How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul

I appreciate how she shares many trade secrets and lots of information that she has learned blogging. This is by far the most helpful book on blogging I have read, shedding a whole new light on the job, what it takes, different ways to make money, what not to do, and resources to help you do these things. Great book, I see why people like it.The book starts out with the author telling you to be awesome. She says this a lot through the book and I found it a tad annoying, however, it does all make sense as she gets into the details of the business of blogging. Each chapter has bullet points at the end that are a to-do list. I read this on my kindle, so I highlighted many sections that I will be going back to.Topics she goes over in detail include Social Media and I found the section on Pinterest to be most helpful. She discusses Ad Networks, Affiliate Sales, Private Advertising, and Selling your own products. She gives links and insider information to a lot of internet companies that I did not know about. She explains how to make a blog schedule, and how to get organized with free schedule sheets. She also gives sample letters to companies and gives examples of how different bloggers make money using the above mentioned paths. I also learned about writing for companies that look like an ad, but are also a topic article. Very helpful stuff.Again, this book has so much information in one spot it will save you lots of time searching and researching for this information. She really is generous with her experience and what has worked for her and what hasn't. I will recommend this book to friends and fellow writers.

I have to admit, I was skeptical at first: What could a book about blogging teach me that I hadn't already learned in my 8+ years of blogging?I have been reading Ruth's blog for YEARS and have always appreciated her warm, honest, and authentic writing style. This book feels like grabbing a cup of coffee with a close friend and listening to her tell her most trusted business secrets - that is, if your friend happens to be a super successful, internationally-known blogger!This book is WELL worth the price. I have read many books on blogging - and most were gimmicky, at best. This book is the REAL DEAL.The tips and strategies in this book are straightforward and achievable by just about anyone. She takes you through, step-by-step, on how to become a better blog writer and how to grow your blog.My blog has always been a hobby of mine (I never intended to make money on it - I blog for fun). But lately I've wanted to expand my audience into something bigger. Through Ruth's easy tips, I know that I can grow my blog's audience in a way that is comfortable for me.So, I am saying that even if you just want to blog for fun (and not necessarily for profit), this book is well-worth reading. I enjoyed it immensely - and felt it was better and more informative than any blogging class I could take or any conference I might attend.This book is such a bargain at any price. And you know what else? You can be SURE that I will be the first in line to buy ANY book Ruth Soukup writes in the future!This book is a real gem and a total game changer in the blogging world. It's a must read for all bloggers!

I will read it and refer to it again but I'm still a little undecided about it. For one thing, this author has been SO successful that to have her level of success described in detail just feels overwhelming. She has all manner of assistants, a lawyer, a CPA, etc. on her payroll. It didn't make me feel inspired, like "I can do that, too!" It just made me think well, lucky you but right now I'd rather hear about what I as an individual can do. Also I kept waiting for her to talk about how the profit comes into the picture. Not that I wanted to ignore all the stuff you have to do to get to that point, I just wanted to hear about how it works because if you're telling me about all this difficult work I need to do, I want to see some money at the end of it. She did eventually discuss it but it took a while. And in saying all this, I've already had two blogs in the past. So if you are an absolute beginner you may want to start with something else. I also wish I'd bought it in paper (if it's available, I don't remember) instead of on Kindle, so I could highlight, skip around, and refer back to it more easily.