I find myself often repeating the same advice that was so freely to me about six months ago when I joined this amazing community. I figured i'd make a quick post as being a minnow is hard enough - WE need all the help we can get!
(do you see what I did there?)
When you post, make sure to be as detailed as possible and put as much effort into the post as you can. People will rarely up vote a post if they suspect it took you five minutes, and you were eating ramen noodles while writing it.
Always use original content. People will down vote if they suspect plagiarism. It's always good to cite sources as well if warranted. Original content does not need to be cited. If you got the information from elsewhere for example, it's best to let everyone know where it came from!
Up votes are not worth too much in the beginning. Commenting on posts (making thoughtful responses that show you read the post) is worth so much more in the long run.
Be sure to use the correct tags. People do not like to see content tagged #steem that has nothing to do with #steem. As tempting as it may be to use the incorrect tag because more people view that particular topic, I would strongly advise against this.
Reputation score is very important. Thus, as in life, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all!!
Always remember that in the beginning it's easy to get discouraged. Stick with it, and stay consistent. You'll be a whale in no time!
