That's a very interesting post, I hope the majority of users will find it!
In my opinion a blogger has to act if he was building up a brand - from the very beginning. "Who am I and who do I wanna be?" It's like in every customer-driven market segment: you give promises you'll have to fulfill. Quality promises, aligned with your brand values, and loyalty promises alined with your positioning inside the respective community. You have to perfectly come to know your target group to then produce your content according to your own brand values and their expectations.
steemit works like every other start up business model - you need patience and consistency to succeed in the long term.
I am convinced that the ones who are here and keep working hard on their aims will not regret.