### BOTS
when I joined all those years ago in May it seemed pretty straightforward. now it seems like you have to buy votes.. it's kind of self defeating and the people who own the bots are raking in your steem. stop buying votes. I have bought the odd randowhale in the distant past.. never seemed to work out. I even used a couple of resteem services. not sure that ever worked out either. PAL, @minnowsupport is more in the vein of helping minnows grow.  kind of organic

![fa4f48e0b9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVPFAueFsj6n5kYmEozzhRL87BpfbczodpxeG3ZFBEF1a/fa4f48e0b9.jpg)

### Fluked it 
the decent payouts I've had have often been courtesy of pure random luck & sometimes the amazing human curator @shaka has dropped me a few upvotes.

### Contests
I've won more from contests lately. I've worked for it. my posts are usually well crafted and quality so I've reached out. there are some interesting people running contests. and it's a good way to meet new people and stretch yourself.

### Paid work
there is even a bit of paid work on steem from various places. I can write and produce artwork. It's not huge amounts but I'm gambling / speculating / trading it on the exchanges, so 50 SBD could end up as $500 or even $5000.. if I back the right coin. (not so different from the horses) 

### Get Creative
with your steemit strategy. I still find commenting on other's posts can open doors. especially if you say something interesting. people seem to come and go on steemit. you get through a lot of people. but they're all still there ! 
they come back and disappear again as they find new opportunities. it's a lot of fun.. it's like watching LOST !

### Patron of the Bots 
I did once upon a time give a few SBD on my birthday as a giveaway to start a @resteembot !  that bot is probably retired in Malibu. actually he was a young developer and i thought helping him out would encourage his coding skills. no doubt he's still at it !