When I add new members to the alliance, I check to see if they are active on Steem, because I know that it helps with the upvoting. Especially since I'm giving away 1 SBD to 1 person each week. So far I have made enough from that one post to payout, but it isn't all in SBD, but I'm okay with that.
Yes, there are those tips that I usually mention to people directly in comments.