Several may tell you "Make quality posts, as easy as that" because that's the usual advice they (even me) can give to you but honestly, earning merits is not as easy as that. For me, quality post is not enough because if that is the only requirement then why good posters on a particular thread rarely get merit points? and why there are still good users whose merit points remain stagnant? In my opinion, it would be an advantage if you are a little bit popular here in the forum or you have couple of friends that you can easily approach for asking a merit and with some presence of luck also.