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This is a guest post by Tristan Higbee.

I guarantee that just about everyone reading this is a preblogger.

Whether you’re getting ready to launch your very first blog or are a seasoned pro busy plotting your next uber-successful online venture, the majority of us are in some stage of planning to start a new blog at some point in the future.

I recently launched a new blog and am already realizing that there are some things I’m glad I had been doing before my blog’s launch and some things I wish I had. None of them require a huge sacrifice of time or effort beyond what you’re probably already doing.

Keep in mind that the more work you do now before you actually start your blog, the easier it will be for you to build up a large amount of quality traffic when launch time comes.

Below are 5 things everyone in any state of blog pre-launch should be doing right now; think of them as pre-traffic-generation techniques.

1. Keeping a list of post ideas

Having a list of things you’re going to talk about on your blog (whether it be on a piece of paper or in a file on your computer) is one of the best things you can do while you’re in the preblogging stage.

The more specific the items on the list are, the better off you’ll be.

For example, if you’re blogging about rock climbing, don’t just say, “Write about ropes.” That’s too broad and just requires more work from your future blogging self to figure out what exactly you were talking about when you wrote that. Make it specific: “What diameters of rope are best in what situations?” or “How long of a rope do you need?”

Making your list as specific as possible also serves the purpose of forcing you to actually take inventory of what you know and can post about.

It’s easy to say “Oh yeah, I’ll be able to write like 20 blog posts about climbing ropes!”, but then when you actually sit down to brainstorm your list, you only come up with three.

It’s important to plan for these things before you find yourself in that situation.

2. Keeping a list of blogs you want to guest post on

This is one thing I really wish I had done before launching my blog. As a result of not doing this, I’m now spending a fair amount of time each day trying to find blogs to write guest posts for.

I’d rather be spending my time actually writing for them!

There were a lot of blogs I came across before I launched my blog that I made a mental note of, but all of those mental Post-Its have long since lost their stickiness.

I’ve started a sites-to-guest-post-on.txt file on my desktop and I simply add to it whenever I come across a great blog (like this one!) that I’d like to write for.

3. Building relationships through Twitter

Though I signed up with Twitter a year or so ago, I’ve only very recently (as in a week ago) gotten into it. Because the audience of my previous blog wasn’t super tech-savvy, I never really felt the need to be an active Twitter user.

But boy do I regret that these days!

I knew a while back that I would start a blog that could be a valuable blip on the radar of Internet marketers and bloggers, but I never thought to connect with those people before I actually started the blog.

The way to use Twitter effectively is to build up solid personal relationships, and that’s something that takes time and effort to do.

That’s time and effort now that I could have spent earlier, and my relationships would be more mature and beneficial to my blog now. Everyone associates with and supports the people they like and have a relationship with, and that’s where the power of Twitter comes into play.

Start early to build up that circle of trust!

For more Twitter power tips, check out Why Build Relationships on Twitter and How to Take Over Twitter previously on Traffic Generation Cafe.

4. Commenting on others’ blogs

Remember how I just talked about the importance of building relationships?

Commenting on blogs is another great way to do this.

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you read other blogs. Great!

And I’m hoping that if you read this, you’re going to leave a comment.

The writer of what you’re reading has already initiated the conversation and is desperate to interact with you; the ball is now in your court. You can either hit it back to create an engaging, meaningful exchange, or let roll out of bounds and doom it to remain wallowing in anonymity.

It’s up to you!

If you want to become a commenting pro, be sure to thoroughly digest 7 Tips to Make Your Comments Stick Out Like a Sore Thumb.

5. Joining-and being active on-forums

Forums can be a great way to drive traffic; they can also suck the life out of you and leave your blog a neglected, hollow shell.

Ana has already talked about how forums are her least favorite traffic generation strategy, but also about how you can use them to effectively generate traffic for your website.

Being an active member on a forum is all about connecting with people (are you noticing a pattern here?).

When you DO finally launch your blog, you can do a “Hey, check out my new blog!” post on the forums, people will congratulate you on your new accomplishment instead of condemn you for spamming up the forums.

More importantly, you’ll have a ready-to-go audience that knows you and is used to reading and responding to what you’ve got to say. Those are definitely not bad things when it comes to blogging!

There are obviously a lot of things you can be doing with your time before you actually start up your blog.

But why not start planning and doing a little bit of work (can you even call these five things work?) now so you can reap the benefits later?

And while that question is stewing, leave a comment below of what YOU wish you had done before you started your current blog if you have one.

This post brought to you by Tristan Higbee

Tristan Higbee is the guy behind Infographic Academy, where he teaches people how to create their own infographics, and Blogging Bookshelf, where he dispenses nuggets of wisdom his 8 years of blogging experience.

Tristan has written 4 great posts for Traffic Generation Cafe.