That was a really interesting read.

Regarding the promoters - most of the time, the money they get stays with them. They don't actually share much with authors, so it's a bit of a scam. You are better off trying to build your own reputation.

Experiment with the times you post your articles. Because of the way the timezones work, sometimes your article gets buried fast, and no-one reads it.

Another tip: reply to all the comments on your articles. Comments count as "new content" and everytime someone comments on your article, you get bumped up in the "active" tab.