Steemit is a social blogging platform which is not using advertising to generate revenue but the fact that 'Nothing is free on the Internet' applies everywhere on the web.If We need something ,we have to give something.Here are some sorted solutions used by long-runners on steemit;
They have patience ,they provide articles which are valuable and meaningful to public in order to create an audience of readers which also provide incentives to motivate them to write. Writing with fulmination makes the blog worst ,even if you are proving quality content it doesn't make sense.Grave on your passive voice and consistency to create quality profile on steemit which should reflect your transparency and knowledge in order to get followed by users.This platform is made for blogger who were earlier never paid much for their quality content and passion for blogging,blockchain has resolved the problem of inequality for talented people.
I found many steemian's who had level more than 70 and had no niche ,they were posting as per the popular tags ,not at a specific topic,one of the best writer was 
Writing quality and consistent is not enough you need to use your brains and REMEMBER: If you have empty pockets then steemit will not support you ,Go somewhere else.Steemians who rank for Whales are Early adapters who had invested less or nothing which won't matters.Don't compare to them you can't become a whale in 2018 if you are a newbie then you should wait for a decade to earn millions without buying a single steem or sbd and blogging continuously good content.
People say ' follow rich people and you will become rich' ,but how they are ahead of an average person,reason is very simple they started from some money.Steemit needs proof-of-brain with some investment look steemit as an opportunity where bullish run is possible after efforts of writing , HODL for 7 days and get your 2X rewards.This all is possible if you satisfy the hunger of big bots like 
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