Yesterday I had commented that my blog (http://www.SayNoToCrack.com/) has gone from nothing to an average of 5,000 visitors per day in approximately three months. Chris asked that I share with you the steps I took to get to this level, which I have included below:

1. I published a few very original and well received posts early (one was even shown on VH1). Here are examples of these super-popular posts (each got well over 20,000 visitors):
Top 10 Worst Halloween Costumes of 2006
Amazing Slow Motion Video Of Golf Ball Explosions
Celebrity Look-a-Likes Part 1

2. I get A LOT of traffic from StumbleUpon. In particular, my original humor pieces seem to get a lot of traction on StumbleUpon, which often accounts for up to 1/3 of my traffic. If you decide to use this tool, don’t submit your own pages to StumbleUpon, or they’ll lock you out. Instead, start using the tool to find interesting stuff or when you’re bored. The more you use it, the more people will visit your site and stumble your posts.

3. I comment on other blogs A LOT. In the past 3 months, according to Yahoo I left over 3,000 comments on other people’s blogs. This may sound like a lot, but it’s not too hard to whip out 30 comments a day in 30-60 minutes if you’re browsing your favorite blogs through a feed reader. However, if you comment, make sure it’s original and adds to the conversation – otherwise the comments will detract from your ability to grow.

4. I originally signed up for Blogmad.net. This was useful to find new blogs, become part of informal blogging “circles”, and find good material. If you use it, make sure to comment on blogs you visit and revisit them later. Comments are the key to creating loyal readers in the beginning. I don’t use Blogmad.net nearly as much now, but originally I received ~100 visits per day from it.

5. If I post something that I think will get a lot of traction (my recent Paris Hilton/Smurfette post for instance), I try to “advertise” it a little. Let others know, ask a friend to give it a thumbs-up in StumbleUpon if they really like it, post it on a couple sites like reddit/del.icio.us, etc. I don’t do this as much now that I have a more stable base of readers, but this helped tremendously at the beginning

6. I always try to keep my posts readable, non-offensive, and enjoyable by the “lowest common denominator”. While many techies and “scholarly” folk have felt my site is somewhat common/simplistic, the vast majority of readers have given fairly positive feedback

7. I listed myself in a bunch (~10) of directory/ranking sites. Across the 10, I now get ~100 visits per day, but that may be partially due to my site now being listed at or near the top of some of these (and also due to my site name being rather silly)

8. I post regularly on forums, and a co-contributor posts on sites like slashdot. I probably spend too much doing so, but it seems to help in the search engine rankings (I get ~200 visits per day from Google now), and in getting subscribers

That’s about it. Like many bloggers, I spend FAR too much time on my site, but it’s a labor of love for the moment. With any blog, I think the secret to success is either by building a community (by visiting/commenting on lots of other sites), or by being VERY original. Each blog has it’s own formula, and best of luck finding yours.

If you have further questions, feel free to visit my site to contact me.

Anita =)
SayNoToCrack.com