To tart or not to tart? That is my question!

I read an interesting article the other week about how to increase your blog readership.  The main advice that seemed to be given was to tart yourself round more popular bloggers sites.  Make a comment here, a comment there, and watch as people come over to your blog and reciprocate.  Maybe actively ask a popular blogger to "link" to you.  Do a bit of whoring.

Hmmm. Something about that didn't sit well with me.

I made the point on the forum that whilst I welcome all and every reader I could get, I didn't just want to have other bloggers reading me, and commenting so that I would rush over and give them back a comment like a piece of currency.

Surely good writing didn't need to be tarted out and readers (both bloggers and non-bloggers) would come naturally if the content was good enough.  I was called naive.  Am I?  What do you all think, is networking the only way to get a readership?

Misssy  (www.misssymartin.blogspot.com)*

* See what I did there- I tarted!