I'm still rather new here, but struggling working for an audience is difficult no matter where you go, for sure! I've tried to start a couple things of my own that have slowly - very slowly - begun to catch on, but it takes work and patience. I like the idea of showcase-sunday. Not sure if I have enough "old stuff" yet, but I like the idea.
I concur about needing to put words around an image and not just dropping it (unless you're @axeman, then your pictures speak for themselves). To further that I think it's also important to try to interact with the people you're voting. Personally, I always try to leave a comment when I vote, even if it's just a sentence that lets the person know that I have actually read their work and I appreciate it. Hopefully that begins to come back around.
Working. That word is important. Everyone, everywhere, started with one account and no followers.
If you don't have enough old stuff, I'm sure you can still find ways to make yourself look good using commentary, letting people know this old work exists, even linking to old work. Hey I'm here and this is what I've been up to kind of stuff.
Some photographers can do it like that with the one photo approach. If it's working, it's working. But what works for one won't always work for everyone.
And of course getting to know people is beneficial. Posting, then sitting and waiting for a miracle vote to fall from the sky makes life difficult. If a blogger falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
LoL!