I started out on Steemit 18 days ago. Like everyone else, it was a journey learning the ins and outs. To be honest, a lot of my post reading is still on the educational side to gain a grasp of what the capabilities are. I am digging into what 
- Submit other users high quality posts and if it is agreed upon, you get $10 SBD as a finders fee.
- As a part of the collective, your voting power is used when these high quality posts are found.
I am sure there is a lot more but I am still doing the research on it. I stopped to write this post because the premise of it is important.
I was found and upvoted 2 separate times in the last 10 days. I was thrilled. It wasn't until today that I realized how important they were. See, I just thought all my followers saw this post individually or saw me in the "New" or "Trending" feed and upvoted individually. I was wrong and realized it today.
As you can see in the picture I received 255 votes and earned $348.00. This is a bit misleading. In actuality, the collective we are speaking of upvoted me and it was an instant 200 votes (roughly). This was a springboard to getting my post in the Trending tab which added more visibility. Until today, I was in my head like, "Wow, my posts are really catching on. I figured out what the users enjoyed and my posts will naturally rise to decent/high levels each time as I maintain and improve further on the quality of my postings."
So after an amazing trip to Vegas, I couldn't wait to get home and get started on the post.
https://steemit.com/travel/@coinhawk/welcome-to-old-town-las-vegas-nostalgic-and-so-much-fun-i-hit-the-jackpot
I spent the next 3 hours producing what I thought was a high quality story that would grab the same attention if not more. An early morning wake up didn't stop me from staying up late until it was completely finished.
I woke up, hit the send button and was on my way to work. I get out of my first meeting and I check my post. Still under $1. Finish my second meeting and recheck. $3.00. I couldn't understand how I got 255 votes and now under 50. That's when I started to read up about what
I have a long way to go even if my content is solid. THAT is what curie is trying to expose and am thankful for the first votes. I know it takes more posts like this to build organically to what I ultimately will be on here. There are so many others who are fantastic but just don't have the history or following yet. There needs to be this system to keep everyone in the game so they can grow on their own.
With that being said, I have signed up for the collective and I will be actively searching, upvoting, and nominating high quality content so more of you have the opportunity I was given.
My best advice being 3 week new in this is as follows. Don't let the initial time commitment dictate failure. Make quality connections with users who post content you enjoy. Learn everything you can about Steemit so you are an expert at wielding it's power.
I am still working on 2 and 3 as well but 1 was accomplished before I even started. I hope the same goes for everyone else on here.
I hope this posts helps. If anyone has anymore information on curie I'd love to learn. Just reply below. Thanks!