Someone recently asked me for advice on publishing a weblog. The same old question everyone wants to know the answer to: how can I get the stellar $100k a month, smoke a cigar made of cash people have stuck in their sweaty trousers, traffic?

Considering I just consulted Alexa and my site ranks 831,629 (note: that's not two numbers, 831 and 629, that's one WHOLE number! I know...I was surprised too) I am probably not an authority.

My guess as to why they asked me has more to do with where I work and who I know.

So my advice was based purely on my observations of people who know what the hell they're doing:

1. Publish often.
2. Write about stuff you like but have some focus. Be yourself. Find your voice. Yadda.
3. Link like a motherfucker.
4. Open comments when appropriate. Or, never open comments forcing people to publish responses on their own site.

I've never paid attention to my stats. Just this past weekend I spent some time refreshing after DaringFireball linked me. So I decided I should test out my theory about traffic starting today.

In one month if I'm not ranked better than 800,000...well...I'm gonna buy a text ad.