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Caution: This post contains no artificial filler, no additives, and no preservatives, okay maybe a little filler, but it is packed with nothing but 30 great articles that you need to read. Are you hungry? I hope so.

There are a tremendous amount of sites on the internet today that promise to assist you in your blogging venture and just like everything else in life, some of it’s good and some of it is horrible.

To help you save some time (yes, I am very kind!), I thought that I would piece together an informative article to help those of you out there who might be frustrated with blogging, looking for some inspiration, searching for a few additional tips to help promote your site, or are interested in making money online.

Let’s get started with a bit of an appetizer

As a way of getting your brain warmed up for all of the information that follows below, initially, you might wish to have a look at the very comprehensive list of the fifty most influential bloggers over at northXeast. The post, written by Leo Babauta, will provide you with some great background information and it also gives a comprehensive synopsis of the current crop of top bloggers.

Are you ready for the main course?

Design and Layout
Pro Blog Design - 30 Ways to Improve Readability ~ what can we do to increase readability, and keep those readers reading?

Smashing Magazine - Excellent Blog Designs ~ according to Smashing Magazine not every weblog should look like a typical blog.

A List Apart - Home Page Goals ~ the title says home page the information provided really speaks for blog layout as well.

CSS Play - CSS Play ~ this is the only SITE not a specific article but Stu has some really good CSS information.

WordPress Guy ~ Interview: Scot at meridiancrest.com not an in depth interview but the visual example of what Scot did with his header should get your layout mojo flowing.

Blog Promotion & Marketing
DoshDosh (writer Maki) - The Importance of Social Media Marketing: Why You Should Learn and Master it ~ this post is long and packed with exceptional information for anyone who is looking to gain traffic via social media outlets.

CopyBlogger - Writing for StumbleUpon: High Impact Content “Above the Scroll” in Four Easy Steps ~ some tips to keep in mind when writing specifically for Stumblers.

Quick Sprout - The Difference Between Marketing, PR, Advertising, and Personal Branding ~ terrific post that describes the difference between marketing, PR, advertising, and branding visually through pictures.

Seth Godin - How to get traffic for your blog ~ a very straight, to the point article on how to generate traffic for your blog.

WIEP.net - Link Baiting: Which Hook Attracts the Right Fish? ~ how to focus your link bait campaigns the right way by using the right hook and by dropping your bait in the right place.

Bonus Post* Guy Kawasaki - The Art of Shmoozing ~ the title says it all.

Search Engine Optimization - Improve Your SEO
SEOmoz - Finding Your Niche ~ a simple guide to help you improve, or find, your niche.

SEO BOOK - Planning & Preparing for Success Online ~ a short video and article to help you prepare for SEO success.

SEOAware - I Was Asked How I Have Created A Profitable Online Business; Here Are My Answers ~ how one person created a profitable business through value added, client centered SEO and web development.

Nick Bradbury - The Best Way to Increase Your Feed Readership ~ Good titles = Good SEO.

Blue Hat SEO - SEO Empire Part 1 ~ how to improve your SEO skillsets, this one is long.

Making Money From Your Blog
Web Worker Daily - 10 New Ways to Make Money Online ~ ditch your corporate cubicle and make money online.

Steve Pavlina - How to Make Money From Your Blog ~ Steve writes about how he makes money from his blog and blatantly states, “If you think commercializing your blog is evil, immoral, unethical, uncool, lame, greedy, obnoxious, or anything along those lines, then don’t commercialize it.”

Entrepreneurs Journey (Yaro Starak) - Do You Understand How Online Advertising Works? ~ in this post Yaro advises that anyone considering promoting a program online should learn how to effectively market online before spending money.

ShoeMoney - My Top 10 Worst Ideas To Make Money ~ post is a little dated, and it’s not all online examples, but still a good read.

Duct Tape Marketing - How to SCORE some seriously good start-up help ~ if you are in the U.S. and looking for help with your startup business then READ this article. I am sure Australia and other countries have various versions of this all volunteer organization.

Inspiration, Motivation, and Productivity
Skellie - 110+ Resources For Creative Minds ~ according to Skellie, “tips, tutorials, exercises and inspiration from the fields of visual art, writing, photography, blogging, design and invention” and I will add that the article is packed with info.

Lifehacker.com - Double Your Productivity with a Serial Workflow ~ how to complete tasks using a serial workflow and prioritizing.

ZenHabits - Top 20 Motivation Hacks ~ tips and tricks to help you achieve your goals.

Get Rich Slowly - Quitting the Day Job: Finding the Guts to Pursue Your Dreams ~ would you like to quit your job and be an online entrepreneur? Read this post.

43Folders - Getting started with Getting Things Done ~ this article was initially posted in 2004 but it is a classic that needed to be included.

Steve Pavlina - Do It Now ~ how he completed college in three semesters using time management.

For the new blogger (a little unconventional but I thought I would put the beginner stuff last)
WordPress - WordPress 2.3.1 ~ start off right and get the latest version (this was accurate of of the publishing of this post on November 13, 2007).

ProBlogger - Blogging Tips for Beginners ~ if you are new to blogging then read Darren’s post, think of it as preventative medicine.

Mashable – Good blogging is good writing 30 Tools For The Amateur Writer ~ we can all use some writing tips.

CopyBlogger - Six Common Punctuation Errors that Bedevil Bloggers - if you don’t want to look stupid then read this article.

Nirmal T V. - 7 Blogging Tips for Beginners ~ useful tips for the beginner.

Did you save room for dessert?

image source: meliass

A Little Bit of Humor
SEO2.0 - How to Sneak in Into a 1000$+ Conference for Free ~ very funny.

Pointless Banter - Some Lessons I Learned In Vegas ~ also very funny.

Now you must be full! How about a cerebral holiday?
If you would like to really relax and dream about the Caribbean after all of that reading then have a look at Culebra Blog and spend some time unwinding on the beach.