With a general topic and keywords in mind, you’d think it would be a breeze to name your blog. It would be, too, except that “great minds think alike” and you’ll be hard-pressed to think of something that’s never been thought of before.

The reason it’s so tricky is that you’ll really want to have .com domain name (like yourblognamehere.com) that matches the name of your blog, and each domain name is only available to one owner, so if the one you want is already taken, you’re out of luck.

I advocate getting a .com domain name in almost all cases (the main exception being if you can spell something clever by using a different extension, like del.icio.us has done). This is because most people naturally assume .com if they don’t remember (and most won’t remember), and that’s what they’ll type in. A .com address is especially important if you ever give your blog address verbally or in advertising). For the same reason, I suggest avoiding domain names with hyphens or numbers… they’re too easily misunderstood or forgotten.

It’s important that your domain name and your blog name match because, again, people will take the path of least resistance and type in your blog name plus “.com” and expect to find you. Even for those who would go to the effort of remembering something different, it’s a much easier memory task if they only have to remember one name to come up with the other.

This all makes sense (I hope) but it also limits your choices somewhat. When I’m brainstorming for a domain name, here’s what I do:

Many good writers get stuck when they decide to start blogging, mostly because they aren’t sure what they’re shooting for in a blog post.

I’ll write another post about how to choose a post topic in the near future, but regardless of the specific topic, there are some common characteristics of good posts. You’ll come across plenty of exceptions, but it’s one of those “know the rules before you break them” things.

I have visited plenty of other blog websites and seen a lot of things I like… but also a lot of potential that’s not being used. Many people have the right idea when it comes to blogging, but a lot of bloggers (particularly beginners) are missing key ingredients that make blogs that really buzz!

I’m sure you can relate to this, and have visited blog sites that are as dead as a doornail. You’ve also probably visited blogs that haven’t seen any updates for months or years. Clearly they’re still getting traffic (you’re there, right?), but they’re not using it in any kind of useful way.

So, how do you generate buzz on your blog website once you attract the traffic? It all comes down to a few simple points: presentation, writing style and topic choices.

As you know, creating a blog can be lots of fun. It’s also a lot of hard work, though, and that’s why it’s important to generate plenty of traffic to your site. After all, there’s nothing worse than pouring your heart and soul into your blog, only to discover that nobody is visiting!

So now for the $64,000 question. How does you effectively attract people to your blog? How do you actually do this and build up a blog site that will be known to many within a relatively short amount of time?