You mention some good tips here below...
- keep your blog active
- let your followers and other steemers know you are here
- get votes that come daily
- develop a routine
To your list above you could possibly include...Engage with validity and interest with other users and not just when they comment first and post about what one is interested in and with passion and personality.
As a curator for curangel these are the things I look for in a post. (Engagement is the vehicle that will drive steem forward, which is why I mention it a lot.)
Good post by the way.