I was talking with a fellow steemian a couple days ago. His is a blog that is widely read and whose upvotes carry some nice financial awards. What I inferred of his theory is that followers are like the average people you know. You have the good friends that pay attention and you can talk to and do things with and you have acquaintances of various kinds - Neighbors and business acquaintances who you expect to recognize, be cordial, and give you a 'heads up!' if you need to know something, and people who work in shops and stand in elevators and buses that you know by sight but don't know anything about...
Value your best followers and the rest will follow!
I couldn't agree more! Well put. In fact, I reply to every comment left on my posts as I believe it is simply courteous. Have a great day!