It happens all the time. A business sets up a blog, it looks great, the content is excellent, and yet they couldn't buy a comment. These companies are learning a hard lesson that Mike Sansone once explained best as "content may be king, but community is the kingdom it serves." But in such a chicken/egg senario, what happens when you don't have that community?


This is a problem many companies and small businesses face with their blog. The content is there, but the readers aren't. Which leads to another trueism about blogging; one of the best ways to grow your blog, is to leave it and engage readers in their space and on their terms.
But it gets confusing if you don't have any readers and aren't sure where to find them. One solution is to check out Twitter. BL Ochman wrote here last October about the need for marketers to spend time with Twitter, and it's good advice. I also think that Twitter is a great way to build your blog's readership, by showing that you can provide value to its community.
By participating on Twitter, you are being exposed to a completely new audience (currently over 700,000 users are growing rapidly). If you can provide value to this community, that will convince its members to check out your blog. I've noticed from my own usage that while I am on Twitter and having 'conversations' with other Twitter members, that 10-20% of my blog's traffic comes from Twitter, and I also add new followers.
I think this all goes back to the idea that succeeding in social media is about creating value, and using these tools as its community members do, and for the same reasons. Twitter isn't a silver bullet, but if you are wanting to grow your blog, it can definitely help.
Bonus Link: Ann's 7 Ways Marketers Can Use Twitter