I'm considering starting up a blog of my own. Any advice, tips or tricks?

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I am interested in starting up my own blog. I have read blogs and seen plenty of other peoples' blogs, but I have to admit that I haven't really thought that much about how blogs operate until now when I would like to write my own. Blogger.com seems to be a popular suggestion for a FREE place to host a blog. Is Blogger the best place to start off at? Can anyone make some recommendations for blog hosting? How important is the design of your blog? Is there any etiquette that needs to be followed? Should regular blog entries be limited in length? Is there an optimum size for ads or a most effective place to place ads within a blog? Now, establishing a blog and placing it on the internet is one thing, but what about encouraging many sets of eyes to seek the blog out and read it regularly. Can anyone advise or post resources on effective ways to promote and market a blog. After all, a successful blog needs traffic, right?