I don't know of any better way of starting a blog and getting the first rewards after just week like on Steemit. (or in the case of Whaleshares - two weeks). I made my first dollar after 3 months of blogging back in 2012. Today would be several times as difficult to make money blogging. If I started now, I don't even think I would have enough patience to blog without assurance of payout as we have on the blockchain.