7 inspiring blogs you should read. Today.

When I first started blogging I saw quickly that there were two thing that would help me learn quickly; firstly making a start and trying out different ways and styles of writing posts, getting into the habit of writing and rewriting posts to focus them on what I was really trying to say; and secondly reading other people’s blogs and finding inspiration from them in order to improve.

I’ve read hundreds of different blogs where I have found a particular post compelling, and that is of value to read many different angles, but there are also some blogs that I return to again and again, and that consistently catch my attention, push me to new thinking, and catch me thinking ‘Oh I wish I’d written that one.’

Through spending time online reading other people’s work, I am continually amazed by the generosity of sharing and the endless amounts of sound advice that is offered and that continues to inspire.

I wanted to list the seven blogs that I most regularly read, and would encourage you to make up your own list of regular inspiration that you will turn to again and again. So in no particular order and with little commentary here are my 7:

1. Social Mouths from Francisco Rosales, who openly and often shares his knowledge in social media strategy.
2. Coherent Social Media by Neicole Crepeau, who offers in-depth and practical explanations of many emerging social media trends.
3. Fresh Networks Blog, social media news with a UK focus from this London-based agency.
4. Social Media Examiner, which has all the latest news on social media, fast and easy to help you make sense of latest developments.
5. Grow – this blog by Mark Schaefer really adds an extra depth to current trends as it is deeply anchored in its author’s extensive experience.
6. For bloggers by bloggers is a great site for sharing collective experience and learning from other bloggers what works for them.
7. Nikki Pilkington, whose blog is a rich mixture of insightful posts from Nikki and guest posts across a variety of subjects.

So that’s my list of inspiring bloggers, what’s yours? I would love to hear what or who has helped you form your own blogging voice, and which sites have been most influential to you.