25 Blogs Every Small Business Owner Should Be Following
Browsing through blogs all day may not seem like the most productive thing for a small business owner to be doing.
That’s why we’ve narrowed it down to the best blogs — the ones that keep small business owners in the loop on all the most important topics like marketing, advice, finance, trends, and technology.
Social Triggers is the blog of entrepreneur and marketer Derek Halpern. It’s the first blog to focus primarily on the social side of business success. The blog discusses the psychology of buying, selling, negotiating, getting customers and countless other social aspects of business. There’s a lot of crossover here with the insightful work of Jonah Berger (the James G. Campbell Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania). In fact, Halpern interviews Berger about viral marketing in this podcast, which is a hugely valuable listen for any small business owner.
Twitter: @derekhalpern, @j1berger
LocalVox is all about local, smart marketing for small businesses. The blog features information on internet marketing, SEO and social media — all geared to help small businesses attract local attention.
Twitter: @localvox
John Jantsch is a best selling author, marketing consultant and founder of Duct Tape Marketing. The blog features tools and resources for better marketing by Jantsch (aka “weekend faves”), guest posts by successful entrepreneurs and marketing tips on various topics.
Twitter: @ducttape
Run by several contributors, the Vertical Response marketing blog holds everything small business owners need to know about digital marketing — conversion rates, email campaigns, blogging, SEO, web design and more.
Twitter: @vr4smallbiz
The masters of inbound marketing have a lot to teach the world of small business. More and more consumers are discovering your business online and you need to be in control of that ‘inbound’ process. This means optimizing your local business listings, your website, and your general small business sales funnel. Hubspot Marketing is a great place to find out how.
Twitter: @HubSpot
Advice
Gene Marks is a management columnist and speaker who blogs for multiple publications like the Philly Post and The New York Times. His site offers all of his advice posts in one place.
Twitter: @genemarks
James Altucher is an entrepreneur, hedge fund manager and bestselling author who gives unique (and at times humorous) insights into his own life. He also covers personal growth topics and how they relate to success in business.
Twitter: @jaltucher
Entrepreneur.com’s marketing section offers outside-the-box ideas and solutions to marketing problems commonly faced by small businesses. Topics covered in the blog include branding, finding customers, networking, sales and more.
Twitter: @entmagazine
Retail Insider provides news on various top retailers to give small retailers ideas for their own success. Business writer Glynn Davis profiles businesses in his “Innovative Retailer” posts to give readers new insights.
Twitter: @RetailInsider
Score gives readers advice on the basics of running a business. Everything a business owner can imagine is discussed, like growth strategies, human resources, legal issues and home-based businesses.
Twitter: @scorementors
Finance
David Worrell runs this informative finance blog full of actionable advice. He avoids fluff, giving precise advice on small business accounting, strategies and capital raising.
Business Credit Blogger keeps business owners educated about funding programs and strengthening business credit. Posts answer common questions like: FICO Score vs Credit Score: Which Score Matters Most?
Fund Well is a blog that delves into funding for small businesses. Business owners will find plenty of information on topics like crowdfunding, cash flow management, and loans. The blog taps into basic issues like savings and specifics like Choosing the Best Accounting Software.
Twitter: @thefundwell
Noobpreneur is a dense blog with tons of information on various business topics. The blog’s finance section is filled with approachable content covering topics such as bank accounts, insurance and healthcare — to name a few.
Twitter: @noobpreneur
As the name suggests, Lendio is a blog focused on lending. Everything business owners need to know about small business loans and investors can be found at Lendio.
Twitter: @lendio
Data and Trends
The Forrester blog gives insight into running a successful retail business. It provides recent news on topics like e-commerce, trends in customer retention and other data to help retailers stay informed and on top.
Intuit QuickBooks offers interesting and straightforward stats on small businesses. Bloggers break down stats in posts like Rain or Shine: Using Weather Data to Drive Business Decisions, allowing business owners to adapt to useful trends.
Small Business Trends covers current events and trends in just about every area of business — including technology, finance, management and marketing.
Twitter: @smallbiztrends
Blogtrepreneur is a blog where small business owners can read interviews, discover the latest apps and learn how to expand their businesses with posts like Made In America: 3 Entrepreneurs Who Are Making Their Businesses Work In The USA.
Twitter: @blogtrepreneur
Shelf Edge discusses broad trends and happenings in mainstream retail. Small business owners can keep up with current events, read personal accounts and learn about new consumer research studies.
Twitter: @vestcom
Technology
Small Biz Technology covers best practices for small businesses and how to earn and retain customers through technology. Business owners will also find video interviews, tips for lowering costs and the latest tech news.
Twitter: @ramonray
FitSmallBusiness is a general blog dedicated to ‘getting your business into shape’. It has a particularly useful section on technology that reviews some of the top software out there. FitSmallBiz is all about making things simpler, so the list isn’t massive but it provides a nice one-stop-shop list for any small business owner looking for an introduction to technology.
Twitter: @FitSmallBiz
Retail Technology Trends is run by retail technology consultant Tim Dickey, who aims to help small businesses leverage technology. Posts cover the latest technology innovations and how business owners can use them to their advantage.
Twitter: @timdickey
IT Business Edge, a blog for “small businesses with big goals,” offers news and advice on all things technology. Blog sections include business integration, mobile technology and security.
BizTech Magazine provides news from the techworld in a variety of industries, including retail and small business. BizTech covers everything small business owners should know about hardware, software, data, networking and the cloud.
Twitter: @biztechmagazine
The Bonus Technology Blog
MerchantMaverick is an incredibly useful site for anyone looking to really dig into small business technology and compare various providers. Covering subjects like Merchant Accounts, Mobile Payments, Ecommerce Shopping Carts, and POS Software, the reviews are exhaustively detailed and stringently unbiased.
Most of the above blogs post weekly and have a mailing list option. Small business owners can find heaps of useful advice on avoiding beginner’s mistakes, increasing their customer base and digitally leveling-up their businesses.
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