How to make a good blog (from an unsolicited amateur)

I was checking out a friend's blog (http://indianajill.ca/weblog/?p=950) and I finally realized why her blog is vastly superior to mine. Lets break it down shall we?

1) She's a good looking girl: I am not. Enough said.

2) She has a cool original layout: I've changed my template once in the 5 year span that this blog has been running

3) Well thought out ideas: I tend to think as I write so then ideas that seem so fleshed out in my head don't get delivered properly. Which brings me to #4.

4) More time spent on blog: I am really bad for this one. The occasions where I do get to spend more time usually come in clusters and don't translate well to blog form. For example, a short blog in January then nothing for 9 months, then a massive blog in October that isn't well planned.

5) More pictures!!: Pictures really are what grab attention aren't they?

By adding this random picture, I have just gained the interest of 4 more readers. Yet because of its distracting nature, I have just lost 6 readers to Jessica Alba's IMDB page =(

But seriously, I believe if pictures are used well, even if they are amateur looking (refer to www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com), they can really illustrate a point well. With Jill's blog, she uses original photos that she shoots herself using the magic of Photography! For me, you'll be lucky if you get a thumbnail. (btw why do they call it thumbnails?)

Anyway, I lost the point to this blog as I usually do lol. I guess my point is that making and maintaining a good blog is lots of hard work and dedication. So, props to you people who keep the blog world turning! Me, I'll just write down random thoughts so I can read them 5 years later and wonder wtf I was thinking.