I know how it is. You are just starting out and any curating or posting you do is only valued at a few cents of SBD. If you are lucky enough to earn SBD you can buy upvotes and increase your earnings. This brief tutorial will show you how.
https://www.steembottracker.com/
Here you can find information such as the name of the bot, minimum bid, vote value, maximum suggested bid, and countdown to the actual vote.
In some cases you can buy an upvote for .05 or .10 SBD. It sometimes will have a value higher than your bid. It depends on the time of day.
You have to go to your wallet and do a transfer to the bidbot of your choice. You enter the name of the bidbot, the amount of your bid and a link to the post you want upvoted.
Thanks for reading! Future posts will give advice on apps to use to help you plan and grow.