The first 6months for me was just posting then commenting on other peoples posts. I was fortunate to get noticed by a couple of whales in the beginning. I would say that the best way to get traction is to make friends with people by commenting as much as you can. I posted your stuff in "steem speak" on discord to a group of people there. I asked them to send you some love. Don't expect to get a big money post for a little while. Just look at it like a place to keep your books like a book shelf. Thats how I look at it. If you focus on making friends by commenting and up-voting the things you really like, you will find yourself surrounded by the things you like and you will be rewarded. The main reason why people quit steemit is because they put a lot of work into a post and get pennies, and the guy that puts up a crap post gets $200.00

Steemit takes time to build your community. I recommend checking out the introducyourself hashtag every once and a while and welcoming the new guys. That a great way to start a following.

It would also be a good idea to join a discord channel and make some new networks. Hope this helps. Have a great day!