I recently was telling a friend about Steemit and he asked me the same question, "Where does the money come from?" I think people ask that because they are skeptical, not because they actually want to know how Steemit runs under the hood. Everyone wants to know that they can trust what they're involved in, such as driving a car. They want to trust that the engine will start when they turn the key and that the car will take them where they want to go and bring them back. They don't actually care how an engine works or even how the engine is built on an assembly line.

The best answer to the question may be, "It is created and distributed within the Steemit network system programming in an entirely new way. Many people are blogging, getting paid, and buying things with their profits. It is real, it is worthy of your trust."

My two cents. 😀