Excellent points! You can give yourself a huge headstart by putting some of your own cash into steem power, if you are able. I would definitely recommend this method. Also, having a lot of friends or followers you can bring over from fb, youtube or istagram to name a few, will also help.
It is possible to start with nothing though, you will meed patience and practice! Not all of us have written much online before and it will take a while to build up a good following and to write good posts!
Thanks for sharing! :)