To whoever puts some real effort in writing, but doesn't recieve any meaningful reward

Here are some tips to help you succeed better:

Participate in discussions

By participating you get noticed. People might like your comment, check out your blog and upvote all your previous articles. By participating you learn how to express your thoughts in a way that people appreciate. It's very smart to learn by writing short comments, compared to spending 4 hours just to find out it doesn't work.

Upvote underdogs

Minnows like you greatly appreciate every single up-vote. They will take notice of the names and return the favor. It's also healthy for the whole platform.

Try to keep it short

People have limited time, so try to keep it concise. You will save time, and in case you only get a few cents, you won't feel so bad. This is worth practising. Just try to convey your message with as few words as possible.

Ride the wave

If you can, follow the trends. When people's minds are on certain topics, it's easier to get attention. If you participate in conversations or Slack, you will be more aware of them. For example this post is a consequence of someone's comment in Slack, and I believe it will recieve upvotes.

Use images

They convey emotions, and are pleasant on the eye. They make reading easier. They also make the post more attractive on the front page.

Mind your writing-style and formatting

Posts with poor formatting seem to get little up-votes. Just take notice of what kind of formatting makes a post a nice read. There are probably a hundred guides on how to use Markdown here on Steem. I have little to say about style, other than it is worth thinking about.

You can also ask for feedback on your writing.

Be authentic

It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but you can feel if a writer isn't authentic, and that tastes bad. Being authentic gives the impression that you like yourself as you are, and others like such people. Be the best version of you!

If you are new or otherwise unknown, don't jump too quickly into the subject matter. Provide a small lead-in or introduction to help the reader relate to you and share your point of view. If you dive right in, the reader might get a feeling that the whole article is plagiarized or stolen.

Make sure the reader can follow along

Read your article with a little distance. Is there a clear thread and a natural flow to it? If your story bounces around, starts from the middle and changes context without warning, it will be very hard to like. Make sure you provide some context in the beginning.

Remember that the community is still small

There are just a few topics that interest a big portion of the community. This is just how it is, but time will fix it. If your area of expertise lies outside of the interest of the majority here, you might want to save your stories for a later time, and practice with something random.

Last but not least:

As a general rule, keep observing the successful posts and writers. It's possible to learn. Many of the best writers here have practiced for decades before Steem without any significant reward. So don't get discouraged or bitter. Put yourself together, observe the successful people, learn and try again.
I have also noticed several people who write some awesome articles and don't get noticed. Some of them keep posting, and at some point gain a reputation for quality content. There are also several heroes, who search for underappreciated articles and writers. You might get noticed by them.