Agreed. Patience is key. One thing I remember about the digg migration and the telltale sign that digg was dead is when you went to it and digg was just full of links to reddit.
I think we need to do the same thing. Originate the content on lemmy, and xpost it on Reddit.
You know what would help? If the instance list (and perhaps even the community lists) actually displayed a description of its purpose and intended content.