The way to gain upvotes is to post something that will be valued by the community. If you already have friends joining steemit, that's a good start. Just posting a picture and hoping that people will upvote you isn't enough. Also, begging for an upvote isn't enough. For me, and I'm a fellow minnow, I upvote content that I think is valuable to the community (the reason upvoting exists on this platform). If you aren't earning what you'd like from posting a blog post, then post comments on others' posts. As you do so, you'll gain friends who think similarly to you. No need to ask them to follow you. If you're welcoming, they'll choose to follow you on their own. Just be real. Good luck!