I believe that in order to become a better blogger it is important to read other blogs and I do quite a bit of reading daily, not only for that reason but also because I love reading. The blogs I spent most time on are all related in one way or another to the theme of becoming a better blogger, whether it be in terms of quality content, SEO or other important things, you can tell they are all very dedicated to the blogosphere.
So today I wanted to share these blogs with you, because I continually learn from them and wanted to send a little “thank you” for all the effort they put in.
- Courtney Tuttle: I am always amazed to see that he “only” has a little fewer than 2000 subscribers, since his blog is absolutely packed with high quality information for bloggers and Internet marketers. 102 to make your blog or site a backlink superstar is a huge list with handy tricks to improve on your backlinks and 10 easy ways to make yourself look like a blogging newbie made me chuckle (and silently cringe) a bit.
- Stephan Miller: I really can relate to his style of writing, and at times the posts make me laugh, going from one thing to another, but mostly good quality information offered and his lists are a great reference point on where to submit your blog and I really enjoyed his post on tools for commenting.
- Josh Spaulding: great thing about his posts is the “related post†section, which at least contains another 4 or 5 interesting titles that make me want to read more. 10 ways to start out 2008 by helping someone is one of his must read posts and quit smoking and make more money sure made me think.
- Caroline Middlebrook: I really like the theme she is using and her posts are very informative in her own straight forward style. Her newest post on audience was very interesting, making me think about a lot of tactics you see online and I really enjoyed reading the post on her stats for February, since they were shared in a completely different way than I have seen so far by other bloggers.
- Marcus Hochstadt: Congrats again on breaking the 100,000 Alexa Rank! This blog inspires me to do better on my own, and even though I did not win his review I am getting another shot through the contest the University Kid is offering at the moment. I like his style and willingness to help other bloggers become better, through posts like Internet Business Q&A where he offers his readers a chance to ask his multimillionarie mentor questions about the internet business and Video Site Review where he offers one winner a great chance of getting a professional review in order to improve their online venture.
- The University Kid: I signed up for this blog in order to have a bigger chance winning in the huge contest he is running at the moment but now that I have signed up I must say this guy is working hard on making a better blog. His Dumb Ideas in the Industry post is a nice eye-opener for gullible people.
- Leo Babauta: I found this one quite a while ago and was taken at first by the nice Zen type theme of his blog, but more important, I love his content. There are great tips for creating a more productive life and of course I would always recommend his books to read. (There is still a chance to win a copy of Handbook for Life in my contest by commenting on Dilemma of a Blogger). It is really hard to decide on which posts I like best but you shouldn´t miss out on the 10 things to simplify and the edit your life series.
- Alex: I follow this blog since the beginning since we started almost at the same time and I like seeing the progress he is making. He took the time to contact me and point out a problem with this theme I was not aware of which I thought was great of him to do. Some of his best posts are how to hide your affiliate links and affiliate hide and seek.
- Jay: I think this blog is up and coming big time, with many great post and a wealth of good information, again on how to improve blogging on all different aspects, being it increasing google ranks or blogging forums we should join, or any of the other posts.
- Terence Chang: I started reading his blog around the same time that I started with this blog and find many of his posts very inspiring and touching and others are focussing on happiness. He also started a new blog to make people smile, sharing smiles, you can see mine on there as well
When looking at this list, the thing that stands out to me is that even though these are all related in some way to “making money†online, they all do offer useful information in contrary to some of the “big money making blogs” who share very little but take a lot. I mean, just how many food pics and new cars do you really want to look at?
The listed bloggers however stand out for their willingness to help fellowbloggers and provide them with real information, tools and tricks to succeed. I personally find it very interesting to compare the different ways they use to monetize and represent their content and ideas, aswell as trying to figure out what is behind the blogger, what makes them tick and continue to come up with great content.
So there is the reason for wanting to spill a little linkjuice
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Please leave a comment, I am looking forward to seeing you again!
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Question. Do they interact with the readers comments the way you do?
For me part of the enjoyment in blogging is reading the comments and engaging those that read what I write. I like to see other points of a view and have a discussion. You typically respond to each comment left which adds value to the article and the readers experience. Well for me anyway.
Jim - Just a Guy’s last blog post..Not Safe For Work
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 1:04 am
hey Jim
Answer
Most of them answer to every comment, the occasional one might slip through or sometimes there are just so many comments it would almost be another dayjob to answer each and every one of them.
I do feel though that a big part of why I read these blogs is just what you are pointing out right now, their commitment towards their readers, whether it being through always replying or the content in itself, it really feels they care about their readers.
For me as a blogger, I feel it is really important to get that feedback and take an active part in interacting, but I can imagine that some of the bloggers listed can´t answer each and every single comment, I really hope I will be able to keep up doing so especially since this blog is becoming “my baby”.
Remember I posted about that I wanted this blog to have a soul? Well, it is starting to feel like that more and more each day
thanks to readers like you who are actively taking part and many times improving my own posts through their feedback :*
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Thank you kind lady.
Jim - Just a Guy’s last blog post..Not Safe For Work
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Mirjam:
I am so glad to be listed on your blog. You are doing a great job on getting your name out to the blogging world.
I have also learned some great tips from your in the past. Keep it up!
Looking forward to seeing your new smiley photos …
The Internet Entrepreneur Diary’s last blog post..Work Hard & Play Hard - My confession of guiltiness
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Mirjam,
Glad you like the blog
I try to personally help every single reader, although sometimes that simply isn’t possible, especially when you’re spending all day running after a crashing server…
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 6:34 am
That’s just the start, Mirjam. Alone from what I learned in the last two days is exceptionally invaluable. Remarkability at its best which will bring a ton of in demand content and beneficial products to you, my precious reader.
Did you just say I’m excited?
And Jim, the goal is not to respond to each and every comment as some of you may wish (or you may end up being busy responding to comments around the clock.)
The goal is to find & pick the valuable comments and take them into heart (i.e., listen,) and then respond in that you deliver what your readers want (i.e., what they asked you to via their comments.) What do they want?
- Answers to their questions
- Solutions to their problems
Most of these responses can be outside the comments area. They can be delivered via new blog posts and/or products that solve their problem(s).
Marcus Hochstadt’s last blog post..Why Some Should Change The Permalink Structure
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Marcus,
I totally understand.
Jim - Just a Guy’s last blog post..Not Safe For Work
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 9:47 am
hey Jason, thank you for stopping by, I know you must be busy with all the buzz your contest is bringing you and the problems you were having with your server, I wonder if the latter is the reason for your commentluv not showing up?
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Hey Terence, always good to see you around here!
I really appreciated your feedback and interaction “in privat” and felt you just had to be on this list as well, you are posting a lot of things that I am thinking of in the same moment, which builds a feel of “connection”, something that I value dearly
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately on where to go with this blog, making it harder for me to post interesting content (hence the fact that I am skipping posting days) wanting to get more “useful” post out.
Thanks for caring
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hi Marcus,
Always wonderful to see your presence here
Apart from answering their questions and solutions to their problems, which like you pointed out can be done in a variety of ways and makes you improve on your blog taking that part at heart.
However, I don´t think all of my readers are looking for answers to their questions nor solutions to their problems, but that might also be because this is not a “how to succeed” blog. I think there is something else “they” want, whether it be being entertained with thoughts and ideas or the personal touch and notice the interaction going on on this blog, ie, the feeling of really being appreciated.
I do think though that comments can from a huge part in the succes of a blogger, if this blogger is attentive and responds to them, either through replies or, as you pointed out, using them in future posts and other places.
I know I will be returning to your blog, not because I am looking for answers to my questions, but because you offer answers to questions I hadn´t even thought of
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Thank you Mirjam. I am glad you get the way I write. That I complain for humor. And that I am a loose cannon when it comes to sticking to a subject.
It’s fun.
Stephan Miller’s last blog post..A Bunch of Random Links
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
nothing to thank me for, it is all your own merit
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Great list will have to check a couple of them out.
on Mar 12th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Hey there!
I’m a little bit distracted the last couple of days..
Thanks for the mention, and keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Alex
Alex at Net-Entrepreneur.com’s last blog post..Safely Tweaking Your WordPress Blog
on Mar 13th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Agreed, Mirjam, I should have pointed it out. When the purpose of someones blog is to connect and chat with his/her readership, it may be advised to respond to as many comments as possible in order to establish a strong fellowship and “community.”
I can see this on your blog and that of Joan Joice, which are inspiring and exampling, for that matter.
Marcus Hochstadt’s last blog post..Hot Springs Costa Rica
on Mar 15th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
You are missing out on TheNetFool.com
Jim’s last blog post..Top Five Reasons Nobody Likes Your Blog
on Mar 15th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
that is an interesting comment, I would love to hear from you just why I am misisng out on thenetfool.com, looking forward to seeing your answer ;):)
on Mar 20th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Hi Mirjam,
I’m going to have to check a couple of those out. I’m subscribed to Josh, Terence, Court, and Caroline and they are all great reads. I’ve heard of Leo, but I need to check out the rest…
Stephen Cronin’s last blog post..Creating A JavaScript Array Dynamically Via PHP
on Mar 20th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Hi Stephen,
4 out of 10 … it is a small world after all, if you consider the huge amount of blogs out there
on Mar 20th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Yes, but while a lot of those huge number blogs out there are good, some are great and they’re the ones that get into lists like these. That gets them more readers and they become even more popular etc.
That’s why I said on the other post that your blog is going places - you’ve got the great content already, so slowly, but surely, you’ll get on more and more lists like this and more and more people will subscribe!
Stephen Cronin’s last blog post..Beijing - City With The Most Public Toilets
on Mar 20th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I am really glad you like the content on my blog, you just made me smile big time! Thanks for the big compliment!