That’s why I’ve whittled the list down some. Here are the ones off of Matt’s list that I know or suspect are reputable enough to consider. If it isn’t on this list then I can’t vouch for. If it is on the list, I have pretty good faith in it.

• Washington Post
• CityPages
• Minnesota.com
• NYC Bloggers
• Austin Stories
• San Diego Bloggers
• Search Maryland Blog Directory
• iBlog Directory (Paducah, Ky)
• LocalMouth (Britain)
• Best Blog
• Outside.in
• Placeblogger
• Best of the Web
• Blogged
• Blog Catalog
• Blog Digger
• Bloggapedia
• Bloggeries
• Blogarama
• Blog Explosion
• Blog Universe
• Blog Flux
• Blog Hub

And this one’s not really a directory, but it does list blogs by geographic area. Alltop is more like a Web magazine, but it’s well worth being listed in.

If you are a current client of Blog Content Provider we will list your blog in as many directories as you’d like to be included in. Just give us a call.

Directory Blogger is a fairly new blog about directories. All kinds of directories – article directories, blog directories, niche directories, bid directories, general directories, you name it. Since June 2008, Directory Blogger has been providing excellent blog posts on directory submissions, link building through directories and a variety of other topics of interest to serious webmasters who use directory submissions as a way to build links and drive traffic to their websites.

This blog has a cool design. It’s eye-catching and appealing and seems to be well optimized with maybe a few minor weaknesses. I’d definitely recommend reading this blog to keep up with smaller directories. His search box isn’t working so I wasn’t able to see if he has any posts about DMOZ and BOTW, two of the biggest names in the directory niche. Nevertheless, I’d encourage you to subscribe to his blog feed and see what he has to say about directories.

1. WhosTalkin
2. Google Blog Search
3. Technorati
4. StumbleUpon
5. Delicious
6. Ask Blog Search
7. Google Reader

I’ll let you read Carl’s blog for the descriptions. Some of these are at the top of my list as well, but I think Carl’s list is a bit incomplete. Here are three other resources you can use to find blogs in your niche:

• Twitter – Twitter is included in the search at WhosTalkin, but if you can go right to the source then I think you can get better information. Use Twitter’s search feature at search.twitter.com and search by keyword. Also, Twellow, a yellow pages for Twitter, is a good source.
• Alltop – Lists the best blogs in every niche under the sun. About as close to an online magazine rack as you can get.
• BlogCatalog – BlogCatalog is the premier blog community. If there is a niche with a blog then you can bet it’s listed here. If not then it’s probably not worth following.

Don’t rest on your laurels. You need to market your blog. But how do you do that?

There are several ways you can market your blog and drive traffic to it. Here are a few that we recommend:

• Article marketing
• Social bookmarking
• Social networking
• Forum posting
• Pay per click advertising
• E-mail marketing
• Directory submissions
• Sending out link requests

Each of these methods of online marketing is effective in its own way. Article marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing online and is great for driving traffic if you do it on a consistent basis.

Chances are, if you have a blog with Blog Content Provider then we’ve talked to you about social bookmarking. If we haven’t then you should give us a call because this is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your blog.

Social networking is different from social bookmarking in one aspect – the emphasis is on building relationships with people with similar interests in order to bring them to your website so that they can see what you are doing. Social bookmarking focuses on the content; social networking focuses on the relationships.

Forum posting is also effective in driving traffic to your website. The idea is to simply join a conversation and be a contributor. When people see how valuable you are in giving contributions to the group they will trust you more and visit your website.

PPC click marketing, aka pay per click, is very effective, especially for the short term, but it’s the only method of marketing mentioned here that requires a fee beyond any service provider that you hire to act on your behalf.

E-mail marketing is still effective and even in this day many people use e-mail without being fully connected to the Internet. We always recommend marketing your blog through RSS feeds, but you should also have a way for people to receive notice of your blog through e-mail such as a blog promotion newsletter (be sure to ask about Blog Content Provider’s newsletter services).

Directory submissions and link requests are on the bottom end of the spectrum for blog marketing, but I wouldn’t leave them. You never know how people will find you so you should give them every opportunity to do so.

You can rely entirely on SEO for blog marketing, but why limit yourself. While most of your blog traffic will come from search engines, there is a lot more potential out there for getting traffic to your blog. Some bloggers report that Twitter, StumbleUpon, or another social media source is the biggest driver of traffic to their blogs. By focusing on marketing your blog, you can increase your traffic and your conversions. Don’t just leave it to chance.

For more information about blogging, talk to a blog consultant.

That’s right folks. The latest blog directory online, Blogs.pn, will give you link juice just for submitting your blog. It costs nothing, not even a reciprocal link. Customers of Blog Content Provider will be included automatically and we’ll do the submitting for you. This truly is a win-win situation for you and for us.