I believe that one of the most depressing thing that you can do on steemit as a new user just making your first post that you spend hours preparing is to end up with 0.00 earnings. Regardless if it is an #introduceyourself type of post or something else that you wanted to share if you posted something interesting and good that just went unnoticed this could as well be your first and last post here. Just because nobody noticed that you have posted something worth at least some votes to encourage you to continue writing and get better while doing so on steemit...
Of course not all posts are equal and not all are worth to make it on the trending page, and leaving rewards aside, the fact that somebody noticed what you have written and voted or commended under your first post is just encouraging. Not to mention that there are really some hidden gems among the many posts that just go unnoticed by anyone and after they get a little over 30 minutes old on the New list of posts the chances that they will remain unnoticed are pretty high.
This is precisely why I frequently check not only the New, but also Payout Time posts on steemit, so that I can find such a posts that deserve to get at least my 2 cents in a vote or to leave an encouraging comment!
I would also recommend other users that are not here just because of the rewards and their focus is not on only on the $$$, but instead want to help build a better community to also check these posts and help the people that deserve it with their encouraging vote or comment, even if it is at the last minute and not very much it still counts...
Your Voting Power and the votes and comments you make is what you give back to the community here on steemit and they are intended to be used to give your part and not only for making $$$.