I'm not a master of Search-engine-optimiza tion or anything, but here's what I've been told:

Post at least 3 times a week. This is so your blog is considered fresh and active as well as your readers will check in often to see if there's new content. If you only post once a month, your readers won't check in as much just because they aren't expecting new stuff. I do once a day, but that's just me. (And it's hard to do.)

I think 300 word and over is the best length for search engines. Not 100% sure, but it's always what companies require for reviews/giveaways. This is long enough to allow Google/search engines to count it as content while still short enough to keep reader's attention. Longer isn't bad, but shorter probably won't have too many keywords/length.

Post regularly. It doesn't have to be every day but, as Miss Kay said, if you post regularly people have a reason to want to come back. If they come check your blog and there is rarely an update, they'll stop checking.

As for the rest, it really depends upon what your goals are. A blog that makes money? Or a blog that a lot of people want to read? Generally, you won't make money unless you have a blog people want to read, anyhow.

Also, remember it takes time. I've been blogging since '05 and for a long time I could count my readers on my fingers and toes. Now I have tons of readers but I try to keep my blog the same as it was when it was ten friends who read my babble - that's what drew the readers in the first place.

If you're writing a personal blog, keep it personal. If you're mixing reviews with personal stuff, make sure the mix is good. Some folks will want to read the reviews, some will feel they're a pain in the ass and just want to know what's going on with you. If you get too review heavy, you may lose "regular" readers.

If you're writing a review blog, make your reviews good ones and try to keep them fresh and entertaining. Add pictures and video, be entertaining, don't write dry, detail heavy reviews with no personality in them.

Get your name out there but do it in a polite way. Don't go tweeting your new blog every two minutes.

Go to other blogs and leave relevant, thoughtful comments. People will follow your link from those comments to your blog very often and if your blog is interesting and you are genuine, they may become regular readers.

Don't count on things like Pleasurists to get you traffic. Most people don't actually read the reviews on Pleasurists so your "traffic" and stats are primarily pingbacks. Real traffic is always better than mechanical.

Uh. There is more. I could babble about this all day. But, yanno, my fingers are tired and I need to go blog.

I used to blog every day or 2. Lately I have been busy combined with some writers block so I have been lucky to get up a post once a week.

I would like to post everyday, but many days I don't have time or motivation. I have gone a week or more without posting, but I try not to do that often and post something even if it isn't a review.

When I ran a blog, I posted at least 10 times a day. It was a visual blog with some architecture, literature, and music for good measure, so much less investment from my end, intellectually. It got me a 1,000 followers within the first two weeks of being up and running though. Maybe during the summer I'll pick it back up again.

I'd read that 300 is the magic word count for keeping your audiences' attention, but I think that would be best for a blog updated regularly (several times a week). If you post less often--say, 1-2, I'm more likely to read longer posts. Obviously, the extremes don't mix--very long posts made frequently and very short posts made infrequently. Just like Carrie Ann said, too, its important to keep your blog's purpose in focus. I tend to lose interest in blogs that start jumping from one style to another.

If you post reviews, though, I think 300 is a pretty crappy word count. When I read blog-hosted reviews with less than, say, 500 words, I feel like the review isn't sincere and generally write-off that reviewer. When it comes to reviews of products that I'm actually interested in investing in, I want to read a review that is complete and thorough. Its important to remember that regardless of your liking or disliking the product, your reader is turning to you for your own credibility. Shortchanging yourself on reviews is the best way to lose followers.

Thanks for all of the feedback! I'll try and keep all of these things in mind, you all have some helpful ideas.

Try to update at least once a month, twice is better, but for the most part I try to keep useful information in the posts rather than just posting for the sake of posting.

For length it depends on the topic. You need to get into enough detail, but please don't drone on.

when it comes to reading blogs I like regular content (maybe a couple posts a week) but also content thats worth reading. Content that obviously means something to the writer, even if it's just regular day stuff.

As for reviews I like content that isn't dry, where it's obvious it was tried and tested, however some reviews can get too long and it just makes me tired of reading it.

A lot is reader specific so just start writing and see where it goes! I tend to go on spurts; a week where Ill blog every day then a week where i only blog a couple times. Of course I also review, so I'm writing there too, but I have 2 different blogs sites one for my reviews and one for my personal blogs.

I usually post two to three times a week, and my posts are pretty much longerish posts. A lot more than 300 words when I speak about a toy, and a heck of a lot more than 1,000 for a regular post.

I don't know if this is good or not, but I've about 100 visitors per day to my blog, and a pretty decent following.

As for the content, I say- to quote Ali G; "Keep it real". And to quote me, Keep it you. If I am talking about masturbation, and I am a klutz, I've actually got blogs named "Masturbation Blues" which talk about some of the injuries I have gone under from playing. To me this is a normal part of life and not discussed enough. Sexual mishaps, at times how I feel sexually repressed living here in China.

Keep the content you, use words you would use daily. I use mine more as a diary to write what I am thinking at that moment in time. I am happy people read it, but I would still read it even if I only had five hits a day.

Write for you. Not for an audience.

I am an SEO expert and serious blogger ( you can see my blog Diary of an Escort here link) I post everyday unless I am in the hospital in a coma. My posts tend to be on the long side, about 500-900 words.

The reason people say to post as often as you can is Google loves fresh new content and ranks those sites that have constantly changing content the highest.

I like to post something daily, this helps bring even my current readers back daily to see the new post and helps my numbers.

I write when and how much I like.

At least once a week