I have not tried to promote any of my articles, but my gut feeling is I'd get similar results to what you have reported. I agree that right now the system (Steemit) is a bit too far rigged to be all about the whales and their upvotes (even while they are now voting on only partial steem power). We can work within that system they create, but that is a significant disadvantage that could weigh the whole thing down. Time will tell.