A question that I often get when I teach about blogging is how to drive traffic to a brand new blog. Obviously search engines can come into play here, as can sending links to other bloggers asking them to consider linking to a post you've made. The reality though is that the best blogs are the ones that attract new readers naturally and the best way to do this is through active participation in the comment field of other blogs.

Almost no bloggers operate in a void. Whether you're writing about your pet cat, search engine marketing, video games or rebuilding a VW Bug, there are always going to be other bloggers out there talking about the same things that you are. These other blogs can send you traffic and help you build your brand in two different ways.

The first way is by getting your own voice and opinions in front of their readers. The best to do this is by posting thoughtful, articulate comments to their blogs. Nearly every blog platform out there allows you to include a link to your own site or profile alongside your comment, making it fairly easy for the blog's owner or readers to track you back to your home base if they like what you have to say.

One people start to find their way back to your site via comments, the chances increase that they'll begin to link to you. They may enjoy your site enough to add it to their blog roll, they may tag you in the latest meme, or better yet...they may quote one of your posts and send their readers your way.

For both my day job (Search Engine Guide) and my fun blog (The Lactivist) I tend to drive traffic and find new blogs through these two methods. I'll often notice a string of comments showing up from a new reader that has really relevant and interesting things to say. The first thing I do is follow the links back to their blog (if they have one) and read my way through the last few entries. If it strikes my fancy, they get added to my feed reader. From there, it's a just a short hop into getting mentioned in one of my own blog posts when I find something quote worthy on their site.

This concept shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. After all, link building IS relationship building and what better way to build a relationship than to get out there and get in the conversation?