With a blog about blogging, like this one, the main subject you write about is how to get more quality traffic. Sure, there are other things you deal with. But that's is the main one, without a doubt.

Fact is, quality blog traffic is like money. The less you have, the more you want. Also, the more you have the more you want! (Well, that night not be entirely true for all people but I think you get my drift.)

The downside is that with this aspect of your blogging journey looming over all the others it can really narrow your focus. Your blog can become repetitive and boring as a result. And you can easily lose enthusiasm for it.

That's why it's important to keep changing your blogging tactics. By trying out new promotional techniques, for example, you are sure to end up with some extra traffic. Some of these methods simply have to bear fruit.

I discovered this when I started participating heavily in social media groups and communities, for example. I was amazed at how many clicks they could bring. I'd been relying heavily on search engines and Twitter up to that point. I just wish I'd discovered the method sooner.

The other benefit of trying new traffic generation approaches is that even if they fail you'll have something to write about. And if they take a while to master, you can write about that process as well. Everything is grist for the mill, as the saying goes.

You can also try out new online tools, both free and paid. Again, doing this may or may not result in lots of extra visitors. Either way you can write detailed reviews of the ones you've been using.

People considering buying such tools are hungry for genuine opinions from those who have used them. And product related keywords, being so specific, are often comparatively easy to rank for. These two factors combine to make review posts better traffic pullers than most  And once you have that stream of interested visitors, there's the option of making money from the product's affiliate program.

So, whenever you find yourself looking at your stats wondering how to get more traffic, think about some method you haven't yet tried and give that a go. It will be worth it in several ways.

I've been blogging pretty consistently for over a decade now. And one of the most important lessons I've learned from it is that you can't succeed on your own. By that I mean that if you want to garner a substantial audience and gain some credibility (let alone make a few bob out if it!) you simply have to connect with other bloggers. And you have to nurture those connections. You also have to really appreciate your audience and engage with them on a regular basis.

If you do these things you'll learn an immense amount of new, interesting and useful information in a very short space of time. This will hugely increase both the quality and quantity of your blogging output. The more good stuff you add to your blog, the more is out there to be found by search engines. So this helps to further grow your audience all on its own.

Then there's the fact that building relationships with other bloggers and social media users results in a much greater number of shares on social networks. This brings in more visitors directly, and improves SEO as well. Speaking of SEO: links from quality blogs in your niche are gold for your rankings. And the more bloggers you develop lasting relationships with, the more of these will accrue.

Given how powerful all these factors are, being a friendly, gregarious person is a real boon if you are a blogger.

Yet just as important is the ability to sit there on your own and keep cranking out the posts for hours on end, day after day!

Sure, the socialization is done overwhelmingly online. You're not out there pressing the flesh like a politician in campaign mode (though it helps if you can do some of that as well!). But online friendships are very much like offline ones in that they do take time, effort, emotional maturity, and insight into human nature to maintain. Social ineptitude alienates people quickly in the blogosphere just as it does in the real world. So while bloggers must be self-starters and happy to spend many solitary hours working, being a loner and misfit is a huge disadvantage.

It's a real paradox, this. Blogging requires two diametrically opposed qualities. I can't help thinking that it's a lot like stand-up quality in this regard. You send hours and hours in your own head coming up with routines, trying to make them as unique and entertaining as possible. Then you get up on stage all on your own. But your purpose is connect with a whole bunch of people on such an intimate level that you can make them laugh for half and hour or more. That's a very social aim because it requires a real understanding of what most people find amusing. It also brings people together in that time and space.

Can you think of any other professions or pursuits that have such an odd combination of psychological requirements?

It seems that most big time bloggers say that you should blog regularly if possible. Whether that's writing one post a day, a week, or even a fortnight isn't so important -- it's the consistency that matters.

Keeping to a writing habit increases your productivity. I also helps with SEO because Google will become aware of your posting schedule and index your content quickly as a result. I think this is very good advice.

However there's a lot to be said for having a blogging burst every now and then as well. If you find that you're coming up with heaps of good ideas for a particular blog you should just go with the creative flow and crank out as much as possible. You can of course schedule the actual publishing of these posts. But there's no harm in getting them onto the web as quickly as they're finished, too.

There's a real psychological benefit from doing this. When you look at all that new quality content you've out up there on the web it gives you a great sense of achievement.

And while regular sharing of blog content on social networks is also recommended, if the writing is what you're obsessed with then you should go with that instead. You can always have a bit if a sharing burst afterwards when you're ready.

One of these creative bursts can be enough to get you into another level with your blog. It's like you're hacking through the jungle to the road. If you sense you're near a breakthrough you should just keep going until you have one -- or until exhaustion hits.

Everyone is familiar with the line "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". That's good advice for anyone, religious or not. It's also worth remembering when you're using social media.

You can learn a lot about how to get the most out of this medium by monitoring your own reactions -- both positive and negative -- to actions by your followers.

Observe what you like

Recently, for example, I noticed that I'm constantly on the lookout for people who tweet quotes, one liners, and tips. They are often witty, get right to the point, and you don't have to click on a link to see what they're about.

Maybe this is just a bit of a phase I'm going through. But the fact that I am seeking such tweets out means that others must be too. That's why I've resolved to produce more of them myself.

Speaking of tweets without links: I also like it when such tweets are really clear and concise. It's always obvious when someone has taken a bit of time to compose a tweet. Whether it's funny or not, a well crafted, punchy tweet really stands out. Whenever I see them I retweet them. So that's another aspect I'll focus on in future.

Note what you dislike

And here's a negative reaction that I think is worth noticing: I don't like it when someone I've just begun following on Twitter immediately starts requesting or suggesting that I do something such as enter a contest. Fact is I follow people because I hope to learn from and engage with them. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm a paid up, card carrying fan of their business.

So that's something I'll remember to avoid myself. Much better to just share good stuff regularly, have some conversations first. Then when I've got that rapport, I can send some sort of specific request.

I have a similar bugbear on Google Plus. I'm quite happy to get posts shared directly (as opposed to public stream entries) from people I've already made a connection with. But I don't like it when others in my network do this too soon and too often.

For this reason I've yet to use this feature of Google Plus. I just post to my stream. If those in my circles want to have a look, fine. But I'm not doing something that some of them might find a bit invasive.

Birds of a feather

Of course every social media user is different. So my likes and dislikes will only concur with a certain proportion of users. However those people are exactly the kind of people I should seek out. Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. And they're much more likely to support and help each other, too.

If you're a blogger, you're constantly trying to come up with new ideas. This is usually not a problem if you're focused on newsworthy events. If you just read the papers there are a whole bunch of things you can write posts about. And you know people will be searching for them, too.

But with a blog like this -- which is focused on blogging itself -- it can be a problem. There are just so many other blogs like this. It can seem like pretty much every topic has been well and truly covered a hundred times over. So it can be tough to come up with ideas that are original and relevant -- not to mention evergreen, and useful.

Feelings are powerful

One effective method of generating new ideas is to tap into your emotions. If you feel strongly about something you'll want to express yourself. Usually you'll be unable to stop describing all the feelings swirling inside you.

They will usually come out as a bit of a mishmash. But if you walk away and come back to what you've written later you'll usually be able to discern some excellent new insights that you never knew you had. Each of these can be the basis for a new and original post.

Try something new

So, the challenge is, how do you get those emotions working? Well, one effective technique is to to just try something new.

If you do this, you'll be out of your comfort zone. The experience will bring new feelings that often include excitement, trepidation, exhilaration, confusion, and ultimately satisfaction. Recording all those powerful emotions is sure to give you lots of good original material to work with.

In this blogging niche, an example of a new technique might be to conduct an interview with a well known blogger you admire greatly. Doing such a thing, particularly for the first time, is sure to provoke some strong emotions. Just the question of whether he or she will agree to your request in the first place would be a bit scary. And getting knocked back would generate other emotions, of course. Whatever ensues, you'd surely be out of your comfort zone during much of the experience and therefore have lots to write about.

Remember something old

Another way to generate emotions is to think about things you used to do in the past. The most obvious feeling this will generate is a sense of nostalgia, or longing. It could also make you feel regretful.

One idea that comes to mind in this niche is for me to recall when I started blogging. Back then, it was never a chore and always a joy. (I still enjoy it, of course. But there are certainly more downsides now.)

The reason I had so much fun doing it back then was mainly because I wasn't worried about SEO, or how many readers I had. I was just savouring the freedom of self-expression that blogging afforded me.

If I reminisce those early years there are plenty of emotions there to mine ... And I think I will do so in a subsequent post!

Get annoyed

There are many emotions aside from enthusiasm and longing for the past. Anger, though negative, can be a strong creative force.

There are many frustrations that bloggers have, for example. We're constantly dealing with spam comments, plagiarism, overwork, lack of time, lack of targeted traffic, and Google's constantly changing algorithms to name a few. Why not write about those?

Odds are there'll be several pet peeves that come immediately to mind. You can list each of them in turn along with your preferred method for dealing with them. As we all know, those list posts are often very popular with readers.

Anger can produce humour as well. This will make your blog post more fun to read, as well as helping it stand out amongst the pack. So you should include that where appropriate, too.