i hate that its a hit or miss on what others want to see.
For many of us that are non-bloggers, it is difficult to know what our identity is on here. Your words about writing style geared towards what "others want to see" hits very close to home on this platform. The reality is that there are those with the SP that could help one to succeed, but why is it dependent on the "people you know" vs. the material you write or create? I do wonder if it's more a game of networking on here vs. content because as you noted, some crap posts do earn more than my earnings combined in my time here.
I hope you keep trying and keep writing about your interest. There are to be changes coming soon with the Steem blockchain; we have to wait and see if conditions change. If it doesn't, well, many people who believe in this platform may just become statistics of being passive delegators and earn income that way.