Hey Cianna, Welcome to the platform, I am also new here, however, here is what I have picked up in a week.
Be yourself, and write about what you are interested in
It's a growing platform, so the premise of, "there are 7 billion people in the world, so there are bound to be those that like you" isn't as prevalent, but still, write about what you love. No one on Steemit will be better at being you than you. :-)
Make genuine connections
It's a social platform, follow and engage with people, and, rather have fewer followers that will actually read and engage with your content than an unengaged multitude at first.
Read some guides
There are loads of amazing guides on the platform that you can find through a simple google search, I would check out guides on markup and the SteemIT rewards at first, as this was probably the most different element of the platform for me, then, take it from there.
Also, have fun with it, and, welcome to SteemIT. :-)
Awesome advice! I'm definitely going to check out some guides.. thanks for the help!