Help: how do I improve my voting power?

Well, I'm still a minnow on steemit and since I joined I've not been able to add a cent to any post whenever I upvote it.
I thought having steem up to a cent would help but that doesn't seem to be the reality.
Please I need explanation on how voting power works @surpassinggoogle @eurogee and other big guns on steemit. Thanks!