I was at a Barnes & Noble store a couple days ago, and I saw a few copies Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett’s book ProBlogger: Secrets Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income sitting on the shelf in the Computers and Internet section (the spot I always head directly for whenever I’m in a book store).
I picked up a copy of the book and started to skim through it. I didn’t read it quite as thoroughly as I would have had I bought the book, but I spent a half hour or so giving it a good look.
The 240-page book covers quite a bit of ground. It spends a couple chapters introducing the concepts of blogging and “ProBlogging,” and guides you through setting up a blog. Dispensing with the “start a blog in ten minutes” mentality that so many blogging books take, it teaches you to think about things more, to plan before you run out a create a shiny new blog. They keep that part of the book to a minimum though, instead focusing on what you do after you have a blog.
It covers monetization methods (ads, affilaite deals, selling things, etc), ad networks, the ever-popular 125×125 ads, the importance of finding a good niche, et cetera. It also emphasizes the fact that blogging won’t magically net you millions overnight, that you may have to work for a couple years before seeing much of a profit at all. (In short: your mileage will vary.)
The book is kind of the “best of ProBlogger” (and then some) packaged into a handy, better organized guide. (You have to admit it’s hard to find what you’re looking for in Darren’s voluminous archives.)
I think the book is good for those getting started with blogging, as well as those who have been going for awhile, already having some good traffic, and want to take their blogging to the next level.
