First of all,I'd ask that what was the essence of the token you award to the writers? Does it have any specific value to them- I mean you created that with the aim of making it a cryptocurrency one day or you just created for fun (as in what we get in games and other imaginary treasure hunts).
Well if the former is your reason, then I suggest the 'steemitlike' method of payment. That makes the tokens more valuable and users can actually get real money from that. And yeah! you'll need to list on an exchange but first have a definition (i mean motive for your tokens) and it might interest others to join. As for ICOs, I won't advice you to embark on one, but hey you can start one if you think you will have a good project to embark on
I had some reasons why I created these tokens.
1. To learn more about crypto development because I'm a developer, I wanted to increase my knowledge.
2. I wanted some kind of merit system that shows visitors how active a blogger is.
So, what about my suggestion above? I think that way you can end up with your token listed on exchanges even without your asking them to. But first of you will need a good monthly income from advertisers and that depends on the popularity of your platform. You have never mentioned the name of the platform, by the way. I would like to take a look at those blogs if possible.