Three Blogs Small Business Owners Need to Follow This Year

The Internet is jam-packed with so much information that it can be difficult to find resources that are beneficial to running a small business. With Twitter, Facebook and hundreds of new blogs being published every day, where should small business owners begin?

A good starting point is this list of top blogs to follow this year. Some are business-run accounts, while others are by small business owners. All have a dedicated following and offer trusted information.

Without further ado… The three blogs that all business owners should follow this year:

Xero Small Business Guides don’t exactly fall under the blog format, but are updated enough with crazy-valuable information that it had to be on this list.

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software company that aims to understand small business. The company’s guide is jam-packed with tips, tricks and accounting essentials that aim to make small business owners successful. The guides will at least educate business owners on some basics and make them look at some business topics from a different perspective.

Some of the most popular guides include, “Why cloud accounting is good for business,” and “Move from Excel to accounting software.” Each guide features more than just text – most include infographics, quizzes and more.

“The benefits of online invoicing,” for instance, tackles questions such as, “Why invoice online?” and “How can I track my invoicing more efficiently?”

Each guide can be consumed in anywhere from three to 15 minutes, offering a quick read for the person on-the-go and or for that casual read after hours. Did you follow any of these blogs? What are some of your favorite online resources for small business?

Amy Porterfield knows Facebook almost too well. With a billion users on the world’s most popular social network, trying to grapple Facebook is more extensive than just posting pretty photos and humorous updates.

Porterfield understands Facebook ads, how to write compelling copy, the ins and outs of the updates Facebook rolls out and how to sell products.

How popular is Porterfield’s blog? She’s just shy of an eye-popping 100,000 followers who trust her tips and tricks.

For small business owners who have a commute and don’t care to sift through blogs, Porterfield offers pretty popular podcasts that are perfect for the ride into work or in bed before falling asleep.

Damn I Wish is written and edited by Andy Sernovitz. It offers actionable advice in quick, easy-to-consume posts.

Sernovitz is a marketing guru who can offer advice that transforms boring to interesting, dull to stunning and delete-worthy to share-worthy.

He’s also down-to-earth and straight-forward. “How do you make a flowchart interesting?” He asked in a recent post, “You chart the lyrics to ‘Hey Jude’ and add some music to it.” He goes on to explain how some simple adjustments to newsletter and blog posts can make a world’s worth of difference.

The blog is filled with unusually useful ideas and proves that the smartest marketing doesn’t come by writing million dollar checks. It comes from smart ideas that any small business owner can execute.

So if you have any great ideas for small business owners’ resources, drop me a line! I’ll add them here!