How many times a day you check your site statistics, count your feed subscribers and check your adsense earning. I know there are blogger that really addicted to check all these stats, because it look easy to count the number but its hard to interpreted it into useful data. For me it un-useful to check all these stats but don’t really use that information to own blog advantages. I also check my stats data, mainly on how other reach my site, the term they use and which post receive more traffics. You write a post, check all the stats, commenting and more likely you hope reader and traffics to pour over, but did you give the best of you in your blog development. Besides checking all these stats, I also do this (below) for my blog development.

1 - Looking at other top blog appearance.
How do they customized the blog. Usually the professional blogger had a great appearance from the blog layout, design and templates. Yes the blog content is more important than blog design. But the blog appearance also effect the level of success for your blog. For me visitor first impression will be your blog design, that is your “house” where the first landing pages is your blog design.

Make your blog interactive, professional looking and the design enhance the content. The top blogs almost always have a very clean, professional look. The design of the blog should enhance the content, not distract the visitor’s attention away from it. Even the advertisements on successful blogs are chosen and placed strategically.

2 - Interactive media - images and video.
This is an accessories for your blog actually. Try to give a different look in each post, try to offer some differences, because reader like these changes. Personally I read many blog everyday, these blog actually attract my attention so much either by the blog content, images or video.

To be good you don’t need to post all “valuable” information everyday. Give your best work when you already study the topic. Try to make a change in your post by insert some interesting images, video and other interactive media. To get started you can find some interactive video at YouTube or if you’re looking for free stock photos, you can head to these sites.

3 - Be creative even you are non-technical person.
This is my first problem when I set up my blog because I’m not a technical person and don’t have any experiences to set up my own blog. But this problems are nothing if you know the way to overcome it. The solution to this problem is try learn it yourself or ask someone that good in hosting and Wordpress to do it for you (I choose option 2). Then after you set up all these basic features for your blog you must be creative to change a look or appearance of your blog. I do it with try and error. That why you should be creative even you are non technical person.

Actually I don’t set up this blog my self, but ask my friend to do it. As a exchange I do some review for his blog and services. Yes, that is “win-win situation” for both of us. You also can do a same thing. Lastly, if you had some knowledge or try and error attitude, try to install your Wordpress blog locally. Maybe this tutorial by easywordpress.com can help you - How to Install WordPress Locally on Your Hard Drive.

4- Advertise on Site but don’t over promote it.
When you join the monetization networks, you will had a chance to make some money either by write a paid for post or by promoting the ads network (referral). Actually, if you talk about the ad network that you currently join, please don’t insert the referral code too much in your post. Why? Because sometime I feel annoyed. Better solution is create your own monetization categories either on the blog sidebar or footer, here you can promote your referral thing. Don’t make your reader call your blog another Walmart of Ads.

Maybe you had other list of your own.