Inspiring Blogs that Made it!

August 12, 2022

Reading Time: 17 minutes

Successful Blogs with X-factor!

In this post I will simply list the most successful blogs I have learned from and blogs that are truly inspiring. Most of them are great at making money. And they all have something valuable to share. They are all inspiring blogs with PERSONALITY.

Motivational Blogs

A blog with personality is one that has a distinct voice and style that sets it apart from other blogs. It may be written in a humorous or conversational tone, or it may have a more serious or informative style. In any case, a blog with personality is one that stands out and engages its readers through its unique perspective and voice.

These inspiring blogs tells a lot about the people behind and I hope to show you some X-factor here! To help YOU find your special tone and approach. To me these blogs have been some of the most successful blogs I encountered on my way.

Abby Organizes

A blog about organizing your home. Ideas and decorations. Abby shows you how to stay organized in your home. She takes you on a tour through her homes and what a trip! I don’t know if she has won prizes for her interior design but she definitely should be nominated for something.

I had no idea homes could be so well organized and beautifully decorated at the same time. Maybe that is why she doesn’t run ads on her blog! She sells a few courses. That’s it!

Her blog is from Dec. 2012 and in her third year (2016) she made $450.000.

Just a Girl and her Blog

Ahrefs Blog

Dmitry Gerasimenko has created a fantastic universe in Ahrefs. It is not just a successful blog. It is a set of highly valuable tools for SEO! This is my go to site for SEO tools and a lot of other website utilities! To me Ahrefs is one of the most inspiring blogs ever.

Ahrefs is crawling the web just like Google so they have a ton of info on everything Search Engine related. Just loke Google.

This is one of the most comprehensive tools out there and the FREE solution gives you more than most others.

Dmitry Ahrefs

Be A Better Blogger

Kevin has a style. Pretty much no matter what he writes his language and use of words can make anything sound interesting. It’s a great skill to have and you should REALLY take the time to visit his blog and read some of his stuff.

But he doesn’t write about boring and irrelevant stuff. This is an article about how to write a blog post you will like.

His articles are in a very talkative language. Personally I read his stuff like a wolf that hasn’t got prey for weeks. OK – I think his headers are way too big 🙂 but then again, everybody uses font size 8000 these days…

Kevin Duncan

Believe in a Budget

Kristin also writes about How to Start a Blog. She is very inspiring. Her blog brings in $180.000 per year. No ads on her blog. To me, Believe in a Budget is one of the most inspiring blogs about money out there!

Kristin is a Pinterest expert and sells a few courses. She can teach you a lot about Pinterest.

Kristin launched her blog in 2015 and it took her only 10 months to make an income on her blog which made her quit her day job.

Kristin

Blog Savvy Panda

Ling runs 2 blogs I found on Pinterest.

FinSavvyPanda.com and BlogSavvyPanda.com.

Ling has become a full-time blogger within a year of starting her first blog. She is modest and honest. She doesn’t brag and she simply tells you things as they are. She also runs another blog, but that is a secret! Ling has used Pinterest – like many other bloggers and this has given her a ton of traffic. FinsavyPanda has 52K followers and a little more than 3 million monthly views.

Ling-Blogsavvy-Panda

Ling grew up in a low-income family and writes about the economy. How to save money and how to make money.

Ling started her blog in 2017 and within a year she made $5,000 per month. This is enough to quit your job and make a living where she lives. Actually, it is enough in all countries.

Go check her blog out. It is truly inspiring.

Bloggers Passion

Bloggers Passion is run by Anil and he started in 2010. He lives in India and makes $13.000 a month.

That might not sound like much, but we are talking India here! He manages 200.000 visits per month!

Anil started blogging in 2004 and in 2018 he quit his job as a SEO specialist.

Today Anil helps other start up bloggers making money on their blog. I think Anil has done very well and his blog is one of the most inspirational blogs I have seen.

Anil Bloggers Passion

Captain Awkward

Captain Awkward is a blog about social awkwardness and difficult interpersonal situations, created by Jennifer Peepas.

She has a humorous and relatable tone, and provides practical advice and support to his readers. 

You can write her a question and maybe she will answer in her own deep and somewhat precise statements.

The blog is as fun as it is deep.

Captain Awkward

CreateAndGo

Alex and Lauren run a number of blogs. They have been in it for 10 years but I first met them in 2022.

CreateAndGo

CreateAndGo is a great blog and you can learn alot about how to start your own blogging adventure. They are awful sweet people who REALLY understand the value of true customer support.

They founded CreateAndGo in 2016 and in three years they were profitable. So profitable they began hiring people. This is one of the very successful blogs I often pay a visit.

Go read their blog! It is very inspiring. And they actually answer your questions if you have any! They focus on great service which is rare!

They also run avocadu.com which is a lifestyle blog about Yoga, healthy living, recipes and weight loss. This is a very well designed and beautiful blog.

DontFuckWithDad

This blog is run by Dave and it is still a small blog as he only writes when he has something great to talk about.

He is a former mercenary and has some interesting views on governments and the military. Conspiracies often stinks of hollowness, but coming from a soldier who was involved in conspiracies and dirty shit really adds momentum from another dimension.

He also runs DontFuckWithDaddy.com where I am involved as a cyber specialist.

DontFuckWithDad

“Nothing settles peace negotiations better than my unreasonable efficient fully-automatic AA-12 combat shotgun!”

Duct Tape Marketing

This is yet another inpiring blog I found recently. John who runs it has written a lot of articles on Marketing and the chances you will find something on his blog you can use are huge.

His blog is more a podcast blog than a written blog so if you want something wise to listen to when you are working, try this!

John is a marketing consultant, and public speaker and has written several books on marketing, sales and SEO.

John Jantsch

FatStacksBlog

Jon is blogging about blogging. He makes $70.000 – $100.000 per month. He actually runs a number of blogs, but it is on Fatstacks he talks about how to do it.

He runs a lot of simple sites with display ads and only 10-15% of his income is affiliate. He has written articles about traffic and keyword research which are really great. He is a numbers guy and have a lot of stats on his blog.

 

Jon Dykstra

Frank Sonnenberg

Frank is blogging about moral character, personal responsibility and personal values – the same traits I value dearly. His blog is one of the most inspirational blogs out there especially on leadership because of his values. The world really need leadership that is above Ego interests.

In a way he and Jocko Willink represents similar values in a world that is starving for true greatness, honesty, moral, responsibility and honorable values. In fact I think we are on the verge of something catastrophic if we do not integrate these values ourselves.

frank sonnenberg

His blog should be part of every leadership education in the world.

Frank is also an author and you can find his books on Amazon. If you want to stand out as one of the new leaders participating in cleaning up the mess we are in right now (corruption every where) you should start reading The Path to a Meaningful Life and get a grip on your own ethic life.

One of the most important things I talk about in my men’s groups is to find direction in your life. Because direction towards the goals you value dearly IS meaning. That’s why I love reading Frank’s blog! And you should read it too!

My own take on this is: It is Masculinity that points out the direction. BUT it is Femininity that makes sure it is the RIGHT direction! We need a balanced approach because our hearts open when we are balanced. Balanced life opens to higher moral, ethics, responsibility and personal ownership. Just think about how heartless extremism is.

What Frank is doing is seriously important for all of us!

FoodBabe

Not only is Vana Hari (not the daughter of Mata Hari) beautiful! She is also skilled. And Funny!

If you are into Life Style Blogging you can find a ton of inspiration on her blog. Vana’s blog is mostly about food and recipes.

10 years ago Vana was bigger than she is now. The typical American lifestyle with fast food and too much candy sent Vana to the hospital. That was the start of a new life! She investigates her food so she knows what she eats. Get inspired and get your life on track with healthy living!

FoodBabe

Besides being unreasonably beautiful she is an author too. She has written three books and one of them is very interesting. It is called: Feeding You Lies. Find it on Amazon here. Vana is revealing the food industry’s playbook and how to reclaim your health. It is an important book in a world of fast food! Not only fast eating but also fast produced!

Huffington Post

Huffington Post or HuffPost is created and founded by Arianna Huffington, Andrew Breitbart, Kenneth Lerer and Jonah Peretti.. This is one of the most influential blogs ever.

HuffPost

They cover real stories and they might be viewed as a news outlet.

They write about Life, shopping, politics and news.

This is an unusual blog. Don’t regard them as the others. They are clean and they have standards and their articles are political non biased. Which is a huge relief. I love reading articles that doesn’t try to convince me they have the right (or left) political views.

Jocko Podcast

The Jocko Podcast is by far one of the blogs that has inspired me the most.

It’s a kick ass blog! He talks about Leadership. REAL leadership. He talks about you getting your shit together and grow up. He talks about taking responsibility. And he talks about Extreme Ownership.

If you want to grow and you want your blog to grow this is a goldmine.

Jocko and his friends are former NAVY SEALS and Jocko commanded a platoon in Ramadi in 2006. 

Together with one of his SEAL team freinds Leif Babin he co-founded the leadership consulting company Echelon Front.

MandeJammer

Mandejammer is a Danish blog in a very sarcastic tone. Makes fun of how pathetic some men can be. Unfortunately, this blog is only in Danish so most of you won’t understand the jukes and the sarcasm. It is a small blog but it had a great start and it runs towards a great future

Excerpt from the blog:

“My friend Johan just told me the police were here to talk to me. He told them they could find me on Pornhub…”

MandeJammer

Marie Forleo

I have followed Marie Forleo since she started many years ago. I think it is nearly 20 years now. She has created a great blog and a great business! She was the first blogger I followed!

It has been a privilege to follow Marie. She is fun and savvy and she runs Maria Forleo TV on YouTube. Marie has 800K subscribers on YouTube and tons of great interviews. They are absolutely worth watching. You might learn something!

Photo Eric Michael Pearson.

Marie Forleo

Lifehack

Leon started his blog LifeHack in 2005. It is primarily a motivational blog about focus, getting fit and healthy and learning. Leon runs a webshop with LifeHack products and some food supplements. Leon has some free classes worth looking into if you need to pick yourself up.

Lifehack is about doing things in a more effective way. It is also about purpose and change. Being efficient gives us time.Time we can use to be humans and live for real. Purpose gives us meaning. LifeHack is truly a very inspiring blog.

LifeHack - most successful blogs

Neil Patel

It would be hard to avoid presenting Neil Patel. Afterall he is one of the big successful bloggers ever.

Neil created his first website when he was 16. He has expanded his empire to include a lot of SEO tools. Backlink analysis, keyword analysis (Ubersuggest) and traffic generation. Neil’s X-factor is his persistency. He keeps on working until he get the success he wants. That’s why he got there.

Neil Patel - sucessful blogs

Neil has done incredibly well. He runs NP Digital who helps other companies with SEO, Content Marketing, Link Building, Influencer Marketing, Organic Social Media Management, YouTube SEO etc. He has offices in California, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and UK.

He aims to help other business grow.

Not Always Right

When ever I need a good laugh this is my go to blog! The site was launched in 2007 and hosts stories are from real life!

Take your time and read through some of his tellings. Sometimes I would like to have these stories on video too!

I have no idea who is behind it but it is a huge blog with 75.000 real life stories and 4 million visitors every year and if you have a great story you can submit it on the website.

 

 

Neil Patel - sucessful blogs

Pinch Of Yum

And now for a food blog!

You might wonder what a food blog can offer apart from recipes of course. The thing you should notice about Pinch Of Yum is the enormous gigantic work Lindsay has put into her blog!

I am blown away by the amount of work she put into her web site.

And not to mention – Pinch Of Yum was the site that made me read recipe sites. 

Lindsay - Pinch Of Yum

I am a vegetarian and Lindsay has probably the largest section of vegetarian recipes on the entire Internet! A warning though – I always get hungry when I visit her site!

Seth Godin

Seth Godin is an American entrepreneur, author, and marketing guru who is best known for his work on marketing, branding, and entrepreneurship. He has authored over 20 books, including bestsellers such as “Purple Cow,” “The Dip,” and “Linchpin.”

Godin was born on July 10, 1960, in Mount Vernon, New York. He earned a degree in computer science and philosophy from Tufts University and went on to earn an MBA from Stanford University. He worked as a brand manager for Spinnaker Software and founded his first company, Seth Godin Productions, in 1986. He later founded Yoyodyne, an online direct marketing company, which he sold to Yahoo! in 1998.

Seth Godin

Godin is known for his innovative ideas about marketing and business, particularly his concept of “permission marketing,” which emphasizes building relationships with customers based on their voluntary permission. He is also a popular blogger and public speaker, with a large following on social media.

Godin has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including induction into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013. He has also been named one of the top 21 speakers for the 21st century by Successful Meetings magazine.

Overall, Godin’s accomplishments include founding and selling successful companies, publishing numerous best-selling books, and revolutionizing the way businesses approach marketing and customer relationships.

And he is living proof that aticles doesn’t need to be 4-5.000 words long!

Show Me The Yummy

Easy Recipes For Yummy Food. Run by Trevor and Jennifer. It is one of the most successful food blogs on the Internet. Their income reports are particularly interesting and inspiring. They made $428 in Nov. 2014 and the year after in Nov 2015 they made $4,546 which was a turning point. December 2016 (2 years after the first income) says $46,367 which is pretty damn good!

This is a great food blog which brings in $500.000 per year and it is one of my go to blogs when I need inspiration or great recipes.

Successful blogs - Jennifer and Trevor

Isn’t this image just Lovely?! It says a LOOOOOT!

SmartBlogger

Jon Morrow is in a wheel chair and he is one of the most influential bloggers out there. He is in charge of a company with 300K subscribers and four million readers. Spinal Muscular Atrophy has slowly over time taken his ability to move anything else but his face.

So he uses a microphone and speech recognition software to become one of the top writers on the Internet. Jon is probably one of the most respected bloggers on the internet.

He has a team with nine people running his business.

Jon Morrow - inspiring blogs

The Blog Village

Trevor and Jennifer also run ShowMeTheYummy.com. On TheBlogVillage they teach how you to create and grow your own blog.

They have a number of programs and resources you can join to learn how to create and run your blog.

Starting a lifestyle blog and learning how to monetize often create an offspring. So they started this marketing blog to share what they learned at ShowMeTheYummy.

Jennifer and Trevor

In my optics Jennifer is a lot prettier than Trevor. But that’s just me…

The Bloggess

The Blogess is a popular blog written by the author and 80% sarcastic Jenny Lawson.

It covers a wide range of topics, from personal anecdotes to politics, and is known for its humorous and relentless direct tone.

Go check her blog out or maybe even buy one of her books! You will be qualified entertained and maybe get an idea what that chilling X-factor is!

Jenny Lawson

The Minimalists

The Minimalists is a blog about minimalism and simplicity, written by the authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. It has a serious and informative tone, but is also engaging and personal, and includes a mix of essays, interviews, and other content.

The Minimalists are not just bloggers.

Joshua is OCD and Ryan is ADD.  

They have build two orphanages and been involved in several charities.

The Minimalists

They provided relief to the victims of hurricane Harvey, support to the survivers from the Orlando and Las Vegas mass shootings, funded a highschool in Kenya for a year, constructed an elementary school in Laos.

They are also authors of two books. Everything that Remains & Essays by the Minimalists.

They run a very special blog and it is absolutely worth checking out!

The Moz Blog

Rand Fishkin is a college dropout who started blogging about SEO in 2004. The rumour is he makes millions of dollars each and every month. The last number I read was $45 million per year. That’s impressive numbers.

Rand and Gillian Muessig co-founded Moz in 2004.

If you are interested in Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization, check out The Moz Blog. This is one of the most informative SEO blogs on the Internet. 

They write about EVERYTHING SEO related. 

Rand Fishkin

 And a lot of other stuff. This is a goldmine of information you really need to check out!

Tiny Buddha

Lori Deschene who founded TinyBuddha in 2008 is absolutely brilliant. There aren’t many blogs like hers. It is all about health and wellness. Inner wellness I might add. She is an enormous ressource when it comes to motivation, your inner life, how you feel, change and hundreds of other aspects of self improvement. If you suffer emotionally read her blog!

Life isn’t always perfect so visit Tiny Buddha and maybe it will show up how perfect life really is.

It is one of a kind! And my go to blog in emotional stormy times.

Lori Deschene

She is not alone by the way. She has a number of equally brilliant writers doing articles on emotionally topics you won’t find elsewhere.

Trinity Sisters

Trinity Sisters is a hell of a blog! Life and death! Trafficking and war! Hunting of paedophiles. Serious and sarcastic at the same time. Debra has written a book called Trinity Sisters – Dirty Business and the blog is a reflection of her beautiful book which also is available on Amazon.

Debra has a message: Trafficking is lethal! If you can’t control your needs I will do it for ya! With fists of fury and molten chunks of the Second Amendment! 

Trinity Sisters

Her book is about growing up in loneliness, violence, abuse, drugs, corruption on a high level and trafficking. What saves Debra but also almost kills her is the military. But it turns out they make a fine and independent woman out of her.

Go read her blog or even better – buy her book on Amazon! You won’t regret it!

Keywords I used in this article:

successful blogs            5000 searches/md Competition: 12
inspiring blogs               5000 searches/md Competition: 13
motivational blogs        5000 searches/md Competition: 12
most successful blogs  500 searches/md Competition:    6

 

By David Holywood

Author of 10 books for men in relationships and 2 huge novels. Web designer and SEO expert since 1999. Hard Core user of Google Ads, Google Business Profile, AdSense, Analytics & Search Console. Expert in Speed & Load Optimization. Musician. Composer & Martial Artist. Psycho Therapist.

Running a few other blogs:
DenRigtigeMand.dk which is a book store and has a lot of resources for men in tough relationships.
AudioSchematics.dk which is an AdSense site.
BilligBlog.dk which is a web agency and some kind of a Danish version of PassionBlogist.com

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