Book Review: “ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income” by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

Have you ever considered that the hobby of blogging could lead to a six-figure income? Although it sounds crazy, that is exactly what happened to blogger Darren Rowse. Starting with a website about his hobby in photography, Rowse went from earning a few dollars a month to earning enough to quit his full-time job.

With the help of fellow blogger and co-author Chris Garrett, Rowse decided to publish a book entitled “ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income”. The book is a collection of tips and advice on the art and business of building a blog. It not only provides several introductory step-by-step processes for getting started and keeping your blog running, but it also provokes many questions about what type of subject you’d like to write about, how to keep things interesting, etc.

In addition to the book, a website by the same name, “Problogger.com”, was also created. Problogger.com is used to give the topic a dynamic aspect with frequently updated content and advice.

Summary of the Content:

Unlike most “get rich from the Internet” books out there, this one is 99% about blogging; not creating lame +$1,000 E-Products, seminars, or anything else like that. Just plain and simple blogging.

Although both men have made a substantial amount of money from their blogging sites, the book does maintain one central theme:

• Build a well organized blog with quality and valuable material

The following is a summary of some of the topics they cover in Problogger:

• Building a niche blog

• Selecting a host, domain, and format (such as WordPress)

• Tips on writing useful content (including introductions, post length, frequency, organization, and comments)

• How to make money using advertising (types of ads, payment types, sizes, affiliate programs), other direct methods (donations, classifieds, merchandise, subscriptions), and indirect methods (free-lance blogging, writing for magazines and books, speaking, consulting, etc)

• Alternative methods for making money such as buying a blog, selling your blog, and flipping blogs

• Promoting your blog by building content, relations, using link bating, running competitions, search engine optimization (SEO), comments, and social media

My Impressions:

“Problogger” was one of the books that got me started on “MyMoneyDesign.com”. The prospect that someone could take their hobby or knowledge and turn it into something that eventually becomes their primary income was one of the most intriguing elements of this book. Out of all the passive income opportunities out there, blogging is certainly one of the most inexpensive, low-risk, and entertaining avenues to take advantage of.

Again, if you’re even thinking about starting a blog, this book is the place to start. The advice they share is superb if you are looking for an introduction to this subject. The tips on getting starting, using WordPress, and keeping your content interesting is very extremely helpful. In addition, this book provokes a lot of very reflective questions that will help you pinpoint what your goals are towards helping your audience.

As a companion to this book, I would also recommend reading “The Six-Figure Second Income: How To Start and Grow A Successful Online Business Without Quitting Your Day Job” by David Lindahl and Jonathan Rozek. I read both books around the same time and both helped me to create this website. In contrast, “The Six-Figure Second Income” has more action-able content and specific recommendations for things like picking domain names, hosting service, choosing a template, etc.

If you already have a blog or have some experience with creating websties, then Problogger may not be as helpful for you as other available alternatives. For some more advanced tips, I’d recommend the book “Get Rich Click!: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet” by Marc Ostrofsky. “Get Rick Click!” skips over a lot of the introductory topics, but does spend A LOT of time on subjects like search-engine optimization (SEO), affiliate marketing, and creating valuable content.

Click here to read my review of “Get Rich Click!”

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3) Book Review: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter