If you have enough to throw at tbe bots, thrn getting bit votes in earlier can put you onto "hot" where you might get noticed more. But, otherwise yes, let your regular followers upvote / comment and upvote later so there's less bot spam comments for your regular readers and tbey get curation.
Thank you for your insights. I have thought about the right balance between letting my followers comment/upsteem before the bots show up and promoting early to gain momentum.
Since many comments on 'trending' are a day or two old, I think that giving my followers one day head start is probably enough. I haven't looked at 'hot' closely yet, but I will check it out.
Edit: I just looked at 'hot' and everything is only an hour or two old. I will see how much traction my current method gains over the next week or two and then consider adjusting. Thanks again for your insight!