Keep a notebook full of ideas.  It’s so easy to forget those random thought fragments that may snowball into a great blog post or two.  Don’t rely on your memory.  Jot your ideas down in a designated notebook and refer to it when you’ve run out of stuff to write about.  Chance are, you’ll see all these ideas that you totally forgot about.  You can also brainstorm in this notebook.  Just let it all free flow out, without any thought to proper grammar and structure. 

Don’t be afraid to get personal in your blog.  Share your ups and downs.  Readers like to know there’s a real person behind those words.  Granted, don’t fill your blog with one “woe is me” or “Yay, me!” post after another.  People come to get informed and entertained.  A well placed personal blog entry, however, can be very effective.

Go to other sources outside of the blogosphere to get ideas.  Keep an open mind in all your interactions.  You may see something that would make great blog content.

Expand on what other bloggers write about.  Most blogging is about general information, without really getting into the nitty gritty.  Expand and go deeper than what the general blogger does.  Perhaps you can even be a “problem solver” of sorts and give out advice every so often.  If you take this route, however, make sure you’ve very knowledgeable in the subject you’re dealing with.  People can spot a fake a mile away.

These are just a few ideas to create blog content.  It’s tricky coming up with new posts a few times a week.  Expand your mind to encompass regular tips to overcome blogger’s block, as well as thinking outside the box.

While getting your blog noticed takes a lot of research and time, it’s not an impossible task. Just treat others the way you’d like to be treated, and you’ll be noticed soon.
Getting your blog noticed takes as much time, perhaps more time, than the actual writing part.  Building traffic could be likened to a part time job, what with all the knowledge and the work it takes.  Here are some helpful tips to get your blog noticed.

Read high trafficked blogs in your topic area.  Hanging out with the “big wigs” will help you absorb their work ethic and knowledge.  If you get noticed by another blogger and they link to your blog, that carries a lot more weight than paid advertising or social networking.  Getting the nod from another blogger is like a stamp of approval.  Their readers are more likely to become regular readers, as opposed to those who may have found you through advertising or social networking.  These readers are proven to be regular blog readers, so that may transfer to your blog.

A way to get noticed by other bloggers is to write about one of their blogs.  Put your own spin on their blog post, but make sure it’s thoughtful and respectful.  Then, and this is the key, link back to them, by giving them full credit for their idea that generated your post.  If they watch their stats, and chances are the big bloggers do, they’ll see you linked to them.  When they have time, they’ll look at your blog.  If they like what they see, they may tell their readers about you.  To ensure that they saw your blog post about them, send them a quick and courteous email.  Let them know that you liked what they posted about and have expanded upon their initial post.  Give them the url to your blog post.  Keep it short because bloggers tend to get a lot of mail.

Getting your blog noticed can be accomplished through the comments section on other blogs.  Make sure your blog is on topic with the blogs you comment on.  This will make it more likely that when readers see your comment and url, they’ll more likely continue to read your blog if it’s in the same topic area.  For example, if you comment on blogs devoted to dogs, and your blog is all about ferrets, you’re not going to pick up any readers that way.  Keep your comments on target and germane to the conversation at hand.

While getting your blog noticed takes a lot of research and time, it’s not an impossible task.  Just treat others the way you’d like to be treated, and you’ll be noticed soon.

When you tell your blog readers you’re going to write about a particular subject soon, do it!  Yes, sometimes life get in the way, and you may not have the time, but don’t make a habit of regularly breaking your promises.  Your blog readership will drop, and you’ll be left blogging for just yourself and maybe 3 other people.

Respond to your comments is another way of showing respect.  Since blogs are on the internet, and there’s no face to face interaction, the comment field is a way for your readers to respond back.  If you ignore their comments, they’ll soon ignore you.  No one likes being ignored in a face to face conversation.  Why would blogging online be any different?  Yes, there may be some comments that are meant to flame or incite argument.  You side step those comments and concentrate on those who want to genuinely communicate with you.

Respecting your blog readers also includes not seeing them as cash cows.  They are not there to click and buy from your advertising campaigns.  Their sole purpose isn’t to make you money.  They are there because they’ve taken an interest in what you have to say about your particular topic.  Treat them as an equal, and not as a means to an end.  If they happen to click on a link and purchase something, great!  But if not, so what?  If they sense that you are using them to earn money, you’ll soon be twiddling your thumbs with no readers.  They’re not stupid.

Respecting your blog readers isn’t hard to do.  It’s simple courtesy and common sense that you would give to people you’re interacting with face to face.  Don’t be lulled into the anonymity of online communications.  Respect your blog readers, and they’ll respect you.

Write in a conversational tone.  If you write your blog posts as if they were a warm up to a dissertation, you’re not going to draw people back to you.  Face it, it’s boring.  Sure, there may be times in which you’ll be posting an informative article that may not sound right with a conversational tone of voice, but most of your articles should draw a reader in.  The readers want to be engaged, and feel they are potentially included in the interaction.  They don’t want to feel like they’re at a lecture hall with an instructor who is too busy talking to care about what the audience thinks.  Blogging is a unique way of communicating online; it’s a give and take and can be a personal and communal experience shared literally around the world.

Another random blogging tip is to pay attention to your blog post titles.  Make sure they draw a reader in.  Also use keywords, when possible.  In our hurried lives, we tend to skim for information.  If your blog post title doesn’t adequately mirror what the post is about, is vague or boring, chances are it’s not going to be read.

Last, but certainly not least, on this batch of random blogging tips is planning your blog.  Many people get into blogging not realizing how much of a time commitment it is.  You have to be constantly searching for material to write about.  You have to be creative and put your own touch on the information you’re presenting.  You have to post regularly in your blog - probably a couple times a day at first, then once a day.  As your blog builds in popularity, you still need to post a few times a week.  Additionally, building up your blog traffic takes a huge time commitment, as well as patience and tenacity.

These random blogging tips can help you build a better blog and increase your traffic.  Keep at it, and don’t give up.  Your blog will succeed if you make the effort.

When you submit your article to an article submission site, you’ll slowly build your traffic.  Put your best articles on these submission sites.  You may have to tweak them a bit to follow their guidelines.  For example, some article submission sites only allow a couple links in your article.  If you have more, you’re going to have to cut some of them out.  Speaking of tweaking, don’t duplicate your blog post.  Change it up so that search engines don’t see it as a duplicate and will penalize you.

Make sure your title is compelling and contains keywords related to your topic when you submit to article submission sites.  If you’re stuck between a compelling title that doesn’t use much keywords, and a keyword rich title that’s rather clumsy, choose the former.  You want to compel people to read your article and seeing keywords splattered all over can be annoying.

You’ll get plenty of viral marketing when you submit your tweaked blog posts to article submission sites.  Bear in mind that some sites allow others to reprint your articles.  This is good in that it will build up the amount of links to your site without you having to reciprocate.  Search engines love to see one way links; they’re basically saying that all these sites like your blog and link to you, not because you’re linking back to them.  The reprints of your article may be placed on blogs that you may not want to link with.  However, many view the link building more advantageous in the long run.

Article submission sites are an important part of viral marketing.  Check out a few of them today:  ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, promotionworld.com, and isnare.com .

Before reading, the first thing a visitor will look at is the title of your blog post.  This is your first, and perhaps lasting, impression on the reader.  Your title will determine whether your visitor will want to read more.  You have to not only grab their attention, but also have the title reflect what your post is about if you wanted targeted blog traffic.  This means using keywords accurately in your title.

Blogging is different from other marketing in that it seeks to establish an interactive relationship with its readers and fellow bloggers.  Both types of readers are part of the targeted blog traffic that most bloggers seek to cultivate.  Let your readers know that you’re in for the long haul by constantly updating with thoughtful posts that they want to read about.  Have persistence and patience that your blog will grow.  Getting targeted traffic is oftentimes more successful than paid advertising.

Ironically enough, the more you link to others, the more the targeted traffic will come to you.  As they say, share the love, and it’ll come back.  Your readers will see that you aren’t blogging just to get attention and make a buck.  By linking to others in the same niche, you show that your blog is a helpful resource.  Only link to those blogs and websites that you see as quality.  If you link for the purpose of linking, chances are you’ll be linking to some questionable sites, and your credibility will be shot.

Getting targeted blog traffic is a lot better than a ton of blog traffic.  It’s basically a matter of quality versus quantity.  For those bloggers who plan on being around for years to come, targeted traffic should be a main goal.

When you join a social media site to help your blog, don’t spam.  The community will feel used, and your blog will be blacklisted.  Share your blog articles when you’ve become a participant of the social media sites. 

Social media sites are a lot like forums in that it’s a good idea to read as much as you can before you start interacting.  Each site has its own “feel” to it.  Blend in and go with the flow.  Interact with others and make friends.  Word will go around that you’re a genuine person, and people will want to get to know you better.  Your opinion will carry more weight when you treat others as you wish to be treated.  When you do start to post your blog articles in the appropriate areas, people will be much more supportive because you have been supportive of them.

Social media sites aren’t just for socializing.  They’re a great place to make friends, educate yourself, do research, and drive traffic to your blog.  Treat social media sites and its members with respect, and you’ll be treated likewise.

If you want to write about a general topic, then narrow it done to a subset within that topic.  Obviously, make sure that the general topic you want to write about is popular.  If your topic is too obscure, you’re not likely to get readers and thus, you won’t be making any money.  In order to make money on your blog, readers need to want to read your posts.

Do some research into a narrow niche you may want to blog about.  Is there much competition out there for it?  If not, this may be a money making topic for your blog.  Again, make sure that this topic is something that will appeal to a vast audience. 

Choosing a narrow niche may mean that advertisers may not pay much for your topic.  The more popular topics will get the higher ad rates; however, since the popular topics are probably oversaturated in the blog world, it’ll take a long time and a huge amount of effort for your blog to get traffic.  It’s kind of a six of one, half a dozen of the other type of thing.  If you do have a narrow niche that you can use affiliates for, then that may help your blog be profitable.

Keep in mind when choosing a money making topic for your blog that you’ll be able to find enough information on your niche.  Also, is the topic something that will engage you and keep your interest.  You definitely don’t want to be bored by your own blog; if you are, chances are your audience will be, too. 

Choosing a money making topic for your blog takes a little thought and time.  It’s worth putting in the effort at first to save a lot of time and energy in the long run.

If your blog allows pinging (which it should), sites like Weblogs.com and Technorati will eventually take notice of you.  Every time you update your blog, it’ll ping Weblogs and Technorati.  If they “notice” you, you’ll be included on their lists of blogs.

Another way to get readers to your blog is to join a webring - http://dir.webring.com/rw .  Once you join, you place a button banner on your blog with your special referral code.  Don’t join too many, however; if you do, your blog will look trashy with all the button banners.

If you see a blog that’s hosting a project of some sort for other bloggers to join in, do so!  This could be yet another way to get readers to your blog.  You’ll be given a link on their sites and perhaps you’ll also make a friend.  It’s good to network with other bloggers, because blogging can be a very supportive environment. 

There are more ways to get readers to your blog.  While all these lists may seem overwhelming, whittle it down little by little.  Most of these, such as listing your blog on various topsites and directories, only take time at the beginning and you won’t need to keep re-registering.  Keep at it, and you’ll see a pay off on using these ways to get readers to your blog.

* Write informational posts.  These are longer than your usual post and is designed to teach your readers something.  Such tutorials and “how to” advice usually stand the test of time and won’t be dated months or even years later.  It’s good to write such informational posts regularly on your blog.  People will check back frequently to see if you’re offering any more advice, so this is a great way of finding traffic for your blog.

* Write at least one post a day.  These can vary in length, but they definitely won’t be as long as your informational posts.  Change up the length of your blog posts.  Allowing yourself to write smaller posts will probably motivate you to update everyday.  People will then likely return to your blog a few times a week to see if you’ve added a new post.  When your blog is new, it’s critical that you update everyday.  New visitors want to see that you’re committed to updating your blog.  After a few months of such regular posting, you can ease off a bit and update a few times a week.  This is a natural way of finding traffic for your blog.

* Make comments on other blogs.  As soon as you have several daily posts and your informational posts, you want to do your best in finding traffic for your blog.  A good way of doing this is to comment on blogs in the niche you write about.  The readers of these blogs you choose will likely be interested in your blog since you write about what already interests them.  Luckily, when you comment, you’re usually asked for your website url.  Put it in that information field.  Make sure your comments are thoughtful and on topic.  If they’re not, you won’t be taken seriously, and you’ll probably be viewed as a spammer.

* Show off your informational articles.  Submit them to a blog carnival, social bookmarking sites, article sites (http://www.ezinearticles.com/ is a good one), and a topsite directory (http://topsites.blogflux.com/).  This will help you in finding traffic for your blog because your article will be seen by an audience that contains a wide variety of people.

Finding traffic for your blog takes some initiative, hard work, and patience.  The rewards are higher traffic and regular readers.