Diamonds in the Rough

One thing is for sure, there are A LOT of blogs out there. According to Technorati, there are around 112 million blogs in the space, and over 175,000 new blogs every day. With so much content out there, (and how easy it is to create a blog these days) it’s easy to get frustrated when trying to find blogs that will meet your needs.

Over the last few weeks I’ve had multiple people hit me up (friends, colleagues, clients) asking me which blogs I recommend they check out. While I usually have a few that I can recommend off the bat, it really depends what type of information they are looking for, and what they are looking to get out of it. Today I will be focusing on blogs that cover Social Media and Affiliate Marketing and ones that I personally read regularly.

Affiliate Marketing

• Zac Johnson: Zac has been making money online for the last 12 years. Widely known in the industry for making $860,538.38 profit in 4 months, it’s safe to say that Zac is an expert when it comes to earning a full time income online. Zac’s blog covers everything from tutorials, product/site reviews, tips for newbies, and great advice for anyone looking to get started in affiliate marketing. He is also a SICK basketball player!
• Jonathan Volk: What’s great about Jonathan’s blog is that he always tells it like it is. Never afraid to share his mistakes or past failures, because he knows that’s what helps him grow, and ultimately helps his readers become more successful as well. Jonathan makes hundreds of thousands of dollars online every month, so he is definitely someone you should be keeping an eye on and trying to learn from as much as possible.
• Clickbooth Blog: First I would like to disclose that I am the editor of the Clickbooth Blog, however it doesn’t change the face that I still believe it is one of the best resources for both newbie affiliates and veterans alike. Filled with great articles and tips from some of the industry’s top Affiliate Managers, it is definitely one of the best resources I’ve seen for affiliate education. The blog covers everything from industry news, events, tutorials, exclusive interviews, tips and tricks, and a whole lot more! A must read for any and every affiliate!
• Murray Newlands: Not only is Murray one of the top affiliates in the U.K, he is also very knowledgeable when it comes to Social Media and Online Marketing. If that wasn’t enough, his site is also contains tons of great interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry. Check out my interview on Murray’s affiliate marketing blog.
• CashTactics.Net: Kris Trujillo, the blogger behind CashTactics, has been making money online since 2007. While that may not seem like a long time, don’t let that fool you, this guy definitely knows what he is doing. Writing posts about SEO, SEM, Lead Generation, Media Buys, and Email Marketing (to name a few), his blog has been helping affiliates at all levels grow their business and become very successful in the affiliate marketing industry. He also has a way of explaining things that makes even the most complicated tasks seems easy.
• AffBuzz.com: Affbuzz, created by Justin Barr, is a great resource for anyone looking to find even more great blogs about Affiliate Marketing. The site aggregates content from some of the best affiliate bloggers around the world and puts it all on one easy to use site. I highly recommend you check it out to keep up with all the current Affiliate Marketing News.

Some other great affiliate marketing blogs to check out are: Shoemoney, John Chow, Nick Throlson, Logan Thompson, Nick Abramovic, Ian Fernando and StevenSanders.

Social Media

• Mashable: Mashable is definitely one of my favorite sites for keeping tabs on everything that’s happening in the Social Media world. I don’t think a day goes by where I haven’t been to the site at least once.
• Chris Brogan: Chris is the President of New Marketing Labs and is considered to be one of the biggest leaders in the Social Media space. Chris continues to impress me everyday with his forward thinking and unique outlook on life. He really cares a lot about his readers and you can immediately tell after reading one post. His blog will not only teach you the fundamentals of Social Media, but how to grow your business, make money, and most of all create great relationships along the way.
• Jim Connoly - I don’t remember how I first came across Jim Connoly’s blog, but I’m so happy I did. Jim’s posts are filled with great ideas on how to improve your business utilizing the internet and actionable items that make you want to try out his advice ASAP. I don’t see too many other blogs/sites talk about Jim and I never understood why. He is definitely a dark horse and has inspired me to try many new things that have been successful.
• Gary Vaynerchuk: Founder and host, of Wine Library TV and GaryVaynerchuk.com, Gary has turned his family business into a multi-million dollar company by utilizing Social Media platforms, connecting with people, and constantly hustling. The truth is, most people either love or hate Gary the minute they hear him talk, but no one can disagree with the fact that this guy is changing the way people think about business and work ethic for the better. What I love about Gary is his passion for wine, Social Media, and helping people better themselves. What I don’t like about Gary is that he’s a Jets fan Go Dolphins!!!
• Techipedia: It feels like Tamar Weinberg has been EVERYWHERE lately. Known for her unique spin on technology and Social Media, Tamar consistently puts out great content on Techipedia, guest posts on a variety of other blogs, speaks at conferences all over the world, and most recently came out with a Social Media book entitled “The New Community Rules: Marketing On the Social Web”. While I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, if the content is anything like her blog, I know its going to contain tons of great ideas and provide a lot of value for anyone interested in Social Media.

Some other great Social Media blogs to check out are: Greg Rollett, Seth Godin, Ted Murphy, ProBlogger, and Social Media Explorer.

What about you? What Affiliate Marketing and Social Media blogs did I leave out, that you would recommend to your friends, family, clients etc? Let’s use the comments section to build a resource for everyone to use!