My 50 favorite blogging resources

There are thousands of blogging related resources on the Internet which can create an overwhelming experience for anyone looking to get into blogging. Because of this I created a list of blogging resources that I use on a regular basis. Here is a list of 50 blogging resources that can be helpful to any individual and corporation looking to get into blogging or wanting to learn more about it.

Blogs/Articles
Blogs are great resources for up-to-date information on blogging. Here is a list of blogs and articles that are worth reading.

Introduction to Blogging
Problogger - A blog that helps bloggers to add income streams to their blogs.
Copyblogger - Copywriting tips for your blog.
21 Surefire Tips for a Successful Blog Launch
Scobleizer - Robert Scoble's blog, one of the authors of Naked Conversations.
5 Quick and Easy Ways To Stop Blog Spam Before It Hits Your Blog - Shoe Money breaks down how to fight spam before it hits.
10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog
Writing for the Web - Detailed 6 page pdf that covers writing for the web.
10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work - So, you're seeing too many of those "how to" and list headlines, and want to try a few different angles? Let's move beyond those common headline formulas you see over and over, and add some new blood to your attention-grabbing arsenal.
7 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates That Work
Tips to Better Blogging
Structured Blogging - Structured Blogging is all about giving bloggers the tools to create and syndicate structured information, such as reviews and events.
Blogging Pro - News, plugins and themes for blogging applications.

Blogging Platforms
There are many different blogging platforms that you can choose from. Some are hosted while others are not; here are some that are worth looking into.

WordPress
Blogger
Movable Type
TypePad
Vox
LiveJournal
Text Pattern
Boast Machine
Blog.com
B2evolution
pMachine

Design/Templates
One of the most important things about a blog is the way it looks. Whether you are looking to design your own blog or use a free template, here are some articles that will help guide you in the right direction.

Weblog Usability - Top 10 blog design mistakes.
Blog Tutorial - Tips for blog templates & blog design in Photoshop.
Blog Interface Design 2.0
WordPress Theme Browser - Free WordPress themes for your blog.
Comprehensive list of 980+ Free WordPress 1.5 and 2.0 Themes / Templates available for download
Blog Layout Styles - List of free blog designs for Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, and MySpce.
Blog Credibility and Blog Design - How the design of a blog affects credibility.

Marketing
You can have the best blog in the world, but if no one knows about it what's the point of even blogging. Here are some marketing techniques that you can use to help increase your blogs popularity.

21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic
WordPress and SEO - Step by step guide to optimizing your WordPress blog for search engines.
How To Build Traffic To Your Blog
Building blog traffic for newbies
How To: Boost Your Blog Traffic - Many first time bloggers automatically assume that once their blog is setup and they put a few posts on it, they will get some hits and regular readers. This is quite untrue. You won't get any traffic if no one knows about your website.
Search Engine Optimization For Blogs
Blog Directory - Directory filled with blogs, a great way to improve your link popularity.
Ping-o-Matic - Free service that pings blog search engines.

Corporate Blogging
Blogging was once something that people did for fun, but because the blogosphere can spread news like a wildfire corporations are starting to catch on. If you are interested in starting or improving on your corporate blog, here are some helpful articles.

Corporate Blogging Overview - Wikipedia entry on corporate blogging.
Internal Corporate Blogging
Corporate Blogging - Facts, news, interviews and discussion on corporate and business blogging.
Corporate Blogging: Is it really worth the hype? - Detailed 72 page PDF file that covers everything on corporate blogging.
Seven rules for corporate blogging
Six Tips for Corporate Bloggers - Business Week breaks down 6 things that corporate blogs must do to be successful.

Books
If you are looking to learn more about blogging and prefer reading a book or two, here are some books to consider reading.

The Corporate Blogging - A book that discusses everything you need to know to get it right.
Naked Conversations - How blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers.
The Rough Guide to Blogging
No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog
Blogging for Business - Everything you need to know and why you should care.

Enjoy the post? Here are some more that may interest you.

Mac's Money Blog, November 17, 2006: “This week’s reading” — We are starting off with some good stuff over at Pronet Advertising. Neil has a post on his 50 favorite resources for blogging. A must read for anyone serious about blogging. MyMoneyBlog has a list of free financial tools. I know I’ll be check...

Sid, November 13, 2006

The resources listed are very well categorized.

Since I am planning to start blogging professionally I found it very useful. I appreciate your effort.

Cheers!

John Larousseau, November 13, 2006

Here's another one that I just read for your list:

The Dirty Dozen: 12 Suggestions For Making Your Mark In The Blogosphere

Debbie Weil, November 13, 2006

Hi Neil,

Thanks for this great resource. And a thrill to see my book at the top of your recommended books list! BTW, the title of the book is "The Corporate Blogging Book."

Joe, November 13, 2006

Thanks for putting this together, id seen some before but some were new to me...

Michele, November 13, 2006

Another good source to generate traffic is to leave comments at good sites!! I will certainly be checking out each of your suggestions!

Paul (from Idea Sandbox), November 13, 2006

Nice work putting this together! Thank you - Paul

Easton Ellsworth, November 13, 2006

Good collection of links here, Neil - thanks!

lawton chiles, November 13, 2006

Thanks man. Lots of comments all around . THank you for the links :)

sam, November 13, 2006

Rebecca Blood's book The Weblog Handbook is another great resource.

Ellen, November 13, 2006

Great collection of links! I especially like Problogger and the posts on What is a Blog and Blogging for Beginners.

chris, November 13, 2006

another bloggish resource, flynote.com

Brian Clark, November 13, 2006

Hey Neil... thanks for the love! :)

Rugjeff, November 13, 2006

Man, you did your homework...Thanks for all the resources.

jack, November 13, 2006

I recently found a very interesting website: http://alreadylinked.com/ There you can purchase ad space for your Blog etc.

mw, November 13, 2006

thanks for you work.

Sean Hackbarth, November 14, 2006

Good set of links. I'm a weblogging veteran (almost 7 years) and I'm sure I'll learn something from these links.

Pambuk, November 14, 2006

Thanks, I'm a beginner when it comes to blogging and I'm sure your collection will come in handy.

Top Ten Lists, November 14, 2006

[...]50 favorite blogging resources[...]

Jon, November 14, 2006

Thanks for putting my book in there (The Rough Guide to Blogging), hope you enjoyed it!

mijlee, November 14, 2006

Nice resoource thanks. Think Drupal deserves to be there as well though. And also there is a new kid in town, Syphony which is also worth considering for new blogs?

BobH, November 14, 2006

Of course, you forgot the resources used by most bloggers (who deride the MSM):

nytimes.com
washingtonpost.com
cnn.com
usatoday.com
espn.com ...

aviva gabriel, November 14, 2006

I wonder if you'd consider placing your great collection into the H20 Playlist (kind of a 'Squidoo Lens' site for the actual or presumed 'intelligentsia'). No, really. It's a great site, with some excellent 'annotated links pages.' It would be a worthy 'second home' for your annotated links, and perhaps all your good work would be accessible to more folks, while giving you a little more renown... What do you think? Anyway, whatever you decide, I want to thank you for this resource. I appreciate it these links a great deal, particularly since I've never "blogged" before.

GM, November 14, 2006

Thanks for the great compilation of blogging resources. It would be even greater if you added a category of 'blogging tools' which would contain cross-platform blogging tools like Windows Live Writer, Blogmailr etc.

Glen, November 15, 2006

Great resource information. Most I already use but there are others that are new to me.

clearthought, November 15, 2006

Great list, Neil. Thanks!

daniel, November 15, 2006

Greate list, it is interesting to see the number of books related to "blogging" that are appearing lately

alexdigital, November 15, 2006

Great list of resources. I found it really useful as I continue my adventure in blogging!

SportsSEO, November 15, 2006

Nice list. I particularly like the links to the marketing blogs. It should take me a few days to work through everything but so far, every site on the list has had good info.

Michael Heraghty, November 17, 2006

The link to Neilson's top 10 weblog usability mistakes alone made this article worthwhile. Bookmarked!

chris boggs, November 18, 2006

hey I may wanna use this post as an example for the link bait session in Chicago....please let me know how tempting the bait is. ;) seriously...two weeks I'd say you're good for a thousand?

Kevin OKeefe, November 19, 2006

One key resource missing is Rebecca Blood's Weblog Handbook. The Weblog Handbook, written in 2002, was the first book to explain how blogs work and explore their anticipated impact on the Internet and media. Sure, some of the info may be dated on the software side, but Rebecca's insight, passion, and vision rings true today. It's a short easy read.

Char, November 21, 2006