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Not everything in the book was right for me, and I’ll discuss that more below, however there is enough information that is applicable to me to make it worth the small investment. It’s a book I’ll always have on my shelf and one I recommend to all of my blogger friends.
I hope you’ll check it out too, but I don’t blame you if you want some more details about it before you buy it. That’s what this review is for. An overview of my experience and how I use the book, as well as a quick reference list of pros and cons I found with the book.
ProBlogger: Book Review
- Book: ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (Third Edition)
- Author: Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
- Published: 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
- Intent: Educate readers about blogging basics and how to create and monetize a blog.
- Purchase: Amazon
Why did I decide to purchase and read ProBlogger?
After learning the basics of blogging and starting to make a small income through sponsored work I wanted to take my blogging to the next monetization level. My husband and I have a goal to have my blogging be enough of an income that when he retires from the military the blog will be enough to support us and allow us to travel frequently.
Many bloggers recommend ProBlogger both the website and the book, to provide additional ideas of what I could do next to boost my blogging career. I decided books are a lot cheaper than classes so I decided to buy it to see if it offered any new information or bright ideas I hadn’t thought of yet.
This review is only for the book, but you can check out the website at the link above to get a better feel for their work in the world of blogging.
Who is ProBlogger for?
New Bloggers: New bloggers who are looking to blog professionally full time, part time, or monetize a hobby blog will find this book useful. The focus of the book is on monetizing a blog, however it does go into detail regarding what a blog is, tips for starting a blog, content tips, and monetization strategies. If you’re not looking to monetize your blog then this probably isn’t a book you will find as beneficial.
Intermediate Level and Tenured Bloggers: Even if you’ve been blogging for awhile and already know quite about about blogging and monetization of a blog you’ll still find some great tips in this book. Not only will you find tips and information to spark new monetization strategy ideas, it also has some fantastic exercises throughout the book that are good to review on occasion to help you keep up with industry trends.
My first impression of ProBlogger.
ProBlogger starts out with the absolute basics, describing what a blog is. I loved that the authors provide concise detail about what blogging is, but they don’t spend a lot of time on it before jumping right into the main topic of the book. The first chapter gives a basic overview of monetization. Subsequent chapters combine tips on blog creation as well as how those decisions will affect monetization. There are also information about each monetization strategy, as well as blog marketing, social media, blog communities. You will get a wealth of information in this book on the topic promised with minimal fluff, plus a collection of valuable exercises to help bloggers evaluate trends and help make strategic monetization decisions.
Problogger is broken up into thirteen chapters.
- Blogging for Money
- Niche Blogging
- Setting Up Your Blog
- Blog Writing
- Blog Income and Earning Strategies
- Buying and Selling Blogs
- Blog Promotion and Marketing
- Build a Sticky Blog Community
- Social Media and Your Blog
- Secrets of Successful Blogs
- Creating Something Worthwhile
- Taking Your Blog to the Next Level: A Case Study
- Going Beyond Your Blog
Pros of ProBlogger
- Great introduction on blog monetization.
- Realistic attitude toward monetizing a blog.
- Purposeful exercises throughout the book.
- Stays on topic.
- Highly detailed.
- Conversational writing style.
- Related examples.
- Chapters end with a summary for quick review at the end.
Cons of ProBlogger
- More recommended resources for blog building and analytics could have been provided. It is possible the authors chose to leave out resources to keep the book more evergreen, however I felt this was a hinderance because I would like to know what they recommend at the time for further research.
- The resources recommended at times seem dated. I know this edition of the book is 4 years old, and a lot can change in the blogging world during that time; however I don’t know if they updated resources from the first edition which looks to have been published in 2008. This is not the book I would go to for up to date resources.
- While everything in the book does relate to monetization of a blog, I felt the authors rushed through the chapter on blog earning strategies. This is the information I most wanted from the book and felt that it fell short on the amount of detail that could be provided. It was a great springboard for information, however the course I took on Affiliate Marketing definitely had better quality tips and more detail on that subject. Here’s my review on the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course.
As a basic introductory book on blog monetization, this is a great place to start. However if you’re looking for more details I would seek out other resources. There are fantastic exercises you can use time and time again, however as each year goes on, be careful about the details of the strategies offered. Blogging business does change as the FTC rules change and marketing trends evolve.
Overall I recommend this book for those looking for an introductory guide on blog monetization.
Do you have any other questions about my experience with ProBlogger? Let me know in the comments.
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