The sheer volume of stuff out there is the problem. By the end of my first year blogging, I felt I had 30 posts which were home-run posts, posts that were unique (they advanced original ideas), engaging, a bit long but nothing too intimidating.

To see 0 traffic on those posts day-after-day isn’t merely frustrating – it’s a call to action. If I let the posts sit there, they will sit and rot. And there are things that can be done to get others on your bandwagon.

I know you agree with this in principle when you say “network.” But it isn’t as simple as “yay, look at me, I’m so friendly. And you’re friendly! Wow, we’re friends already.” That can work for the blogs about blogging and certain hobbies and crafts.

Some of us, though, are writing because our voices would be excluded otherwise.

Some of us are writing because other blogs disinform, not merely misinform.

I think the most important advice I’d give to myself, if I could talk to myself when I started 2 years ago, is that time and the network and content mean a lot, but it is sheer tenacity that allows you to even show up on the radar. Do whatever works, it ruthless out here on the net.

I would also tell myself that even though it is very easy for others to promote your blog and you theirs (things like stumbleupon and digg are gold), the vast majority of users elect not to promote even content they like. Heck, one thing I see over and over is how many people don’t read anything more than the title of an essay or post and then start commenting.

My advice to anyone reading this post is don’t lose your nerve, and if you need help with promotion, talk to me because I’m happy to help if you have good stuff. This blogging thing is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, and you do need to self-promote like crazy now to even have a chance to be heard.