Professional blogs: what works, what doesn’t

So if you’re going to put the effort into writing a blog, you want people to read it, right? And hopefully come back for more.
So, what works?
New ideas. Humor. News. Controversy. Personality. Opinions.
What doesn’t work?
Conventional ideas. Cut-and-paste’s from a brochure or ad or anything that reads as if it’s been approved by the legal department [...]