The best way to get an upvote from Steemit or any other Steem platforms is always: "produce exceptional quality contents".

However, due to the big number of users steem has now (over 1 million accounts and over 60-70k daily active users) it is expected that one's post will easily drown in the sea of endless spam and will not be seen by others, thus the disappointment among many newbies for their low payouts.

The surest way to get an upvote right now is through constant social interaction on steem platforms. Alongside producing quality contents, one must also do their very best to grow their follower base and find people who have the same interests as you. The more people you interact here on Steem, the more likely you are to get some support and visibility on the platform.