I understand why people would feel unsure about asking for an upvote or even a reblog, yet there are Hivers going back to the earliest days of Steemit who still ask for either or both. I just figured "if it's good for them, it's good for me."
It's like selling a product in a store and then near the end you "ask for the sale." It seems obvious, yet it's amazing how many people go through the trouble to sell a good or service only to then drop the ball by failing to follow up by asking for the sale.
In both cases, here is what makes the practice of asking OK: you provided value with your post. You answered a question, addressed a concern, pointed the reader in the right direction, gave good advice, engaged well with others, made the reader LOL after the reader had a rough day, etc. If the reader felt good after reading the post, the reader won't think anything about being asked for an upvote or a reblog.
If a post is just tag spam or emoji soup, though, then asking for an upvote or a reblog is asking for trouble.
I get the CTA concept of the ask ... the problem tends to be that people who are doing the low value, slapped together, spammy posting are often the people who are most aggressive about doing the ask.
Their behaviour tends to make the wiser move to realize the act of posting is a CTA if our reader feels inclined. We can then use a CTA for some other action like say a writer who offers a subscription to a newsletter.
You just gave me an idea for a post I an publish from my main account (@magnacarta): When is it OK (or not) to ask for an upvote. I'll need a day or two to get it made and published.
Near the top of the post will be this statement, and I think most of us who have read your post are familiar with it:
(or a follow, or a reblog, or anything else.)
I'll be publishing from LeoFinance, but I'll be sure to tag your community at post time. For now, I need time to gather my thoughts and ideas.
sounds intriguing :)