Starting off in blogging can be disorientating at times. I found it was like standing in the middle of a desert, horizons on all sides with no clear path to choose from.

To add to this feeling of being lost and alone there was the ‘strategies’ and ‘get rich quick from home’ schemes that sucked me in, all be it temporarily .

Clear information detailing pitfalls, errors and plans of action that get results are what a newbie blogger needs and for that reason I’ve compiled a list of five must read websites for any blogger starting off (and indeed experienced bloggers alike).

ProBlogger.net

I thought I’d start with an entry which may seem obvious to anyone whose been in the blogosphere more than five minutes; however for people who have just created a blog the name Darren Rowse may not mean anything. Yet.

Darren runs a great information blog dedicated to providing top quality help to new and experienced bloggers and is also quite an authority in the blogging world. From revenue models to readership management he’s got it covered. He’s also written many spectacular eBooks to help improve your blog as both a website and as a business.

Daily Blog Tips

Daniel Scocco owns and runs this website which is updated, yup you guessed it, daily! The subject matter isn’t too advanced so new comers will be able to grasp what he blogs about. Some key areas include improving your ‘web writing’ and how to have a little fun with your blog by interacting with your readers.

Daniel also answers readers questions every week in a feature called Friday Q&A with good questions and answers posted on the homepage.

Everything’s laid out into sections such as ‘Monetize’, ‘Promotion’, ‘SEO’ etc. so readers can easily go back through old posts and treat the site like an information portal if they wish.

Blogging Pro

A great website by all accounts and a must read for new bloggers. Why? Well because it not only focuses a lot on pit falls but they also have numerous articles on the premier rule of blogging: Content is King. And on that, I can’t place enough emphasis.

This message is stressed to the readers in the form of easily digestible and informative articles about improving your content and keeping it fresh. Making your blog memorable and attracting readers back for consecutive visits is a must in blogging and this site doesn’t beat around the bush in explaining it either.

Blogging Tips

BloggingTips.com is a fantastic website with an entire panel of seasoned bloggers to give us a helping hand when we we need it. Like some of the other sites above they cover the run-of-the-mill ‘Build a Better Blog’ topics however they have a great section for beginners.

To anyone reading this article who is completely new to blogging i.e. they only found out what exactly a blog is this morning, I suggest reading that entire section right now. Once your done you’ll know all about what a blog is, how to build one, how to set up a subscribe function and manage your blog.

Blog Herald

As a blogger, no matter what level, you have to keep up to speed with what’s going on in the blogosphere. How else will you know what’s hot and what’s not?

Blog Herald is like an online news portal for bloggers everywhere. They analyze trends, report new ones and ask questions about the blogging industry in general. The site makes for good reading and has inspired me on countless occasions. Business men read the business magazines, bloggers read the Blog Herald.

We all need a help with our work every once and a while so subscribing to the above blogs is a must. How about you? Do you know of any blogs which are helpful to bloggers? Or can you think of any websites which helped you when you were new to the blogging world?

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Dean has 6 post(s) at Free Writing Center