It's not a pyramid scheme. In a pyramid scheme new people pay to join which is then used to pay the profits for the people who joined before. So by any definition it can't be described as a pyramid scheme. When new people join it costs the platform 3 steem for each new user.

The thing you have to do is get other people's attention. That was a lot easier when there were only a hundred or so people on the site. Now it gets harder and harder. You need to be creative and persistent.

Luck comes into it too but the longer you keep going and putting out good content the more likely you are to get noticed.

Also curating, commenting and helping out other members of the community is also helpful to your general reputation.