Wow! This post makes me feel so much better. I'm being supported by my company while I try to "grind" my way onto SteemIt and it's a lot tougher and uglier than anticipated -- which my company says is actually a good thing (and is therefore throwing even more money at Steem).
And with your graph, it looks like I should be able to get some traction during the 30 days where I'm going to be supported . . . .