Hello there mate! I understand how it feels to be the new guy here and got nothing yet to prepare or get yourself started. So, I just want to tell you how I managed my way around here. Hopefully it will help you somehow as well.
So basically, if you don't know much about cryptocurrencies yet and how the forum works then the first thing you have to do of course is do your research about it. You can go through the forum and you can see so many informative posts. Read articles and blogs or watch videos about it and observe how things work around here and in the cryptoworld. To answer your question as well, on how a newbie can earn here, well that depends really. Depends on what you can do for us or for your client. You can see so many posts here in which ICOs or companies are looking for people who can do stuff for them or offer services. So if you're good at something, try posting something that shows your skills or your portfolio maybe. And if someone is looking for a person like you then you're in luck. That is the very first thing you can do to earn here, offer your services and get paid with coins/token or cash.
Now I don't want to assume here but I'm just basing this assumption on what you said. " I got nothing yet." So I'm guessing you don't have the funds to buy cryptocurrencies and start trading? Please do correct me if I'm wrong. But it that's what you meant by it then just skip with trading for now. If you don't have the funds basically, how can you start? and also it needs a lot of research like a lot! Once you're confident enough and got the knowledge, then go for it.
Another way also is by joining or participating in ICOs and doing their bounty program. This is what I'm doing currently and I'm enjoying it. It needs a your time and effort but if you find a really good ICO and project then it's all worth it. What I did before was just reading through the forum especially in
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=52.40 &
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=39.160. Then I noticed several posts saying "bounty program" so I checked it out and read through each ICO that caught my interest especially when I think their project is really good and can be a breakthrough in the future. So the first thing I noticed is that all ICOs have different rules and requirements for their bounty program, so you just need to check and keep those in mind.
So if you're planning to do the bounty program mate, just check their bounty thread and to see if you can do it for them. I'm assuming now that you've seen posts already of what I'm talking about and I bet you've seen many ways on how you can participate. The only "downside"? in participating for an ICO though, is that you have to wait until it ends before you get paid, and not to discourage you or anything but there are scam ICOs wherein they don't pay you after. That's why be vigilant and do your research on every single ICO you join. As I was saying, most ICOs pay you at the end, there are some ICOs though that pay you weekly or monthly but as I've noticed, it's applicable only for the higher ranked members. That is why, it is very important that as early as now, you work on that or on ranking up. Check the Meta section for more info about it. That's what I'm trying to do right now because who doesn't want to get paid weekly or monthly, right?
There's also the giveaways though and Airdrops, it's somewhat similiar to the bounty program but you don't get as much coins/tokens. And most of the time you don't really win or get anything.(based on my own experience)
Anyway, just to wrap things up mate and what my point really is. It's that, just do your research and learn new things everyday so you can be prepared. It really helps in so many aspects especially if you're really into cryptocurrency. And I suggest that you try and look for an ICO that you're interested in and participate. Invest your time and efforts for them and get something good in return, at the end that is most of the time. But that's okay, 'cause while you're participating and waiting for the shares/stakes, you can work on ranking up and maybe learn a new skill to offer more services in the future. So this is it for me, as of now and I do hope you'll have a good time here mate and good luck with your endeavors. Also feel free to leave a PM if you have questions I might have the answers to or just respond on your post.
Oh and one last tip I'm going to give, don't hesitate to make a post or comment something you've learned that you think might be helpful to newcomers or even the old members here. Who knows, you might be teaching or giving out something that we don't know about, especially if its about the crpytoworld.