I found its the mix between technics (autoposter -votes, bots ...) and good, non spamy content. But i would prevent to shine very related with bots & co, because this will scare a lot of potent people on steem. Be a creator, be clever, be social.
Connecting with other folks is very worthy, too. In Discord there are groups with a lot of honorable folks. And build your own surrounding.
Read a lot! Read everything you can to understand the mechanics. Not only the physical, also the psychological; comment on the right places, use your votes (or the votes from your group) wise and with an effort.
And i think you can use/optimise your doings, also this automatism, and be connected social and worthy for the community. And a worth the community is real a thing, where matters.
My experiences/meanings.
DOES they (bots) really helpful? You lose money when using bots. People see that you are using bots. They see your steem power and they know that you won't set huge upvote to them.