I'll try to keep it short and simple, You can google or search steemit about how it operates and everything that goes on in making steemit work. Heck Steemit Whitepaper is the most complete document about steemit you can find. People would tell you about STEEM POWER and STEEM DOLLARS, breaking down each and every bit of how they're generated and how you can get rewarded. Even though those guides are very well written and in fact are the source of how I've come to know all about steemit, they're not very newbie friendly. Terms are already very literal in block-chain operated network, swallowing a couple of STEEM POWER, Banks, Bots, Curation rewards, Author rewards may feel a bit overwhelming. Lets cut the chase and get to the point.
(I'd like to include everything written in following paragraphs are my own opinions and observations, these might not be 100% correct but they sure will help you understand steemit a bit better if you've just started)
First off, If you've joined Steemit thinking you could make quick cash out of it fast then I'd stop you right here. This is not a place to generate quick cash, while buying steem and unloading later at higher price i.e stock trading might be a quick way, it doesn't belong to the community here which is core foundation of this social network.
Steemit is a place to blog, write, spread the word, share stories, thoughts, news, or whatever you feel like throwing at the world out here. What its not is a place to promote your links, plagiarized material, or content that the people might consider spam or unworthy of their time. This is a place to communicate, learn and grow with people. Getting followers as much as you can should be of highest priority to you and people only follow those who write interesting content, or share a valuable experience.
Now you might be asking yourself what should I write about, wouldn't there be a thousand other people writing similar if not the same thing, How would I gain attention or stand out on my own. The thing is, on steemit there is no Competition it is a community not a market. Heck there are a dozen other quick start guides but it doesn't stop me from writing this one, because I believe I am somehow writing on this from a different perspective and people who'll find my work useful will appreciate it and may reward with an upvote, comment or even resteem. That's the attitude you need to stick to steemit and build your own place here, don't expect much and whatever you get will be more than you expected ;)
Steemit offers STEEM POWER and STEEM DOLLARS as rewards. If you wrote a post which for say got a couple votes and the probable payout is $100. If you've set rewarding method Default while posting you'll be rewarded with $50 worth of STEEM POWER and $50 in STEEM DOLLARS. 100% STEEM POWER if you choose Power Up like the one I'm using to publish this.
STEEM DOLLARS are liquid cash and can be exchanged for BTC or you can just hold them in your savings. STEEM POWER is your actual influence or value of the upvotes you will make on other people's post, or even your own. The more STEEM POWER you have the higher amount your upvote will reward. So in the end you can earn 50% liquid cash and 50% more that you can distribute back to the community over time. This also goes for the upvotes you receive, the more STEEM POWER voter has the more reward you'll receive for that individual vote.
You can earn post rewards and curation rewards, both work the same way more or less. Post rewards will be for your posts that'll earn upvotes and curation rewards for your comments that are upvoted by others, these can vary significantly depending on who upvotes your posts or comments. Try to engage as much as you can with the community, be honest, be focused and people will value you well and treat you with respect. Post less frequent, People posting every 10 minutes are less likely to get any attention or upvotes at all. It's better to put effort into writing your post that's worth something rather than writing 10 useless posts that nobody's inclined to read.
Faucets are accounts that'll basically donate you SBD (STEEM DOLLARS) if you just follow them or comment on their posts. There are a great number of faucets available on steemit, the amount may be very insignificant but following a bunch of faucets will eventually help you afterall, every little bit counts so don't let opportunities slip away. Finding faucets is quite an interesting task, as wallets on steemit as mostly public and visible to everyone just go to someone's account who's earning well and check their wallet for any transaction that mentions free reward, follow the account that tipped that person and you're good to go. Check a couple of their posts to know how they actually operate, could be a one time follow tip and then requiring participation like commenting on their posts for further rewards.
Earn through contests and lucky draws, look through various challenges and contests that go on around here for example photography contests or drawing challenges will reward you for participating and winning. Some accounts like 
Lastly I'd like to introduce bots or minnow helpers as you might have read somewhere before. For me, the idea of bots on a social network was quite confusing as steemit requires an email and phone number to make sure you're human when you sign-up. Turns out bots are not actually designed to take STEEM out of this community but rather help circulate it better here. Some bots are minnow (newbie) helpers, just tag them in the posts you believe have a chance to be a hit and the bots will reward you a little if your post is worth it. They're here to accelerate your growth not to eat your share of earnings, that said these bots work based off of bidding schemes so you do have to initially pay them a small amount to be in the list of potential accounts these bots will consider upvoting. Wrapping your head around the whole concept of bots is quite confusing and infuriating if you've just started, don't stress yourself trying to learn each and everything in a day. Take it slow, when you're involved and a couple weeks in using this site regularly you'll come to know more of how the community works here and you'll adapt to it.
I'd like to close it off here, if you've made it this far then I'm sure you liked what i write or have an opinion about it all. Please leave your thoughts and opinions in comments down below, It really motivates people like me to write valuable blogs and contribute to this community. Upvote if you'd like to help me monetarily :) Follow if you'd like to read more of my content. Every single one of these things count and help small people like me grow. Also if you'd like to support me I'd really appreciate a tip using 