What does Eric read?… more like “Who do I learn from?”

I had a client ask me the other day a pretty insightful question…what do you read? Actually it is more like who do I learn from. I read this people, follow what they do and learn from their efforts. Well, since my business / professional life revolve around a WIDE variety of things I kind of have to break them down into categories, but here goes:

Internet Business Planning:

GrowMap – Gail Gardner is amazing. If you have not read this blog, you should. What I am learning from her is about working sites with a purpose to make money. (Thought I had that down to a science already, but part of that science is continuing to learn!) She is part of running the following successful sites: 1)  golf store 2) a  personalized gifts blog 3) an online  wedding store 4)  a blog about  horses and 5) a  healthy living site. Why am I sending you to them? Go visit them and you will see that they are GROWING assets. That’s what you want in someone who does internet business planning…someone who can GROW stuff! So get growing!

JR - Good little internet marketing nuggets on this blog. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and look up the links to her classic posts.

WordPress Development:

As I start my new business over at Southern Indiana Web Works.com, I am looking for the BEST and most influential developers in the WordPress community and to see what they are doing. The Web Works is ALL about business websites using the WordPress platform – -so I have been spending a lot of time in this sector.

Kristi Hines aka Kikolani. You may think I would read her for  article writing and  Social Media posts. But the real reason to keep Kikolani on the radar screen is that she is a super WordPress designer. Seriously. Check out some of her stuff.

Brian Gardner of StudioPress. Enough said. I watch what he does. Look out kids, he is getting ready to unleash more in 2010.

Derek Semmler: Not as much that I learn from the blog but for WordPress development, Derek rocks. He is a nice guy with a big heart.

Dizzain – These folks do custom designed WordPress themes. Interesting. This is more what I am heading towards…doing full custom WP themes on local Southern Indiana sites that want a specific look and feel.

Real Estate Websites:

The list here would be excruciatingly long to put in here.  Morgan, over at Real Estate Webmasters tops the list.  Also if you look down, you will see the real estate folks on my blogroll. They are all there for a reason. I know them. I trust them  I contribute to their projects. They are friends.  Many of us got together recently in Louisville. It was a blast, guys and I think we all came away better for it!

One more here:

Dave Smith’s Real Estate Blog Lab – Quite possibly the nicest and most decent human I have met to date and a fan of In-N-Out Burgers. That is a lethal combination in my world…grin. And his blog? if you are doing WP and Real Estate, you need to read it.

Search Engine Optimization:

I read MANY SEO blogs (I mean I AM EricOnSearch, right? )…but only a couple stick out:

Rand Fishkin’s SEOmoz – I do not agree with 100% of his stuff (but I do with quite a bit of it). What I really enjoy is whiteboard Friday.

Aaron Wall’s SEOBook – Nice guy.  Good information.

and my favorite read:

Huomah – This guy actually thinks like I do, test things and doesn’t just parrot others. Worth reading.

another addictive read:

Marty Weintraub and his  Search Engine Marketing blog. Good stuff.

Technology

Louis Gray, and his  futurist tech blog – this is my favorite read for trends and etc in Technology.

TechCrunch – it is a blog folks love to hate, but it is one I get something out of regularly.

Social Media

Adam Singer and his  Social Media Marketing blog. Read it.

Marketing

Murray Newlands provides Blog Consulting Services and Word of Mouth Marketing consulting. Basically, the guy gets it, and I think he is one of the guys to watch / learn from.

Miscellaneous Successful Stuff that I am interested in:

You asked for what I was reading so in the interest of full disclosure, here are some miscellaneous stuff that I have been checking out as well:

Barbara Swafford and her dofollow blog registry section on her site. Very similar to Eric Bramlett’s list of do follow real estate blogs. Both provide great resources for do follow bloggers.

Seth Godin. Seriously, I think he is the best known online marketing voice out there, but I have been reading his stuff for years. I do not always agree with it, but it is ALWAYS worth reading.  The main reason I am reading him is that I am finishing up a book on what it is like to be a Dad of children with autism. There is no better bookseller out there right now that Seth. Sometimes it is better to watch what they do rather than read what they say. In his case, do both.

Connie Foggles and her  Product Review blog where she writes about all sorts of products. She is another one that I am watching to see WHAT she does as much as simply reading what she writes! (Hint: Watching what people do is HUGE to finding good strategies online.)

I bumped this stuff recently when researching an article I was writing: Bill Sutton’s Good Millwork, a Florida Millwork company that does architectural moldings and exterior shutters.  Very helpful. Those who know me at all know that folks who are helpful to me get some links, traffic and notoriety wherever I can. To my new small business friend from Florida. here you go!

OK…there. I read a ton of other stuff as well, but those are currently the most influential on my list or those who consume my time due to things I am working on.

Enjoy!