Sadly, I've heard more stories like yours. But on the other hand, I've seen people joining the platform and a week later getting above 100 followers, raking in $50+ per article.

So maybe there's groups out there that support each other, or there's a specific tactic to posting (for example: tagging the right people), or something else. In any case, more research is needed :-).

It's a complex platform, with a few variables to take into account.