Hey.. Good article. I have had similar expriences to you.. My intro post did really well ($3500 ~ ) and my articles with great content only earned very little ($20 ) .. It really is hit or miss at the moment..
Congrats on your success.. Maybe we can brainstorm together sometime.
Upvoting your own comments might help:
https://steemit.com/steem/@cryptoctopus/should-i-upvote-my-own-content
Yeah, never hurts to brainstorm!