Is it worth using the bid bots to get upvotes?
This is a question I have been asking myself on and off. Is it really worth bidding on an upvote from a bot? Is it profitable?
The answer isn't a straight-forward "yes" or "no." It depends what you're wanting to get out of the upvote. There are three things the bid bots can do for you; turn your SBD into an upvote to get your post reward up to a greater value, give you a few extra points towards your reputation score, and if you get an upvote early enough, the possibility of getting your post into the hot list, which gives you greater exposure and the possibility of more upvotes.
The Money
If you're only after monetary profit, then in many cases the bid bots aren't going to make you much, and you could even end up getting less value than you put in. You have to time you bid to be close to, and before the upvote of the bot your going to use, and rely on the bot not being oversubscribed (having a greater total bid value than 75% of the upvote value). If you can get the timing right, you can make a healthy profit out of the bots.
Some people recommend bidding on an upvote for one of your posts which is 6 days old, so you get the return on your investment sooner, and can then bid again on your next oldest post. This can make you good returns, but remember half of your post's reward is paid in Steem Power, so you can't rely solely on bots to make you money. You'll eventually run out of SBD, or only be able to bid smaller and smaller amounts.
If you want to time your bids, and keep track of when some of the more popular bots are upvoting, and their profitablility, go to this website, designed by @yabapmatt - https://s3.amazonaws.com/yabapmatt/bottracker/bottracker.html
Here you will find a list of popular upvote bots, with their current upvote value, total bid value, max profitable bid (based on 75% reward value), and time left before next round of upvotes.
The Rep
Most people see the reputation score as just a status symbol. It's quite easy to boos your reputation, juts by getting bots to vote for you. A higher reputation score doesn't necessarily mean you'll get more rewards on your posts, or gain more followers. The jury is still out on whether your rep score has much of an effect on anything, although it is nice to have a big number next to your name. You're not going to be a rockstar just because you have a high rep...
To gain reputation points, you need others with a greater reputation to upvote your post. A lot of the bots have a pretty average reputation score, and may not add much value to your own.
The Exposure
Using a bid bot can get you you time in the spotlight. Once you're there, what you have to show comes into the equation.If you're on the hot list, and your post is not up to a good standard, it will fall like a stone down the list, and you would have wasted an opportunity to gain some extra followers and repeat voters.
If you time your post to coincide with a big bid bot vote, you can get you post high on the hot list, and gain some exposure there. Brand new posts high on the hot list, with a few $ already in the rewards will gain you some exposure. Getting a bid bot vote very early also maximizes the profit you stand to make from your bought vote. The upvotes you get after that will depend on your post quality, and your use of appropriate tags.
The conclusion
If you use the tools you have at your disposal wisely, there is a bit of profit to be made by using the bid bots. It requires you to bo on your game and know when the timing is right. But a junk post won't make you much more than the rewards you are buying from the bots.
There is no substitute for quality
The most reliable way to make good rewards from your posts is to write great content. Don't just drop a picture and expect it to make mega bucks, unless you've got a lot of very powerful friends upvoting your trash. Add some value to your post by writing a decent backstory. You'll gain more upvotes, and followers, which will translate into bigger rewards over time. Use the bots to gain some rewards, but there is no substitute for good quality for long term gains.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts on the bid or buy bots. Do I use them? Yes I do, but I keep an eye out and try to make sure I'm going to get at least my upvote money back with some profit on top. I don't always get it right, but I'm still slightly up at the moment :)
Team Australia and Team South Africa banners by @bearone