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10 Sites that will make you a better Blogger

Posted 30 Nov 2009 - 2 Gratefully received comments

This is another first for my blog, that’s 2 in a week. I ran my first competition last Thursday, and now I present to you my first list article.

I’ve been running my blog for almost six months now and felt that it might be helpful to others if I share the sites that have helped me through that time.
A few of the sites have helped me directly, some of the sites I admire and hold up as examples of how blogging ‘should be done’, and others are helpful resources.

I can’t imagine there are a lot of people reading this that aren’t aware of David. I guess he doesn’t need a mention from me to boost his traffic, but I’m including him in my list because he has been kind enough to drop by and have a look at my site, and he took the time to cast his eye over one of my articles.
David’s blog is an example of how it should be done. He has created a sense of community and devotes a lot of time to interacting with his readers. As with most blogs content is king and this blog is a good example of that principle.
Here are a few of David’s articles I’ve found helpful:
My top 7 blog mistakes to avoid
6 tips to improve your blog articles
Top 50 graphic design blogs

The guys over at Tutorial 9 gave me my first big spike in traffic by including one of my posts in their July: Creative Bookmarks. That article was titled ‘how to get out of a creative rut‘, and it is still my most popular article to date.
This site is a great resource for tutorials and advisory articles.
Here are a few Articles from Tut 9 that I’ve found helpful:
Secure Your Spot as the “Go-To” Blog
How Often Should You Really Post?
Creative Bookmarks: Best of July 2009

This may not be a blog site, but this forum certainly helped me to get my blog going, in fact they helped me develop the design of my site. It’s a perfect place to get a sense of what other designers out there want to know, so it gets my mind thinking about the sort of articles to write.
There is talk of a DF blog in the works, which I think will be a great thing.
I’m not going to give you a list of links, I’d advise searching through the forums yourself, most threads will either inform you or make you smile, a lot of them do both.

David Pache maintains a great blog called Helvetic Brands. He asked me if I would like my logo to be part of his ‘Brands of Interest’ posts, where he explores how people brand themselves.
This is a great example of a visually simple but interesting blog design. The content is presented in a similar manner.
Here are a few articles form Helvetic Brands I’ve found helpful:
An Interview with David Pache
Troove logo design process
100 Brands of Interest III

Creative Boom is a magazine style blog that spans a wide range of disciplines. I’ve recently discovered this site, but love what they are doing. It all feels very friendly and welcoming, and they are genuinely interested in what creative people are doing with themselves. They offer themselves as a platform for other creatives to shout about themselves a bit.
Here are a few articles form Creative Boom I’ve found helpful:
Creative Boom LookBook
Gallery – ‘Spooky and Dark’
Creative Boom Hubs directory

Drawn is a wonderful Cartoon & illustration blog. It’s more inspirational than informative, but it did give me the idea of creating my Blog Comic Strip. It’s always excellent value for a bit of eye candy.
I haven’t got any specific links to offer you, but it’s probably best to discover the gems yourself.

Eric Karjaluoto keeps one of the most thought provoking blogs that I frequent. He has very strong opinions of design and business issues. It doesn’t matter if you agree with his musings or not, it will stimulate your thinking.
Here are a few articles form Ideasonideas I’ve found helpful:
The Content Delusion
The problem with AdSense
Building a design studio

An excellent resource that covers so much more than blogging, but it is the blogging posts that I have found most helpful. The writing is short, informative and to the point. They make things that seem like a bit of a task a lot simpler with their advice. I’ve just discovered the tip of their iceberg and I look forward to exploring more.
Here are a few articles form Bit Rebels I’ve found helpful:
10 Post Ideas To Give Your Blog A Boost
How To | Promote your Blog
5 Reasons To Smile When You Get A Negative Blog Comment

Problogger is an excellent resources for the budding blogger. There is a wealth of practical and sensible information that will answer most questions you might have about writing for yourself and others.
Here are a few articles form Problogger I’ve found helpful:
Why Nobody Cares About Your Blog
8 Reasons Why Lists are Good for Getting Traffic to your Blog
How I’d Promote My Blog If I Were Starting Out Again

Freelance Switch is another information heavy site that I have found very useful. Much like Problogger there are articles here that will answer a lot of questions that come up when building a blog. Freelance Switch comes at it all from a slightly different angle, which is refreshing and of benefit to freelancers.
Here are a few articles form Freelance Switch I’ve found helpful:
Freelancers: Here’s Why You Need a Blog
Leveraging Your Blog to Promote Your Services
50 Ways for Writers to Find Article Ideas

I hope you find these resources as helpful as I have.
Let me know if you would like a few more link posts from my blog, and I’ll try to oblige.

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