It doesn't matter how much time you spend writing great content and making your blog look attractive, if no one knows that it exists then you've pretty much wasted your time. The key to making money online is traffic, so here are five of the most popular ways you can bring visitors to your blog.

1. Start socialising

Social networking and blogging go hand in hand. Blogging allows you to start a conversation with other Internet users and your posts can also be distributed online quickly and easily. You can start by linking your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your blog so that your latest post is added to your wall or Twitter feed.

Sign up with services such as StumbleUpon and Digg; by becoming a part of the communities there you will be able to introduce your blog to other members and then in turn they can share it with their friends.

2. Start commenting

Find other blogs in your niche and comment on their posts. You need to ensure that your comments are relevant and add value to the discussion. The owner of that blog will then hopefully come and visit your blog and leave a comment. Other readers of the blogs will also see your comment and may come and visit you too. Before you know it you will be a part of the blogging community.

3. Start syndicating

Your blog service should include an RSS feed as standard. This is how people can subscribe to receive blog updates; every time you update your blog they get notified either by email or within their feed reader service. Promoting your RSS feed and featuring a subscribe button in a prominent place on your blog will encourage people to sign up for updates and then keep coming back to your site.

4. Start recycling

Another great way to bring in new visitors to your blog is to recycle your blog posts and turn them into articles. You can submit your articles to popular article directories and put your content in front of a whole new audience. By including a link to your blog in your resource box you will encourage people to click through and see what else you have to offer.

5. Start filming

Another great way to bring new traffic to your blog is through video submissions. If you have a camcorder then you could make a short video of you talking through one of your blog posts. All you need to do then is to upload your video to popular sites like YouTube to entice new readers to your blog.