listen, don't listen to this guy. You are on the right track. The truth is that if you don't have/get a whale in your pocket you will never be noticed here no matter how great your content is. Every single person that has actually used bots will tell you what you have said, you get more notice and more votes/views from others. There is also this...
since you get much of your original sbd back you can then use it time and time again on future posts with bots to gain cumulative roi.
I have not been able to figure out why this guy is being such a dick, maybe he's being paid or something but basically none of is argument is based in fact.
Welcome to steemit. :)
Thank you for saying that. I figured out today, after enough time seeing my patterns, that I am about breaking even on the SBD to the bots, but my SP is going up. That means it is a sustainable approach to grow my SP without needing to invest more USD, which is all I need. I wouldn't have nearly as much SP this quickly without the bots. And honestly, I love what I write and love that I have a way of getting people to actually see it and engage in a meaningful way in the comments.
I couldn't in good conscience advise people on getting started on the platform, as I am doing, and not recommend that they take advantage of this feature for growing an engaged audience and growing their SP with a modest initial investment in SBD.
I've spent total $100 on SBD and literally thousands on Facebook ads, and already get to have more meaningful conversations here on Steemit being here not even a month yet! No, actually I just realized, a month as of today! LOL
Thanks again for the encouraging words.