It recently occurred to me that I wanted more feeds to read. And not just anything to read but niche specific blogs where I could get into the content that was being offered and become part of their blog community.

On my quest in searching for my newest blogs to read, I wondered how others search for niche specific blogs and wanted to share my tips and hear yours. So today, in a two part series, I’ll share with you how I find blogs to read.

Today we’ll focus on the big timers and reading blogs of the industry leaders in your niche.

Google

This may seem obvious but on numerous occasions I have heard of people over looking Google in their search for more blogs to read. Not only do I check out Google search for highly ranked blogs for my keywords of choice but I also use Google Blog Search which provides me with different results.

Check it out Google. If you’re not always researching the keywords that you use on your blog you may be surprised by the results that you’ll find.

Technorati

During my Race for Rank series, I talked about different ways to use Technorati for finding inspiration and using tags for networking. But I also use Technorati to locate blogs within my niche that are highly ranked. This search is easy by hitting up Technorati’s list of the Top 100 Blogs.

Bloglines

My feed reader, Bloglines offers their Top 1,000 feeds which is another awesome place to check out. Sure, you’re going to find duplicates on these lists but there may be a diamond in the rough that you haven’t seen before or have previously overlooked.

Alltop

Recently I discovered Alltop which features some of the best of the best. They even have them separated out by niche so finding the blogs that you’re most interested in reading is easy.

Social Networking

Not all the sites on the important pages of social networking sites are going to be big time bloggers, but they’re getting a lot of attention and exposure at the moment and there’s a reason for that!

Hit up the buzz page on StumbleUpon, the front page of digg, and check out what’s popular on Reddit and Mixx. You’re sure to find someone new to browse, read, and subscribe to.

Conferences

A lot of the industry leaders for my niche attend conferences. So I check out the conference sites to see who’s speaking where and ensure that I’ve subscribed to their blogs. Not only for the information that they provide but if I plan to attend the same conference, reading their blog enables me to start conversations with them. My two biggest conference sites are BlogWorldExpo and BlogHer.

Why the popular?

Each of us, regardless of size, has something to learn from another blogger. It was months and months into blogging before I knew who Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett, and Ryan Caldwell were. Now that I do know who these guys are, I read their blogs and their latest posts before I read anyone else. And these are just 3 of the many who I catch up with first…

Networking

If you’re aspiring to be on a different level with blogging than you currently are, those who have gotten name recognition are great places to start. Look at how they got there, the style they choose to write in, how many RSS subscribers they have, and what they’re doing to create a community with their blog. You can learn from more than just their excellent posts. Pay attention to all aspects of their blog and really learn from the success story.

Your Search

How do you locate and subscribe to popular bloggers in your niche? Have you checked out any searches or simply subscribed when you heard of someone? Who’s the big time blogger for your niche in your feed reader right now?