First steps to get a blog going?

Obviously content is #1. but what are the other things I should be doing to get my blog "started" to get a traffic flow, etc?

 

the first little thing is to ask on forums such as DP for a review of your blog. You'll get some visitors and some might stick depending on the quality of what they found and if the topic interests them.

 

I will be doing that once the sites actually have content. I don't think too many people here are actually interested in beauty/fashion/accessories though. I could be wrong!

 

Start adding content
Make sure you have a sitemap.xml and robots.txt
Add more content
Submit your sitemap to search engines
Get indexed by search engines
Build links pointing to your website (press releases, one-way links, directory submission, etc)
Add more content

You'd be surprised where you get traffic from, forums or even someone searching for something on the thread you may have posted in. You might also try adding videos of something relevant to your site and posting them on YouTube.

 

Getting reviews is good. They can tell you what you need to improve. You can also add your site to as many search engines as you can.

 

if you want an idea on which content to put on your blog (product reviews can get boring at times) then for example:
- you could talk about your topic but with the name of a celebrity, like the handbag of britney spears or the favorite hair color of rihanna, etc.

- get a series of content which runs every week or every two weeks : http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1340670

 

Interesting tip James! thanks! I will definitely do that! I have ideas churning in my brain now. . .

 

Don't discount forum reviews. If you get 10 people to give it a once over, odds are that at least 2 of them will give you a perspective that you didn't think about, or help you avoid some common mistakes.

Your first blog will not be 100% right out of the gate, usually takes a few weeks or months to get the style and direction down.

 

After content i begin to build backlinks through directory submissions.

 

You are wrong!

Personally I peruse peoples personal and affiliate blogs, no matter the subject, that have then in their profile here on the forums. It not only gives me some ideas, but also provides me with an inventory of sites I'd like to link with, advertise on, or generally get networked with.

It doesn't have to be a webmaster related blog to be popular on this forum. Just has to be a niche others are interested in and generally that's anything under the sun.

 

I agree. It's refreshing to see that not everyone in the free world has a "webmaster" blog. You can only get so many ideas, and learn anything looking at blogs in the same niche over and over....they all tend to look the same, and have basically the same content anyway.

I actually enjoy seeing what people are doing, and how they are presenting it. Variety can point you in some interesting directions to make your user experience better.

 

You are wrong. There are versatile people in here. And they can give you suggestions on the blog and do comments. Listen to experienced ones and change accordingly.

Good luck!

 

You all have been incredibly helpful. If anyone wants to see the blog that has primary focus, check my signature.

 

update your blog with fresh contents regularly and create some backlinks to give a kick start to your blog.