The following post has been written by Kaila Colbin from VortexDNA

Effortless Traffic-Building. 5 Easy Steps to Number 1. Lose Weight in Your Sleep. We’re hardwired to be tempted by shortcuts, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that they don’t work. The good news is that it’s more fun—and more gratifying—to succeed in blogging the old fashioned way. This step-by-step guide will show you how to blow by the hares and laugh all the way to the finish line.

Step 1. Remember what a blog is about.

I’ll be the first to confess that I’m obsessed with my stats. I check them several times a day; I delight in every uptick and despair at every downturn. At the end of the day, though, stats are just one way of measuring what a blog is really about: people.

That’s why artificial jumps in stats aren’t sustainable, because people and traffic are two different things. You can pay for traffic, but people define your success. Traffic doesn’t come back again and again; people do. Traffic doesn’t tell its friends; people do. Traffic doesn’t comment; people do.

Hares only worry about traffic; tortoises create blogs to serve the people who read it, with the professionalism, quality and content that they deserve.

Step 2. To make a friend, be a friend.

When you meet somebody new, do you start by asking them to help you move house? Or do you wait until you’ve built the foundation of your friendship? Tortoises cultivate blogging relationships the same way you cultivate your friendships: one at a time, thinking about the other person as well as yourself, contributing at least as much value as you take away.

Hares, on the other hand, send non-personalized link-request emails to people whose blogs they’ve never read without offering anything in return.

True relationship building can’t be faked and it can’t be hurried. It won’t work if you’re not genuine about it, but it will pay enormous dividends if you are.

Rule 3. Stay humble.

Your blog cannot succeed without the help of a lot of people, big and small, buying into what you have to offer. Nobody owes you anything, so remember to express gratitude for everything you get: every link, every review, every comment, every visitor.

Tortoises write thank-you notes. They link to others. They offer guest posts.

View yourself as a contributor to society, and continually ask yourself, “What more can I do?” This takes time, but if you’re not willing to give your time to others, why should they give theirs to you?

When people link to you, they are entrusting you with their reputations. When people read your blog, they are entrusting you with their time. Hares do not appreciate the value of others’ reputations and time, but tortoises do.

Rule 4. Be patient.

The Internet invites speed, and hares love it. We can throw up a blog at the drop of a hat. We want six-figure AdSense checks, and we want ‘em yesterday. In the midst of all that speed, the longevity of the tortoise carries an unmistakable weight.

Started a blog a week ago? Why should I care? So did ten thousand other people. You’re going to have to prove to me that you’re dedicated to this before I’ll be willing to be dedicated to you. So don’t despair; just keep writing.

Building a successful blog is a marathon with no shortcuts, but great rewards. Do your training. Eat right. Sleep well. Pace yourself, and don’t give up. Day by day, link by link, your blog will build in reputation and reach.

Caution will turn to trust will turn to love, and the love of your readers will keep you going long after the hare has fallen by the wayside. Five or ten or twenty years from now, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come—even at the slow pace of a tortoise.

Kaila Colbin blogs for VortexDNA, whose technology can improve relevance for search engines, ecommerce sites, or any other recommendation service.