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When we first came onto the blogging scene, it was overwhelming to say the very least.
There are so many successful bloggers out there that are already so established. And in so many different blogging niches.
It feels a bit like jumping into a really big pond as a brand new little fishy — learning how to swim.
How could we stand out in the niche we were starting a blog in?
As many of you know, our first successful blog was in the health and wellness space.
We earned six figures with this blog in our first year and this is how we learned the ropes of blogging — long before we became professional bloggers who blog about blogging.
And, we still run that money-making site today.
What you may not know is that this health and wellness blog wasn’t even our very first blog.
The first blog that we started was actually a colossal failure.
You can read more about our story here.
Why bring this up now?
Because we’ve been in your shoes. We understand how big this blogosphere can feel when you’re just starting out.
As a result of our background, we’ve probably heard every question you can think of about running a successful website.
And probably made just about every blogging mistake in the book, by this point.
Most new bloggers are afraid that the only way to make money these days is to blog about blogging.
After all, the riches are in the niches as they say.
But we’re here to tell you that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our health and wellness blog is proof.
Still, a common question we get is, “What are some unique and popular blogs that don’t just blog about blogging?”
To best answer that question, we thought we’d share a roundup of some of the best blog examples of 2022 that we have found.
And one more thing to keep in mind…
When we talk about successful and popular blogs, we aren’t talking about websites like Huffington Post, Forbes, and Buzzfeed that are backed by huge media companies.
We’re talking about blogs run by real people — average joes like you and me — that have created their own space on the interwebs.
And many of them are making bank doing what they love.
Our goal with this post is to show you a diverse group of blogs in various niches to take inspiration from.
This list of popular blogs is not in any particular order, and each niche has the potential to make you money if you start your blog the right way.
Finance Blogs
Making Sense of Cents
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner launched her finance blog, Making Sense of Cents, to help her improve her own finances.
With her blog, she was able to keep track of her progress and paid nearly $40k in student loans off in just seven months.She used to work in the financial services industry, and now she teaches people how to make money online, save the money they earn, and even how to invest for the future.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Michelle in person at FinCon in San Diego and then again in Ft. Lauderdale with Natalie Bacon:
She’s an awesome person and deserves every bit of this credit and everything she has achieved!
Dollar Sprout
Co-founders Jeff Proctor and Ben Huber launched Dollar Sprout with the number one goal of helping readers to improve their financial lives.
The two were friends for a long time prior to starting their website. They both even went to the same college.
Jeff and Ben shared a passion for personal finance, so it made sense that their blog would be in that niche.
They want to make your financial journey easy and practical while being completely transparent about how their own website makes money.
Finally, they want to positively change as many lives as possible with their content.
Alex met these two in person at FinCon in Washington, DC. They drank beer and watched football and chatted work stuff.
No celebrities or superstars here. Just regular, down-to-earth, average joes with wildly successful blogs!
Good Financial Cents
Blogger Jeff Rose launched Good Financial Cents with the mission of inspiring people to take charge of their money and make “cents” of their financial future.
He is a Certified Financial Planner and was already testing ways of becoming financially independent before launching his blog.
His blog simply gave him an avenue to share all he was learning and also gave him an excuse to test other avenues for growing his income.
The catalyst for him to change course from 9 to 5 financial planner to financial teacher and blogger was meeting a couple nearing retirement age that didn’t have enough money to live on.
He immediately thought — “I don’t want to be them.”
He knows that topics of money, especially when it comes to debt, can be overwhelming to a person, and he wants everyone to know that there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
Jeff believes it’s never too late to take control of your money, and that is what he teaches on his blog.
Busy Budgeter
Rosemarie Groner considers herself to be the virtual best friend of those that want to save money and earn more money.
I love her story because she had a super typical-average-joe job before she started blogging.
Wait for it…
She was a state trooper!!! But what she really wanted was to be a stay-at-home mom and open a daycare, and she knew that blogging could help her create the life of her dreams.
On her website, Busy Budgeter, readers can learn all her secrets for how to make the most of their current income while working towards gaining financial freedom in their lives.
Though you’ll find some posts about getting organized, the goal of the blog is simple – find ways in every aspect of your daily life to pinch pennies, and take back control of your money story.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Bestselling author, Ramit Sethi, is the face and founder of I Will Teach You To Be Rich. More than 1,000,000 people have read his material to learn how to live a more rich life.
What is interesting about Ramit’s blogging story is that he started his website while studying technology and psychology in college.
He had to pay his own way to Stanford, which is no easy feat for any of you that know what student loan life is like.
He created a system to apply for more than 60 scholarships and he earned enough to go to school.
That process fueled a desire in him to learn how money works, and share his findings with anyone who would listen. Teaching himself to be rich was the spark for teaching others.
Ramit believes that everyone has the ability to make more money, automate their finances, and find their dream job either working for themselves or someone else.
What sets him apart from many finance bloggers is he doesn’t believe in strictly promoting saving money by skipping your morning coffee.
His goal is to give you quick and big wins that will save you much more than that, and he gives 98% of his material for free.
SeedTime aka ChristianPF
Blogger Bob Lotich launched ChristianPF in 2007, and has since had over 50,000,000 people visit his website.
When he first launched, his website was actually his way of sharing financial lessons from the Bible with friends and family. The original title of the site was ChristianPF – Christian Personal Finance.
The turning point from hobby to full-time blogger: It was only after getting laid off from his job in financial services he felt called to write full-time.
The mission of the blog, now known by its new name SeedTime, is to help people win at life when it comes to money.
The website now has an entire team producing content for it, and they all want you to get out of debt, make and save more money, get started with investing, start and stick to a budget, and give generously.
SeedTime teaches the lessons most people never learned in school about money, and they run money experiments to share the lessons they continue to learn.
Get Rich Slowly
While it’s safe to say most people want to get rich quickly, people actually earning wealth know that there are no shortcuts.
Blogger J.D. Roth started Get Rich Slowly in 2006 to document his personal journey of digging himself out of debt.
One thing that is interesting about J.D. is he actually retired from his blog in 2012, but then bought in back in October 2017.
J.D. says his website is for anyone who craves greater financial freedom.
The reason he’s one of the most popular blogs in the personal finance world is because of his tell it like it is writing.
From money basics to money mindset, every post is written with the goal of helping others improve their finances regardless of where they are at the moment.
Afford Anything
Ever wish you could afford anything you wanted?
Paula Pant says you can afford anything, but not everything.
Her blog, Afford Anything, focuses on how to make smarter decisions about money, time, and life, and aligning daily behavior and habits with the lifestyle you want the most.
Like us, she was working a steady job. Unlike us, she says it was her dream gig.
The problem? Even though it was a dream job, she still lacked freedom.
Fast forward to today, and she built a six-figure freelance writing career, invests in real estate, and teaches people all over the world how to have 100% freedom to make the choices they want to make in life.
Millennial Money Man
Bobby Hoyt is a former high school band director turned personal finance blogger that managed to pay off $40k in student loans in 18 months.
Through his journey of paying that debt off, he became passionate about the world of personal finance.
You want to know a crazy thing about this blogger?
He quit his stable teaching job after making just $3 on display ads from his website, Millenial Money Man.
Alex and can I totally relate to his story because we actually took the leap into quitting our full-time jobs and blogging full-time before we were making a dime with our first blog.
It’s scary stuff but when you really believe in your dream, it still oddly feels right…
Mom Blogs
Start a Mom Blog
Blogger Suzi Whitford didn’t just launch Start a Mom Blog, she also teaches moms all over the world how they can quit their jobs and do the same.
After a career in industrial engineering, Suzi quit to be a stay-at-home mom.
Like many others, she had dreams of creating an online system of income that would allow her to STAY at home with her kiddos. She turned to blogging as her creative outlet.
If you feel like you’re struggling to blog between nap time and playtime with your own kiddos at home, she’s your source of inspiration as she built her entire business while raising 3 little ones.
#momgoals
Suzi blogs on several topics including her breastfeeding journey, motherhood, recipes, and crafts.
It’s A Lovely Life®
Heather Delaney Reese is a mom of three, and the blogger behind It’s A Lovely Life®.
Like Suzi, Heather began her website after becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Heather wanted to utilize the skills of storytelling and journalism she had learned in college, so she began writing online.
What I love about Heather’s story is that she says she found her dream job that she never knew existed — This is 100% how I feel after discovering the world of blogging.
She created the website in 2014, and it soon became so successful, that she says her whole family is now a part of it.
Heather says the website makes money through brand partnerships, hosting Twitter parties, writing for brand websites, and acting as a brand ambassador for multiple clients.
Lucie’s List
Meg Collins is the founder of Lucie’s List, the 430,000 subscriber blog that calls itself the survival guide for new moms.
When Meg became pregnant with her first daughter Lucie, she had no idea what she was doing.
The website was created as her way to tell others the “secrets” no one told her about pregnancy, preparing for having a baby, and motherhood postpartum.
In short, she created what she wished existed when she was a clueless mother to be, and then a new mom.
Cat and Nat
Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer are the two mommy bloggers of Cat and Nat spilling all the tea on what they call mom truths.
Between the two of them, they have seven kids, and their mission is to bring moms together because they know firsthand how isolating and lonely motherhood can be.
Their website began as a way for them to host dinner parties and events with wine, and without babies. The events were so successful they started blogging about mom life.
They tell it like it is on all things motherhood – things they are certain all moms think, but are too scared to openly talk about.
Their blog, podcast, and now book has garnered them media attention all over the world, as well as millions of page views to their website.
The Mommyhood Chronicles
Melissa Pezza is the founder and blogger at The Mommyhood Chronicles.
She started her blog simply because she enjoyed writing about parenthood, and wanted to share her tales with other new and soon-to-be mothers.
In addition to her articles about raising a family, she shares recipes, reviews of products, hosts giveaways, and even adds some travel posts to the mix.
She’s also a great example of a full-time blogger earning money online while also working a part-time job — as a DENTIST!
We can relate to that as we worked on our blog for several months before quitting our full-time jobs.
Managing your time and productivity as a blogger is SO crucial during this time if you want fast success.
Twins Mommy
Blogger Elna Cain launched Twins Mommy after having her twins in 2014.
She wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and was freelancing to make money from home.
When she launched the blog the goal was simple – connect with other work-from-home and stay-at-home moms.
Lo and behold, the blog began generating income once she started affiliate marketing, and then she created a course teaching moms how to get traffic to their mom blogs.
While Twins Mommy features how to be a stay-at-home mom making money, she posts most of her pregnancy and postpartum tips at Smart Mom Ideas.
Savvy Sassy Moms
Bloggers Jenna Greenspoon and Lisa Kobrin created Savvy Sassy Moms to help busy moms stay up-to-date on everything from…
- Parenting trends to fashion advice,
- Tips on throwing a baby shower to finding the coolest toys,
- And picking a great family hotel to making sense of technology.
But this was never just some hobby blog for these two. They started their blog with the intention of turning it into a full-time business.
Jenna’s focus is on new parents and parents with young children because when she got pregnant with her first child, she says there were a million questions that needed answering.
Her aim is to answer those questions for new moms and moms-to-be.
Lisa specializes in children in the classroom and places particular focus on relational aggression and how children can strategize and get along within social groups.
Tech Savvy Mama
Blogger Leticia Barr helps families navigate what it’s like to parent in the digital age with her blog, Tech Savvy Mama.
This mom blogger wants to empower parents in fostering a love of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in their children.
To her, launching a blog was the perfect platform to dispense advice that would help assist parents in navigating the ever-changing world of technology.
She’s a former teacher, technology specialist, and trained school administrator for a large DC Metro area school system and loves sharing technology and educational resources for today’s families.
ScaryMommy
Now, we said at the beginning of this post we weren’t going to put blogs on here that were owned by a big media company.
The reason ScaryMommy is an exception in our opinion is that it was a privately owned blog first.
Launched in March 2008 by Jill Smokler, it began as an innocent online baby book to chronicle her stay-at-home days with her children.
It grew to some pretty amazing heights, and in February of 2015, Scary Mommy was acquired by Vinit Bharara of the media company, Some Spider.
Why mention this?
We just want to show you what kind of opportunities you have with your blog. You could grow it to be something worthy of being purchased for big bucks by a large media company too!
Travel Blogs
Club Thrifty
Holly and Greg launched Club Thrifty to teach others how they got out of debt (and running a mortuary business!) and began traveling more without breaking the bank.
They teach how to pay off your debt, start using a budget, set up a travel fund, and how to finally get to traveling already!
What makes their story a little unique is that Holly started earning most of her income first from freelance writing.
Holly earned over $200,000 writing for other websites while also bringing in some income from her blog.
You can read more about her story and how she did it in the guest post she wrote for us on freelance writing as a blogger.
These bloggers also have two kids, and still travel the world. #family goals
Nomadic Matt
Imagine traveling the world on just $50 a day.
That’s precisely what Nomadic Matt writes about on his blog, and in his New York Times bestselling book.
He teaches his time-tested travel tips, interviews with travel experts, gives detailed cost breakdowns, and so much more.
His in-depth reporting proves that you can save money on travel and that the biggest thing holding most people back from travel is their mindset.
Adventurous Kate
What we love about Adventurous Kate is that at age 26 she quit her job and decided to just start traveling pretty much non-stop.
She didn’t even wait until she had someone to go with. She boldly stepped out as a solo traveler to 82 countries and all seven continents.
Homegirl just booked a flight and got out of dodge. Then, she started writing about her experiences, went on some press trips, kept writing, and created a career for herself.
Okay, obviously that’s a simplistic version of her story, but the fact that she didn’t wait for permission to start living a dream life on her own terms is incredibly inspiring.
I have mad respect for her for the solo travel thing as well because I just don’t dig it. But I do believe that it enables you to meet tons of interesting people around the world and can lead to a lot of personal growth.
I’ve tried to solo travel and I found it far too lonely. I prefer to travel with my crazy travel family — my Wifi Tribe community.
Kate is now based in NY, but she still travels and has been called one of Forbes’ Top 10 Travel Influencers.
FollowMeTo
Bloggers Murad and Nataly Osmann took a trip to Barcelona where they fell in love with each other, photography, and travel.
They took so many photos together while traveling, that it became a project for them to get “that shot” (of Nataly pulling Murad forward) in each destination they went to.
Their website, FollowMeTo, was their means of sharing their photo project with anyone who might find it via social media.
After the media caught wind of their adorable photo project, their travel blogging dreams took flight and launched a full-blown career for them, including special projects, collaborations with big brands like Google, and even writing a couple of books.
Rosie Londoner
Rose Thomas may call London home, but she also calls herself a roaming blogger.
Her blog, Rosie Londoner, started as her way to stay in touch with friends and family while traveling but turned into a business.
She makes most of her blogging income through partnerships with brands, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts.
Uncornered Market
Bloggers Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott are the husband-and-wife storytelling team behind Uncornered Market.
They saved up for a 12 to 18-month trip, and then they left their home and jobs in San Francisco with six suitcases, and a one-way ticket to Prague, Czech Republic.
The blog at first served as their personal online scrapbook to share where they had been, and where they were going next. It was only later they learned how to fully monetize their hobby blog, and turn it into a full-time business.
They earn money not just from affiliate sales and ads, but also through freelance work, Tourism Development and Marketing Advisory, and from speaking engagements.
The Professional Hobo
Blogger Nora Dunn set off on a 12-year full-time travel adventure in 2007.
During that time she traveled slowly over the span of 55 countries and five continents.
The Professional Hobo began as a simple online diary to share her experiences and lessons along the way with the people back home.
Her blog is part travel tales, part lifestyle travel tips, and jam-packed with information about how to travel cheaper than you might think is possible.
She’s got me beat, although I have traveled to 35 countries and 5 continents in just 15 months, so I think I’ve set a pretty good pace!
The Blonde Abroad
Founded by Kiersten Rich, The Blonde Abroad is self-proclaimed as the go-to website for solo and female travel around the world– for all women, by women.
What we love about this blog is that Keirsten took a broad subject of travel, and honed in on the niche of solo female travel.
A large niche gives you a chance at a larger audience, but narrowing it down is what creates a more loyal fanbase of readers that LOVE your content and ultimately turn into customers.
Kiersten traveled for years before she decided to start a blog after all of the stories she heard from other travelers who were making an income online.
This blog now funds her travels! #win-win
Migrationology
Mark Wiens created Migrationology to be a place where the passion for travel and food meet.
Mark believes that enjoying authentic local food around the world is the best place to meet, interact with, and get to know people.
He calls himself a full-time travel eater, and shares articles and videos about the local foods he tries everywhere he goes.
One Step 4Ward
Just a decade ago, blogger Johnny Ward was broke and living in Ireland.
He dreamed of a better life seeing the world, so he left his home to teach English in Asia.
While traveling, he constantly ran out of money, so he began looking for ways to make more to keep funding his adventures.
Inspired by Nomadic Matt, he started his own blog, One Step 4Ward, and over the course of the next several years he earned a million bucks from it and several other projects.
Johnny says that blogging changed the game for him and finally gave him the freedom he always dreamed of.
Business and Marketing Blogs
Screw the Nine to Five
Our favorite thing about Jill and Josh Stanton, founders of Screw the Nine to Five, is their no-bullshit approach to running their business.
They swear, and they’re transparent and polarizing and not afraid to step on people’s toes. They tell it like it is . Ain’t nobody got time for anything else these days.
They got their start in online business by building niche websites and earning affiliate income.
They even moved to Thailand to lower their monthly expenses as much as possible while they build their business.
As their success grew, they began teaching others how to screw off from their 9-5 corporate jobs, make money online and build a life on their own terms.
Smart Passive Income
The brainchild of blogger Pat Flynn, Smart Passive Income teaches people how to make money in their sleep — with a blog or website.
He’s the first to admit though, and we wholeheartedly agree, that there is generally still a great deal of work involved to make “passive income.”
But, that doesn’t mean the work has to be done by you specifically!
Pat’s first website was actually an online education blog that he created to help him study for and pass an exam.
The exam he passed was for a job that ultimately laid him off, and so he repurposed it into a study guide people could purchase.
He began yielding passive income from that study guide, and people wanted to know how he was making money. Smart Passive Income was his way to answer all the questions, and teach others how they too could earn passively.
Through his lessons on systems and processes, automation with software, outsourcing and more, Pat helps people all over the world make more money online.
For the first couple of years of running our business, we did everything ourselves. It wasn’t until too many tasks began falling off our plates that we started building our team to help us continue earning passive income.
Don’t wait too long to hire help when you need it! If you do it at the right time, it will only help you grow.
Natalie Bacon
Natalie Bacon is actually somewhere between a finance blogger and a business blogger.
She has a pretty incredible story as she racked up $206,000 in student loans to put herself through law school.
She originally started a finance blog to help other women manage their debts and learn more about money. She then rebranded to NatalieBacon.com and started teaching about personal development, money mindset, and online business.
After working as a lawyer for a few years, she took a pay cut to work as a Certified Financial Planner and focus more time on her blog.
Natalie actually became our very first student to reach six figures with our Six-Figure Course Creator!
She has also become a very dear friend of ours over the last couple of years and it has been so awesome helping her take her blogging income from $2-3k per month to over $20,000 per month in such a short time!
My Wife Quit Her Job
Steve and Jennifer Chou are the faces behind the blog that they say is an outlet for them to document their experiences and strategies for building wealth on a single steady income.
Jennifer was a financial analyst until she became pregnant, and she wanted to stay at home to raise her daughter.
My Wife Quit Her Job teaches others how they can implement strategies for implementing additional income if they choose to become single-income families, or just want to make more money for more financial security.
Melyssa Griffin
Melyssa Griffin is a blogger and entrepreneur obsessed with teaching others how to make their passions profitable.
The first version of her blog was called The Nectar Collective — but she later changed the name to a self-branded blog as it grew into her full-time business.
Today, her blog features posts on entrepreneurship, blogging, and tips for using social media.
Amy Porterfield
Amy Porterfield has been called the queen of online marketing by many.
Amy actually set out to launch a money-making blog after working for self-help sensation Tony Robbins. She helped him navigate the world of online marketing for some time, and even helped him with several successful webinars.
She had a bit of a bumpy road to success — as most of us do — but ultimately she figured out how to make money with online courses, sharing everything she was learning with her audience along the way.
Her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, is just an extension of the brilliance she shares on her website, in her courses, and on social media.
Her blog also features her show notes from her podcast including worksheets and tricks and tips you can implement the same day you listen to her episodes.
Side Hustle Nation
Blogger Nick Loper launched Side Hustle Nation to teach others how to make more money on the side while still working their nine to five jobs.
He helps would-be side hustlers learn how to earn more so that they can…
- Pay off debt,
- Increase their skillset,
- Escape the rat race,
- Gain more freedom,
- And enjoy a bigger bank account to boot.
One of the underlying mentalities that he teaches is that the desire to have more doesn’t mean you have to uproot your entire life.
You can start now, even with your current job, to build a better life for yourself.
Marie Forleo
The blogger turned business mogul, Marie Forleo, did virtually every job she could think of while building her website up.
She had a goal of being a successful life coach, and believed that a website was the best way to share her knowledge to get more coaching clients.
Today, she has an award-winning YouTube show, a multimillion-dollar business, and two New York Times Bestselling books including her most recent Everything is Figureoutable.
To Mama Marie as many of her fans call her, this isn’t just a book title, it’s her mantra for life.
Even as she was building her website she tested that theory that everything is, in fact, figureoutable, and proved not only was it true, but that we all can live by that mantra to build a business and life we love.
Neil Patel
There’s a reason Neil Patel is listed often for most popular blogs in marketing.
He has a. super successful podcast, Marketing School, and is also the co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics.
And, he has also helped companies like Amazon, NBC, GM, HP, and Viacom grow their revenue.
He’s got a serious track record with driving organic and paid traffic to his sites and now teaches how traffic, monetization, and marketing strategies on his personal blog.
Entrepreneur on Fire
Though you may know Entrepreneur on Fire for their podcast, founder John Lee Dumas and his partner Kate Erickson also blog a lot on the website.
John Lee’s idea for his blog actually began because of podcasting. He was frustrated that there weren’t any daily podcasts at the time, so he created one.
Realizing he needed a website to direct people to so he could build an email list, and a community, he created his blog to share show notes, links, and more information about the guests featured on his podcast.
They share knowledge bombs about all aspects of starting and growing a business – both online and brick and mortar ones.
Natalie Sisson – Formerly the Suitcase Entrepreneur
Natalie Sisson first got “blogger famous” as The Suitcase Entrepreneur.
She was bored with working in a cushy nine to five job, and actually started an online business with a friend before ever starting a blog of her own.
That website ultimately transitioned into The Suitcase Entrepreneur Blog that taught visitors how to travel and make money.
She has since rebranded her blog to her real name, something a lot of bloggers do as they become more well-known in the blogging world.
Though she is no longer building a business while living out of her suitcase, she still teaches people all over the world how to have more freedom in their lives.
She Takes on The World
Natalie MacNeil is a self-proclaimed chief experiment officer, and is an Emmy award-winning entrepreneur.
She is constantly learning and teaching new ways to help women empower themselves, generate more income, and instill successful habits into their daily lives.
People love her blog, She Takes on The World, because it offers inspiration, action steps, and support on everything from business and brand building, to superhuman health and living in alignment.
Health and Fitness Blogs
Nerd Fitness
There are a couple of things we love about Nerd Fitness.
First, Steve Kamb launched it because he couldn’t find this type of site online, so he created what he wanted to see.
Second, we love that he gives away killer content, while also selling courses and private coaching to help people meet their goals that much faster.
Through his flagship course, Nerd Fitness has helped more than 40,000 men and women gain strength, lose weight, and boost their confidence.
Avocadu
This health and wellness blog, Avocadu, is centered around two main topics: weight loss and yoga.
There are also tons of blog posts on other topics, including healthy living, recipes, fitness, supplements and more.
Most of these articles are centered around trying to sell two main products:
The blog is also monetized through ads and some affiliate marketing.
The Fitnessista
Blogger Gina Harney is the personal trainer, fitness guru, and weight loss specialist behind The Fitnessista.
Her blog features quick workouts and recipes for even the busiest people looking to up their health and fitness game.
Gina launched her website to share healthy meal examples and fitness ideas with her personal training clients.
And, three years after launching the website in 2008 she hit one million monthly page views.
The Fit Foodie
Those words might not seem like they go together, but blogger Sally O’Neil thinks you can be both a foodie, and physically fit.
Though most diets suggest low-calorie foods, she believes life is better with chocolate and apple crumble.
Her mission with The Fit Foodie was to find a healthy balance so she can indulge in her passion for food, while maintaining good physical fitness.
Her mission with the blog is to find a healthy balance so she can indulge in her passion for food, while maintaining good physical fitness.
Her blog lets you have the cake and the bikini body too!
The Real Food Dietitians
The Real Food Dietitians is the brainchild of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Stacie Hassing and Jessica Beacom.
Their blog features recipes, meal plans, and nutrition tips to help their readers live a healthier life with ease.
They are dedicated to sharing nutrition tips that can easily be applied to everyday life.
They launched their blog with the intention of making it their business, and are dedicated to sharing nutrition tips that can easily be applied to everyday life.
Masala Body
Masala Body uses spicy recipes to help you lose weight, and her blog began as a way to share the recipes she was using so that other women could have the same results she was enjoying.
Nagina Abdullah’s mission is to help busy women lose weight without feeling deprived. Using her own methods she lost 40 pounds, and through her blog shares exactly how she did it so others can do it too.
Sharing your own personal story on your blog is probably THE best way that you can connect with your audience and begin building a closer relationship with them.
This is exactly what Nagina is doing on her blog. She’s a real-life inspiration to her readers.
Born Fitness
Adam Bornstein launched Born Fitness to make sure his readers never have to stress about health, fitness, or nutrition.
His website aims to help you identify the best diets, exercises and workouts, and strategies that you can apply to your life to feel better, look the way you want, and live stronger and longer.
He recognizes that there isn’t just ONE route to success and his blog’s goal is to point you in the right direction for what will work for your life and your body.
Blogilates
Blogger and vlogger Cassey Ho created Blogilates as a hub for all her posts featuring recipes, workouts, challenges, printables and more.
Cassey is the creator of the workouts known as POP Pilates and PIIT28.
, and knew that a blog would be a great way to start an email list, and gain better control of her audience.
She was already becoming quite successful on YouTube, so she started a blog as a means to build her email list and connect all the projects she was working on in one place.
She has been called one of the “Top 3 Health & Fitness Influencers in the World,” and her mission is to help women around the world get their idea of the perfect body on their terms.
Beauty and Fashion Blogs
Accidental Icon
Lyn Slater is a college professor, a grandmother, and a super successful fashion blogger in her 60s.
She says she created Accidental Icon because she was having trouble finding a fashion blog or magazine that spoke to her – an ordinary woman living in the city.
Anddd there is the cool story behind her awesome domain name!
When she was at New York Fashion Week, dressed up and waiting to meet a friend for lunch, photographers began taking her picture!
They mistakenly thought she was a fashion designer and she and her friend joked she was an accidental icon.
I Am Galla
We love the fact that this fashion blog is for men because let’s be honest – fashion blogs are primarily dominated by women.
Adam Gallagher slays on his website though!
He said he started I Am Galla because his goal is to help men who visit his blog with styling tips, trend forecasts, and general inspiration in the menswear world.
Clumps of Mascara
Clumps of Mascara is for the imperfectly perfect women and men of the world.
As blogger Brittany Minor explains, beauty is fun, but it’s not perfect – hence the name: clumps of mascara.
Brittany’s blog celebrates all things makeup and beauty but also embraces that awkward, quirky, and different are also normal and 100% okay.
If you’re tired of the photoshopped and “perfect” photos out there on the internet and want a real, fresh, transparent take on beauty — this is your space.
She’s a great example of being able to identify a need in an oversaturated market with the wrong kind of information — and satisfy that need.
Harper and Harley
Sara Crampton launched Harper and Harley in 2008.
Her take on fashion is that less is more.
In an era of over the top styles, Sara has become the poster girl for elevated minimalism, making Harper and Harley the destination for timeless wardrobe essential inspiration.
For her, the website was the answer to the gap she saw in the market for minimalist fashion.
She proves that you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing to be one of the most popular blogs in your niche.
J’s Everyday Fashion
Blogger Jeanette Johnson says she is an unlikely candidate to be a fashion blogger.
She’s a tomboy, but always loved fashion magazines, and began experimenting with her own style in college.
A friend suggested she post her outfit choices on Facebook, and women started to encourage her to share more.
She launched her blog, J’s Everyday Fashion, in hopes of empowering women of all shapes, sizes, budgets, and walks of life to find and own their personal style.
We Wore What
Danielle Bernstein is an Instagram influencer turned blogger that started her fashion career more than a decade ago.
Before the age of 25, she was placed on Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and has since invested in many new business ventures including her own line of swim and overalls.
She launched her blog, We Wore What, as a way to extend her brand and expand her influence in the fashion world.
Caroline Hirons
Caroline Hirons is a skincare and beauty blogger that does reviews of a wide variety of products, and offers tips for all skin types.
Her blog began as a way for her to secure more skin consultation and facial clients as an esthetician and evolved into so much more.
While she does work with some brands as an ambassador, she also has affiliate links on her website for the brands she loves and reviews as well.
Caroline suffers from dehydrated and sensitive allergy-prone skin, so she often tells people what her own skincare routine looks like.
Recipes and Food Blogs
Pinch of Yum
Pinch of Yum is probably THE most well-known recipe and food blog… At least on Pinterest!
Blogger Lindsay Ostrom says the blog started as a casual hobby while teaching fourth grade, and it turned into her full-time business over time.
She didn’t even implement ads on the site until after she’d been blogging a full year, and it took her three years after launching to consider quitting her job to dive in full time.
These days her drool worthy recipes have been featured on BuzzFeed, Brit+Co, and PopSugar.
And, Lindsay has a full team to help her and runs three other websites too.
Cookin With Mima
Founded by blogger Mariam Ezzeddine, Cookin With Mima is a food blog that was inspired by crazy pregnancy cravings Mariam had while pregnant with her first child.
Her background was in Criminal Justice, and she even worked in the field for the federal government, but her passion has always been food.
Oh She Glows
Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows believes in creating recipes that help you glow from the inside out with foods that are meat and dairy-free, and mostly free of gluten, soy, and processed foods to boot.
I was a vegan for two years and followed this plant-based blog for years long before I ever dreamed of becoming a blogger myself!
Can we have a scoop or two of that peanut butter cookie ice cream, please?
Gather and Feast
Ashley Alexander is the face behind all that amazing looking food on Gather and Feast.
Her cooking methods are self-taught, and her goal is to share wholesome and nutritious recipes to prepare and share with others.
100 Days of Real Food
Lisa Leake and her family took a 100 Days of Real Food pledge. The blog was launched to document their journey after taking the pledge.
They didn’t eat a single ounce of processed food or refined ingredients for 100 days in the hopes that they would inspire people to follow suit.
Their blog shares recipes that help readers have better health by making simple changes to their food choices.
Lara Clevenger
Lara Clevenger is a Ketogenic Dietitian Nutritionist and Keto Coach specializing in functional and integrative nutrition.
She launched the blog as a lead generator for her private dietitian and nutrition practice.
Thanks to her blog, Lara can now coach clients in the low-carb lifestyle online while traveling nationwide in her van.
Her belief is that food can taste good while still being good for you, and she’s been known to take the unhealthiest of meals, and keto-fy them!
The Pioneer Woman
Blogger Ree Drummond proves that blogging can give you opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.
What started as a simple blog she created as a way to share her best recipes with friends and family, turned into a television deal on the Food Network, a cooking line with Wal-Mart, and several cookbook deals.
The Pioneer Woman a great example of how blogging can open up other amazing, unexpected business opportunities.
Alexandra’s Kitchen
Alexandra Stafford, aka Ali, is the face behind Alexandra Cooks. Her love of cooking is what prompted her to create her blog which now has more than 750 recipes.
Her recipes are not diet-specific, and you’ll notice that what she posts is based on the vegetables and fruits that are in season at the time.
What makes Ali’s site one of the most popular blogs is her recipes are broken down in a way that feels like anyone can re-create them.
Personal Development Blogs
Gretchen Rubin
Blogger Gretchen Rubin gained worldwide attention when she launched her book The Happiness Project.
Through it, her other books, and her blog, Gretchen relentlessly explores human nature to understand how we can make our lives better.
Her blog was launched as an extension of her brand, and as a space to promote her books that are for sale.
Her mission is to share insights, strategies, stories, and tips that help people understand themselves and create a happier life.
Tiny Buddha
Founder Lori Deschene states that Tiny Buddha, though it’s run by her, belongs to both her and her readers.
Lori launched her own blog because while working as a freelance writer, she felt like she never had the opportunity to write about the things that really mattered to her.
She wanted to not only explore personal issues on a public platform but also to give others a place they too could write about them as well.
On the site, she shares wisdom quotes, and stories about letting negativity go so we can let happiness in.
Mark Manson
Over the past 10 years, Mark Manson has blogged more than 1,500 pages of content all around the central ideas of personal values, emotional health, relationships, life purpose and self-discipline.
He writes mostly for himself, but he says that he shares it on his blog to help others out in the process.
Mark would be the first to say he recognizes a lot of his self-help writing is considered crap by many people, but others think he is a genius.
Alex and I personally really love Mark Manson’s books. His writing style is very honest and no-bullshit, and it’s something that we can really relate to.
I highly recommend his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck if you haven’t read it yet!
Gabby Bernstein
Gabby Bernstein’s mission is simple – to make her readers the happiest people they know.
She launched her website as a lead generator for her coaching practice, but it has since evolved into a space where she can teach the masses about the subjects of…
- Manifestation
- Finding the power within,
- And being the best version of themselves they possibly can become.
Gabby writes about the negative talk and mindsets we all have, and how to adjust them so that we can attract our dream lives.
She calls herself a Spirit Junkie, and she teaches spiritual principles and meditation practices we can all use to live in alignment with our true purpose.
Brain Pickings
Maria Popova is the brainchild behind the blog Brain Pickings and calls her blog her one-woman labor of love.
Instead, her sidebar greets you with an opportunity to donate to her website once or on a recurring monthly basis.
Maria says her blog is an inquiry into what it means to live a decent, substantive, rewarding life, and a record of her own becoming as a person.
Mel Robbins
Mel Robbins is the powerhouse behind her blog of the same name.
She is also the author of The 5-Second Rule – a book that prompts you to countdown from 5 and then simply act on the thing you need to get done.
As simple as her ideas may seem, her blog, books, and teachings all inspire people to stop making excuses and trick their brains into working in their favor.
Chalene Johnson
Though blogger Chalene Johnson started in the health and fitness space, her website has evolved into a gold mine of personal development information.
She initially launched her website for brand awareness, and to promote her books and videos that she was selling.
Later she launched a podcast, online courses, and products from the space, and uses her blog to bring new visitors to her website each month.
Whether your goal is to lose weight, get more confidence, start a business, or something else entirely, odds are Chalene has a post that will help you to lead a more happy, healthy, and balanced life.
Brendon Burchard
Brendon Burchard has been called one of the top motivation trainers in the world, and one of the top 25 most influential leaders in personal growth and achievement.
Facebook has even listed him among the top 100 most followed public figures in the world.
After suffering a near-fatal car accident at the age of 19, Brendon became determined to make his life’s purpose helping others live, love, and matter.
Launching his blog was just one avenue he developed to spread his message of hope and inspiration.
His blog posts help you overcome your biggest obstacles to start something that matters, and create a life worth living.
Lifestyle Blogs
XOXO Bella
Blogger Bella Bucchiotti created XOXO Bella to chronicle her love of fashion, travel, fitness, food, and life.
Bella also has Type 1 diabetes. She shares candid posts about life with the disease in an effort to spread awareness and take away the stigma of having it.
Bella’s posts have been predominantly travel-related as of late, but she still sprinkles in posts related to all aspects of her lifestyle regularly.
Sarah Titus
If you think you don’t have what it takes to start a blog, look to Sarah Titus for inspiration.
She’s a perfect example of someone who built a hugely successful online business from absolutely nothing.
She has a seriously interesting and inspiring backstory.
It was launched as her diary to share with friends and family how she was making enough money to live on her own and take care of her kids so that they could do the same.
She blogs about a wide range of topics including essential oils, organization, saving and making money, and so much more.
She proves that regardless of your background, or niche, with hard work and dedication, riches will follow with enough determination and husle.
Studio DIY
This lifestyle blog stands by its slogan to “make life a party.”
On the website, blogger Kelly Mindell shares posts about pretty much every niche we’ve mentioned in this post so far, and more.
She launched Studio DIY to share the things she loves and lives for with the world.
Cupcakes and Cashmere
Emily Schuman is the blogger behind the silky goodness that is Cupcakes and Cashmere.
Grace was inspired by other bloggers she saw making money online and wanted to see if she could create one of her own and turn it into a profitable venture.
This lifestyle blog covers it all – motherhood, travel, decor, food, beauty, and more.
Emily started in media, but the website was her way to document the things she loved.
Chasing Foxes
Grace Moser runs the lifestyle blog Chasing Foxes. She started it as a stay-at-home wife and quickly grew it to $10,000 per month.
Her trick for making money with her blog is figuring out what her readers want, and what has the potential to go viral.
By mimicking sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy, and with her creative use of Pinterest, she went viral enough times that her website now regularly brings in as many as two million views or more every month.
Barefoot Blonde
Blogger Amber Fillerup Clark calls her blog, Barefoot Blonde, her online diary where she documents lifestyle, beauty, travel, and fashion.
She says it started as a place to share her hairstyle and daily outfits, but it’s grown into so much more than that.
She also runs a clip in hair extension company called Barefoot Blonde Hair, which launched in 2016, and allows her readers to recreate her looks from her blog.
Gentleman Within
Khoi Nguyen created Gentleman Within to inform and inspire men in the ways of style, fashion, confidence, and how to live their best life.
He discusses all things men’s style/lifestyle from his perspective and uses the website to document his own journey as he grows along the way.
Like other bloggers, this space is Khoi’s digital scrapbook that shows him where he’s been, and how far he’s come, as well as what was going on in fashion and style at any given time.
Living Well Spending Less
Though Living Well Spending Less features posts on a variety of topics, it has often been referred to as a financial blog because it focuses so much on running your life on a budget.
These days blogger Ruth Soukup posts a lot about how to manage the overwhelm of day-to-day life, but she still maintains the goal of keeping the finances in check.
After all, keeping her own household budget in check, and saving money while still living well is what inspired her to launch the website in the first place.
Nonetheless, because the focus isn’t as much on money as it used to be, more and more people consider it to be a lifestyle blog.
The great thing about blogging is that if you decide to change your niche or your direction, you can (and should if it feels right and is what your readers want).
There really aren’t any rules that state you have to stick to just one thing forever, and this is a prime example of the fact you can transition your blog into something new if you want to.
Inspiration Indulgence
Chelsea Korpi is a high school counselor and fashion enthusiast turned lifestyle blogger from Wisconsin.
Her blog, Inspiration Indulgence, was created with the goal of inspiring others to live their best life.
The posts on the page encourage her readers to be kinder to themselves and embrace what makes them unique.
ManMadeDIY
Blogger Chris Gardner created ManMadeDIY to explore the emerging independent craft movement through the lens of the postmodern male.
This lifestyle blog also features how-to guides, fashion, posts about food and drinking, as well as art and design posts like how to hack Ikea furniture to make your place look better.
Did we mention your favorite blog?
What do you think about our choices for the most popular blogs?
We love learning about new blogs, and let’s face it — with more than 75 million WordPress websites out there, it’s impossible for us to know about or mention all of them.
Leave us a comment below and tell us who your favorite blogger is!