There are a lot of blogs out there: 10,863 blogs that focus on small business are registered on Technorati (big surprise-the ones at the top of the list are marketing- and social media-specific). Finding the ones that provide useful and relevant information is hard. I used a list that Inc. Magazine published last year of the 19 Blogs You Should Bookmark Right Now as a jumping-off point. In no specific order of preference, here's what a currently read:
Convince and Convert. Written by social media coach, consultant, author, and frequent speaker Jay Baer, Convince and Convert focuses on social media. The blog provides a social media insider's point of view (he's been in digital marketing for over 10 years) and is always insightful.
ProBloggger. If you'd like to become a better blogger and even learn how to make money off of your blog, this is the blog for you. It is written by Darren Rowse, whose posts provide tips to help you improve your blogging skills, figure out how to monetize your blog, and just promote the blogging medium in general.
Seth Godin's Blog. Seth is a prolific author, blogger, sought-after speaker, and thought leader. His blog is the grand-daddy of all must-read blogs for anyone in business, whether they are a small business owner or CEO of a Fortune 500 company. If you only subscribe to one blog, make it this one.
Traffikd. With a focus on internet marketing and social media, this blog, run by blogger Steven Snell, offers practical, relevant information that small business owners can apply to their online marketing efforts. It's a new one for me, and so far I'm really enjoying it.
Social Media Examiner. Though it's technically an online magazine, Social Media Examiner offers detailed hands-on tutorials on how to best use the various social media platforms to find leads, increase sales, and generate brand awareness. I have a learned a lot from them.
HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog. This blog is a fabulous resource for information on a variety of marketing-related topics, including SEO, blogging, social media, landing pages, lead generation, and analytics.
Ben Casnocha. I first learned about Ben when I wrote a blog post based on his book, My Start-Up Life, in August. Ben started his first company at age 12 and was chairman of his second company, Comcate, at 16 (he's 22 now). His blog is unusual and thought-provoking, which is why I love it so much-he writes about entrepreneurship, ideas, current affairs, and intellectual life.