I agree with the ideas posted so far. Also, find ways to get your blog "out there". Don't simply publish and wait for people to find you.
Here are a few ways that seem to always get me a new followers based on a blog post:
* Don't just blog about yourself or your business. Give people a reason to want to read your blog - to learn something new, find great products, etc. They have to get something out of it.
* Feature others in a new and creative way. Today I posted an inspiration board (
http://howsweeteritis.blogspot.com/2011/07/long-weekend-in-country.html) then notified each of the shops featured and they tweeted about it. They'll publicize to their friends because they're excited to be featured on a blog = free advertising for you.
* Tutorials! These are HUGE if you can get your tutorial published. See my blog post about getting the high-profile sites to feature you:
http://howsweeteritis.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-featured-youre-featured.html -- In case you're wondering, I get the most hits from OnePrettyThing.com. More free advertising!
(Since I started my blog 6 months ago, I've been featured by all these sites:
http://howsweeteritis.blogspot.com/p/featured.html)*Even if you can't get your stuff featured on one of these high-profile blogs as its own post, participate in Linky parties on the "big" blogs and maybe you'll get in their round-up party.
* Great photos will get you noticed and pinned on Pinterest. I've recently started adding text to my tutorial photos but I also include the photo without text because people like having options when they're pinning or featuring you:
http://howsweeteritis.blogspot.com/2011/07/rainbow-ice-tutorial.html* If you mention a company, blog or person in your blog post, friend them on Facebook and then post on their wall or tag them in your wall post (I usually have to log out, then open FB in a new window and log back in to get it the tagging option to show up after I friend them)
* Ask interesting questions at the end of a blog post to get people interacting with you. Some will follow but at least you won't feel like you're talking to no one.
* If you are commenting on someone else's blog and have a post that truly relates and you think they're interested in it, be sure to make it an active hyperlink in your comment. See this link to learn how to do it:
http://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/2007/10/make-active-clickable-links-in-posts.html* Publish good content. I try not to blog just to get a post up. I try to keep to a handful of topics so people will know what to expect when they come to my blog.
* Refer back to previous posts and hyperlink to reduce your bounce rate.
* Check on your Google Analytics account to see what posts people are reading and how they got to your site. For more info on setting up GA:
http://howsweeteritis.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-use-google-analytics-for-your.htmlThat's what's worked for me as well as what others have suggested (commenting on other blogs, posting a new blog post as my Facebook status on both personal and business accounts, etc.)