Hi Moneybijay,
You are right on some of your criticisms, it is difficult to get visibility without investing first.
However, I think that there is a play to be made in the long run.
Maybe it is best to just keep posting but not investing more time than you can afford to, prioritizing things in your life that can bring you money right now.
The way that I see us smaller accounts getting value back from Steemit is if in 2 to 3 years, Steemit does blow up huge.
By then, we could have built up our accounts alot even without investing in them, and without spending much more time than 1-2 hours per week on it. That will be my strategy.
Whatever you do in the future this time will have served in that you now have ready articles if you ever want to post on other platforms.
You've also improved your writing skills and communication skills for your future tasks so the time is not lost.
Just my opinion ! I wish you good luck.