25 Influential Bloggers That You Should Be Following in 2021

Blogging has become so popular in the last decade or so, especially within the last couple of years. Since people were forced to rethink the way they do business, many businesses have turned to the online world. Blogging has actually been around since the early 2000s, but it increased in popularity about tenfold in the last five years alone.

The cool thing about blogging is that pretty much anyone that has a knack for writing can get into this field. And you can do it from anywhere, at any time. You can make a blog in just a few minutes and then you’re good to go.

But how can you make money from blogging? It takes a lot of time and determination, and maybe a little bit of luck, too. If you think you’ll get a massive following and make a lot of money from day one, you will be very disappointed.

As you will see with the list we compiled, some of these bloggers who dedicate their whole time on their blogging business started off as a hobby. Their passion and knowledge about the topics they tackled are what got them where they are right now, and this definitely didn’t happen overnight.

Most of them actually make money from advertisements that pop up on their pages. But to get to that point, a lot of work has to be done. If you’re patient and persistent, eventually you will start earning from your blog.

Another thing they all have in common: they write about what they love and share a genuine passion for such as travel. When you truly enjoy what you do it shows, and people like individuals that are happy with their jobs.

Now we will take a look at the 25 most influential bloggers that you can get your inspiration from today.

25. Darren Rowse

Like many bloggers today, he started off his business as a hobby. At first, he was blogging about the Olympics and photography, one of his favorite pastimes.

Eventually he started his now main money making Problogger, a website that helps bloggers with handy tips and tricks. He also made an Ebook that sells online, and he makes money from affiliate programs and advertising deals.

24. Harvey Levin

An American lawyer, legal analyst and celebrity reporter, Harvey Levin founded the famous website TMZ, which is the leading celebrity gossip blog up to now.

He used his contacts from the industry to create his own brand, and he became very successful at it. It turns out, people love to hear anything about celebrities and their lives.

23. Pat Flynn

Pat Flynn stumbled upon his newfound love for blogging by accident. After losing his corporate job he was trying to figure out how to earn a living and created the website Smart Passive Income in order to provide for his family.

Little did he know, his honesty and transparency that he shares with his readers got him a huge following, and he earns a very decent living from his blog.

22. Gary Vaynerchuk

His love of wine that he displayed on the video blog Wine Library TV, got him instant internet fame and turned his $3 million a year wine retail store into a $60 million a year wholesale business.

He co-founded VaynerMedia as well, a digital marketing agency that collaborates with some very famous brands in the world. All those ventures combined make his brand unique and bring him millions of dollars a year.

21. Vitaly Friedman

Vitaly Friedman founded Smashing magazine in 2006. It is a blog that provides web development and web design related articles, which millions of viewers find useful. He is very passionate about beautiful content and a skilled writer.

His style flows easily, that is one of the reasons his website gets so many visits per month – an average of 2.3 million viewers per month. Another reason is that the information is accurate and pertinent.

20. Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr.

If you’re living in North America, or anywhere in the western world really, you surely heard of Perez Hilton.

The popular yet controversial celebrity gossip website is run and managed by Mario Armanda, and it generates more than two million viewers a month. His main source of income is direct advertisement on the website.

19. Peter Rojas

A wiz when it comes to the online world, he is responsible for two major websites: Engadget and Gizmodo. Engadget earns him about $50 million US a year, and Gizmodo about $5 million. Not too shabby, right?

Both blogs cater to the gaming world and reviews on consumer electronics, which is a very popular and lucrative business. But most of this income is generated from sponsored ads and direct advertising.

18. Susan Yara

Her blog is about another very lucrative topic that took on immense dimensions in the last couple of years: skincare and beauty. She co-owns the blog Mixed Makeup, another personal blog and a skincare line called Naturium skin.

One of the most influential #skinthusiasts, she does brand comparisons, tests and tries many products that are on the market, and gives valuable tips according to your skin type.

17. Michael Arrington

A former mergers and acquisitions lawyer from California, he found his niche in the startup world. He started his blog TechCrunch.com, a blog where he reviewed up and coming tech companies from all over the world.

It was a very lucrative blog, and with money he made from this venture he acquired AOL for the sum of $30 million US. The proceeds from the sale were used to set up his own investment fund and he invests into startups.

16. Brett McKay

A self-proclaimed “manly” man, Brett decided to start writing about men and their interests back in 2008. He founded and is the editor-in-chief of an online lifestyle magazine that caters to the male population, The Art of Manliness.

Him and his wife run their business online full-time. The blog’s topics range from business, fashion, finances and health, with a new approach to current lifestyle changes.

15. Vani Hari

The Food Babe, an online blog about food investigating and clean eating. Vani Hari does not offer recipes or content about cooking or baking, she simply promotes food safety and natural eating alternatives.

An activist as well, she influenced some fast food chains into bringing healthier alternatives to their menu while using better quality ingredients.

14. Tim Ferris

Known for his popular blog Four Hour Workweek, Tim is a pioneer in the “lifestyle design” area, and he sold several books on the topic. His massive following got him instant fame, and he is one of the most influential bloggers out there.

He takes credit for popularizing the “internet lifestyle”, and we should be grateful to him for that. Now we can work from our laptops from literally anywhere in the world because of his innovative ways.

13. Jonathan Van Ness

A very vocal activist of sensitive issues such as HIV awareness, mental health and the LGBTQ+ community, Jonathan Van Ness created his blog and podcast named Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness about those very topics.

Because of his untraditional ways of approaching journalism and social media, his increased popularity has gained him the true influencer status.

12. Valeria Lipovetsky

One of the most influential fashion bloggers and TikTok stars is Valeria Lipovetsky. Valeria Inc is her platform where she gives tips on beauty, clothing and style.

On her blog she writes about her experiences as a model, her personal style, who influenced her fashion sense, among other similar topics. She also has a jewelry line called Leia Collections, is a mom of two, and she also creates content on health, parenting and wellness.

11. Leon Ho

San Francisco-based Leon Ho is the CEO and founder of the very popular blog Lifehack. The blog teaches about productivity, applying business hacks that improve your numbers, and he takes his inspiration from his own experiences as a manager for a large corporation.

He started this venture with the intention of sharing tips and tricks that would help others, and it took off and became a major resource for both experts and newbies in the business alike.

10. Ryan Schreiber

Pitchfork, an Indie music blog is founded and run by Ryan Screiber, who started off this project in 1995. At the time, the internet was so new and scary for some people, many thought he was nuts at the time.

Now, the blog is owned by media conglomerate Conde Nast. He did pretty well for himself, having started off a small blog as a youngster straight from his Mineappolis bedroom.

9. Stephen Totilo

If you consider yourself a “nerd” you’ve surely heard of Kotaku, a blog for the”nerd” culture. Stephen Totillo blogs about video games, a dream come true for many gamers.

His interest in the subject and obvious passion can be felt through his words that he presents to us. A niche industry that grew tremendously in the last few years, it made him one of the most influential bloggers on the topic.

8. Ellarie Noel

Her blog about being a single mom Ellarie got her a large following, and she has a huge following on Instagram as well. Her focus is on the mom lifestyle, and being an unemployed single mom that turned things around and expanded her content creation into a lucrative business. She also writes about and reviews products, travel and lifestyle, and is a well-known beauty blogger.

The way she turned her own life around inspires and encourages many women to follow suit.

7. Jonah Peretti

Jonah Perretti used to work with a group of people, amongst whom you might recognize the name Arianna Huffington, and created Huffington Post.

Then he branched off and created Buzzfeed for fun as an experiment of sorts, where people could connect over popular content they were interested in. The pop culture phenomenon expanded to dimensions he never dreamed of, and his blog is his main source of income today.

6. Brian Clark

He founded and is the main contributor to Copy Blogger, a blog about helping any digital content creator with copywriting and marketing skills. He created this website in 2006 when many people were still new to content creation.

Although he did step down as CEO of Copy Blogger, he still makes regular content contributions to it. He branched out to other ventures such as Unemployable, an online community he founded that helps out entrepreneurs and freelancers. He also owns Further, a newsletter about midlife personal growth.

5. Christene Barberich

You must have heard of Refinery29, the online media and entertainment company that focuses on empowering women. Christene Barberich is the face behind the idea that was founded in 2005 in an apartment she shared with friends. Now the company she co-created is headquartered in New York, and has since taken over the internet.

At the moment it is owned by parent organization Vice Media and employs over 500 people. They write on topics such as self-help and personal interests that are very relevant in our everyday lives.

4. Rand Fishkin

A college dropout that was working for a family run web development company, he started his blog about SEO in 2004. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, helps many clients in the search industry with tools and educational resources.

His company also creates SEO software that generates millions of dollars a year. With the profits from his subscriptions and software services he acquired several other companies.

3. Neil Patel

As a son of immigrants that grew up in California, Neil Patel became one of the most influential and successful entrepreneurs in his field. He worked hard at various jobs, but his knowledge of software and great marketing skills are what got him to where he is today.

He created KISSmetrics, an analytic platform for people starting their own businesses with his team, but then ventured out and made his own blog, where his focus is on SEO content.

2. Pete Cashmore

Another one of the most influential blogs is Mashable, a news resource appreciated by tech-lovers from around the world. Founder Pete Cashmore started this website at only 19 years old, and he has the reputation of a tech guru.

But when he decided to concentrate on media resources, that’s when the blog really became what it is today. He blended the two topics into his website and took it to another level.

1. Arianna Huffington

Media legend Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American journalist who created Huffington Post in 2005. Since its creation in 2005, the news-media platform has taken over the internet. She built her media empire from scratch during tumultuous times, so we have to give her major props for that.

While being editor-in-chief of the blog she also founded Thrive Global, another media group that focuses on wellness and self-help. She is one of the most remarkable women on the online news platform.

Here you have it, the list of the 25 most influential bloggers of 2021. Do you agree with our choices?