If someone adds me, I usually reply right away with something along the lines of hi how are you, or what are you up to- a question so that they are more likely to answer back. And I also send a little pic along with that. So even if they're just one of the new free $5 guys, you can at least get that from their accout to yours pretty quickly and efficiently that way- and if they have more and answer, you keep going!
And yeah, I usually take a bunch of little pics and vids in the morning, just when I am getting dressed or whatever, and send out one in a mass message as a tease, and then based on replies just take it from there and see what else I send. Definitely re-use content for efficiency- if you'll notice on the dashboard there's a spot where you can see what you've sent each user, and that really helps me keep straight who has seen what!
As far as payment goes, the pay periods are split up the same as most cam sites- 1-15th and 16-30/31st. It does take a few business days days to get that payment though, so I wouldn't hold my breath for Monday lol. Off the top of my head I think it took mine about a week last time?
Happy to answer your questions anytime, no worries at all dude! Glad you're finding success!
There's also a thread over here that might be worth browsing as you get more into it:
https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/threads/sextpanther.27457/page-10#post-904865