I have a rather different viewpoint...

Yes, payouts are nice; but my primary goal here is to create an archive of my thought. Something that my descendants will one day be able to access, if they wish, and say "So that's who he was..."

The nature of the potential permanence of the Steemit blockchain is such that it should make such an archive a real possibility. And, even for the more "short term" case, if I am able to maintain a good Table of Contents, that in and of itself ought to help me attract and keep "real readers," and it is READERS that I really hope for here! ;)

And yes, in my experience (especially with my TOC) people do go back and read older posts! :)