Hi there! Welcome! One thing to keep in mind here is that it's a balancing act between spending just enough time creating good content and spending enough time learning about all the little tricks you can do in the background to get more upvotes (especially in the beginning).
The truth is, most people are not going to read your article all the way through, if at all. Don't believe me? Go to one of the popular high paying articles and check out the # of views vs. the # of upvotes.
That's why I'm learning the hard way to not spend so much time writing my articles -- although I did write a very long one recently. Around here it's about consistency and your engagement with the community. Despite the fact that most people don't bother to read articles, I recommend spending a lot of time reading the articles of the more popular people and making relevant comments. You can get upvotes on your comments that can add up to some $.
Most importantly, if you have a question about something, chances are an article has been written answering that question. Type your question into the search bar and read, read, read. You don't need to comment on the older articles because the rewards stop after 7 days anyway...unless you want to directly ask the author something.
I'll follow you. Good luck!