@charlieshrem, I think the main things that will improve the growth of the community are as follows:

1. We need people to join the platform because they enjoy the idea of up voting content to support the content producers, not because they want to make a lot of money. 98.99% of users have to split 1/3rd of the revenue generated on the platform, so enticing most people here to make money is a really bad idea. They won't make money, they'll get frustrated, and they will leave. Retention of new people is critical, and retention is easy of people join for the right reasons.

I've personally have not made much on here so far, but I'm loving my experience since I got my introduction post to generate $116.19:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@nathanbrown/i-m-nathan-mackenzie-brown-chief-architect-of-one-of-the-most-successful-local-currency-in-the-us-a-professional-marketer

Why am I loving my experience after making this money? Because now when I vote on a piece of content that has already earned $200, I move the needle. Not a lot mind you, only $1 or $2, but I love that feeling. I love knowing that all I need to do is vote on something and the author benefits financially from me doing so. As a small SP holder, I don't have the ability to have a significant impact on content discovery, but I can do my little part to help somewhat valuable content become more valuable. Plus, if I vote on something that's already got $3k or more value, then I really see my vote move the needle!

1. We need to make it easier to get new users to purchase Steem and power up so they can see that their votes make a difference. They don't need much SP, I only have about $50 worth right now, but going from $5 to $50 was huge for my user experience. Before I had this SP my votes didn't do anything. I voted on lots of different content, and the vote number went up, but the $ didn't. It didn't feel great to have no impact on the financial value of the content I voted on. Even though I've purchased Bitcoin in the past, I have yet to take the time to purchase Bitcoin so I can convert it into Steem so I can power up. I know I should, and I probably will soon, but most users won't bother with this annoying step.

In particular we need to make it so people can use Paypal to get Steem. With just a $50 investment in Steem a user can power up and then they can move the needle. Since you will very soon become a Whale on this platform, you have the power to make Steem much more accessible to new users. You personally can sell your Steem for USD through Paypal, and you can take a cut to pay someone to make these exchanges for you. The more you and other Whales engage in this activity, the more users will be able to see the impact of their votes on the content on the platform. This won't do anything to keep users here who only care about making money, but for the altruistic ones who want to support the artists, writers, etc. on this platform, they will stick around, and they are ultimately going to be why Steemit succeeds.