I didn't invest 1 cent into steemit, and I made around 12'000$ for blogging. Like I said, I never put money into it! You just have to create some content that people enjoy, and even if you do an amazing work, you could not get noticed if you don't make some contacts with people, you have to create a network of friends that will support each other. It's a lot of work and dedication, like in real life: If you do some amazing music or art, and you keep doing it without sharing it, nobody will notice you! Getting money is not easy, even on steemit. Most people saying it's a ponzi are just lazy people that didn't manage to make easy money. And if steemit is a scam, it means that all the concept of blockchain is a scam too. And therefor, banks are scam too. (I would more believe the last statement) Sorry if my english is bad. Haha.

Cheers!