Here are some groups on Discord that may be of some help...
The PAL group will help you learn the Steemit platform, you can network, and listen to how others make money on Steemit.
WhaleShares group can help you learn more about Whale Shares and how you can be rewarded through contests, and participation in the group. Whale shares can be redeemed for Whale votes on your Steemit posts, that you can redeem any time. They also have a live curation show that you can listen to where you can promote your posts on Steemit, and receive whale shares.
I hope this helps you and any others who are new to Steemit. :D
Hi @simgirl! Thanks for the wonderful links. I believe I'm already a part of PAL, as well as a number of other groups, mainly #SteemUSA and #thealliance (bigs hearts to those two groups for all the help they've give me so far). I participate in a number of photo and writing contests daily, but all of that is long term as I build my account up. I literally need work to pay the bills. The amount of SBD I can pull in right now isn't enough to make a dent in pretty much anything. Maybe in six months if I keep up the pace I've been going at...hehe.
Be well! :)