If you want to create a journal of what you did each day that's fine but if you want traffic to come to your site for information, it needs to be treated like a novel that never ends.

Treat your content like chapters that progressively lead your visitors down the path of your blog topic. Treat the header of your blog like the cover of the novel. Create a unique logo that visually says something about your blog. Your homepage should be like the preface of the novel stating the mission and goals of your blog.

When you add content to your blog, look at your mission statement and ask yourself if the content follows the guidelines you have set for your blog. Once the post meets the criteria, turn it into a live post.

Make Sure You Have Something Worth Saying

When you are generating the content for your site, don’t hold yourself back through lack of confidence in your writing ability. If you believe in the beneficial properties of the information you are providing, then post it and spread the knowledge.

Nobody is perfect and your blog doesn't have to be either. Your blog just has to find its niche and be marketed to that niche continually as it goes through the process of evolution. You might generate content on a consistent basis, but if you are not getting visitors right away, don’t give up.

Persistence is the key element when marketing to a defined niche. Eventually over time your visitors will find you. Once you know what you want to say, give your readers multiple ways to get information from your site such as a feed or newsletter.

Get Your Visitors Email Addresses

Try to get your visitors email address with a comments form or a newsletter subscription. If you send out information, tips or updates, they will help to keep your blog fresh in their mind. Now this doesn't mean to spam them every day because that will only get someone annoyed and then there would be little chance of them returning to your site.

People who subscribe to your newsletter have enjoyed what you have to say and they want more. One other point about addresses is to never give them out or share them. Your visitor trusted you by giving personal information and it would only hurt your credibility by providing it to others without permission.

Get Links From Blogs With Similar Topics

There are many reasons for getting links to your blog. Incoming and reciprocal links play an important part in how your blog ranks in the search engines. These links provide large amounts of free search engine traffic directed at your blog.

Linking gives your blog exposure and can help with the process of creating credibility to you and the content that you are giving your visitors. There are many ways to get links to your blog. When you post to a forum, you can include a link in your signature. Another technique is to get links from comments you make in blogs with that have similar topics.

If You Use Other Peoples Content, Give Credit

There are large quantities of authors on the internet that can supply your blog with content. These people are usually more than willing to assist you, providing that you give credit where credit is due.

If Someone Comments On Your Blog, Give More than a Thank You

Compliment their entry with a more in depth reply. It is very easy to just say thank you for your comments. A better approach would be to analyze their comments and then respond to key points with a more in depth reply.

If someone commented on 'xyz' in your blog, you could post about how you agree with their statement or that you will look into it and get back to them at a later date. By responding to people who leave comments, you make them feel a part of your on-going project. Inclusion will also help bring them back.

You can also promote your credibility by displaying positive feedback from other professionals related to the topic of your blog. Don't expect feedback, you need to request it. Ask people what they think.

If You Are Unsure About Something, Ask For Help From Your Readers

The people who visit your blog can be a valuable resource for answers to questions you might have. The responses you get can help you make decisions or spark an idea for something totally different to try. You might be starting an article and want to ask someone else about your ideas. By asking for help from others, you are taking the necessary steps to improve your writing and develop yourself as a writer.

Get Your Own Domain Name

Having your own domain name projects a professional image that distinguishes your blog from others with a unique identity. You can also attract traffic to your site by using keywords that are pertinent to your topic in your domain name. This can help you gain page rank with search engines because they are more likely to display your blog in their search results. With your domain, you also get to increase your credibility with your own address - you@yourdomain.com which helps with the professional image plan.

Another benefit of having your own domain name is if you want to cover multiple topics you can create a sub domain like "stuff.yourdomain.com".

Submit Your Sitemap to Google

A Google sitemap is a list of all the URLs within your website. A search engine sitemap is used to make it easier for the search engine spiders to crawl your website and to help get your pages indexed quicker.

Google also provides you with an in depth look at your site statistics. It shows what pages are indexed, top search queries and many other features. By tracking your statistics, you can see what people are looking for and what you might need to change to get more visitors.