A few things I've found (with the note that I haven't been here long and often don't break $1.00):
- Curation rules have a big impact. In particular, votes before 30 minutes don't count much for curation rewards.
- A variety of services provide some upvoting support at no cost: posting from busy.org often earns an upvote, joining minnowsupport.org provides a variety of upvoting support opportunities.
- Some tags are VERY busy and some are very empty. So pick where you play
- I think you're doing the right thing: posting original content, and gradually building followers. I think these two factors combine over time to build a support base and enhance your author earnings.
- I think that interacting with the community in other people's posts is a good way to add value and build followers for your content.
Cheers,
RE: Steemit frustation