Do I count as a minnow? I like to consider myself a STACKER, haha
Well, while I am nothing special tbh(just a dude online), but here are a few things that I wish I knew when I joined Steemit:

1. Don't just stay here for the money, there are tons of good content here and you should find creators that create content that you like.
2. Only comment on posts that you have something meaningful to say(don't keep spamming: nice pic, haha nice, wow that's cool), try to get your comments to be informative, not spamy(if that's a word).
3. Build a community between your audience and the creators that you enjoy: frequently comment on the posts of content creators that you enjoy, reply to comments on your posts. This is what I like about steemit; : most creators even if they get hundreds of comments they usually read all or at least a huge chunk of them. If your comment is good then chances are you will be noticed.
4. Keep upvoting posts that you like, for that you will get curation rewards and reward the creator, which will encourage him to make more good content!
   Also, while this wouldn't be helpful to me personally, I feel like everyone should know this here:
   DON'T BEG FOR VOTES, DON'T ASK PEOPLE TO CHECK OUT YOUR BLOGS IF THAT IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE POST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY D O N ' T B E A N A S S H O L E.
   If you follow what I said I think for the most part you will have a good time on Steemit!