Hey @john-gpr!
As promised I had a look at your blog and will give you some recommendations on how to improve it :-)

First thing that I thought when opening this article that you linked to me was: "OK he made $45, so why does he need me?" :-)
But then I saw that this was a lucky break and you usually don't make too much on your articles.

I think I know why... Or have at least an idea.
Look at this one for example: https://steemit.com/travel/@john-gpr/the-hottest-place-on-earth
This was another great example of how to do it right.
Why?
Because this one as well as your earthcake story are UNIQUE. You've provided something interesting, entertaining, outstanding - thus, VALUABLE.
What people (and especially the big stake holders) love most here is when people tell them something they didn'd know.

Content is king! That's the rule no. 1.
So that's probably why your "Travel Quotes of the day" don't earn so much money. Quotes are something that don't really provide a special value. I mean when you want to read a travel quote you can just type "tavel quote" into Google and get 1 million quotes.

You know what I mean?

Try to be as outstanding as you have been with these two examples. Be a story teller!

I've just upvoted and resteemed this article with my more powerful account from @surfermarly. So maybe like that you'll get even more attention for it. But hey, $45 is what I make on a good day - so you are definitely on the right track here :-)

Best of luck for your future journey and I will have a look at your blog from time to time....

I hope you enjoyed this little coaching.
See you around!
Marly -