The basis of quality is subjective.

One might read your post and say: "He makes grammatical errors, this is not quality, I will not vote it."

Another might say: "There are some errors, but I really like his message, and I find the meaning to be quality filled, I will vote this."

Why do I bring this up? Because the topic of "my quality content isn't being recognized" has been around as long as I've been on Steem, and the reception generally does not exist. You might get a few people "in agreement" who are also where you are, but the accounts that bring the big votes, they've seen the woes a thousand times, and it might be a little harsh to say they don't care, but I don't see too many of these posts getting votes from the big guys, and there is are a multitude of reasons for this.

I'll outline some of these reasons, and do my best to help here, because I've been where you are, and it took a great deal of learning and time to get where I am now currently, which isn't huge, (still a minnow) but I'm really happy with my current earnings, and I think this is what is most important. My reasons for blogging could be different than yours however. I create out of passion, desire to self express, as well as to help others in which ever ways I am able, so the rewards are secondary for me. Does that mean I don't like a good whale vote? Of course not! It's still great when you receive a nice vote and feel you've earned something for your time and energy. It might be different for someone who is trying to blog to eat, or pay their bills.

So what does it take to start getting decent votes, and "continually* actively engaging circle of supporters?

Engagement is certainly huge, and key here, but it takes time. If you have 1 hour a day to devote to Steem, you simply cannot expect to get the same results as someone who has 12+ hours a day to devote to Steem. I don't care how good of quality you are producing, if the engagement isn't there, consistency in votes will likely not be there either. So time is one.

Creativity. Not just with blogging/writing/art. People who come up with ways to make serious positive impact are going to do good here. If you develop a dapp for the chain, a successful one, yes you are likely going to do better and earn more. So ingenuity/creativity are pretty big, and many like to create their own little contests/giveaways. There isn't a shortage of creative people here who have their own communities because of ideas they've fostered themselves.

Discord! This is a big one in my opinion. I cannot tell you how much is happening in discord servers. If you have access to discord, it's not a bad idea to get involved with communities that you share common interests with.

Drive! If you see an opportunity for a position, there will be others competing for the position if there are rewards to be earned. Maintaining drive, and self advocating will bring you places on the blockchain. Some things you might get rejected for, but if you maintain the drive, you might find yourself with a job title on the chain, and not just a blogger. This is something, that would certainly advance your Steem career in a positive way.

If all you are interested in is blogging, and engaging with others. You can still find success here, but without accessing discord, and connecting with some established communities, it might be tough. It doesn't mean it's not possible.

The memo system is not bad in my opinion. I really enjoy receiving memos from my friend @crypto.piotr, the only flaws I see in a mass memo usage system, would be the fact that many see it as spam and another issue would be similar to the issue of posts drowning out in the feeds. My guess is, if users start receiving floods of memos, they will just be ignored. That's not to say this system couldn't work or be improved on in any ways. After all, the memo system brought me to your post!

I would love to provide more feedback, but I feel this message is becoming quite long. These are some of the things that I've learned while here, and I really hope you find this information helpful friend! Best wishes to you!