@thecryptofiend has written some really good advice. I admit, I've been galled when I've spent a lot of time writing something only to see very little reward. It's one thing to read in the whitepaper that post value is subjective. It's another thing entirely to see what "subjective" means when you see what/who gets into Trending while your own posts sink....

Over at Bitcointalk ( remember it? :D ), @anonymint pointed out this difficulty in a critique of the whole micropayment-for-content model. Writing for free means you can tell yourself that you're writing for the love of it. But once payments enter the picture, a feedback system comes into play that can be really frustrating because it can tell you that you're working hard for next to no pay.

Add to that, the quite natural habit of scanning the Trending posts to see what kind of content gets rewarded. If you're here to earn, that's what you do: you study the market. But that business-like practice induces you to pick up the bad habit that Maw warned us against - comparing yourself to others!

In my case, I stopped watching the Trending category period. It's my way of implementing the most important part of @thecryptofiend 's advice:

Post what you care about. Not what you think the whales will like.

Better than getting advice form Mom. :)