Use these blog traffic tips to make your blog a vibrant community!

Have strong content.

1. Be unique. Even if you’re posting about the same subject as millions of other bloggers, make sure yours stands out as unique. If your subject is one that only you are talking about, congratulations, the field is wide open, now you just have to find your audience2. Post frequently. In the first few months of your blog’s lifespan, you should post at least once a day. Although it may seem like a lot to commit to, it’s vital to show visitors that your blog is well updated, extremely well updated. To help ease the burden, break up the content created on prolific days into several days, or even a weeks worth of posts. Just make sure you don’t miss any relevant breaking news in the meantime!

3. Be consistent. When you have a strong following, you can decrease your posting frequency to 3-5 times per week. If you’re going to be away, let your readers know. Trust is important in the blogger-follower relationship. To keep your follower’s trust you must be a steady source of information and be consistent in expressing your unique perspective.

4. Write with personality, your personality. The driest subject can be fascinating and the most exciting story can be sawdust. It’s the human element that draws us in. So make sure that whatever you write about, the reader knows its yours.

5. Post pictures, videos, and links. Not only will this make your content richer, but it will increase your SEO (search engine optimization) rating.

5. Post pictures, videos, and links. Not that you have to have a link in every sentence, or even every post, but when properly used, these elements will fill-out a blog. As an added bonus, they’ll increase your SEO (search engine optimization). As a beginning blogger, don’t plan to get much traffic from search engines, but as you build up your base and learn other SEO tricks, you’ll move up the listings.

Get involved in the online community and make your blog feel like a community to your readers.

1. Follow other blogs and comment on them. This can be especially effective if you have a post which looks at the same issue from a different angle, or even outright disagrees with their view. People want all the angles, and you want other readers and bloggers to know about your unique take on the issues.

3. Host a contest. Once you have a bit of a following, reward your readers with a contest. You can give away anything from a blog-related gift to cold, hard cash. Throw in a copy of your first novel and a promotional keychain and you can do even more self-promoting.

4. Exchange links. Find a website which shares your niche and participate in a link exchange.

5. Use social websites. List your blog on LinkedIn. Post on Facebook and tweet on Twitter each time you update your blog.

5. Use social marketing tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

1. Answer questions on Yahoo Answers and LinkedIn Answers.

1. Answer questions on Yahoo and LinkedIn.

2. Get involved in online communities and forums.

3. Write articles and submit them to an online article source like EzineArticles or Helium. Include a blurb explaining who you are and giving your blog address at the bottom4. Create a Squidoo lens. Use Squidoo to share your knowledge, and draw people back to your blog.

5. Publish an ebook. Once you’ve amassed a solid stock of blogging material, create a book. With easy online, self-publishing options, this is an easy tactic to increase your standing as an expert and your revenue.

Promote your blog offline. It’s amazing how many potential readers there are right in your own community. Although you don’t have to promote offline, this innovative tactic can have some surprising returns if you do your research first.

1. Recruit your friends. Whenever someone starts talking about the environment, business, cooking, or whatever else your blog is about, have your friend trained to say, “Hey! My friend has a great blog about…”

2. Find your niche in their offline hangout. Where do your readers go when they aren’t online? The coffee shop, a park, school, the mall, the grocery store? Find out where they are, hunt them down, and engage them! Bonus if you can infiltrate their place of business.

3. Get endorsements from other experts. You’ve already established yourself as an expert, but don’t forget to take advantage of opportunities to network with other leaders. Who is a leader? Anyone who influences people. Is your blog about childcare? Review some toys and let local toy store owners know what’s going on. It can be beneficial to both, if you recommend that people buy from that store.

4. Put up fliers. Or, even better, give fliers to the experts who are recommending you. Bonus if you can get them to hand some out to their peers!

5. Read aloud from your blog at an open mic night. If you enjoy public speaking or at the very least can temporary sublimate your dread, then stand up on stage and let your words come alive. This is an especially good tactic for a blog with a creative voice, but it can also work for one with a technical bent.

Mike Gates is an online marketer and recommends HostGator for hosting. HostGator is the cheapest web host. HostGator coupons available at http://hostgatorcouponandreview.com/hostgator-coupon.html.