My problem has been the reverse - I did quite well with my very first post, and now even the ones that get traction have a slightly disappointing payout in comparison.
I agree though, the key to consistent results is consistent effort.
Write, publish, comment, repeat.
Not that unusual, I'm afraid. Introductory posts tend to do quite well because there are people and bots that constantly search the #introduceyourself tag. I was pretty blown away when my first post made over $40... and then "reality" set in... to this day, anything over $25 rates as a "wow" result... but I keep plugging away at it.
I actually still haven't done an #introduceyourself post. I suppose I should..
This was my first: https://steemit.com/ripple/@olyup/fck-you-money-the-rise-and-fall-of-xrp
'introduction' posts have historically done well.