Sharon for maximizing earnings, it might help to rent the Steem Power and then use that to upvote posts and build relationships with other authors. One reason I get a lot of upvotes is that authors upvoting are building a relationship with me which I then return with more of my own upvotes. I leased out my Steem Power out as a test and because I struggle to do a good job with curation. The reason to rent Steem Power is that the person renting it can use it to earn much more than what the lessor is getting paid. Thus, it might be ideal to try renting some out and use it to build deeper relationships by upvoting other authors and upvoting ourselves to get our return!