Hey thanks for already stopping by on my latest post!
The interaction is key for success, I think its like networking, only steemit specific. But steem networking could become relevant to real life, especially if this steem continues to grow and continues to become a larger part of our lives.
I have used upvote bots, I don't really like them (more so philosophically), but I haven't ever had success at them actually giving me more visibility. When I use them I try to tag my oldest possible post, instead of the fresh ones. With new posts, if I upvote-bot, then I am just tainting the curation rewards for my actual followers! If I add them at the end, I am rewarding my followers! Just my 2 cents ;p