For newbie who are not prolific writers, should start with writing good comments on the trending posts, established whale or dolphin's post. Some whale or dolphin's do vote on good comments, therefore, newbies have to find them (e.g. @cryptoctopus). There are numerous contests where just by participating one can earn some SBD or STEEM. There are many ways to earn in STEEM ecosystem. One can Google "How to earn in Steemit" will find many useful ways to earn. For example, if one has large number of influential followers, just posting his/her blog in busy.org will earn buys's vote. Another way is to use PALnet minnowsupport bot for free vote. I can go on and on.
However, those who are prolific blogger but new to Steemit, buying some STEEM at low from the market may accelerate the earning process due to the attention he/she might grab. After some time, it may risky but possible to use bot votes to get attention. It is similar to advertising, if one thinks his/her blog is well written and will attract audience, buying bot votes may well worth taking the risk. However, as @taskmaster4450 said, one has to spend 90-180 days to acclimate to Steemit blog-sphere before getting attention and earn some valuable STEEM, having/buying more STEEM just helps to accelerate the process.
Finding a whale that shares the same interest as you and commenting on their posts is a good way to earn money and maybe that whale will follow you back.
Spamming useless comments in the hope for attention or asking for upvotes and following could work against you, however. SO if you are going to choose this route, be considerate, make your comments counts and don't comment on every single post and comment they make hoping they will notice.