Correct @allthatmoney! People who have been on the site for a relatively long time gradually acquire more voting power. So the payout is not a direct function of the number of upvotes for a post. "Whales" are high influence people whose upvote carries more value. This post has gotten lots of good minnow response probably because I did The paid post promotion which got it in front of lots of new people. That's why I said that you couldn't evaluate a post or a promotion solely in terms of its payout. This post has reached new people and increased the number of people following me and interested in the stories, so I declare success! We all start as "minnows" and it's great to be one. In fact, there are giveaways and post promotions which are open only to minnows if you search for "minnows" or "minnow help."