I know this is just anecdotal, but I have literally not seen a single mention of Lemmy anywhere online or in the news in the last 3 months, including on Reddit. "Build it and they will come" only gets you so far...
It's also important to note that 0.19 has been a long time coming. I think part of the reticence to engage in full on Lemmy evangelism is that people recognize that the platform still needs work. Once everything starts working more smoothly and moderation tools get some upgrades, it'll become a lot easier to recommend Lemmy to the average person.
I would like to start doing this as well. Feel free to post a template of what you usually say to lure people in. I think more people here would be willing to go on a little misonary run 😉
Mastodon by comparison has attracted a number of people basically campaigning for its adoption with webpages and sign up drives.
I’m not clear on the details but I’ve picked up that some of that energy comes from people who see Twitter as politically important and so view Mastodon advocacy as a political act worthy of funding.
Reddit I imagine doesn’t attract that kind of interest.
But still, as you say, adoption could be better with some more community organisation.
Generally, the lack of synergy with mastodon is a continuous source of disappointment for me in how segregated the Fedi actually is and how insular masto actually is.