Hahaha, wouldn't we all!? 
Getting engaged readers is really hard work and sometimes the grind to build a readership gets really demoralising, so I understand how people end up resorting to giving people subs, especially on a platform where you can compare numbers with people so easily.
But even though sub for sub is faster, definitely it's better to instead look at things you could spruce up to catch more attention from potential readers, like your cover design, banner and blurb, try promo threads based on genre/theme/style or threads where you post actual content (example, the current thread for funny out of context panels) and just always try to learn and refine your work and how you market it by observing what works well.
Keep at it! Have pride in your work! 