UPDATE: I’ve closed comments on this, because it was so popular that the list of blogs for people to visit is getting too long. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s a wonderful thing! Rest assured I will do this again in the near future! But for now, I’d like to thank all of you who participated in this. Keep an eye out for the next one!
When your blog is new, the one thing you want more than anything else is traffic.
There are many people at any given moment starting blogs, every minute of every day, in a vacuum as if there were nobody else out there to read their blog.
I want to try a little experiment in boosting blog traffic. Keep reading to see how it’s going to go.
The Golden Rule at Work
If you just started a blog and want a little traffic boost, here’s what you do:
- Leave a comment with your blog’s URL in the website field and describe your blog in a short paragraph.
- Make sure you subscribe to the comments so that you get alerted on every new comment.
- Every time a new comment is added, go and visit that blog! This is simply the golden rule at work: do for others as you would have them do for you.
- Subscribe to the other blogs’ RSS feeds.
- Stumble a post or two from the blog.
- Write a post on your own blog about the new blogs you have found and link to them.
You Must Participate for this to Succeed
If you just submit your link and that’s it, well, nothing’s gonna happen. The more you give, the more you get. Spend time visiting the other blogs, commenting and subscribing to their feeds.
You will also get some traffic from my readers who have already been blogging for a while. I’d like to encourage my regular readers to spread the link to this post around: this is one of those the-more-the-merrier kinds of things. So please link, stumble, and bookmark at Delicious. I’m not making any promises about huge traffic, but you’ll probably get more than from BlogRush, let’s put it that way. 
Some Rules
My comments are moderated. The following will be deleted or marked as spam:
- Automated blogs or splogs
- Adult content blogs
- Content about illegal activities
- Hate speech
- Anything that seems suspicious to me or that isn’t above-board
Your blog has to be less than 3 months old
Updated: Your blog can be older than three months old–I’ve made an “executive override decision” 
on this, since it seems, at second thought, to be an unnecessary barrier to participation.
Ready? Post your new blog URL in the comments!
I’ll bite. The Common Culinarian strives to provide timely and relevant food advice for those who are want good (or even gourmet) food, but who don’t have the time, money, or skill to prepare it. The point is to show that you can have these things. In fact, most people have the innate ability to produce something delicious, they just haven’t tried!
Hi Michael, my blog is a diary of my Linux journeys that will hopefully benefit other Linux users
[...] my regular readers, check out this link, to the swap, to see some fledging bloggers and what they have to offer. Check back a few times, as [...]
My blog is all about retail loss prevention. From theft concerns and trends to industry best practices that work to reduce shrink/loss.
Michael what a great idea – especially during the holidays – a nice present we can give and get that costs nothing. We have been blogging for a year but started our new blog SandbarstoSunsets.com three months ago and appreciate any feedback, visitors and always looking for guest authors on topic that will interest my readers. – Thanks Santa Micheal
Cyndee Haydon
Great Idea Michael, I am interested to find new and interesting blogs so I will join in.
I started my blog two months ago (I had to go and check as it seems much longer) because I needed a new project. I decided to make WordPress the subject of the that project, in particular writing about plugin and theme development.
So far it is going great.
My website goes over setting up and marketing a WordPress blog and will branch out from there. Documentation is a good way to deepen your learning and hopefully it will be helpful to other folks out there when they take their own plunge.
Great post! I’ll definately be subscribing.
Nice write up for new bloggers.
Sorry for the misclick above.
New bloggers certainly need to go out there and seek for traffic rather than sitting there and wait for it.
The mentality of “the traffic will come in automatically” must be removed from the mindset of new bloggers.
Anyway, this is a good guide for new bloggers on what to do to bring in traffic to their new blogs.
Although I am not sure how this will generate qualified visitors to any blog – I mean this based on the fact that I don’t want just anyone stumbling upon my site, but people who actually enjoy drinking wine and learning about it.
In any case, my site is about the basics of wine. I am at the very beginning of it, so I am still trying to find my path, so you will find articles about anything that is wine-related.
But if you enjoy wine, go to the site, add it to your feed reader and let me know how to improve it.
Michael – Ok I’ve subscribed to the Common Culinarian – great blog by the way!
now I need to do more work stumbling and writing and commenting.
This is also a great time to write about other blogs as people are enjoying the holidays and doing New Years Resolutions and open to new info.
I realize I read this “late” last night – so I didn’t tell what our blog’s about – It’s all aobut living on Clearwater Beach and the Tampa Bay Beach – includes commmunity news, real estate market reports and info and lots of neighborhood specific info which people have a hard time finding other places. – Cyndee Haydon
[...] Michael Martine wants to help you give your new blog a boost. [...]
Andre – we love wine and I tried to leave comment and coudn’t after much work. Also couldn’t find RSS by email which I like.
To your response to why have subscribers that are not your “target readers” – Michael I apologize if I’m overstepping…but I have learned that blogging is a “team sport” and have even benefitted from savvy commenters that use key words and even words like “expert in my field” that now cause me to rank on page 1 for those terms. Also I’ve learned it’s a small world and you never know if I put you in my blog as a wine expert and a big media source finds it reading my blog – it’s good for you.
The book “The Tipping Point was a great lesson in how 6 degrees of separation happens in all our lives – all the time – we’re just lucky a blogging expert and maven like Michael is helping us all out.
@Cyndee: no apology necessary. You said it for me.
@everyone: keep ‘em comin’. Don’t forget to subscribe to the comments, visit each new blog added to the list and then stumble/bookmark/subscribe to them. A rising tide lifts all boats!
@Andre,
You know, I’m glad you submitted your site, because it might make a good companion (or link through) to my site. You can see from the description above, I want to write about cooking good (if not gourmet) food on a reasonable budget or for someone that doesn’t have the training. I’ll definitely be checking your site out later today when I have more than 2 minutes to spend
@Cyndee, thanks for the add! I briefly browsed your site last night and thought how wonderful a site like this would have been when we were once looking to buy a house (or during our recent relocation, even).
Good luck to everyone!
Hal
Great idea!
My new blog GearPipe.com is a musical instrument “deals and discounts” site. So, if you’re looking for a new axe (or any other type of instrument, recording, or pro audio gear), stop by to find some sweet deals.
Greetings Michael,
I like your idea, I hope it will help me [and others of course] drawing more attention to the blog [no matter how usless mine is], because it is always a painful process to do so on your own.
I had loads of different blogs during last couple of years, but always ended up closing them because of traffic shortage… Nobody likes usless blogs…
-My blog: My ramblings on the way to hell. Useless personal blog consistant of weird thoughts and ideas, mostly showing no sanity whatsoever… Maybe it will get useful someday…. someday….yeah, someday…..
p.s. Can check out some posted blog links now…
Michael I am in this one as well. I will get out to every ones site tonight and add them into my reader. This stuff really does work. – Ashley
@Ashley: Yes, this does work. And it’s completely ethical and above-board. We’re not gaming anything. This isn’t about PageRank, so Google has nothing to say about it. We’re just helping each other. The more people participate, the more it helps everyone. The traffic might spike a bit and then die down, but the subscribers will still be there and so your traffic should generally be higher after this.
Greetings Michael, everyone..
It’s nice to know your blogs. Some of the blogs related to HomeBiz Resource and i subscribed to latest posts. This will be the start of a prospectful relationship!
BTW, HomeBiz Resource is everything everybody need to know about working from home utilizing the internet, ways to earn money legitimately, tips on avoiding from being scammed, what do you need to prepare, etc…
Maybe the topic “earn money online” is too general, but along with time, HomeBiz Resource will find its best path. Please visit for useful tips you can use and you’re welcome to make opinions about layouts, posts or anything!
@ Andre — also keep in mind that while I may not be interested in subject X, I may know someone who is. I passed links off to a couple of people already. Whether or not they’ll subscribe or bookmark the sites remains to be seen, but it’s possible, same as any other traffic wandering in.
@ Hal — could you check your Akismet spam queue and clear me? Akismet has taken to false positives on my URL for some reason. I commented on your post related to this one and referenced your site in a trackback on my site.
PS – You need a contact form on your website.
Contact Form ][ is good.
http://www.justkeepthechange.com/
Making Men Better
Hi Michael. My Blog tothepc.com is about technology, techno, life ?
I think you should visit it once to know more
Clearwater Homes,
You are absolutely correct. I think I’ve read so many times about not trying to reach for everyone, but to focus on people who actually enjoy your topic that I forgot that we are all connected and, even if you don’t like my subject, you may know someone who does.
Thanks.
I will try to figure out why the feed is not working – although I tried it yesterday and it did.
By the way Michael, I noticed an increase already in traffic. Thanks.
Hal,
I think that our sites are perfect for link exchange.
I will add yours to my blog later today – leaving now for last minute Xmas shopping…
[...] if you want your blog to be noticed, just visit Michael Martine’s Blog and increase your blog [...]
Robert,
Thank you for sending out my blog’s address to people you know. I appreciate that.
[...] a result of the Blog Swap, I actually came across another blog that talks about wine for people who don’t know wine. I [...]
This is such a great idea for getting traffic. Stop by my blog and leave your blog url in the comments also.
Looks like this is worth trying.
My Las Vegas Tourism Blog is a blog about Las Vegas tourism (obvious), and is a good place to find Las Vegas hotel & restaurant reviews. It’s a great travel guide when visiting Las Vegas.
Hal,
I noticed that the “Subscribe to this site” link on your site is not working, although the RSS feed icon works fine.
You may want to check it.
@Robert,
Thanks for notifying me! I was wondering why I wasn’t getting comments–it turns out, Akismet thought they were in fact spam! I wonder if there’s a way to make that more prominent in the dashboard so I see that when I log in.
And, I downloaded and installed Contact Form ][ yesterday and will get it set up today.
Thanks again!
Hal
@Andre,
The text links back to the main site, while the little icon links to the feed. I’m not sure what’s up with that (the text link is not customizable from within the K2 set up), so I’ll look into a way to make it a little more user friendly.
Thanks for letting me know.
I already implemented some ideas offered here. Thanks.
I would like to list another blog I run called Dwellogy (www.dwellogy.com).
My 9 to 5 job is related to modern things in general and I took a taste for cool, modern and useful products for the home. Dwellogy is my blog about it.
Brand new blog with lots of things to evolve. Please send suggestions!
Hal,
This is how I set up mine:
Subscribe to RSS
Are you using FeedBurner? What is K2?
Michael,
I feel bad for these back and forth messages. This is obviously not the place to exchange such comments. I apologize.
Thanks Michael, I’m branching out my SEO business to include Real Estate. I will steer my clients to your remarkable blog.
@Jim: Targeting a niche market such as real estate for SEO is good move. Two specialties in a one-two punch! Great combo. I see you’re in Indiana? I was born in Valparaiso and lived most of life there till I moved to Vermont.
What a great idea. I’m anxious to join in the fun!
I’m not sure if my blog, Moment On Money qualifies as “new” but it is only about 7 months old. I am a Certified Financial Planning practicioner and my blog is about my observations and insights about financial planning.
Can’t wait to check out the other blogs in the comments… Seems like some good ones and I have never been to any of them before!
@Art: Not only will I make an exception for you, Art, I will rescind the requirement for everyone. If anyone else was disappointed that they couldn’t participate because of the blog age rule, then I apologize. It seemed like a good idea at the time to have that requirement, but really, I think having a mix of experience and blog “ages” might be a good thing in this case, since the more established and popular blogs can help boost the newer blogs.
[...] Blog Booster project is a great success, but it brought me face to face with a lot of new blogs. Although I hate [...]
Whoops! I missed the 3 month rule the first time I read the post. But I’m kind of glad I did. Thanks for letting us “adolesent” blogs play too.
And in case anyone is wondering if this works, I had 2 overnight visitors who came from this post. One of the visitors left me a comment and told me they have subscribed.
As Michael points out, it is a two way street. I have visited everyone on the list so far and have subscribed to two new blogs as a result.
Thanks again Michael. Great idea. Happy Holidays.
What a great way to start off the new year with some fresh faces at our blogs AND some great new reads! Thanks for doing this.
Drew’s Marketing Minute (http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com) is a blog dedicated to helping business owners, bloggers, and marketing pros learn more about branding and marketing.
I try to have some fun along the way too. Tune in for tomorrow’s post — 5 marketing lessons we can learn from Rudolph!
Looking forward to reading all of your blogs!
Drew
All about real estate and homes in Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads Community. Virginia Beach attracts many tourists during the summer with beautiful beaches and weather. My blog features many buyers and seller articles, area information. Being a retired Naval Officer I cater to the military community both buyers and sellers. I am very passionate about our young men and women serving our country. Coming in early 2008 I will roll-out a new buyers program tailored specifically for Veterans and others serving our country. I appreciate the opportunity to be part of this great group and promise to participate
[...] That is all about to change, I am taking a more active role in writing the posts, since I am always reading posts on other blogs and viewing other websites, I am going to share more of that here. I will also be posting comments on those blogs, I guess that is what I have been doing wrong, sorry. I now realize that to get more activity here, I have to be more active elsewhere, kind of a what goes around comes around kind of thing. I found a blog with a lot of great advice, read it for yourself here [...]
[...] do this for fun! If you are looking for more information and a few good pointers about Blogs visit REMARABLOGER There is a lot of great info [...]
My blog will be about my knowledge of golf I have developed from 34 years as a PGA teaching pro. Plans are to posts tips and drills for the golf swing, short game, mental aspects etc.
First of year I would like to add case studies of current students,that are willing……..and I have to learn video, lol.
Thanks for the chance to do this Michael!
I love golf and have subscribed to Robert’s RSS feed. This is great – free golf lessons over the Blog – we wish!
I found you thru SU. My blog is about marketing for beginners. My current focus is a series on setting up WP on a memory stick and then modifyfing and creating your own theme.