There's no secret...I started out like everyone else...unknown and unknowing...my first few memes were alright, nothing majorly funny...2 of my first 10 memes or so made it to the 2nd or 3rd page, but then nothing...all that time I didn't really know how important commenting on other people's memes was.
I noticed another user that commented on all my memes was rising in points really fast so I asked him how he was getting so many points and he told me to comment on as many memes as I could, both on the front page and in latest streams...so I did and tried to make my comments as funny as I could...if you want to get noticed by other users, YOUR COMMENTS HAVE TO BE FUNNY. And I mean funny "meme comments"...
Anyways, before I knew it, my comments started to be Top Comments on a lot of memes...being top commentor on front page memes can get you alot of points. And people will start to remember you. I can't tell you how to make funny comments or how to be top commentor...I just know what I find to be funny and apparently a lot of people agree with me...and other users decide who is top comment.
But then...I made this meme...
imgflip.com/i/rn46t and it made the front page... this meme itself is not so amazing as the comment section is...this comment section is what I feel started my popularity..."The Rhyming Meme Stream"...This meme made THOUSANDS of points for me and many others...who forgets something like that?
Anyway, a few unsuccessful memes later I made this one...
imgflip.com/i/s3kff . This one made front page and made me start thinking about how I started looking at my meme ideas...I can't elaborate because, as most people know, I'm stoned when I make memes...so who knows what I was thinking back then... anyways after that Abe Lincoln meme, my popularity just blasted off, I can't explain it..
One thing I do know, is I was never jealous of the people that were at the top, I never made hate memes about them, I tried to learn from them, much like you're doing right now. I don't participate in flame wars...and above all else...I don't participate in any type of religious, political, racial, etc. etc. type of memes or comment threads in them...People get downright nasty in those places...I'm here to make people laugh and I'm pretty good at it or so I'm told...
At the end of the day...I only make the memes...the Imgflip community gives the points. Good luck...