I have urged a long term approach in the past also. I have been in a slump on votes but I am still plugging away. I do it more for the enjoyment. Plus there has been a bit of war over the award pool that has included downvoting, bots and lots of controversy between Steemians. I still try to take the long range approach. I try to post stuff that I kind of like and I have done well at times and sometimes not. But don't forget that just participating in comments can help you earn. I have made some good money off of posts and curation at times.