Advice for a new contributor

I have uploaded a couple of post's but wanted to see if anyone who had been contributing to Steemit for longer and therefore has more experience than me could offer some advice.

• What is the first and most important bit of advice you would give?
• How can I find likeminded contributors to follow?
• What is the best way to get people to follow my work?
• What are the majority of readers looking for here on Steemit?

I have read the FAQ's if anyone is thinking of suggesting that I simply read that page. What I wanted to do, more than receive the wisdom that you hold was potentially interacting with some of you here on this amazing platform.

A few more questions:

• Have you made any Steem crypto yet?
• Have you converted it into Fiat currency? And if so, was it an easy process?
• Are there individuals that make a living from posting here?
• What are your goals moving forward on this platform?

I would really love to hear what you have to say in answer to my questions. Feel free to answer them all in turn, or maybe just focus on one or two that inspire you.

Really excited to get to know some of you better and be on this wonderful platform. A platform where we can share our creative ideas, and if the quality of the content is good enough, get paid for our troubles!