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> After being Member, you will need merits from other people to increase your rank. Activity will not be enough to increase rank.
Whoopsie here: You need merits way before, not once youve reached Member rank. Each rank from Jr. Member onwards needs merits (OPs next goal), being the Jr. Member requiring 1 Merit (and 30 Activity).
Read through the links provided by @evgenia_volkova to begin with, and then just explore the different boards to find those that are more appealing to you.
The
earning part is really a phase II in any case, unless you can provide some skilled services from the start.