Buy some Steem. Definitely. Get to the point where your upvote counts as something. Even a couple cents. That helps immensely. Although it’s a touchy topic, self voting can help as well. I do it as a lot do. But I also spread my vote around to others as well. But I found that with my vote initially counting as a few cents, along with the sbi I had, and the few early supporters I initially was lucky to have...my early posts were all making something. Which helps greatly. I’d say if you are able to, buy a bit of Steem to power up with. It definitely gives you a leg up.