heavy fluctuations downward. And it's not good for anyone who makes their SBDs from posting content.
And it's not exclusive to Steem either. The whole cryptocurrency market is being depressed by people who are desperately trying to keep the price of Bitcoin low. Every time Bitcoin's price creeps upward, a steep selloff occurs to balance it.
It's not fair. But then, it also can't last forever. As Bitcoin gains more traction among businesses and individuals, it becomes more distributed and harder to manipulate. And the fundamentals of Bitcoin have never been stronger, with SegWit, the Lightning Network, and increased attention and adoption.
When Bitcoin rebounds, Steem will too. But until then, I find myself in the position where using promotion services only causes me to break even (or maybe even lose a few pennies on each post).
Still, it's worth it, because I am racking up my SP and my Reputation Score with each post. And when Steemit finally comes into its own (which could be quite soon), I will be in an advantageous position.
Until then, the only thing that can sink me would be more Steem price pullbacks. So let's all hope those don't happen.
Thank you for reading.