If your goal is blogging for income, then you have to start somewhere and always be learning what works and doesn't work. The Monetizer is far from an expert and is constantly researching and learning new concepts to use in blogging, promoting and making money online. To stay on top of your game and find new ideas, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the best bloggers and money makers online today.
Here's 5 blogs in particular that the Monetizer enjoys:
1) John Chow - A very inspirational online money maker, he blogs about the ways you can make money online and provides his monthly earnings each month on his blog. August 2007 income was over $17,000! He also is nearing the 10,000 mark in terms of subscribers to his blog.
Monetizer enjoys Mr. Chow's posts despite a few grammatical/spelling errors here or there and having to look at pictures of various buffet lunch items. Regardless of that, John Chow is making big bucks from blogging and you should study his ways.
http://www.johnchow.com
2) John Cow - Parodying the big guy, John Chow, is the Cow. They started a blog which slightly mocks the idea of John Chow but still provides readers ways to make money and profit online. Smart guys, because if someone mistypes Johnchow.com, they just might end up at the Cow's blog.
While some say this is a copycat of John Chow's success it's actually creative and entertaining. Written from the perspective of sarcastic cows making "moo-ney", this blog is highly worth your time. It also features a very clever and catchy brand new blog site design as well as constant mention of contests from the Cow and other sites.
http://www.johncow.com
3) DoshDosh - A very stylish and useful blog written with all sorts of great information about making money online, blogging, optimization, social media and productivity. It's got the tools and tips you'll need and is presented in very understandable terms. You'll find yourself returning to its easy to understand nature and helpful resources very often.
http://www.doshdosh.com
4) Problogger - Darren Rowse is another one of the top bloggers along with John Chow. In fact Chow, Rowse and Shoe (below) are considered the "Big 3" in blogging for money. These guys make a ton of money and are "full time bloggers", meaning it's their job to blog and they get a solid income from it.
Learn from Rowse, an expert blogger, and gain his unique insights into how the monetized blog can work for you. Rowse covers things such as setting up your blog, tweaking its design/optimization, gaining readers, as well as trends and ideas on how to be a more productive blogger.
http://www.problogger.net
5)ShoeMoney - Another great blog about blogging, technology and ways to make money. Bookmark this one, which at times goes into other topics such as Mixed Martial Arts and celebrities. Shoemoney offers unique perspectives on blogging, making money online and many other topics. It also includes a stylish and captivating new design.
You'll find a multitude of great ideas and inspiration from the Shoe!
http://www.shoemoney.com
Several of the above bloggers have recently undergone "makeovers" for their blogs and some of the design concepts turned out quite nice. Enjoy them, learn from them, and realize there are a TON of blogs out there about Making Money. Each blog will have different perspectives and ideas of just how it's done, so it makes sense to pull knowledge from as many areas as you can. Consider Chow, Cow, Dosh, Rowse & Shoe because they are amongst the cream of the crop in online money making blogs and will present you some great ideas to get yourself going. Bookmark all 5, get their RSS feeds, and be on your way to being up there with the best. Also consider being a frequent commenter on these heavily traveled blogs, as it just may help bring you more readers.
For honorable mention, here's 3 others you may be interested in checking out:
Super Affiliate ZacJohnson - Includes very good commentary on the blogging world and on what trends he believes will work or not work for making money online.
The Blogging Experiment - This is done by another blogger, Ben Cook, looking to build from the ground up, with some great tips and resources. He also has given himself a year to turn his blog from $0 into a full time income.
kottke.org - This is not really a make money online blog, but he makes money online with the blog :)