I'm no expert but just try to spend as much time here reading posts and commenting as you can. Not just any comments though, good comments which show that you've read the post and thought of something useful to say. Even if you disagree with what the author is saying share your thoughts and chances are other people who read the post will share your opinion and up vote you. I've got over 500 followers but none of my posts have gone viral, I've got them all just from commenting and interacting on other peoples posts. The most effective way to get somebody attention is to write a few good comments on several of their posts, that way they will almost definitely check your blog out. Lastly there are contests on Steemit such as the Open Mic which is for musicians, and other ones for photographers etc. This is a good way to be judged on your quality of content rather than the size of your following and there is usually prize money up for grabs