What comes first? Traffic or Value?

I have a business model I've been working on for quite some time now and it's honestly like a chess game for me. I go back to it and occasionally try to pivot the model in a way that it would work.

While I dabble in other ventures, this one is more of a long-term project that will take time. The trouble is I can't seem to figure out a viable way to continue executing. I was hoping some of you entrepreneurs can shed some light for me, and help me out.

I have a blog that is geo-located. The blog in itself is only as good as the people who contribute to it. It doesn't and will never provide value if the content is generic. It has to be related specifically not only on the subject but the location as well.

• So for instance, if I'm talking about Philadelphia and people who enjoy Cajon restaurants. It's not powerful enough to talk about Cajon cooking and restaurants it has to be specifically about Philadelphia Cajon scene.

• I'd like to approach people in that area and offer them an opportunity to write an article on my blog. In return, I offer them an Authors Box - where they can advertise their services / products. So the flow of traffic can go to them.

  • The challenge is that I don't have enough traffic, but that's because my content isn't very valuable to begin with. I'm afraid that the people I reach out to would not want to participate if my numbers are weak. Am I right about this or would they just see it as another platform/opportunity to advertise on?
  • I can spend money and have spent money to get subscribers and traffic, but it's not long-lasting again because the content I have is very generic and can often be found elsewhere by a simple search query. I can market the shit out of valuable articles if I had some, it's just that I don't.

• I can spend money and pay content writers to write for me online, I have a few places I pay, but unless their living in Philadelphia and know the subject of Cajon Cooking it's going to be difficult to find a writer who isn't going to give me a generic article.

So, I'm stuck and therefore not sure if I should approach local businesses and offer them Authors Box for Article or continue to build traffic and find another way to provide value prior to approaching them to write.

Any suggestions?