This is a well written post. I have been on steemit for over 2 months. I enjoyed writing and commenting and did not care about payouts. It has taken me a while to start getting a little disgusted about the platform. There is no way a minnow can get anywhere on this platform. On the other hand most monies are exchanged between people of high steem value and you are rewarded if you invest in steem. Although your article is great, I find it hard to believe that by doing the above things you can gain more traction. It is disappointing but it is a fact. The simple fact is that you have to put in money to make any money here. People have tried all sorts of such tricks. Even if the follower base is 500 plus, you get very few upvotes and even a 100 upvotes may get you a dollar or two. Unless you love typing and posting, there is no way forward but to buy Steem. I can see why retention is low.