I started playing with Steemit when it was in its infancy. I didn’t think the site would ever gain any traction. The UI is terrible, there is no way to directly communicate with other users (let alone collaborate on a post) – and the rules perpetually change (whether you pay attention to the “news” or not).
I was skeptical like most people – but I decided to join in and post. My first posts didn’t make much Steem – but I kept pushing through and eventually gained a bit of traction. I also helped bring on many users. Only one user remains.
Why did everyone I bring on drop off? Expectation of wealth (or some form of it). If you make $20 on a post that takes you 4 hours – but your job pays you $20 an hour – its easy to see why people would think it’s a “waste of time”. Most people I know also think Twitter and Facebook are a “waste of time”. Some make the argument that Steemit is better than the other social platforms because it pays – this is completely incorrect – it pays people who work their asses off for it – or have generous connections. People use the big services to share photos and arrange playdates for their kids – that will not and should not happen on a platform like Steemit – that’s not the type of engagement worth curating or paying for?
I figured the charity posts and outright bullshit scams would meet their demise by now – but it seems like its increasing – and users continue to reward these scams – encouraging more. That’s a huge barrier to entry for new people – their post may make nothing – while an obvious scam rakes in the Steem.
I stopped posting on Steemit for a while – not because of the financial reward model – but this little website started to have a little “coup” and I wanted nothing to do with it. The best times of my Steemit career have been spent on “discord” talking to familiar people or working on projects together. I was a major contributor to SteemSports – but if anyone was here long enough to remember that project – it was eventually squashed by the powers that be. While I acknowledged at the time they had the right to do so I decided to stop “playing” and being down-voted "for nothing" (by the CTO I might add).
I’ve been active on here again because some people left – I figured that was a good sign. Power has changed hands and things feel much different now.
Many people come onto this site with the expectation of being paid for their content. The reality is much different. Unfortunately, people initially take the lack of reward as a commentary on their content (which it should be but isn’t). Most “onboarding” posts I’ve read have pushed marketing techniques for new users – ignoring the fact that most new users will never make it to a “how to” post since the website has no clear instructions – no stickies – nothing to indicate which way a user should situate themselves. It takes a determined individual to become a member of the Steemit community – which is not a good thing – there should be very little ambiguity about what to expect and how to be as successful as you can.
Most “beta” sites operate in a “closed beta”. I don’t know if any of you remember when Gmail or Facebook came out – but if you didn’t get an invite – you weren’t allowed in. Who are all these people that sign up and leave? Should Steem Inc be printing money for people who are never going to really use the account?
I think a number of things have to happen to change this trend. First I would make the site invite only and give each user 5 invites (increasing number of invites as the site grows). Second I would reduce the number of SP to the least possible and only allow new users to make SP posts until they hit a thresh-hold. This would prevent people from swooping in, taking a reward and then leaving.
If the users are coming from private invite – at least at this early beta stage – the person inviting can help with the onboarding. They are also more likely to share the same interests – and can create little communities that survive. Steemsports was one of the easiest things to participate in – there are a number of really good contests like 
Until there are major UI changes – its up to “us” – the users who have been here for a while – the people who check in periodically- and voting public in its entirety - to help prop up newer accounts if they come to this site with something to offer. Im hoping to bring some music people in – but I wouldn’t bring my business friends in (at this point). I think this is a problem for the community to somehow solve. The 2017 Steemit "roadmap" had a lot of interesting talking points (especially re-branding Steemit.com) – it will be interesting to see what actually gets implemented and whether or not this community will stagnate or experience real growth.
A mobile app wouldn’t hurt either!