@cryptoctopus Those are great reflections and ver refreshing for you to be so forward about what is in it for you and as well as your followers. If I am completely honest, I upvote posts that I believe are genuine and have either triggered my interest or reflect my own thoughts/views/situation etc. And it's very important to acknowledge that it's the contents that make me upvote, and not the reputation of the person or their steem power. I did that the first few days when I joined to a particular whale, but his contents were so poor and he was so self-centred, it made me realize that if I wouldn't respect or acknowledge him in real life, then I shouldn't do it on steemit for monetary benefits. As for you or others who write truly engaging content that I can relate to (and that I would've read on any other platform) then upvoting your posts is a natural step. So to answer your question, I believe another legitimate benefit of upvoting your comment section of your blog is that you do read the comments and respond when necessary. I think that's as valuable as you upvoting because it shows genuine interest in what your followers think/believe/say etc.