There is definitely some weird dynamics going on.
I haven’t had a post reach $20 for months, and yet I can find countless posts everyday with a pic or two and a hundred words that are $40 and above.
I used to put heart and soul into my posts, spending usually a full 8 hours, but the extra effort just isn’t rewarded. I stopped putting in the extra time and effort in a few posts, and the payouts were the same.
I think it’s much more important to have a high rep and connections to get big upvotes than to actually make awesome content. Either way I soldier on, dreaming of the day we see a $20 post again.