Hey buddy.
Thanks for the comment and your personal thoughts on the platform itself. I admit, things are harder than they were when I first joined back in July 2016. But that's not to say they are impossible. I see an "as yet unseen" wave of new users coming to Steemit in the future and they will consider "you" as the ones who were the early adopters. Because that's what Steemit is. Still a relatively new-born baby. So much still lies ahead in terms of development and mass adoption. There is still so much that we all are yet to see coming to fruition. Therefore a combination of time and patience are essential ingredients to making this work for you.
So my advice to you, bro. Concentrate on providing useful and quality content. Helping your blog "and" the platform organically grow as a self-contained unit. Establish yourself as we all did when first starting out. I firmly believe that if you give it everything you got and consistently "push" your way into the community, you will get noticed and you will start earning. It's a tried and tested formula that always seems to work for Steemit.
Never mind about anyone else who gave up after a few attempts. They won't help improve your situation, but instead just drag you down with them. So focus on "you" and everything should fall into place like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
I wish you nothing but the absolute best and thanks for the heartfelt, kind words. See you around! :)