Is your blog also your business?
Or do you want it to be?
Whether your blog is a profitable side hustle or your full-time gig, chances are you’re serious about your blog and its future.
Making the mindset shift from blog to business can make a huge difference in your motivation, clarity, and future success.
Once you think of your blog as a business, you change the way you make decisions like which brands to partner with, how to plan and create content, and how to use marketing and social media effectively.
To help you grow your blog into a thriving business, here are 25 of the best small business blogs to read this year — plus five blogs from influential business leaders that you won’t want to miss.
Contents
25 of the Best Business Blogs Right Now
1. HubSpot
A great place to kick off our list of the best business blogs: HubSpot.
HubSpot is well known for its inbound marketing solutions, favored by agencies and brands for their all-in-one solutions for digital marketing.
The HubSpot blog has tons of resources for business owners who want to learn more about inbound marketing, sales, and online business.
To help you navigate the world of marketing, here’s one of their most popular posts — their dictionary of marketing terms.
2. Buffer
The Buffer blog has long been a source of information, theory, and practical tips for marketers and business owners.
Known for their social media solution, the team at Buffer created a blog (now one of several) to share insights and advice with others.
For a practical guide to help you reach more business owners, here’s Buffer’s guide to LinkedIn marketing.
3. Smart Passive Income
Smart Passive Income is a popular and highly regarded blog and podcast, created by Pat Flynn, that’s dedicated to inspiring and supporting people to create passive income for their business or blog.
If this is a route you want to take with your blog, you’ll want to check out Pat’s guide to how to make passive income online through three different business models.
4. Social Media Examiner
As bloggers we know how important social media marketing is, and how using it the right way can transform your success.
Social Media Examiner is a brilliant resource for social media news, trends, insights, and tips.
If you want to work with brands or run giveaways of your products or services, their blog post on how to do an Instagram giveaway is really helpful.
5. Tradecraft by ConverKit
We’ve reviewed ConvertKit’s email marketing service before, but another area they’re great in is their blog for creators — Tradecraft.
The blog takes on a magazine format, with each issue tackling a topic or issue about business or marketing.
If you want to plan events in the future, like a hands-on workshop for your DIY blog readers, their issue on event planning for creators is perfect for you.
6. MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs is a destination for a wealth of articles and features about marketing, but also about business, customer service, sales, and design.
Their recent piece on the power of micro-influencers features some encouraging tips for new bloggers, as brands start to work with bloggers with smaller audiences and better engagement.
7. LeadPages
LeadPages is a popular landing page tool, which can be handy if you want to launch a product or offer on your blog.
In addition to their software, LeadPages also publishes a regular blog that features success stories, business tips, and online marketing advice.
If you want to build a landing page for an upcoming promotion, head to their feature on creative landing page examples to get inspired.
8. Sumo Blog
Another great resource for online marketing news and advice is the Sumo blog.
Here you’ll find product updates and case studies for Sumo’s range of marketing tools, but also insights and tips for business owners and bloggers.
This article on an innovative ecommerce influencer marketing strategy is a great read, and something you could try and pitch to brands instead of a sponsored post or shoutout on your social media.
9. Startups.co
The Startups.co blog is an amazing resource for startup business owners, but it’s also full of motivation, inspiration, and practical advice for bloggers too.
After all, your blog is your business.
If you want to launch a product in the future, like a makeup bag collection for your beauty blog, their guide to crowdfunding can help you figure out if it’s a funding option for you.
10. Wistia
Wistia offers a video marketing solution for business owners and marketing teams, but they also host a blog full of video marketing tips and tricks.
If you want to create video content for your blog or social media channels, it’s worth a read.
A great place to start is Wistia’s guide on how to create square videos for social media.
11. Quick Sprout
The Quick Sprout blog is an archive of content and features written by Neil Patel, all about online marketing, SEO, blogging, and marketing automation.
There’s lots of useful content here for business owners and bloggers.
For an insight into how to grow a following on Instagram, check out their post on how to build a 25K Instagram following using this daily routine.
12. Entrepreneurs on Fire
Entrepreneurs on Fire is an award-winning podcast and blog by entrepreneur John Lee Dumas.
Every week, the podcast features an interview with an entrepreneur that’s full of inspiration and strategy.
On the blog you’ll find links to listen to the podcast with transcripts, as well as monthly income reports — a source of motivation, ideas for income-generating activities, and business tips.
13. Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur features a wealth of articles for business owners, including business news, interviews, trends, and more.
There’s also dedicated sections for women entrepreneurs and business owners in the green living space.
For many bloggers, Instagram is a must-have social media channel, so why not check out their article on how to turn your Instagram into a revenue-generating machine?
14. Convince and Convert
Convince and Convert is rated as the top content marketing blog by the Content Marketing Institute, so it’s become a go-to for business owners and bloggers who want to improve their content creation and distribution.
If you want to build or develop your email list, their post on 5 ways to make your emails more awesome is a great read.
15. DIY Marketers
Unlike larger businesses, as a blogger it might be a while before you can hire your own social media manager or marketing manager.
That’s why resources like DIY marketers are so useful.
Here you can learn more about marketing tools and techniques, to help get your blog in front of the right readers.
To help you improve and refresh existing blog posts, check out their guide on how to update an old post.
16. Copyblogger
As bloggers, what we write about and how we write can make a huge difference in our success.
Blogs like Copyblogger are excellent resources to help business owners learn more about copywriting and content writing techniques, so you can improve your blog content.
If you find that typos are creeping into your blog posts, this article on proofreading tips will help you fix them in no time.
17. Teachable
Teachable is one of the leading online course creation tools out there, so if you want to create and sell an online course alongside your blog it’s one to watch.
The Teachable blog is a resource for not only course creation tips, but business growth and strategy too.
If your blog is your side hustle, here’s a great feature on how to balance a side hustle alongside a full time job.
18. Moz
If you know how to optimize your blog content for search engines, you’ll be ahead of the competition when it comes to attracting traffic and readers.
The Moz blog is a fantastic place to learn about search engine optimization (SEO) and how to apply it to your blog.
This recent guide on how to write meta descriptions will help you optimize your blog posts better.
19. CreativeLive
The CreativeLive blog is a destination for creative business owners, like photographers, designers, and bloggers.
Here you’ll find tips and ideas to help you grow your creative business.
If you plan to develop a podcast to complement your blog, their article on how to make money podcasting is a good read.
20. Both Sides of the Table
Both Sides of the Table is a blog from entrepreneur-turned-investor Mark Suster, who is now a Venture Capitalist at UpfrontVC.
The blog features insights into the worlds of entrepreneurship and venture capitalism.
Most blogs start small, but if your plans are big and you want to look for investment at some point, here’s Mark’s guide on things every founder should know.
21. Bplans
Bplans is a great resource for all things business planning, which is a skill that comes in handy if you want to grow your business into a blog or apply for investment.
The Bplans blog is also a resource for tips on starting and running a business, including market research and business strategy.
If you don’t have a business plan for your blog yet, this guide will help you learn more about business plans and how to write one.
22. Duct Tape Marketing
Duct Tape Marketing focus on effective, simple, and affordable marketing for small business owners.
The blog has become a go-to for small business owners to find out more about marketing, tools, SEO, social media, and more.
Their article on how to get mileage out of old content should inspire you to revisit some of your older blog posts and revamp them for more impact.
23. Smart Hustle
The Smart Hustle blog is a great resource for business owners, especially for motivational content.
The blog features interviews with entrepreneurs, business advice, and video content from events and conferences.
This video interview with Marie Forleo features tips on how to maximize productivity, a must-watch for bloggers who struggle to stay focused.
24. Help Scout
Help Scout is a helpdesk software designed to help teams and businesses deliver an effective customer experience.
As you grow your blog, a tool like this could become useful — especially if you launch an online course or product.
Even if you don’t, their blog is full of useful content.
If you work on collaborations or sponsored content with brands, you’ll be familiar with the awkward dance when negotiating a deal.
Here’s a piece on the art of negotiation, with tips on how to approach it to get the result you want.
25. OptIn Monster
Many bloggers use tools to help them grow their email lists, which is where OptIn Monster can help.
Their opt-in forms can help you capture your readers’ attention and encourage them to join your email list, also known as conversion optimization.
The OptIn Monster blog is well worth a read if you want to grow your subscriber list this year.
In fact, a great place to start is their blog post on 12 easy ways to build your email list right now.
5 Influential Business Leaders to Follow
As well as corporate or business-led blogs, blogs from top entrepreneurs and business leaders can be a powerful resource for motivation and inspiration.
Here are five of our favorite business blogs from leaders and influencers in the worlds of business, marketing, and startups.
1. Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most popular business leaders on social media in 2018, thanks to his approach to social media and insights on how to build a personal brand.
As the chairman of a media company, and CEO of an advertising agency, his blog features a wealth of information, motivation, and business gold for business owners, bloggers, and content creators.
For a powerful, practical guide on how to create and distribute social media content for your blog, you’ll want to check out this slide deck.
2. Neil Patel
Neil Patel is an entrepreneur, investor, and influencer, and is well-known for his Marketing School podcast with Eric Siu.
On his blog you’ll find podcast episodes and insights on SEO and business.
After writing over 4,000 blog posts, Neil Patel shares his advice on what he’d do differently.
3. Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is a sought-after keynote speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and consultant.
Over on his blog he shares useful advice on marketing and business, with insights from his experience in consultancy.
This feature on the importance of the subject line and blog content is useful, especially if you want to attract more people to stay on your blog for longer.
4. Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss is an entrepreneur, author of the Four Hour Work Week, and podcast host of The Tim Ferriss Show.
His blog features transcripts from the podcast, as well as great content for business owners.
5. Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an American marketing expert, author, course creator, speaker, and writer — with his blog being ranked as one of the most popular in the world.
Seth’s blog is uniquely interesting, and well worth reading.
For a journey into where ideas come from, here’s one of Seth’s most popular blog posts.
How to Find Even More Inspiration
This collection of blogs by entrepreneurs, influencers in thought leadership, and experts is a great place to start if you need inspiration, motivation, or business knowhow for your blog.
As well as the leaders on our list, search for your favorite thought leaders online — it’s likely they have a blog or post long-form social media or video content that can act as a motivator for you too.
Realize Your Blog’s Potential
We hope you’ve found this list of the best business blogs for bloggers useful, and a source of practical advice and tips to help you think of your blog as a business.
Here at StartABlog123 we want to help you start and grow a profitable blog.
We focus on bringing you content that’s informative, with real life examples and tips to help you grow and monetize your blog.
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