Welcome to the 2011 list of bloggers to watch. A few caveats before we launch into the list:
- This is my own list of the people I’m watching. I was approached to do this list because of my work as a professional connector. These are the people that have stood out to me, or my network.
- Your niche is different from mine, and that’s a given. My goal was to find the people whose tips and stories can be applied to your own niche.
- Like last year, we will be creating a post collecting all of the watch lists ProBlogger readers create. The details for this appear at the end of this post.
Many thanks to Ali Luke, Jonathan Wondrusch, Allison Boyer, Andy Dolph, and Srinivas Rao for their help with background research.
Discovered at BlogWorld
BlogWorld is the social hub of this industry. It was where thousands of the world’s best bloggers met to network and learn. I recommend that bloggers of any niche attend conferences such as this to check out the rising stars. Based on many conversations over coffee, fries, and ice-cream, I was able to ascertain that the following people will have a lot to contribute to the wider blogging community.
Jaime Tardy
I almost missed meeting Jaime Tardy. She was this lovely, quiet girl that I met just a few times, which I sincerely regretted when I checked visited Eventual Millionare. Jaime is a fiercely talented blogger, but what I liked was how she approached the topic of personal finance.
Most people tend to go one of two ways: they blog about their journey to riches, or blog about their frugal lifestyle. Jamie was well on her way to becoming a millionaire; she was earning six figures at just 22. However, she decided that “instead of just a million dollars, I wanted to find work I loved, and the life I loved, and THEN make my million.”
I’m a huge fan of her because she has an authentic blogging persona, despite her recent success. She has been able to leverage her blog to get significant media attention—a goal most of us dream of. I think she’ll be taking her efforts up a notch this year.
Matt Kimberley
Matt Kimberley is just like his blog: suave, intriguing, and powerful with words. He is a fascinating case study of how you can leverage your blog to achieve personal and business goals.
He blogs at How to Get a Grip, which is “largely a rehashing of common sense, with a couple of practical tips for manning up and getting things done.” Biography jargon aside, he is one of my favorite examples of someone that combines personality marketing and no-nonsense advice to create a compelling blog.
His story is one that fascinated me, and many of my peers. He:
- got a book deal when his blog had just six readers
- polarizes his interviewees: check out Don’t Be Afraid Of Strangers to see how
- writes the content that his audience needs to hear, rather than wants to hear.
Blog lessons aside, I believe that How to Get a Grip should be required reading for everyone wanting to focus on the important stuff in 2011.
Jordan Cooper
Jordan Cooper is a blogger that I highly respect. He positions himself as a comedian who has an irreverent outlook at blogging, social media, and marketing. While he acts like the comedic anti-hero, he is this incredibly savvy guy who intuitively gets this industry. I love him because he is modest about his talents and success.
Last year, he became community manager of the Beyond Blogging Project and moderated the Treating Your Blog Like a Business panel at BlogWorld. He also has enjoyed considerable success with two video game-related fan sites he manages: FM-Britain and Gameworld One.
I suspect that he may be the silent success story of this year. He’s gotten the trust and attention of the many top bloggers he has worked with. He has all the resources at his disposal. He just has to choose his path.
Matt Gartland
I count Matt Gartland among one of my closest blogging friends. He has spent most of this year focusing on his Healthy Lifestyle Design blog. After meeting at BlogWorld, I got him on the phone and we chatted about his 2011 plans. Boy, is this guy going to shake things up. There are two things that I’m really looking forward to:
- Modern Audacity. This is his blog “about bold ideas for brave adventurers hell-bent on living above expectations.” His content is looking to be challenging in a similar vein to Matthew Kimberly’s and is something that I’m really looking forward to reading.
- Random Acts of Greatness. This blog aims to chronicle 10,000 acts of greatness over a five-year period. One trend that I’ve noticed is how many bloggers are leveraging their audience to deliver widespread social good. Johnny B Truant was among with first with his Bad Ass Project. I can see Matt’s project having a much wider reach.
His blog has gotten so many of my friends excited. His branding is something that many people, including myself, can learn from. His theme is inspired by comic books, which he leverages to tell a story. It is impractical for most bloggers to replicate this, however everyone is capable of telling a story via their words and visual elements. Excelsior!
Farnoosh Brock
Farnoosh impressed many with her positive energy during Blogworld. She was constantly engaging with people and showed how to make a solid impression in a short period of time. What was surprising is that she is just as active on social media and her blog.
- She uses only images that she takes on her blog. This, along with her video and podcasts, allows her readers to join her on her journey.
- She wrote an ebook about her BlogWorld 2010 experience. This was a great way to get more exposure, as she was subsequently featured on the BlogWorld blog.
Her blog aims to teach you smart habits for rich living. However, I feel that she has a lot of potential and that she has so much more to bring to her audience. I’m genuinely excited to see how she grows this year.
Srinivas Rao
I truly believe that Srini is going to become one of the major success stories of 2011. He is constantly applying what he has learned through the interviews he has conducted on BlogcastFM.
I was friends with Srini long before we went to BlogWorld, and meeting him only increased my admiration. He genuinely cares about improving his blog and connecting with others. He leveraged his connections to successfully launch BlogcastFM Premium, grow his personal blog, and expand Flightster’s social media presence.
If there is someone you think should be on this list, tell him. It’s likely they’ll be interviewed on a future podcast.
Karol Gadja
Karol got the attention of everyone at Blogworld. Part of it was due to his height—he was considerably taller most people he spoke to—but mostly it was because of his friendliness.
It was such an honor to get to know him because he was so laid back and genuinely interested in his community. He was incredibly generous with his knowledge despite the massive success of the past year.
His blog, Ridiculously Extraordinary, is an example of how to stand out in a crowded niche. He also showed how you can run a successful blog and leverage that to support business ventures. He has been able to grow his business so much in the last quarter thanks to the 72 hour niche sales he runs with Adam Baker.
I believe that he will continue to impact people in 2011.
Benny
I barely talked to Benny at BlogWorld. I had just enough time to ascertain his Irish accent before he got whisked away to a neighboring table. Fortunately, I hung out with some of the most connected people in the industry, who quickly informed me that Benny is someone worth paying attention to.
He is the Irish Polyglot behind Fluent In 3 Months: a how-to guide and story of becoming fluent in any language quickly. His story has attracted many but what I love is how the story extends to all facets of his blog. He:
- encourages his readers to comment in the languages he is fluent in, and will respond in the same language
- posts his videos in multiple languages—including his welcome video—to demonstrate his skills
- maintains multiple Twitter accounts for his followers in other languages.
I believe that having your content available in multiple languages will become more relevant in 2011, and Benny is in the prime position to help people do this.
Heather Solos
I never met Heather. I came across her thanks to the recommendation of several friends and, after checking out her main blog, I could see why. See, she doesn’t fit the profile of your typical successful blogger. Her bio states that she is a “32-year-old professional blogger and author”. I see her as a master of leveraging communities.
Her profile has grown organically over the course of five years. She co-founded Home-Ec101.com, “a site designed to teach real people, real skills, as they apply to real lives.” In addition to this, she has gotten a book deal, leveraged in-person meetings to get great results, and has achieved multiple writing spots in newspapers. You can learn more about how she did this in her interview on BlogcastFM.
What I like about her is how she is shaping her content to her audience. In her sidebar she has a link to a feedback form to get more information about her readers, a note saying that her articles are print-friendly, and a phone number for questions that may get featured on her podcast. She is inviting audience engagement before readers even view her content, rather than taking the path of most bloggers and just targeting social media users. I’m fascinated to see where she takes this in 2011.
Pace Smith
Pace Smith is one of my favourite BlogWorld buddies. She is an extremely talented individual who brings a lot to the social media community. She is an amazing collaborator and business mind, but is very down to earth and friendly. She has tried to avoid the expert/guru scene and, by doing so, has enriched the wider community.
What’s resonated with me is how she’s evolved over the past year. Pace and her business-and-life-partner Kyeli rebranded “The Freak Revolution” to “The Connection Revolution”—a change that I believe suits them better. They wrote about the reasons why. They’ve also intentionally tried to avoid creating metablogging products and instead released two useful courses: 52 Weeks to Awesome and Engaging ECourses.
I’ll be watching to see how Pace develops the connection revolution. She intuitively understands the relationship side of blogging and I believe her impact will grow significantly this year.
Suggested by readers
Last year’s post got a lot of feedback. Many people felt that their niche or passion was excluded. For this edition, we scoured the comments to find the bloggers who you wanted to be highlighted.
Pat Flynn
I’m blog crushing on Pat. He was suggested so many times in last year’s list that Darren snagged him for an interview shortly after.
He is the type of blogger that everyone can learn from. He loves his readers to death and focuses on providing massive value. You can:
- learn about transparency via his income reports
- watch how he applies his knowledge via the niche site duel with Tyrone Shum
- access his network of experts via his podcasts.
He is someone I believe every ProBlogger reader should watch. He is a talented marketer and mentor, and someone that is passionate about growing his community.
Brett McKay
Nate, from Practical Manliness, recommended Brett as a blogger to watch in 2010. He said “He did quite a bit in 2009 (book launch, hundreds of thousands of monthly visits, etc.), and I don’t expect him to slow down.”
Brett has shown how you can take your business beyond a blog. He has converted his blog into a community complete with forums and profiles for members, and introduced interesting concepts such as the Library of Random Man Knowledge and the Art of Manliness Trunk. He also created a mobile version of his website. I was part of a mastermind session with some pretty influential bloggers late this year and one thing we all identified was the role smartphones would play with our blogs.
He has also worked to grow his brand off the blog. He has released a book, and has a second out in 2011. He’s released themed posters and calling cards, as well as a t-shirt collection. I expect him to grow his brand further this year.
Lynn Terry
I included Lynn Terry thanks to the recommendation of Adriana, who said “she always puts out excellent information, and replies to just about every comment on her blog.” I’ve come across Lynn numerous times and loved her classy approach in a crowded and much-hyped niche.
She blogs at Click Newz, which has “internet marketing ideas, tips, and reviews to help you succeed.” She is a super-affiliate, and was involved in Internet marketing before social media became trendy.
One thing that intrigued me was Lynn’s Hot Topics page. Most people have a page, or sidebar plugin, that directs people to the best content. This technique takes the readers to the best tutorials. This is something that may be more useful to readers than a post that received a lot of traffic from social media sites.
Lynn has been in this business for 14 years. Her inclusion wasn’t based on anticipated success this year; rather, she is someone that I believe we all can learn from. If she, or any other person on this list, has helped you, I’d love to read about it in the comments.
Wil Wheaton
My dad would say that Wil Wheaton’s character Wesley Crusher is one of the most-hated characters in Star Trek. I, along with Slimeface, who recommended him, would disagree. I reckon that he is one of the coolest people I know.
The short version is that most people would consider him to be celebrity—ya know, except for Sheldon Cooper, who’s often mentioned as Wil Wheaton’s nemesis in “Big Bang Theory.” Jokes aside, he is one to watch is because he is a celebrity who’s using social media in the way it was intended.
A lot of bloggers struggle with scalability when it comes to managing relationships. Wil faces that on a much larger scale. His Twitter landing page is truthful and amusing. He doesn’t cater to popular opinion. Instead, he just acts like himself and attracts thousands of readers in the process. His success isn’t replicable for most of us, but his approach is.
In his post celebrating the new year, he said “2010 was easily the best year I’ve had in a decade, and 2011 is looking like it’s going to be pretty amazing, too.” I’m looking forward to following his journey.
Henri Juntilla
Henri first attracted widespread attention when he got over 1000 subscribers in three months. He was able to achieve this via two main methods: article marketing and guest posting. His content on Wake Up Cloud is mixture of metablogging and personal development.
Henri is currently in the transition stage. During 2010, he was able to gain a lot of attention for his work. The thing is, social proof doesn’t necessarily equal a successful business. Henri has earned a nice income from his affiliate efforts and product sales but is yet to turn his blog into a true business.
I believe he is one to watch as he makes this transition from blogger to entrepreneur. I’ve watched many people give up their blog or get burnt out. I think Henri will shine as he progresses on his entrepreneurial journey.
Daniel Scocco
Daniel Scocco has been someone I’ve been learning from for a while. I didn’t include him in the previous list because I assumed his prominence didn’t need mentioning, but you guys corrected me pretty quickly!
2010 saw Daniel reopen his membership site Online Profits. He offered the course for free (with the caveat that members need to sign up for an $8.95/month hosting plan with HostGator), posting Online Profits Is Open, And Now It Is Free!
This membership site has made for a fascinating case study. He was able to leverage the content of others to create a comprehensive product that covers more information than just blogging. He was one of the first people to make money from a course via affiliate commissions for other products. This is an underutilized technique and it will be fascinating to see if other people apply it to their own niche.
I know that he will keep challenging the status quo in 2011 and continuing to create useful content. I can’t say too much, but I can share that there are rumors of a new product released via Daily Writing Tips in early 2011.
Jean-Baptiste Jung
Jean-Baptiste Jung is “a 27-year-old blogger, web developer and web designer from the French-speaking part of Belgium”. He started out with a successful blog, Cats Who Code, and soon grew his business to include a portfolio of web development-related websites.
The past few years have seen him launched additional sites such as WpRecipes, PsdVibe and Cats Who Blog. In addition he has written for WpHacks, ProBlogDesign and Smashing Magazine, and released his first book, WordPress CookBook.
I’ll be frank—I’m not familiar enough with the WordPress community to discuss why Jean-Baptiste is worth watching. I’m relying on the many readers and friends who told me of his talents. However, I can tell you that his portfolio of WordPress and blogging sites will be a valuable resource for ProBlogger readers over the coming year.
Potts Weinstein
Blog | Twitter
Elizabeth’s bio states that “I’m a woman who is on a continuing adventure of living my truth. And I’m inviting you to come along.” A consistent theme with many people on this list is that they have created a blog that is a natural expression of who they are. Elizabeth is no exception.
She explains, “Living your truth finds the nexus of your passions, your skills, everything that is unique and amazing about you, with practical, smart, efficient business strategies and systems and marketing and relationship building.” She has been a mentor to many of my good friends and accomplished a lot despite a tumultuous 2010.
Her personal and business theme for 2011 is “Creating Space for Ecstasy via Boundaries and Self Care.” This is a theme that a lot of people will resonate with in the coming year. It may take longer than one year for her to achieve true greatness but hers is such a fascinating journey to watch.
Chris Owyoung
Chris is a freelance music photographer based in New York City. He was included thanks to the recommendation of Greg Taylor. Chris blogs in a niche that most wouldn’t pay attention to. His target readers are potential clients rather than tutorial seekers. He approaches his blog differently from most ProBlogger readers.
A lot of the focus is on the visual experience. His sidebar comprises images rather than text—a technique that compliments his photography. He also invites the readers to view images from a shoot by telling a story and capturing the reader’s attention. Both techniques are common, but it’s worth seeing how it’s applied to a different niche.
His blog is a solid case study and it will be interesting to check if he changes his approach over the course of the year. I think he’s onto a winning formula.
Jade Craven
Yeah, I’m totally cheating by putting myself on this list. I was going to include Anne Jackson from Flowerdust.net, but she recently wrote a post discussing the end of her blogging. Long story short, I went through the comments again and after going through the joke suggestions, my name came up twice. So I snagged rising star Allison Boyer to write a bio for me:
Even if you don’t know Jade Craven yet, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ve been affected by her work. Jade is of course the author of this list, but she’s everywhere, working with people such as Dave Navarro, Jonathan Fields, and Johnny B. Truant. Regardless of her work with high-profile people, Jade always also has time for interesting up-and-comers who haven’t yet made a name for themselves. If you’re someone with passion and dedication, Jade wants to know you—and she will make good things happen for you without asking for anything in return.
I’m officially dubbing 2011 “The Year of Jade Craven”—she’s got some super-exciting secret plans for awesomeness that you don’t want to miss. Get Jade Craven on your radar if she’s not already, and you can be part of that awesomeness.
New talent
Sometimes it seems like a success story comes from nowhere. You’ll briefly see someone on Twitter, and then Bang! Their work is everywhere. This section deals with some of the success stories of the past year. These are the people who will be profoundly growing their profile in the coming months.
Jonathan Wondrusch
Jonathan is a paragon of blogging awesomeness. He is co-founder of By Bloggers and is working with Lavonne Ellis on the upcoming Customer Love Challenge. His profile has grown quickly over the four months—and for good reason.
His stand-out resource is By Bloggers, which is a site for ambitions webpreneurs creating incredible eproducts. His content is very high quality—Epic Ebook Creation is one of the best free books I’ve read—and has been able to attract a lot of attention in a short period of time.
I’m confident that he will rock it in 2011. He’s found a gap in a market targeting infoproduct creators, and has some some killer plans to help bloggers. You can see them taking shape with the new Blogging Bootstrappers community, along with the continually growing Bootstrapper’s Toolkit—a resource that adds new free worksheets and ebooklets every month.
Johnathan also is a talented relationship marketer and it’ll be worth watching to see where he takes his audience. It’s most likely to be silly (this man sported a half beard—a beard on one side of his face, but not the other—for a week), nerdy, and absolutely inspiring.
Peter Shallard
Peter is an example of someone who launched with a bang. See, Peter isn’t like us bloggers. He has a strong corporate background and he’s one of the people who understands relationship marketing and sales—something that many people find difficult.
He launched strongly by making a number of smart decisions, such as hiring 2010-blogger-to-watch James Chartrand for website design and copywriting. This allowed him to focus on what he did best: engaging with people via social media and empowering his clients.
He is a fascinating example of how a suit can dive into the world of social media and enjoy massive success. He is also someone that is laid back and a lot of fun to get to know. Even if you aren’t interested in his blog, hit him up on Twitter. Tell him Jade sent you!
Scott McIntyre
Scott McIntyre got on my radar before he had even launched his blog, Vivid Ways. He contacted me because he had been regularly guest posting on Liz Strauss’s blog and didn’t have a blog, nor much of a social media presence.
I believe he is one to watch because he made a conscious choice to focus his effort on developing relationships and learning as much as possible. Most people are busy sucking up to the big names, rather than finding ways they can contribute to the community.
Lavonne Ellis
Lavonne has spent most of 2010 in the transition phase. I met her via a paid program where she impressed me with her tenacity and willingness to learn. She launched her first blog, the Complete Flake, and was willing to admit her business had evolved.
What really put Lavonne on my radar was the community she developed around the Customer Love challenge. She’s run two Customer Love challenges, helping people to love their audiences and launch products. She’ll be co-leading her next challenge in February and launching a paid product at that time.
I think the customer love challenge will be something to watch in 2011. Lavonne is brilliant and smart, and she intuitively knows what bloggers want. She knows how to empower a community and is an example of how you can enjoy viral success just by being useful.
Jean Sarauer
In October, Jean decided to quit blogging to pursue her fiction writing. She handed her flagship blog over to Mary Jaksch, who has continued to develop it as a “safe, supportive space for bloggers to learn, grow, and enjoy their online journey.”
Despite that, I believe she is someone to watch. She contributed a lot to the blogging community during 2010 and has the potential to do so again during 2011.
Lynn Fang
Lynn Fang has garnered a lot of attention for her minimalist/environmentalist blog, Upcycled Love. She has built her blog with interviews and DIY tutorials on how to follow a green-friendly lifestyle and still achieve your dreams. She also happens to be a pretty amazing designer, redesigning Sam Spurlin’s first ebook.
I believe Lynn is one to watch because she’s empowering her community to achieve social change. She has accomplished so much in a relatively short period of time and I’ll be intrigued to see how she develops her brand and website this year.
Tyler Tervooren
Tyler Tervooren shot to fame so quickly that I didn’t have time to watch him. Seriously. I’d heard his name, but he’s included here because so many people recommended him.
Tyler is the type of person that I want to be like. He has incredible plans, such accomplishing goals that only 1% of humanity ever does. He aims to promote better living through uncertainty, which is something that really resonates with me.
If you don’t like his blogging style, that’s cool. You can still learn a lot from him. He rocketed to 2000 subscribers in three months. He is extremely talented at word-of-mouth marketing and taking care of his community.
This sentiment is echoed in multiple niches. Jonathan Woodrush said that Tyler “released hands down one of the best free and useful e-books I’ve seen when it comes to quitting your job: Take This Job and Shove It.” I agree. His first information product, the Guerilla Influence Formula, is a must-read if you want to create a blog that people naturally want to talk about. I believe he’ll be raising the bar on his paid content this year.
Kelly Diels
Kelly is no stranger to the ProBlogger audience. She had a regular column early last year and impressed many with her unique writing style. She has become notable for her continuing popularity, as well as her incredible writing. Her authenticity and presence really shine through every time she posts, as does her love of helping others.
She has done a lot since her stint at ProBlogger. For example, she launched The League of Extraordinary Bloggers with Dave Doolin to help people rock their blogs and their copywriting.
I believe she is one to watch because of her raw talent. She hasn’t tried to take over the blogosphere like many of her caliber. Instead, she’s worked on growing Cleavage, and developing her audience. Her work ethic and blog savvy make her one to watch for a long time.
Robert Hickman
Robert Hickman suffers from Aspergers Syndrome and writes about giving your disability a kick in the you-know-what. His blog is new, but it challenges readers to reframe their thinking and leverage their problems to their own advantage.
I believe he is one to watch because he’s offering a unique perspective in an overcrowded niche. He is writing about how popular concepts, such as minimalism, can have a positive influence when it comes to managing a disability. He isn’t blogging to be the most popular, nor for the social proof; he is blogging out of pure motivation for his project. This makes him truly stand apart.
Everett Bogue
Everett Bogue carved a name for himself, and his blog Far Beyond the Stars, rather quickly in 2010. He become known as someone who was applying minimalist principles to his life, and business, and having great success. He quit his job at New York Magazine to pursue a minimalist, location-independent life and has turned his blog into a work of art.
He has some pretty heavy plans for his content in 2011. Topics include:
- mindfulness training for your digital self
- whether the Internet is a living/breathing entity that’s changing us more than we change it
- going beyond minimalism.
I’m not sure what to expect business-wise from him, other than a new ebook shipping early in February. I do know that he will be exploring some vital topics that most bloggers wouldn’t even think about. I believe he is destined to grow rapidly beyond his blog and become a thought leader in relation to the ways in which our digital selves interact with our physical selves.
Inspiring blogs
Sometimes you find a blog that just makes you feel good about yourself. It could be because the blogger is a creative genius. With others, they just inspire you to be a better person.
The following people are the ones that inspired me over the past year and will continue to do so in 2011.
Jess Van Den
Jess is a rising star in the Australian creative scene. She creates jewelry under the brand, Epheriell, but I believe her real talent is her blog. She intuitively understands how to develop a community surrounding her blog.
2010 saw her create a popular craft zine, Bespoke. She created Crafting A Business for those like her who were developing a business online. She also wrote the book Etsy Success Stories in addition to maintaining her own popular blog.
I think Jessica will really shine in 2011. This year has seen her set up the foundation for success. The crafting scene is built on community and it has been so inspired by watching Jess grow hers.
Nathalie Lussier
Nathalie is a tech-savvy wellness-minded entrepreneur who writes about the intersection of technology, health, and business. She shot to fame as the creator of Raw Foods Witch and has developed a brand as a successful entrepreneur in her own right.
Late in 2009, she chose the word “confidence” as the one that would guide her through 2010. The past year has seen her accomplish great things. She has spoken at many conferences, including a much-praised presentation at BlogWorld, and has launched her own business website.
Nathalie is one of the true hidden gems. She instinctively knows how to empower her audience and help people. I’m hoping that 2011 is the year where she combines her many talents to create a world-changing business.
Danielle Laporte
Danielle is one of my favorite discoveries this past year. She blogs at White Hot Truth and is a continual source of small business leadership and inspiration. Her blog is a guilty indulgence. Just check out her shop. She combines aesthetics with her artistic soul and incredible writing style. She rocked the year hard with her Firestarter Sessions product and shows no sign of slowing down in 2011.
Danielle made a number of huge decisions in 2010. She turned off comments on her blog to make room for her art. This caused a huge discussion and many successful bloggers have followed suit.
Danielle is on the cusp of greatness. This is fact. She is already extremely successful but she will be taking her work to a new level this year. She recently got (another) book deal. Every part of her blog and social media presence tells a story. I can’t wait to see what story she tells this year.
Natalie Peluso
The first half of 2010 saw Natalie rebrand herself a couple of times as she was discovering her blogging identity. She has a lot of success, such as the launch of Action Studio and the release of her Fearless Karaoke video—until she discovered that her true calling was helping creative entrepreneurs develop their presence.
She’ll be relaunching Action Studio early this year. Sources have told me that that’s just a taste of what’s to come. She has been working for a long time to get to her current level of success and, now that she’s found the right message, will enjoy rapid blog growth over the coming year.
Rachel Hills
Rachel is more than just a blogger—she is a journalist, author and “digital media professional.” I discovered her when she featured me in a newspaper article about getting paid to play. I was impressed with her industry knowledge, so I investigated further. I was impressed with what I found.
She is a successful blogger in her own right. Her blog, Musings of an Inappropriate Woman, is considered to be the best Australian feminist blog. Her posts aren’t as conversational as many bloggers, myself included, but I found myself drawn further and further into her archives. She is one of the rare journalists that have been able to carve a name for themselves in digital media while staying true to her writing style.
I think she is incredibly talented and will get up to great things this year. That may be impacted by her other commitments, such as her forthcoming book, but I’d love to see her profile grow in 2011.
Ashley Ambirge
Ashley has been described as one of the most unique and inspiring voices in the blogosphere. She’s truly in a class of her own with a writing style that leaves readers hanging on her every word and challenging them to think beyond where they’re at today.
She writes at the Middle Finger Project and has recently launched a new product: You Don’t Need A Job, You Need Guts. I love her content. My personal favorites are her Fear, Exposed series and her post The 67 Emotions of Online Success: My Story. She is one of the most unapologetically-herself bloggers out there right now, and loves both her life and audience.
I think she will be accomplishing great things in 2011. She has the audience and the raw talent. It will be interesting to see what direction she chooses to go in.
Willie Hewes
Willie Hewes is the freelance illustrator behind Itch Illustration. She is also a comic book publisher and launched the Monster Journals in August 2010. I started following her because I was a fan of her work, and because she was skilled at connecting with other bloggers.
Her main blog is Mad Science, where she blogs about mindfulness tactics for practical people. For those that are unfamiliar with the concept, mindfulness is a technique that is increasingly recognized as a useful way to reduce stress and anxiety. She takes a topic that is normally dry and technical, and makes it fun.
I love her because she has turned her blog and her work into an experience. Her friendly writing style and relationship marketing skills make it a pleasure to interact with her and her blog. I look forward to watching how she grows her business this year.
Catherine Caine
I hesitated about including Catherine on this list. She is a close friend and I’d been singing her praises for a while now. Then she launched her new site, Cash and Joy.
Catherine is an example of someone who evolved with her business, rather than her blog. She realized that why she loved the work she was doing at Be Awesome Online, the readers weren’t the type who could afford the services she’d been gravitating towards. She went on hiatus, restructured her current site (which included stopping a course mid-way), and then launched her current site. This is admirable because most people wouldn’t have the guts to launch something completely new or, if they did, they would have been torn between both brands.
I think she has barely started with her plans for Cash and Joy. She’s found her blogging groove and has gone past the struggling phase of her business. She has so much brilliance and a knack for helping people find their target audience. It will be interesting to see what she does on her own blog, and how she helps her clients achieve their potential.
David Crandall
David Crandall is a rising star in the blogosphere. In the short time since he started his blog, he’s become a master at building effective relationships. This year has seen him launch a product with Srinivas Rao titled How to Grow Your Blog Through Interviews and co-lead the first Customer Love challenge with LaVonne Ellis.
I believe that you guys can learn a lot from him. In addition to his relationship marketing skills, he is brilliant at polarization. When a good friend was recommending him, he said that he “has a unique voice on his current blog, Heroic Destiny, and loves unicorns and getting his hair done.” That’s referral marketing right there.
In 2011, he’ll be using his business intelligence skills to help bloggers transform knowledge into action. He’s recently launched Business Intelligence Badass and it will be interesting to see where that leads. He’s also worth watching to see how he leverages the relationships he’s worked so hard to build.
El Edwards
You probably haven’t heard of Eleanor Edwards. She is the founder of UK charity Give A Brick and the hostess of happiness at Heaven and El. Her personal blog has two goals: to make you smile and to support her charity efforts.
I love Eleanor because she isn’t out to be a super-famous blogger. She doesn’t want, or need, anyone’s attention to succeed. She blogs for the pure joy of it and genuinely cares about her readers. She is one of my favorite examples of someone who invests time in building her community rather than building her network.
From a networking perspective, this is the type of person you should emulate. Very busy, and important, people will make time for the friendly person cheering them on. During 2010, I watched her find her writing voice and purpose for her work. It will be fascinating to see where she takes her (accidental) relationship marketing efforts this year.
Which bloggers are you watching?
This list isn’t the definitive list—I accept that. We want to know which bloggers you’re watching, too! I’ll be writing about what’s going on in the ProBlogger community and would love to share your stories. You can contribute in the following ways:
- Create your own list of bloggers to watch. They will be included in a follow up post.
- Share specific bloggers you are watching. Go into as much detail as you like.
- Comment about how you would improve on the list format. Do you want more people? A certain type of information? Tell us and your suggestions may be included in future lists.
Pace and Kyeli rock!
Two more bloggesr to watch, I think, are Treacle at The Lingerie Addict and Bon at Idearella. You read it here first. :-)
Thanks, Jodi! And thanks for the recommendations!
Thanks for thinking of me, Jodi! :)
Loved reading the list and especially loved being able to see so many of the people I met at BlogWorld there too. I also discovered some great new people – thanks for branching out, I think you did a great job Jade!
I’m super honored to be included in the list, and look forward to lots of awesome bloggy-interaction. :)
Great list! I knew some of these, and most were totally new to me! I have a list of Eleven bloggers, I’d love to share with you. My focus was on the very populated “mommy bloggers”- I highlighted the ones I believe are up and commers:)
http://milkandcuddles.com/2010/12/eleven-bloggers-to-watch-in-2011/
You missed me off the list! ;)
Tina Su from Think Simple Now http://thinksimplenow.com/ is also an excellent blog to follow.
Lovely list of bloggers… a few I don’t know. I will have to check them out. Thanks for putting this list together Jade and congrats to all the bloggers. :)
Hi,
I had NEVER expected to find this kind of article on Problogger.com, never!
40 thumbs up for this beautiful article!
I am glad you included Lynn Terry, because she is a wonderful person and to me, she is one of the sharpest and very rare true experts in Internet Marketing, who has helped a very big number of starting marketers morally, and technically.
I will be very happy to discover all these great 39 people too : )
So thank you again Jade Craven, and also Darren Rose for this special tuch.
I wish you the best for 2011!
Friendly,
SSG
Thank you so much for this lovely comment :-) It made my week.
I’m a big fan of The Life Uncommon–Nacie Carson is super genuine, insightful and thought provoking. One of the few blogs I always return to! http://Www.thelifeuncommon.net
Congrats to all of those chosen. I don’t envy you the task of trying to narrow the list down. There are so many to choose from — and so much talent that it’s impossible to keep up!
I would like to give kudos to two of my dear friends on the list: Lynn Terry & Pat Flynn. Both great PEOPLE, as well as great bloggers.
It was rather difficult. I know I probably hurt some feelings by not including all the people I wanted. I tried to focus on quality, sincere people so that I could encourage other bloggers to be like them. I guess that makes me weird :)
People to watch: yes, I know a few :)
Stanford Smith @pushingsocial: http://www.pushingsocial.com – Posts about Blogging, Social Media
Jeff Wilson @jeffthesensei: http://themountaintop.ca – Marketing Analysis, some Social Media
Suzanne Vara @suzannevara: http://kherize5.com/blog – Marketing, Advertising, SoMe
Dawn Westerberg @dwesterberg: http://www.dawnwesterberg.com – Marketing, Not-for-profits
Tristan Bishop @knowledgebishop: http://www.tristanbishop.com – Technical Writing, customer service
Chanelle Schneider @WriterChanelle: http://www.officialtherefromhere.com/blog/ – Gen Y blogger
Fadra Nally @allthingsfadra: http://allthingsfadra.com/ Mommy Blogger
Maya Paveza @mayaREguru: http://www.mayareguru.com – Real Estate
Thank you very much for the recommendations! I suspect they will keep me busy for a while :)
Awww. Thank you, Margie!
Thank goodness for Google Alerts or else I would never know how Margie spreads her goodness all over the place. Thanks MARGIE!!!
Jade,
It’s taken me two days to really digest how great this list really is. I have been thinking a lot about how to broaden my circle to include diverse voices; this post has given me a jumpstart. Bravo!
P.S. One up-and-coming blogger that I would love to see featured is Margie Clayman @MargieClayman. She brings her very best every single day.
:) To broaden your circle? Find another niche, then find the person at the top. Look at people like Jess Van Den and Rachel Hill. Not at the top of their niches but are incredibly smart and understand the inner workings. It’s a way to learn more things and get out of the social media echo chamber.
I’m watching and reading, Tabitha Paculba from WellJourn (www.welljourn.org). She writes about health, nutrition and fitness and she is absolutely brilliant!
Thanks for a fantastic article! I have found many new blogs to inspire and challenge me. Being so new to the whole blogging “thing” it is great to see so many other people bringing their uniqueness to the world.
Oh! OH! Call on me! I’ve got a blogger I want to tell you about!
Ande Waggener has not one but two really awesome blogs. She’s all about being in the moment – and living it fully and finding the best in those moments. Even when the moment is crap – she helps you find ways to find the silver lining or to look at it in a different way so it doesn’t feel so much like crap anymore.
One of her blogs is http://upfromsplat.com – she’s got really cool videos and free ebooks and a great message of where to go when you’ve hit bottom (ie when you’ve splatted). The blog is extremely inspiring and Ande’s a great writer. She’s a published author and it’s obvious writing is her passion – along with helping people bounce back from life’s low points.
The other blog is http://thejoyfulspringer.com – this one is awesome because it combines something that most people love – pets/animals with great insights on how to live life in the most joyful way possible. Our pets are the teachers in this blog and it’s so fun and inspiring – and really freakin’ cute too.
Wow – thanks for the enthusiastic recommendation! :) Really appreciated.
Thank you for this list…it is going to keep me busy all weekend!
I am a true fan of Corbett Barr : He is working for two blogs : Free pursuit, was very recently renamed with his own name : http://www.corbettbarr.com/ and think traffic, which is helping me growing my audience : http://thinktraffic.net/…
Whoa, didn’t expect to find myself on a list like this! You know, I look forward to watching how I grow my biz this year, too, because I have *no* idea! Ha ha, I kid. I do have a cunning plan or two. Thanks so much for the vote of confidence!
I’m honoured to be included, and will spend some time checking out my fellow watch-worthy bloggers. I know so very few of them! Time to get exploring, I think.
I think writers should follow Ollin Morales, the author of Courage to Create (http://ollinmorales.wordpress.com/). He does make a lot of sense.
I am happy to see this list, for my surprise only DailyBlogTips I know rest of blogs are new for me. getting mentioned of Problogger is a proud thing for every blogger. I wish I also will be here a day.
http://www.thecourage2create.com is also worth following. Guy’s name is Ollin Morales. Blogs about his life, his writing. He inspires and informs in equal measure. Please check it out.
that’s an impressive list not know many of them, bookmarked this page
you missed out Anna Hoffman of Traffic generationcafe and Branika
I am watching these bloggers: http://aviva-model.blogspot.com/2011/01/avivas-list-of-top-15-fashion-blogs.html They are all fashion bloggers.
Also, there is a guy who wrote the blog called Christian Personal Finance, and it has a lot of wonderful and very informative posts.
Jade, what a surprise to be included here. Thank you for this and for all you do to connect people. I’m currently living a life that’s about 98% offline and am loving that, but there are a couple of blogs I’m stuck to like glue: Larry Brooks of http://storyfix.com and Holly Lisle of http://hollylisle.com. They’re both blogging for fiction writers but are watch-worthy for all because of how they artfully blend posts, products, and passion to create loyal fans.
Great list- so many people to look up! I really am pleased to see that there are just as many women bloggers as men. Where do I even start?
Great List Jade.
I have picked a few of my favourites with a twist – they all have ecourses. You can find it al
http://coursesthatmatter.com/2011/01/bloggers-to-watch-ecourse-edition
Some similar names popped up
Ainslie
Thanks for the mention. I was wondering why I got 100+ subscribers overnight! And thanks even more for the not-unfavourable comparison to Matt Gartland’s writing style – he’s much more poetic than your average Joe and a great target to aspire to. I try ;-)
This is fantastic stuff right here. I am french and sometimes i struggle finding interesting not-too-much-famous bloggers to follow.
Here you just made my day :-)
Thanks a lot.
I’m glad Jaime is at the top of the list and representing the Yakezie Network!
Cheers, Sam
Thanks Jade! I’m pretty new to the blogging world – I just started my blog about 1,5 months ago – I do LOVE it though – and I love your list so I can find some new treasures. Here are the blogs that I find to be highly addicting:
http://www.hookedonhouses.net/
http://www.thenester.com/
http://www.smallnotebook.org/
http://www.mademoisellerobot.com/
What a great list Jade!
So many great bloggers on here like Jordan, El, Henri and Pat.
Can’t wait to go and check out the names that I’ve not come across yet.
You definitely need to be watching Paul Overton! He has been running the wonderfully eclectic and accessible DudeCraft blog (http://www.dudecraft.com/) for several years now. It’s filled with inspiring crafts and periodic DIY project from Paul himself. And now recently he started a new blog called Every Day is Awesome (http://everydayisawesome.com/) where he is writing 500 or so words every day on the things that are truly important in life. In addition he’s added a weekly podcast of 10 Minutes of Awesome to accompany the blog. Paul not only pumps out tons of positive creative energy into the world, but he’s developed a great rapport with his readers encouraging deep thinking and heady conversation on important topics as a great antidote to the negative news and pointless gossip that can bog down so much of the internet!
I don’t see any garden bloggers mentioned. It seems like we are a big group on the inside, but on the outside, from your vantage point, I guess we fly under the radar.
I am the author of this post. I’m going to avoid talking about why I chose the people that I did, but I’m a gardener. I explore the garden blogging niche. It wasn’t flying under the radar, it’s just it is illogical to try and find people to cover every hobby or interest. I tried to find people that would be able to help many.
You could write your own list, which would then be featured in a round up post here :-)
Great List.
I Will Follow All The Blogs.
Really Nice Info.
And I Also Watching ProBlogger.
i love love love — http://lilmagoolie.com/. maddies blog is great :)
I am honored to be mentioned in this list, thank you very much Jade. Lots of new names to check out too.
One blog that I really enjoy reading is Journeys With Autism by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg (http://www.journeyswithautism.com/). She, like me, is able to see the positive sides of the condition and knows how to make use of them.
Hi Darren.
Again a great list of upcoming bloggers to watch.
As I did last year, I followed up on your challenge.
Here is my list of:
Social Media and Hotel Bloggers to watch in 2011
Cheers.. Are :)
LOL I had a huge crush on Wil when he was on Star Trek.
Nice list. Thanks for sharing!
Lynn Terry and Pat Flynn are two of my faves. They provide great content without the hype…and they really care about the people in their community.
You’ve got to be kidding!
The top 40 bloggers to look out for in 2011!
Am I supposed to pick 1…2….3…10…20…all of them?
How can anyone find the time to ‘follow’ other people anyway?
And they all have something compelling to say? Right?
Wrong! Maybe a few. but all of them?
Hate to burst the bubble here but most of these bloggers talk about themselves or their ‘secrets’ to blogging, making money by blogging or what they’ve been doing, thinking and feeling and quite frankly, it all seems like a tremendous waste of [unfocussed] time….
…and I can hear you all screaming…”Then don’t come here! Don’t bother!” etc etc. But I do and I want to. I want to read what other people think about. I want to know what’s important to them; what they believe in…what matters in their world.
But what I’ve found is a world of self-centred-egomaniacs.
“Look at me. Here I am. Check this out. Did you know? Here’s something for you. Listen to this. Buy it now.”
Blah, blah, blah….and on and on it goes.
What I’ve noticed is that subjects change rapidly. No sooner has a blogger finished one article that they write another…spitting them out like a fire hose.
I was raised by parents who were incredibly interesting. They could discuss everything from the smallest sub-atomic particle, to the mightiest system of stars. They were very engaging and interesting individuals.
The difference between them and today’s legion of bloggers, is that my parents knew what they were talking about! You could trust their knowledge and understanding of a subject. They could fill in the blanks. They could help you to see the bigger picture. They could mentally entertain you, keep you interested and focussed, would challenge your point of view, broaden your thinking and perspective and provide you invaluable feedback.
Whereas blogging is pretty much a one-way street.
A conversation with the self, shared with others who occasionally contribute to a point and then quickly move on.
Not much more than that. Not really contributing to the greater picture. More like static amongst the noise.
So common bloggers! Stick to the point. Master it! Entertain us. Get us involved.
Otherwise it’s all a complete waste of time as I’m sure many will find out in 5 years time (maybe less).
My advice? Start at the very bottom of the list. ;)
hey congrates! but you do deserve and you should be a the top
Awww thanks Cathy :-) But it’s not a numbered list (says she in 40th place lol)
Congratulations El!
I expect big things from you this year, which is why i’ve put you on my 24 bloggers to watch in 2011 too:
http://bigredtomatocompany.co.uk/inspiration/24-blogs-to-watch-in-2011/
Cheers!
Matthew
Thanks Matthew. My reply to that comment was very tongue in cheek but thank you :-)
Like Jade here, you have a great list of company for me to keep in your list too. Appreciate it very much. :-)
Ha ha E! You’re just too funny! DreamCatcher eh? Sounds similar to a ‘concept thief?
For your interest 99% of all blogs are only ever read by the author!
TFD
I’ve bookmarked this list so that I can take some time to go back through it. There are a lot of names on this list, so I look forward to checking out these bloggers!
40 bloggers to watch ???
it sounds imposibble for me to watch them all. But, it could be a good reference to learn more about blogging.
and, I add one that is problogger :)
What a great list in so many different industries! And who says blogging is dead?
I went through your reviews and then surfed some of the blogs and I found your reviews quite candid and imaginative. May be someday my blogs also becomes worthy of your review.
Quite an impressive list of very talented people.
That’s one heck of a list. I’d make sure I pick up 5 bloggers daily from this list and check their sites. Btw, you could have put up Amit Agarwal of Labnol fame here as well.
40 Bloggers to watch in 2011 is an inviting headline but only if it is followed up with an article of substance. Most editors would tear into this piece for being too broad and unqualified.
What is the reader has never heard of BlogWorld?
Is it a live event?
Where does this event take place?
What time of year?
Surely if you want your reader to take your opinion seriously and read your long article, you need to qualify and explain the context much better. I’m presuming that this event takes place in the USA but that in itself does not make Blog World a note worthy event. The are many great bloggers outside of the USA who either have never heard of this event or can not afford airline tickets to America.
I lived in the US (the Washington DC area) for 13 years. In media terms it does (perhaps because of its size) tend to over report on the US whilst neglecting the rest of the world except for natural disasters and wars.
I suggest this article would be greatly improved if it had catagories. This may also help focus your mind to not pick so many self-help and sel-fproclaimed experts.
My own food blog gets an average of 3,600 vistors a day (8,000) page views. I began my little blog in February 2006 because I was writing a weekly recipe column for an British Sunday. Since that time it has received over 9,500,000 page views. I only began monitoring visitors number seriously in September 2008 and since that time my live counter has past 1,326,252. There are lots of better blogs than mine that also deserve mention in any list of 40 blogs to watch in 2011.
Do more research on the web and rely less on networkers you met at a Bloggers bash.
^^ Wow, is this guy serious?
@David: do you bet he is? ^^”
@Kevin! I suggest you re-read the article from the top, and do some search on Google whenever there is something you didn’t hear about
Did you just realize that you are commenting on the top best most respected blogs in the whole world, and maybe in the universe? Lol seriously, Problogger.net is certainly the Number One blog for professional blogging, and there must be a reason for that : )
Consider that before… ^^”
Friendly,
SSG
@Kevin: I recommend also that you read copyblogger.com
Problogger.net and Copyblogger.com are the two greatest references when it comes to blogging expertise.
You just need to read more frequently.
See you!
SSG
Aww, bless.
Intriguing list. I just subscribed to a bunch of them, placed them in my RSS “new” category and time will tell if they move to my more regular categories or if I toss them to future social proof.
The thing that bugs me about blogs (including this one, come to think of it) is when I don’t have an option to participate in a conversation with the blogger and other commenters. Where’s the option to subscribe to comments? As I write this, I’ll never know if anyone replies directly to me or if any future comments are placed. Sigh.
Not sure if you’ll see this Ari but the ‘Subscribe to comments’ plugin negates all your worries. But you know that already don’t you? ;-)
We love having lists to play with – so thanks for this one. :)
Did a bit of baseline analysis, and am really interested to see where these blogs go in a year in terms of growth and engagement. Especially since a number of them collaborate. I suspect this is potentially a much more valuable approach than competition. :)
Also really cool to see that this year’s cohort is a bit more diverse and more up and coming than last year’s group.
http://blog.postrank.com/2011/01/probloggers-40-bloggers-to-watch-in-2011/
This list just led me on a several-hours-long reading spree which has been really inspiriting. It’s great to know that these voices are available to connect with. A list to watch, certainly, and one to be grateful for.
Thanks for sharing…
Great post! Being new to the blogging world, we will definitely check these blogs out!