Hello Shayne. I must admit that so far I haven't encountered so well written and explanatory article which aligns so much with my views on this topic that it scares me.
For the very reasons you have discussed in this post I do use bots sometimes.
For my time here I can sau that I have begun to build organic audience but I am still very far from where I actually want to be.
Why I use bots?
Well, I find it really discouraging not to have any votes or visibility on a well-written and interesting post on which I have spent a few hours.
Whenever thia happens I use the bots to advertise. I cannot say that today bots are a tool for profit as in the end of the seven days, if you do the math you would find that the ROI sometimes do not cover the investment itself.
The RoI is a tough one. I think that honestly the best way to do well here is with whale support 🐳
If you can manage to find a few regular influencers to call friends, then you might be able to get some serious RoI.
But two things about that: 1. The "whales" who have become my friends here are really awesome people. The kind of people that I would let babysit my kids. 2. It cans be about the RoI all the time. That'll just cause burnout and sore feelings, imo.
I absolutely agree. Like in life, Steem(it) is all about connections. And when you have good connections, ROI and financial benefits are only a small piece of the picture.
It is funny how most of is start with the idea to earn some money and step by step we realize that the financial part of Steem(it) is only one side of the coin.
Hopefully I would find what you have and be able to enjoy the platform at hundred percent.
Until then the grind is real.
Thank you for your reply and honest advice!