Even the best leaders need to follow, in order to continue to grow. [Tweet This!]

At the end of each year I pick three influencers that I will follow throughout the course of the next year to learn from. I keep these secret (so don’t ask!) and quietly study how they do what they do. I reach out to them, converse with them, become friends with them (if we don’t know each other already!), perhaps get them on my podcast and generally soak up as much knowledge and experience from them as possible.

It’s a great growth strategy which I’ve followed for the last 4-years now, and I strongly suggest you start doing likewise.

In order to help you, I’ve put together the following list (which is presented in no particular order) of all-star influencers that are currently serving up plenty of brilliant content and know-how tips and tactics. You might fancy following some on the list (in full, or part) to learn from.

Let’s get to it!

Michael Hyatt

Why Michael Makes The List – Michael is the online leader to online leaders, in my mind. With a wealth of knowledge and an extremely successful career to back it up, he personifies what it means to be a thought leader.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

Advice to First-Time Authors

Pat Flynn

Why Pat Makes The List – Pat calls himself the crash test dummy of online business. He puts himself through various experiments to find out what works and what doesn’t, so you can ramp up your online business faster.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

And They Said I Was Stupid

Darren Rowse

Why Darren Makes The List – Mr. Problogger is one of the longest standing professional bloggers online. He has, literally, written the book on the subject. He’s my personal go-to guy when it comes to everything blogging.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

7 Strategies for Growing Community on your Blog

Lewis Howes

Why Lewis Makes The List – Lewis focuses on his podcast more than anything else nowadays, content creation wise, and it’s a good thing he does. It’s excellent! Lewis is inspiring, thought provoking and simply ‘great’.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

Top 10 Ways to Make Money Online with Integrity

John Lee Dumas

Why John Makes The List – Is producing revenue totally $232,000 in a month a good enough reason to be respected as an online influencer? Of course it is! John’s entrepreneurial enthusiasm is simply contagious.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

Top 10 Business Books According to 550 Entrepreneurs

Michael Stelzner

Why Michael Makes The List – Social media has become a leading factor in the overall success of online business owners. And nobody has ‘lead the way’ as much as Mike. His tribe is second to none.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

How to Secure Guests that Become Allies

Brian Clark

Why Brian Makes The List – Along with Darren, Brian has been blogging for a very, very long time. He’s a genuine thought leader / provoker in the content marketing space and leads the way in providing related services and products.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

8 Ways a Digital Media Platform is More than ‘Marketing’

James Schramko

Why James Makes The List – James consistently blows me away with his content creation, marketing and overall business mindset. His easy to follow style is what makes James such a powerhouse – he’s understood by everyone.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

How to Develop Powerful Training Courses

Andrew Warner

Why Andrew Makes The List – Andrew’s reach in the online entrepreneurship world is vast. He’s respected by everyone and inspires hundreds of thousands of business owners all around the world. Mixergy is an institution unto itself!

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

The Entire Archive of Mixergy’s Online Courses



Tim Ferriss

Why Tim Makes The List – Hello?! It’s Tim Ferriss… You know, that guy who is single handedly responsible for creating an entire generation of entrepreneurs with his bestseller, The 4-Hour WorkWeek. ‘Nuff said.

Must-Consume Piece of Content –

Relax Like a Pro: 5 Steps to hacking your Sleep

Being ‘Influenced’ is just the Beginning!

It’s all very well following people of influence, to learn from them directly or whatever, but unless you take action it’ll all be a waste of time.

Actually putting pen to paper, planning, developing, launching, marketing… it’s all the difference between truly crushing it, or simply ‘getting by’.

I don’t like getting by. Never have. And knowing my community the way I do, I’m guessing you feel the same way – so… take some action!

Question: What traits do you look for in a leader…? Answer below, and lets share a little. Feel free to list YOUR influencer choices, too!