Ever heard the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day"?
I'd say that is about the most important thing to keep in mind when you join Steemit. I see so many people join and give up in a week or a month. Often times after not really putting in solid effort. You won't come onto Steemit and post 5 blogs and have a really solid, dedicated fan base. This is a community and involvement goes a long way as does hard work and consistency.
Forget about the money.
I know it sounds crazy but if you just joined then seriously don't think about the money yet. Think about how to get better at writing. Think about where to get the best stock photos. Think about how to format your blog to be visually appealing. Learn about Steemit. Learn what types of posts do well. Make friends. Follow people. Think more about what you can do for Steemit rather than what Steemit can do for you.
You're not going to make free money here.
Free money doesn't exist. We all know that by now. And money for going around spamming for followers on your blog with "meh" content isn't going to make you money. You need to really put in some time and virtual elbow grease and seriously....time. I have been here over a year now. Stop looking at the top earners with envy many of them have either been here for a long time or they invested money to get to their position.
Get to know people here. Go onto Steemit.chat and go to the steemit channels on discord. Don't go in there and spam. Go in there and learn and talk to people. Or just read blogs and leave genuine comments. But really put some time and effort and heart into your blog. Tend to it. Don't expect instant results because that isn't going to happen. However, if you stick to it and you really post good content you will eventually get somewhere. Steemit has been life-changing for me.
Get these badges I made here.