Unfortunately, the only thing I can say is that everything in life is like Steemit. Life isn't fair, it challenges and pushes and shoves you down. If you're one of the lucky ones, it doesn't stuff your nose in the dirt and spit on you. If you are strong enough, you can overcome those obstacles and still make something from next-to-nothing.
As a fairly new entrant myself (since late May of this year) I can honestly say I was super-frustrated, but then I found the PAL network and Discord... from there I have learned some nice techniques (although they don't always work well) that have increased my earnings somewhat. I figure it this way, really, if you post enough comments to make $.20/day, that's $.20/day more than you had before. Then, when you have the unique high-value post, it's just icing on the cake.
Just stick with it, keep posting solid content, find your niche, and (I know this is going to sound rude, so I apologize in advance) stop blaming other people. It's not their fault that they've succeeded and you haven't. Sometimes it's as simple as being in the right spot at the right time.
That's my 2-cents-worth.
Exactly. Every other social media platform gives you nothing and people have been using them for decades! - Every dollar or a cent compared to that is a welcomed change. I've been using Reddit for around 5 years and I've gotten 0 cents out from it.