There's a lot of crap on the internet.
Clickbait headlines that over promise and under deliver. Writers with horrible advice. Or worse ... writers with nothing unique to say.
On the contrary, there are some incredibly knowledgeable people online. And many of these people write featured columns for some of the largest online business publications, such as:- Inc.
- Harvard Business Review
- Fast Company
- Entrepreneur
The trick is finding out who these people are ... and where they write. So we did some digging to find the 17 best business writers online at major publications.
I've personally learned a LOT from all of these columnists. And it appears many others have as well, since each writer's articles consistently get thousands upon thousands of shares.
Without further ado, here are the 17 best columnists we found on the internet:
1. Dr. Travis Bradberry
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning author of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0.
He writes about the habits of successful people, how to be more likable, and how emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of our job performance.
Here are his must-read articles from the past 12 months:
1. How Successful People Stay Calm
2.Caffeine: The Silent Killer of Success
3.Why Successful People Never Bring Smartphones Into Meetings
2. Jeff Haden
Jeff Haden is an incredibly successful business writer, with over 650,000 followers on LinkedIn.
He's published thousands of articles on a variety of subjects, ranging from productivity to entrepreneurship to leadership. He's consistently ranked as one of the best business writers online.
He writes for BusinessInsider, Inc., Entrepreneur, and is a top LinkedIn Influencer. Here are a few of his must-read articles:
1. Want To Be More Successful? Marry The Right Person.
3. Stephanie Vozza
Stephanie Vozza is a writer at FastCompany who always puts out top-notch content.
She's a Detroit-based writer who covers the habits of successful people, productivity tools, and unconventional networking techniques.
She's also created an ecommerce platform called TheOrganizedParent.com which was later sold to FranklinCovey Products.
Here are a few of her must-read articles:
1. Seven Habits of Optimistic People
4. Steve Tobak
Steve Tobak is a columnist at Entrepreneur.com who writes about the habits of successful people and unique leadership advice. Yet he also has real-world experience.
He's a management consultant and executive coach who runs the Silicon Valley-based firm, Invisor Consulting. He's also an author of the upcoming book, Real Leaders Don't Follow: Being Extraordinary in the Age of the Entrepreneur.
Here are some of his top articles:
1. Want To Be Successful? Quit Being Entitled.
5. Lolly Daskal
Lolly has written thousands of articles and columns for a variety of online media outlets, including Inc., Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today.
She's also a leadership coach, consultant, facilitator, and speaker. Her Twitter account boasts over 1 million followers (!), which is rooted in her 30-years experience in studying the behavioral and psychological factors of successful people.
Here are some of her must-read articles from the past 12 months:
1. 8 Deadly Ways To Kill Employee Motivation
6. Geoff Weiss
Geoff writes for Enterpreneur.com, focused in online video, celebrity entrepreneurs, and the human aspects of business building.
He covers the why behind trending stories, such as Richard Branson's influential decision to offer unlimited vacation, Coke's latest marketing campaign, and habits behind Google executives.
Here are a few of his must-read articles:
1. This Clever Marketing Campaign Reversed Coke's 11-Year Decline In Soda Sales
2.Richard Branson Announces Unlimited Vacation For Virgin Staffers
3.The Morning Rituals Of 10 Of The World's Most Inspirational Entrepreneurs [Infographic]
7. Larry Kim
Larry Kim is a unique columnist, because not only is he an incredible writer, but he also runs a successful marketing software company called WordStream.
Larry is a regular columnist for Inc., but he's also been featured in Business Insider, Huffington Post, and many other prestigious marketing blogs.
This regular in the marketing community also has incredible advice for those not in marketing. Here are a few examples of his best writing this past year:
1.Working Mothers Raised More Successful Daughters And Empathetic Sons
2.5 Incredible People Who Went From Being Broke To Billionaire
8. Gwen Moran
Gwen Moran is a regular contributor to the leadership section on Fast Company. She has also been featured in publications such as Fortune, Entrepreneur, LA Times, Newsweek, and more.
Writing for Entrepreneur since 1997, Gwen typically writes about entrepreneurship, leadership, productivity, and various business-related topics.
Here are a few of her must-read articles of this year:
1. How We Can Help Young Girls Stay Assertive
2.What Work Will Look Like In 2025
3.5 Fake-Productive Things You're Doing That Are A Waste Of Time
9. Geoffrey James
Geoffrey James created the award-winning blog, Sales Machine, which generates over a million views per month. As a result, he's now a frequent columnist for Inc.
Before this, he was the lead writer on CRM and sales training for SellingPower magazine. He's also the author of award-winning books such as Business Without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts You Need To Know.
Here are a few of his must-read articles:
1. 21 Short Videos Worth More Than An MBA
10. Catherine Clifford
Catherine Clifford is a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com who frequently writes about social entrepreneurship, crowdfunding, and other emerging business trends.
Previously, she was the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN.
Here are a few of her top articles from the past 12 months:
1. 15 Ways To Overcome Procrastination And Get Stuff Done [Infographic]
2.How Old Is Too Old To Start A Business? The Answer May Surprise You.
11. Sujan Patel
Sujan Patel doesn't only create incredible content, he also has a track record of running successful businesses.
He founded Single Grain, a marketing agency, that works with prestigious clients such as Warby Parker, Linkedin, and Sony. But he's since left and founded contentmarketer.io and is now the VP of Marketing at When I Work.
He writes about life as an entrepreneur, increasing productivity, sustaining motivation, and more. Here are a few of his top articles this year:
1. You'll Never Hear Successful Entrepreneurs Say These 15 Phrases
2.Success Can Come At Any Age. Just Look At These 6 Successful Entrepreneurs.
3.15 Must-Have Marketing Tools For 2015
12. Drew Hendricks
Drew Hendricks defines himself as a "tech, social media, and environmental addict." He writes for publications such as Inc., Forbes, and Entrepreneur.
Topics he covers range from entrepreneurship, to advice from successful people, to networking, to career advice.
Here are a few of his must-read articles:
1. 10 Tips Mark Cuban Would Give His Younger Self
2.6 Small Changes To Your Morning Routine Will Transform Your Entire Day
13. Madeline Stone
Madeline Stone is a reporter who covers the lifestyle of the top entrepreneurs in the tech industry.
She dives deep into the lives and lifestyles of successful people, and the mental frameworks that make them tick. Madeline covers everyone from Elon Musk, to Bill Gates, to the CEO of GoPro, Nick Woodman.
Check out some of her most-shared material of the past year below:
1. Elon Musk's First Wife Explains What It Takes To Become A Billionaire
2.How A 23-Year Old Makes $500,000 A Year Tweeting About Random Facts
3.Fabulous Life Of Evan Spiegal, World's Youngest Billionaire
14. Minda Zetlin
Minda Zetlin is a business technology writer and speaker, co-author of The Geek Gap, and former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Minda consistently writes articles that generate thousands of shares, ranging in topics from conversation starters, to leadership, to case studies of highly-successful people.
Here are a few of her must-read articles:
1. Stop This One Bad Habit And You'll Increase Productivity By 40%
2.9 Things Warren Buffet Says You Should Do To Be Happy And Successful
3.7 Mind-Expanding Lessons From TED Talks On How To Hack Your Own Brain
15. Jane Porter
Jane Porter, a regular contributor at Fast Company, is one of my favorite columnists to follow. Why?
Because she writes about scientifically-backed research studies that explain how to be more productive and efficient with our days. Examples include how exercise influences our minds, rewiring our brains for more happiness, unique writing exercises, and more.
Dive into some of her best work of the past 12 months below:
1. How Exercise Changes Your Brain To Be Basically Better At Everything
2.How To Rewire Your Brain For Greater Happiness
3.From Near Failure To A $1.5 Billion Sale: The Epic Story Of Lynda.com
16. Jonathan Long
Jonathan Long is not only a writer frequented on sites such as Entrepreneur and Huffington Post, but he also owns a Miami-based online marketing agency called Market Domination Media.
He writes about starting a business, productivity advice, organizational tips, and much more.
Here are a few of his top articles from the past 12 months:
1. 8 Toxic Type Of People You Should Keep Out Of Your Life
2.10 Quotes From Entrepreneurial Icons That Will Inspire You To Crush 2015
3.Get More Done By Following The 'Productivity Diet' [Infographic]
17. John Rampton
John Rampton is a Silicon-Valley based entrepreneur (founder of Due), investor, online marketing expert, and author. In fact, he's also been considered one of the top 10 most influential PPC (Pay Per Click) experts in the world.
He's a startup enthusiast who contributes to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Huffington Post. In addition, he advises several companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Here are a few of his top articles:
1. What You Can Learn From 8 Kids Already Making Millions Of Dollars
2.How Fortune 500 Leaders Spend Every Minute Of Their Day
3. From A to Z: 200 Essential Resources For Entrepreneurs Building A Business
