In this post Jade Craven shares her thoughts on 30 bloggers worth keeping an eye on in the year ahead!
Update: You can now follow all these guys from the one twitter list! Check out Blogger To Watch.
1. Dave Navarro
Dave was featured as one of tomorrows star bloggers in 2008 and has continued to impress in 2009. His tenacity and hard work have helped cement himself as a leading blogger and coach. He has a truly impressive resume with guest posts on Copyblogger, two product reviews here on Problogger and joint ventures with other high profile bloggers.
2009 has been the year where he strategically built up his profile to become a respected member of the blogging community. In 2010, I expect he’ll be leveraging that profile to provide more awesome resources to help bloggers succeed. You can check him out at The Launch Coach and be sure to sign up for his advance discount list and for advanced notice of his More Buyers Every Month training.
More on Dave:
- Review of How to Launch the **** out of Your Ebook
- How 12 Experts Make Money Through Their Blogs (And How You Can Learn Their Secrets)
2. Skellie Wag
Skellie has kept quite for most of 2009. She has focused on her work at Envato and providing the occasional killer resource at Skelliewag. Despite her absence, many bloggers still credit her as one of their favorite bloggers.
I hope we will be seeing a lot more of Skellie in 2010.
More from Skellie:
- The Trust About Creating a High Traffic Blog
- How to Write Posts That Set Stumbleupon on Fire
- Blogging with Audacity
3. Sarah Prout
Sarah Prout runs a boutique publishing company called Sprout Publishing. She creates cool products targeting business, bloggers, social media professionals and entrepreneurs.
She has caused quite the stir in the local social media scene with her blog, Entreprenuerial sparkle. She has built a strong reputation on delivering quality products and being really useful to her twitter followers.
You can check out my review of her Twitter Success Blueprint at Twitip and find out about her new course, Sprout Buzz. I am so keen to learn what awesome projects she’ll be working on next year.
4. Johnny B Truant
Johnny B Truant was rocking it at his humor blog before getting the attention of Naomi Dunford. He offered to be a guinea pig of her Online Business School and started guest posting on Ittybiz about his attempts to build an online business.
He raised his profile quickly with strategic guest posts and free offers. He quickly became a fixture in the blogging community and restructured his online presence so that all posts are hosted at Johnnybtruant.com.
He now makes a considerable income through technology consulting, affiliate commissions and sales of his product Zero to Business. You can check his new venture with Charlie Gilkey at Charlie and Johnny Jam sessions.
I hope he expands his products available in 2010 and that he continues to provide his awesome guest posts.
More from Johnny:
- How One Blogger Made 3k a Month By Helping People – And How He Can Help You
- Six Ways to Make More Money as an Affiliate
- How to Boost Your Business By Developing Bulletproof Trust
5. Leo Babauta
Leo was already widely regarded in the blogosphere, but this year he has shown why he commands so much respect. He has released two new blogs – Mnmlist and Zen Family Habits as well as courses at A List blogging Bootcamps. He has also released the free minimalist theme, the ebook on minimalism and the motivation handbook.
He has done this on top of promoting his book The Power Of Less and maintaining the high caliber of writing at Zen Habits. He shows no signs of stopping in 2010 with rumors of more projects in the works.
More from Leo:
- The Essential Guide To Growing Your Blog On Minimal Time
- 7 Essential Things You Should Be Doing When Your Blog is Still Young
- How Passion Can Transform Your Blog
6. Ali Hale
Ali Hale has made waves in 2009 with her staff blogging, guest posts and subsequent release of her Staff Blogging Ebook. She has set a new standard for high quality guest posts.
She has recently launched her blog at Aliventures where she provides in depth articles and comprehensive product reviews. I believe she will be contributing even more to the blogging community in 2010.
More from Ali:
- Thirteen Steps to Write and Publish A Free Ebook in Thirteen Hours
- The Other Side Of Problogger: Making Money Right From the Start of Your Blogging Career
- Every Blogger Starts From Zero – You Could Be On the A-List Next Year
7. Yaro Starak
Yaro Starak has shown bloggers’ just what they can achieve if they dominate a niche. Yaro started blogging at Entreprenuers Journey and has created a drool-worthy product funnel.
He has released a series of membership sites targeting bloggers at all levels of success including the very successful Blog Mastermind. I’m hoping he releases some new products in 2010 and continues to show bloggers what can be achieved through perseverance and delivering high quality content.
More from Yaro:
- 10 Techniques for Finding Blog Readers
- Don’t Be an Insular Blogger
- Free Blogging Tips Podcast With Darren and Yaro
8. Joanna Penn
Follow @thecreativepenn
Joanna has been the hidden success story of 2010. Her blog, The Creative Penn, has had a lot of success in both the local and international blogging communities. She is developing a strong reputation for providing high quality content and is famous for providing high quality links on twitter.
She shows how rising stars can be useful and gracious. I know her blog is just going to get even better in 2010 and feel honored to be part of that journey.
9. Naomi Dunford
Naomi Dunford is awesome. She has a shaved head, conspires against a duck and likes to swear. She also has one of the freshest blogging voices online.
Her blog, Ittybiz, is one of the best resources on how to market your blog and business. She provides tonnes of free material and affordable courses as well as other courses like Marketing 101, Marketing School, SEO School and Online Business School for her loyal customers. So many of my friends credit her for their inspiration and success. She is fresh from a recent redesign and I can’t wait to see how her site evolves in 2010.
10. Chris Guillebeau
Chris has received a lot of attention with his blog, the Art of Non Conformity. His unique philosophy and compelling writing style propelled him to authority blogger in less than 279 days.
He has released a number of unconventional guides including the Unconventional Guide to the Social Web, Unconventional Guide to Art and Money and partnered with skilled writers to deliver niche products. His full range of products are fantastic.
2010 will see Chris travel to fascinating countries, release more unconventional guides and the publication of his first book.
More from Chris:
11. Mike CJ
Mike has created a name for himself in the blogging niche. He become a Problogger in 2008 thanks to Mikes Life and his two travel blogs.
He stood out with his practical blog posts and fast developed a community around Mikes Life. In 2009, he released his blogging course and twitter guide. In 2010, he has just released Beyond Blogging (cowritten with Nathan Hangen.)
12. Dan Schawbel
Dan Schawbel is a brilliant example of an authority blogger. He has risen to the top of the personal branding niche having released a book, magazine and awards.
In 2009 he expanded the personal branding network with the creation of the Student Branding Blog. His content is syndicated by Forbes, Reuters and Fox Business.
In 2010, I think we will see Dan take niche blogging to a whole new level. I feel privileged to watch it happen.
More from Dan:
5 Ways Blogging Can Make a Difference For You in This Economy
13. Jonathan Fields
Some of you may not know Jonathan. He is a blogger, author and speaker. That’s the simple version. His bio described him as
a giddy dad, husband, New Yorker, multi-time health & fitness industry entrepreneur, recovering S.E.C./mega-firm hedge-fund lawyer, slightly-warped, unusually-stretchy, spiritually-inclined, obsessed with creation, small-biz and online marketing-catalyst, speaker, direct-response copywriter, entrepreneur-coach, yoga-teacher, columnist, author, once-a-decade hook-rug savant, pro-blogger and career renegade™ gone wild.
He wrote a fantastic book called Career Renegade and released a killer report, The Truth About Book Marketing. He’s spent this year helping as many people as possible – whether it be through his speaking events and workshops or the creation of new projects like Tribal author.
It will be fascinating to see what he accomplishes next year.
More from Jonathan:
- 3 High Powered Reader Engagement Tactics
- Are Your Readers Doing What You Want Them to Do?
- Bloggers Without Boundaries: Are the Lines Getting Too Blurred?
14. Marko Saric
Marko has had astonishing success during 2009. He marked a year at How To Make My Blog and successfully launched his Twitter Marketing ebook. He earns a consistent income through his Thesis theme reviews and blog consulting. He did a fantastic presentation about how to build a better blog at a recent meetup in London.
I hope 2010 brings more products and presentations because he brings a lot to the blogging community.
More from Marko:
- Get Inspiration From Blog Comments When Writing Your Next Post
- Create a Media Kit to Attract Advertisers to Your Blog
15. Charlie Gilkey
Charlie Gilkey is many bloggers secret weapon. He is a business and productivity coach that writes at Productive Flourishing.
He recently launched Email Triage and has joined with Johnny B Truant to produce monthly Jam Sessions.
He will be released more affordable products in 2010, as well as helping more bloggers kick arse. I cant wait to see what he and his clients achieve.
16. Robb Sutton
Robb has impressed many with the success of Mountain Biking 198. He has received over $100’000 in review products which he spoke about in his book Ramped Reviews . He now works on his network while blogging about his journey to success at Robb Sutton. You can check out his comprehensive free ebook, Ramped Blogging, while there.
He shows how people can apply practical business schools to the blogosphere and what you can achieve when you don’t doubt yourself. He does done multiple guest posts and podcasts this year and I look forward to hearing about his future projects.
More from Robb:
- How To Treat Your Blog Like a Business
- How Getting an F On Your School Paper Makes You a Better Blogger
17. Gary Vaynerchuk
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? He crushed it during 2009.
He launched Vaynermedia, a business specializing in building brand equity. He signed a 7 figure book deal with Harper Studio and released his best-selling Crush it. He has had many high profile press mentions and television appearances.
Gary has given many bloggers something something to aspire to. Knowing him, he’ll give us even more next year.
18. Chris Brogan
Chris has accomplished so much this year. His book, Trust Agents, became a New York Times bestseller. He touched a lot of people with his overnight success video series and grew his blog to almost 40’000 subscribers. I’ve had trouble with keeping up with all he’s accomplished this year because he has done so darn much. He works incredibly hard to ensure that his work helps as many of us as possible.
Judging by his business wishlist, he will be achieving so much more in 2010.
19. Michael Martine
Remarkablogger has been a good friend this year and it has been a pleasure to watch his site grow. On top of his blogging and coaching duties, he helps market the Headway wordpress theme. This theme has really impressed a lot of my designer friends, and I know they have great plans for it.
Michael is definitely someone to watch in 2010. I just hope that, despite his success and accomplishments, he’ll always be the awesome guy I’ve come to respect.
20. Lea Woodward
Lea and her husband, Jonathan, have shown that you don’t need to stay in one place to rock the blogosphere. They have taken one blog, Location Independent, and developed an entire community around it.
The expanded the blog to create a network – using the birth of their daughter Mali as motivation for Location Independent Parents. She also expanded to develop a series of Location Independent guides.
2010 will see them expand their product range as well as develop the Location Independent community. If you are aspiring to blog while traveling, they are a must read.
21. David Risley
David is now a fixture in the blogging community. He tells it like it is at his DavidRisley.com blog and makes 6 figures a year from his PC Mech blog and products such as the Blog Masters Club.
He has taught us so much this year and will continue to do so during 2010. It will be interesting to see what new projects he comes up with.
More from David:
22. Glen Allsopp
Glen Allsopp has a resume that would make many established bloggers envious. He has guest posted at many high profile blogs and is a successful staff blogger. He launched Cloud Living to much acclaim and has followed that up with another killer ebook – Reality Switch. I’ve loved learning about Glens story, both at PluginID and Viperchill.
More from Glen:
- You’re Losing Your Subscribers: How To Get Them Back
- How To Find Your Passion
- Analysis of StumbleUpons Top 50 Stumbles
I’m confident that his business will skyrocket in 2010 – especially with his $1 million case study.
23. Laura Roeder
Many bloggers owe a lot of their success to Laura Roeder. She has shown how you can leverage social media effectively and how to market with class. Her blog, and business, boomed in 2009. She released a paid version of The Dash, launched her Creating Fame course and developed that into the Creating Fame Classroom (and more like Backstage pass to Twitter).
I hope she continues to create more brilliant information products in the new year and that she continues to provide so much value to the community.
More from Laura:
How to Make Deals with Bigshots in Less Than 10 Minutes
24. DM Scott
DM Scott isn’t the sorta guy you normally see on these lists. I met him at a Social Media Masterclass and was blown away by his blogging knowledge. He has written two successful books – World Wide Rave and The New Rules of Marketing and PR. He has released many killer free ebooks and blogs at Web Ink Now.
He is someone you should get to know if you want to learn how to get world wide attention using social media. He knows his stuff and I’m sure he’ll be providing high quality content beyond 2010.
25. Darren Rowse
Darren already rocks the blogging community. He has a top 100 technorati blog, is one of the co-founders of b5 media and is the inspiration for many leading bloggers.
He took things to a completely new level in 2009. He launched Problogger.com, a personal blog as well as 31 days to become a better blogger Workbook.
I’ve heard that he has amazing things planned for his other blogs and can’t wait to see how he develops Twitip and Digital Photography School.
26. Collis Ta’eed
Collis Ta’eed is many bloggers’ worst nightmare. I don’t want to know how much money I’ve spent on market places like Theme Forest and Graphic River.
Envato has grown so much this year. They have launched many new marketplaces, blogs and tutorial sites. They have cemented themselves in the creative communities.I’m really excited to see how Envato will develop next year. I hope that I can somehow even be part of it.
Also valuable are the E-books that Collis is part of from Rockable Press – how to be a Rockstar WordPress designer and how to be a Rockstar Freelancer.
More from Collis:
27. James Chartrand
2009 has certainly been a busy year for James. When he isn’t pumping out content on Men with Pens, he is actively commenting or connecting to the community via twitter.
2010 will be for interesting for James after the recent revelation that he is, actually, a she. James is still one of the best ‘blokes’ I know, but this story has really set the blogosphere on fire. It will be very interesting to see how it unfolds in the new year. Will she release a book? Will mainstream press pick up the story? I don’t care – as long as she continues to bring class to the blogosphere.
Also co-authored by James is the Unlimited Freelancer e-book.
28. Caroline Middlebrook
Caroline Middlebrook was one of the star bloggers during 2008 but has slowed things down this year to work on her software project. Her income has been consistent despite only spending only one hour a week.
Caroline will be launching her software project later this month. It will be interesting to see how her blog and project evolves in 2010.
More on Caroline:
29. Adam Baker
Adam shows that you don’t need to be a metablogger to be successful. He has indirectly taught me, and many others, so much about engaging your community. He writes at Man Vs Debt and has spent most of 2009 traveling/working in Australia and New Zealand.
Adam celebrated the 6 month anniversary of Man Vs Debt with a fantastic article about how NOT to suck at blogging. I’m genuinely excited to see how he develops the blog over the next 12 months.
More on Adam:
30. Sonia Simone
As the senior editor at Copyblogger, Sonia has the finger on the pulse of the blogosphere. She shows how you can make writing informative and fun. She’s joint ventured on many awesome products this year including Freelance X Factor and Marketing For Nice People. She recently launched the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint – something I’m still annoyed I missed out on.
If you want to excel at content marketing, Sonia can help you. I’m sure she’ll be providing many opportunities to do so during 2010.
Who would go on your list?
These are the people that made it onto my radar this year, but I know there are many fabulous bloggers I haven’t met yet.
Share who you think are the bloggers to watch and why. Some of them may be featured in future Problogger posts.
Disclaimer: While there are affiliate links in this post, none of them are mine.
Wonderful. Thank you very much. You give a great service and plenty of stuff to educate me.
Pity your list is so US focussed. Perhaps you’d produce another post about blogs from Europe.
My blog will never make your list I suppose. It breaks one of the key rules: focus on one area and do that splendidly. Mine majors on Mental Health (especially Depression), poetry, Irish politics, food and my daughter who’s 4 (who’s the person for whom the blog is written). Maybe you could do a list of those who could be great if only they followed the rules.
It’s the people who comment here that I’ll be checking out… (Forgive me I couldn’t resist that cleverness.)
My good friends Chris Brogan, Joanna the Penn & MikeCJ are good. So if all the others are that good, I have plenty of good stuff to discover and link with.
Who would I recommend your watch in 2010? Roger Overall (Twitter @rogeroverall) is a documentary photographer working out of Cork Ireland. In 2009 he realised what he has to do to become a major force. http://www.rogeroverall.net/blog/
He’d be my new voice…
I admit there was a western bias in my post. You do have to understand me perspective. I had to choose people that I knew and trusted well enough to recommend.
It can be really hard to find a balance. When a list like this is posted, people comment about something that wasn’t represented. This could be niche, gender, country.
The only thing that I can suggest is that, if you feel people/groups are being ignored, you create your own list. If you link to it here, it may be featured in a future post.
Paul – I actually have a mental illness and am interested in blogs about that subject. I wanted to create a list that appealed to the core audience, that is, bloggers. I’m glad some of your friends are included. But, most of the people on this list are also my friends too.
E.T –
this post wasn’t based on some kind of ranking system, lol. It was just arranged according to what got done first.
@everyone.
Honestly? A lot of the blogs I read and the people I interact with are really obscure. My best mate documented his work on his thesis: bill.journee.org. That was fascinating. Si Dawson has fascinating posts about self improvement – http://sidawson.org/. I
get it. You’re feeling slighted because something you love didn’t get the attention it deserves. Thats why I’ve been reiterating my point: create your own list. Get involved in your community.
The people above? The belong the the communities I’m in. Theres the copyblogger crowd, the creatives, the Aussies, the digital nomads. They inspire me as I’m sure you feel inspired by your favourites.
I hope this explains my motives a bit more :-)
Its a nice post. In fact I was searching for the top bloggers and their success stories and you have given me the exactly right stuff which I was searching for to get some help in my blogging of zameen.com
For me, these guys are going to shake the blogsphere in 2010…
Alex + Seth from http://www.blogussion.com
Jean from http://www.catswhoblog.com/
Henri from http://www.wakeupcloud.com
Michael from http://www.incomediary.com
Thanks so much Jade for including me on the list – and to Paul for the shoutout! Some of the names on the list are people I include as my online mentors so it’s very exciting to be on the list too! Yaro Starak started me on the road and the others are definitely great reading! I’m reading this snowed into the UK, hoping to make it back to Oz later for some sun and warmth.
Happy New Year all!
lots of blogging about blogging.
like rappers rapping about hip hop. Gets a bit monotonous.
PWEI.
A few of these I know but I now have some extra blogs to go and check out.
Regards,
Karl
Good examples for all out of us who are struggling in the first year of blogging.
I’m putting a relationship blogger on the list that everyone should watch for. Jax from F*cking in Brooklyn has the freshest voice and most talent I’ve seen in along time.
http://jackfrombkln.blogspot.com/
Hi
This is a really nice list, most of them are my favourite but i’d like to make a chalenge to you and to everyone else that reads problogger.
What i’d like to see is a list like this but to those that don’t write in english because i understand that to become a great blogger it’s almost impossible not to write in english but i’m also proud of my native language so i write in portuguese as anyone can see if they visit my site.
Great list thank you. I appreciate the sub lists.
I’ll have to admit some of these folks I’ll agree are popular, but I just don’t like how they spout about themselves so much. I won’t name names.
I like HOCKEYDINO, http://www.hockeydino.com and I know he’ll make your list someday. Instense Auburn too.
You need to make the list too..DUH
Mitch Joel has a great blog called Six Pixels of Separation.
http://www.twistimage.com/blog/
He writes about the digital world – social media, marketing, personal branding. Mitch’s posts are full of practical advice and astute observation about what’s going on in the digital marketing space.
Well worth a read.
Brother Jesse Blog was the 2009 Black Weblog Awards Blog of the Year – worth taking a look at.
http://jessemuhammad.blogs.finalcall.com
–@BrotherJesse
This is a great list, and very helpful for a new Blogger like myself. The sheer volume of blogging advice out there can seem quite overwhelming, but I find myself returning to this site again and again to seek advice and the opinion of other bloggers. I’ll be making my way through these links in between blogging over the next few days, to seek inspiration.
Is there anywhere where you can compare the number of site hits you are getting – against data for other blogs with similar content? I am so blown away by the number of hits I’m getting but have no idea if I’m achieving or surpassing any kind of benchmark? I’d be really grateful for any advice. Also are there any sites where you can ask for critique on your Blog from people who will give an honest and helpful opinion. Have tried tweeting a request but had nothing back.
Thanks so much,
Annabel
Thanks for your post, Jade. I have browsed through the commentary section. It seems like a lot of people out there are upset, frustrated, disappointed, etc. People who lose out get emotional, to be sure, and those who lose are sometimes jealous or even resentful of those who are perceived to be winners. Well, better luck next time, folks, I hope those who have lost this time around win the next time. Anything’s possible, so be patient.
We are all winners, after all, no need to take it personally. Try to be objective and keep your chin up. My best wishes are always with you. I pray that those who feel like outcasts (shall we say?) will feel included the next time you produce a list. I want to take this opportunity to recommend Henri (a Swede who lives in Spain with his girlfriend) for his excellent blog, WakeUpCloud. I hope I have not erred here. You guys can check it out. Henri has made remarkable strides in his career and personal life from a bored poker champion to a fun-loving blogger. I have gained remarkable insights from reading his blog. Henri is a sure winner in my book.
The usual suspects you have included are great too and I feel happy for all of them. Ali Hale was predictable on account of her brilliance and Charlie’s philosophical speculations moved us.
Leo I have been reading for quite some time. David Risley gets my vote because of his friendly tone and his baby girl looks like an angel (cutie pie). Chris Brogan and Yaro are a pleasure to read. I have also found quite a few others too…forward and helpful in answering your questions and have been surprised by their sense of professionalism. What a great group of people: you have my undivided attention as a reader and my support. And for those who felt bad, don’t lose heart. I am rooting for you too! Cheers.
Great list! Many I have heard of.. many I haven’t. I can’t wait to read their blogs.
A few on my personal list are:
Josh Spaudling – http://ez-onlinemoney.com/blog/
Mark Mason – http://www.masonworld.com
Michelle Adams – http://www.michelle-adams.com/
And of course I read my own blog, over and over — I really love the way I write! Witty yet charming — and lets not forget modest — lol
Great people on the list, but too many are either already well known or mostly blog about blogging. Where is the spice? the new? the diversity?
It is a cool list. All of them in list deservers for it. I can see many of them list participated in all blogging communities and comment, twitter discussions. So they worked hard for their blogs and getting this position.
Great list, most of which I have not heard of yet. I will be jumping in and checking each and every one out. Thanks.
I didn’t make the list? I’m outraged!!! :)
(closed captioned for the smiley impaired)
Didn’t see any names on the list that would render the whole list invalid, so, I accept your nominees as they stand. Don’t know that I’d have any of the same names on my list, as my niches are wildly different than yours….
I didn’t make the list? I’m outraged!!! :)
(closed captioned for the smiley impaired)
Didn’t see any names on the list that would render the whole list invalid, so, I accept your nominees as they stand. Don’t know that I’d have any of the same names on my list, as my niches are wildly different than yours….
Take 2. Got a posting error, but don’t know why :(
Fascinating. I apologize for the double comment post, and suspect Darren will do the right thing at some point….
This is just what I needed! Last weeking I was googling for a list like this so here it is now.
The List is very impressive. Thanks a lot!
Dear Darren- Thanks for the list….I wonder if your readers have noticed how powerful this list is? I wonder how many readers) will actually take action?
You might find yourself agreeing that there is a reason 3% of the worlds population hold 97% of its wealth…
Best, Brian-
Great. I’ll look out for them. I have no idea who any of these lot are. Would be good if you make a twitter and add them to it. Let us know what the list is called and I’ll follow.
I think these lists would be more helpful if you categorized people according to type of blog they write. Some people use their blogs to educate, others are pure self-promotion, some to entertain & engage, others to test out their writing skills/book ideas.
It be great to see one list for personal blogs, another for media/social media, marketing, business/finance, and other topics. Granted this is more involved that putting together an overall list of 30 blogs but what you’d create is a deeper list that would be more valuable because people could focus on topics that most interest them.
I guess if this list had a focus it would be that the personalities of these writers distinctly & originally color the blog(s) they produce.
Getting a mention here is like getting a sure way to climbing mount everast of the blogging world in 2010. Great list, and hope to be on it hopefully by 2011. Cheers to all and lots of luck to all the bloggers this year!
Agree this is a great list and congrats to Sarah @Sprout and Chris Guillebeau and Leo who I follow closely and love their style.
Also it would be great to get a list outside of the US for sure as there are many talented bloggers out there writing incredible content for so many niches.
Keep it coming people and keep being passionate about what you do.
Liz:
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. There will actually be a second version of this list based on what is suggested in here and it will be organized around the topics they talk about. If there are any bloggers you want to suggest, let me know.
Natalie:
A lot of these people are outside of the US. Mike CJ lives, um, on an island somewhere. There are a few Aussies, a couple of UK people. I’ll admit there is a western slant but, as I’ve said before, if you feel something hasn’t been covered create your own post. I’ll link to it in the follow up :-)
Robby G,
You know what? Most of the people on this list got there because they are super friendly and helpful. Just try to provide a LOT of value this year and the blogosphere will notice. Trust me.
Pascal, you’re right. So many people on this list have worked hard. I mean, I asked Dave Navarro for help the other day. I ended up calling him on his cell as he drove home from work because that was the only time he had free. It was a fun call actually :P
Joe,
Thanks for your recommendations! Much appreciated!
Sarah Mitchell,
Thanks for pointing out that blog. I’ve heard of him yet have never read it. I’ve, er, been too distracted by the fact that I cant seem to buy his book locally and don’t want to get addicted.
Elias,
Thanks for your suggestion.
I admit – I don’t read any blogs that aren’t in english. 2009 was so busy that I just didn’t have the time to check out any. If you made your own list, I’d link to it in the follow up post :-)
Rebecca,
As Charlie pointed out above most of these blogs aren’t primarily focused on blogger. A number are marketing and social media related. I just focused in my commentary about how they can help bloggers.
I’ll follow up on the other comments after breakfast :-) I would like to thank those that provided constructive criticism – its hard creating a list like this and try to cater to everyone.
Thanks Jade for the list. May I suggest you make every link to the bloggers’ site with “Open link in a new window” in your target setting. This will be easier for us to navigate otherwise everytime I clicked on the link, it overwrite the current page and I’ve to click back and forth to access the page.
Thank you.
@ehomepreneur – just hold ctrl when you open the link. Will open new tab.
Ah… that’s a nice tip, Nathan. Thanks a lot, now it’s so much easier and faster to navigate. I can finish the 30 bloggers in no time.
You bet :)
+1 Gary Vaynerchuk
+1 Chris Brogan
Hi
Thanks for the tip but the fact is, i’m not in the niche of blogging wich is the top subject on this list. I’m blogging mainly about photoshop but to basic learners.
Ao i’m not in the positon to make a list of this kind, although i could it wouldn’t be a “trusted” list like yours.
Has you’ve sais several times, this is a list of people you trust and know and i’m glad you say that because it only makes it be more delicious.
But , as i like to chalenge people, i like to chalenge myself too, so i’ll leave you here my own chalenge to this year, i’ll start blogging about blogging, following the rules i can find on this top 30 list and perhaps i can be part of this list next year as one of the foreigners top bloggers to watch .
Waht do you think of this?
Another great post…I followed all of them with my “Powrblogger” twitter account…Thanx…As for a great blogger not on the list is that kid from the UK…Michael Dunlop…
Why I’m not in the list? Hahaha just kidding!
Thanks for posting this article. I have definitely bookmarked the bloggers on your list. Hopefully, I can incorporate some of their strategies on my site http://www.finallyfreetobeme.com.
This list is nothing but a big clique. Dave, Naomi, Michael Martine, James, the entire CopyBlogger crew? Clique.Why didn’t you just call it “Friends of Brian Clark?”
I also have to wonder about a list containing James Chartrand a blogger who lied about gender bias in order to save her butt and look the hero after her partner got fed up and left the team. She’s the Pied Piper of the blogosphere and I’m happy not to count myself among the rats who are blindly following her tune.
Thanks for the excellent post. I enjoyed checking out each of these bloggers and ended up following a few on Twitter, too. I included it in our Week In Review post today:
http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/needy_08.html
Awesome list – many of these I already read – and found a few new gems on this list for me to check out. Thanks so much!
Thanks for the excellent post. I enjoyed checking out each of these bloggers and ended up following a few on Twitter, too. I included it in our Week In Review post today:
http://blog.upspringbaby.com/2010/01/08/week-in-review-friday-january-8-2009/
There is only one blogger missing…guess who??
Louise –
I didn’t realise that until after copyblogger tweeted it. Dave, Johnny, Ali have only guest posted there a few times. Honestly? I’ve only recently started reading it. I don’t know that much about what goes on there in terms of content.
I know Naomi is friends with him because of the content I read on Ittybiz. Other than that? Didn’t pay that much attention.
I understand your concern though.
I also don’t blindly follow tunes. Melinda, from Superwahm, counts James as one of her friends. I was confused when he came out with her real gender but Mel assured me James was ok and could be trusted. Thats enough for me
:-)
Elias –
This is a blog about blogging. I did offer to link to any lists people create.
However, you can do what I did and offer to a guest post on an authority blog.
Jade, I’m confused. If you don’t know much about these bloggers or their content, what is your basis for including them on your list? One would assume you read them often and know what they’re up to in order to make your decision. I’m not saying that to be disrespectful, just that it doesn’t make much sense to post a list of bloggers to watch out for without knowing enough about their content.
For the commenters who are saying they’re now following all these bloggers on Twitter, don’t you want to get to know them first? It doesn’t make sense to follow someone without reading their tweets and their blog posts to see if you mesh. There’s a lot of blind following of the leaders here.
Thanks Jade. I can say all informative. I am becoming a fan of your blog. I would like to visit you again and again.
Louise –
I know about everyone on this list, and their blogs. I didn’t start reading Copyblogger until recently.
Usually when I go out to study a blogger – as I have done with most of the people in this list – I study their archives. I read any related interviews with them. I check them out on twitter and then I make the financial commitment off buying their products.
Now, many of these people are prolific guest posters. When writing this post I didn’t realized that there were so many copyblogger people.
However, there is a reason people are offered a guest posting slot on Copyblogger. Its because they are awesome.
There was a slight bias with this post. I tried to focus on people who were familiar to the Problogger community. In the section where I said ‘More from ___’ I linked to posts in the Problogger archives :-)
It’s normal to be critical of the list and the list maker. Humans like to practise their critical skills.
Justify, justify, justify – I love the call on Jade to defend her choices. Spunky, sparky stuff.
I’m about to write a blogpost recommending the Best Books Ever Written on Depression – an area I have extensive experience of. Wouldn’t I love to attract as many comments as Jade has critics.
The problem is: there is too much good stuff. If only there were fewer good bloggers, I’d have a chance of catching up with the stars. I’d like to suggest that the best thing to do is read with random abandon. It’s the blog you stumble (sorry for pun) upon, that hits you from left field, that’s the gem you treasure and pass on to unsuspecting friends.
Here’s one I found abandoned on the side of the road, neglected and under appreciated, needing attention…
http://omaniblog.blogs.ie/2010/01/09/the-trouble-with-twitter/
This was great Jade, as it helped me with 2 things:
1. Now I have a great list of bloggers to learn from
2. I’d like to be on this list within 2 years myself.
So thanks for your research and keep it up!
Darren you missed me too. Im a internet Marketer who has gone Blogging. I like blogging and I fell I can help thousands but blogging than with internet marketing. Thanks guys:
http://www.shannonbishop.net
Good Luck in 2010 Everybody!