It is very important to interact with others and add valuable content! I think finding niches that one enjoys within the community also helps users become more than without it! Building relationships in most things (business, marriage, etc) are super important and Steemit is no different! The more time one puts into the platform, the more they will get out of it!
I think promoting posts via multiple means of social media is incredibly underrated that many users don't do often enough. I am guilty of this big time!
You make some very good points and you seem to have good grasp for where you want to go and how to get there.
We all have to start somewhere, right!?