Yes - it is all about traffic. If you want to make money hell, even if you just want someone to read what it is you are saying, you have to have traffic.

If you do an Internet search on blog traffic you will find all types of articles at all kinds of sites. They all pretty much say the same things though. I will synthesize what they say in my list of five ways to build traffic and add a few thoughts of my own below...

1. Write quality content - if you want people to read your material and come back for more, you have to post quality content. But what does that mean? Everyone says it over and over. To me, it means staying on brand and brand promise (see my article here on branding) but you have to offer something of your expertise too. You can't simply copy what others say - its obvious if you do and its bad form. Say what you think, what you know and what you have learned. Also - make it a good experience. Think about how your article is presented and delivered. Check spelling and grammar. Write quality content and you'll attract an audience.

2. Social Networking Sites - you'll be told to post to social networking sites... well, good idea but if you don't have a group of friends who post there too, your articles will simply fade into obscurity and quickly. Here is a much better idea. Check the top stories on Digg and so on each day - comment in them and leave a url pointing to a post of yours that is on topic. I get tons of traffic doing that - it works.

3. Comment on other blogs - Never worked for me but you can give it a try. The idea is to be a part of your community. Again, be on topic and leave quality comments not 'hey come over to my site'. However, I have developed little traffic that way.

4. Write Press Announcements This one works - create a buzz with press announcements but use a PR outlet that has some reach. You might have to pay a fee for that but its worth it trust me. PR works and it works well.

5. Tell your friends and have them tell theirs - This isn't easy because friends can be unreliable but tell your friends and keep telling them and have them tell theirs. This is true social networking and it pays off. Better yet, make it easy for any visitor to tell their friends by adding an easy to use feature to your site that allows them to email friends directly off the site.

There are others of course but for me these are the key tools to building traffic....

Good luck