Voting bots seems to make things look bad on the platform but in real sense they bring activity to the platform. Without these bots people will waste most of their voting strength as very few people actually interact on steemit. I think what you need to do is get involved in a community and work towards growth. We all were earning pennies when we joined and we had to work really hard to get here. You can check the start of every body on steemit by checking their initial articles they wrote and you will get to understand that they have been to where you are before. You just have to find the right people to relate with and grow. I wish you the best.