"...and engage in meaningful discussions" is the most important (and often overlooked) part of the equation. It's one thing to have hundreds of followers; it's quite another to get them reading your work, sharing it, and helping you to earn money from it.

I have thousands of followers. I have a loyal core of... tens? Who regularly read and engage. $5.49 sounds realistic - congratulations! :D I think I earned $15 and change, last month, and that was largely from the post you read about how to gain 100 followers. (Realistic advice, because like I said, thousands of "followers" and "follow-for-follow" won't earn you a cent. They'll just let you stay in the MPP and have the opportunity to do so.