Let's go hog wild and say @ned dropped 1 million SP on me for six months and began upvoting my posts at 100% for the same period.

I know, crazy talk, right?

But stay with me, this is only make-believe...

I feel, before we start thinking about bringing new people onto Steemit, we need to shore up content creators who are already here now.

If it weren't for @tribesteemup @earthtribe @steembasicincome @busy.pay and @actifit I would have almost no support for my posts. The curation trails and delegation I send out helps to keep me posting without feeling like it's all for nought.

I still remember the large upvote I got on a comment in the summer of 2017 when nobody was seeing my work. Just as I was getting discouraged seeing a pic of a ham sandwich being upvoted to the trending page while my posts langushed, the sky parted, and a kind Whale gave a refreshing, significant upvote.

Just in the nick of time.

So, I would focus on a twin strategy of "stopping the bleeding" along with initiatives like what @nathanmars is doing to both retain good content creators, with growth from outside of Steemit.

Combine that with delegation to grow my stake, so I could be self-sufficient once the six months are done. Kind of like if a wealthy person gave a homeless guy $100,000. Instead of spending it on hookers and blow, he wisely invests the funds for future growth while also paying it forward with the dividends.

Dapps like Actifit, Partiko, Steemmonsters and the brand-new DrugWars also provide a "stickiness" and a fun factor that helps keep people around. That's why I have no problem supporting them with my delegation as I can see the utility they provide for Steemit.

It's like renting vs owning. Would you spend money fixing up a place you didn't own? When users have a stake and feel invested, they are more willing to increase their shares which in turn helps support the price of STEEM.

So yes, going outside our platform is all fine and good, but we've got to help retain the good people that are still posting. It makes no sense to pour gasoline into a leaking fuel tank. We need to patch that sucker up first!