The number one thing that will make you successful in social media is to write about and to do what you’re passionate about. Don’t blog just for the sake of blogging, and don’t blog to make money. The A-listers who make a 6-figure income (see: Steve Pavlina and Darren Rowse) didn’t start out to make money—they just wrote about what they truly had a passion for, that they could keep coming back to each week, each day, and add value to the discussion. And then they did it for years. That’s what will pull in readers and keep you motivated.

Once you build a foundation of flagship content on your topic, you’ll be ready to start sharing your new site with the world. Here are several methods to increase your traffic and to promote your blog for free:

1. Write what you’re passionate about, but also what your readers want. If you’re not passionate about your niche, you’ll put out low-quality content and quickly run out of things to say. That’s a no-brainer. But also be sure to concentrate on what your readers need help with. Write with their interests in mind, even write as if you’re speaking to someone in particular who you know would find your content helpful.
2. Write awesome headlines. Remember that most people buy books based on the title, not the contents. Many social media users will decide whether to click through to your site solely based on the headline. Make sure it draws readers in, as well as targets your desired keywords. See Copyblogger’s Brian Clark for awesome copywriting tips.
3. Start commenting on other blogs. The most effective way to find your target audience and get your name out there is to start engaging on similar blogs in your niche. I’d recommend using your name, not a business name or keyword phrase. This won’t send huge amounts of traffic, but it will get your face and your link in front of other bloggers and highly-targeted potential readers—and after people see your name a few times, and if you’re contributing something of value to the discussion, eventually they’ll be interested enough to click through and read more of what you have to say.
4. Link to other bloggers as frequently as you can. Not only is it good karma to share useful external resources with your audience, but when you reference other bloggers’ articles in your posts, blog software like WordPress will automatically send “trackbacks” to the other sites you link to. Trackbacks are links that frequently show up similarly to blog comments on the other blogger’s site. Sometimes the original article will include a link back to your site that readers can follow, but more importantly this will bring your site to the attention of other bloggers, letting them know you mentioned their article. Link relevantly and regularly to the major players in your niche!
5. Engage with your readers. Send a thank-you email or respond in some way to as many commenters as you can, as it will show your readers that you value their feedback, and they’ll be much more likely to come back again and add to the conversation on your site (as well as eventually recommend it to others).
6. Leverage the social networking sites. Do your best to form new relationships with other bloggers and your target audience through Facebook, LinkedIn, and especially Twitter. You can also submit your articles to bookmarking sites like Delicious and StumbleUpon, where potential readers might take notice and help share your links.
7. Write guest posts on other sites. Find the biggest bloggers in your niche, or your favorite blogs that seem like they have a related audience that you’d like to reach. Write on as many other sites as you can—besides adding great content to your own site, guest posts are the most effective way to expose yourself to new audiences and build relationships with more experienced bloggers.
8. Write list posts. Lists (like this one) and “How-To” posts are some of the most popular articles online. Don’t make every post a list post, but when you format your content in numbered or bulleted points or steps, it breaks things down into simple, useful language for people, and it’s easily scannable. Readers LOVE lists and step-by-step instructions!
9. Interview people. Ever wanted to ask some A-list blogger, author, or other role model a couple questions? Why not try to pitch them on an interview so they can share their knowledge with a larger audience, and you can show another perspective on your topic. You never know who might be willing to sit down and give you an interview. (P.S. video is a huge hit with readers!)
10. Participate in blog carnivals. A blog carnival is a blog post that features a roundup of several articles from different blogs, frequently collected once a month or even once a week. The carnival host collects links to different members of a niche to showcase the best content around the web. They’re easy to participate in—just search BlogCarnival.com for something in your niche and submit your links.
11. Submit your blog to Google, DMOZ, and other search engines. On WordPress, you can also use a plugin like Google XML Sitemaps Generator to automatically create a sitemap and ping the search engines with your updates when you add new content, which will help you rank in the search engines much faster.
12. Submit targeted articles to EzineArticles.com. Write helpful, keyword-targeted articles and submit them to article directories like Ezine Articles, which then become available to other people to republish on their website or in their newsletter. You can include one to two sentences and link back to your website or blog, so anytime anyone reprints your article you get incoming links. When you use your hyperlink anchor text wisely, this is also a great way to improve your SEO.

I hope you find this resource post useful. What are your tactics for pushing free traffic to your blog?

Cody is a nomadic entrepreneur & lifestyle designer who helps social changemakers & other remarkable people spread their message on the web.

Tags: A-lister, backlinks, blog carnival, blogger, Blogging, Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, directories, free promotion, headlines, links, Marketing, Social Media, social networking, Steve Pavlina, traffic