Yeah, that can be really frustrating: to put in all that extra work with zero recognition. It happens to me all the time. My advice: keep on truckin'. Payouts are a lottery and quality content will get you more tickets. Consistency is important.

I believe Steem will add new proof-of-brain activities in the coming years that will be far less subjective than blogging. When these activities arrive, it will be much more obvious what constitutes quality content and what does not. This should allow newbies to arrive and forge a reputation sooner than they would if they were simply trying to blog.