Yes, for that $100 to be earned, somebody has to buy/invest $100 in Steem. Assuming the blogger is not buying but selling, then $100 of Steem has to be consumed. That's the role of investors.

Why on earth investors (who are not bloggers) buy Steem if they see no return on investment. If Steem has no investing return, its price will go down in snowball effect.

One of the reason Steem is performing worse than its peers since there is less incentive for investors to buy Steem (more supply less demand).

It is synergy between bloggers (sellers) and investors (buyers).

This article is from an investor perspective.