There are over 200 MILLION blogs and counting in cyberspace right now. ‘A lot’ is an understatement. But who is reading them? What do they say?

With the meteoric rise of the blogosphere and everyone having the opportunity to express their opinion, how do you get people to read YOURS? We’ve all heard the cliché ‘content is key’ but in this instance, it is the cornerstone of a good and readable blog.

To be a successful blog artist, bring something interesting and new to the table. Regurgitation and retweeting will not get you very far. Express a controversial opinion, talk about something people want to know, step out on a limb and put your thoughts into the universe…and be prepared for whatever comments and opinions you may receive in return, if any at all.

Good content isn’t the only thing that will help you gain more readers, letting people know it exists is a key factor here. If you have a Facebook page, let your friends know you have a blog. Do you send out an e-newsletter for business purposes? Put a link to your business blog there or put it on your business card. And most importantly, become part of the blogging community. Converse and engage with other bloggers and they will do the same for you if they find your content interesting and worth commenting on. If someone posts a comment to your blog, acknowledge and respond.

So the next question is: how do you create fresh, interesting and exciting content? I’ll save that for another post…