I think it takes a lot of time to get integrated and earning. The networking side is just as important as the content creation - it's more hard work than people are led to expect when they join up.

Some of the whales will have been here 18 months. New users come and go all the time. You have to make your mark and then continue to post consistently.

It also really helps if you can add value to the structure / communities, i.e. be someone that builds and organised things or contribute to the work of the people that are.

But there is help too when you are starting. Join minnowsupport and register for the upvote. Once you have followers, post on busy with the busy tag. It's all little amounts but it adds up over time.

In the end it can never be easy for everyone. It requires hard work as well as talent (unless you can invest). And there are lots of people prepared to put in both.