I think it's like anything else. It sure as hell isn't "if you build it, they will come" the real issue is rising above the noise. I see a whole lot of posts that consist of one photo and a couple lines of text, with no effort put into them at all...
Somebody is upvoting those "posts" which results in even more of them. So, you can't just write the article and sit back, you've got to get the word out.
I've slimmed down my word count during this rough patch. No use writing 2,000 words that aren't going to be seen. Those not getting traction may surface every now and then with a post while riding out the storm. I see much better days ahead.
I've actually been debating what to do 'bout that problem on both sides of the coin. I want my content to be noticed, but I also want to try to upvote new, high-quality users with my near-valueless upvote, while ignoring the junk.
So far the best I've come up with is to mute those low-quality posters (so,so time-consuming!), look around for good ones, and on my own end just persevere - I know I'm trying, doing my best with what I have, and that has to be enough to satisfy me.
Your title certainly got my attention and the content made me think as well. I have a system where I do a little promotion after each post. It may be tough right now, but I can't shake the feeling that the best is yet to come for Steemit. :) Hang in there folks!