I was late to the party before, but I keep on interacting on the steem block chain. Trying to my best and to get noticed, which really cwas demotivating some times. But I did continue. Not for the money aspect but because I like to interact with others. I do see the money merely as a nice side effect, but I will throw myself a big party when I will have my first post with a pay out above $10. Or when I will get my first 100% upvote from a dolphin, orca or whale!
But I do believe that my dedication is paying off! Each day not using the steem chances you are getting is a lost day! All small things add together also help. And yes it was easier to get noticed in the past 2 months cause there were less posts to compete with, all screaming for some attention! If the masses comes back, I did still some followers and did increase my voting power. Which helps with supporting others authors who did stick around or are writing good articles!
Thx for the heads up, it appears that we are on the same page!