One Does Not Simply

People don't automatically upvote every meme. On a good day, I might get 5 upvotes on a meme, 20+ on the few that made it to front page.

Try using one of your memes in one of the various theme weeks. You'll get some there. For the most part, though, don't expect a lot. Most users here haven't figured out how to use an upvote button.

I wouldn't worry about upvotes or points unless you think you're within reach of a goal. If, for example, you're 500 away from 20K, it's okay to post a meme saying that. If people go through, upvoting your memes and they see a lot of requests for upvotes, they'll rescind every upvote, maybe replace them with a downvote.

Make entertaining memes and comment on other people's memes. I've had this account since November, but if you look at my profile, you'll see I relied on entertainment value and comments.

Yeah, I was out of meme ideas.
I guess it's better to not post a meme at all than to post one that would only get downvoted.

..I had another one using this template I could've posted, but it was NSFW so I skipped it :P

I never worry about NSFW. Those that know me know my fertile mind spends a lot of time in the gutter. True, you may not get as many views, but they'll mostly be positive. I had one really popular one, tagged NSFW but not marked as such for most of the day. I have a small fan base that seeks those out. Ad long as it doesn't violate imgflip TOS, like nudity, pornography, or hate speech, you shouldn't have to worry. Profanity, scantily clad ladies, etc, will make it through.