As a blogger, this is one of the books that I really looked up to.
Written by the “ProBlogger” himself, Darren Rowse, and his friend Chris Garrett, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income is basically one of the blogging bibles out there.
Don’t expect practical tips to skyrocket your blog in a week.
Instead, expect basic principles and fundamental mindset that can teach you to make a plan for your by yourself.
And these are the 10 things I learned from this book.
1. Blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme
This is where most beginners are wrong.
I used to think that by blogging for a month I will start making money.
Well, technically, yes you can make money blogging after a month…
…if you do it right.
But most newbies are more likely to not do it right.
So, expect a year before you start making money if you’re consistent.
2. Choose an interesting and profitable niche
An interesting BUT NOT profitable niche is fun to write, but it can’t make you money.
A profitable BUT NOT interesting niche is surely tempting, but you’re most likely to abandon it because it will be boring.
What you want is the niche that is interesting and profitable at the same time.
You don’t have the be the expert on that niche, but you have to be interested in that niche in order to keep your blog running.
3. Self-hosted WordPress blog with a custom domain on a managed hosting is a good start for most people
Don’t use anything else if you’re being serious about problogging.
Don’t use Blogger, Squarespace, Wix, Tumblr, or even the WordPress.com blog.
Use the self-hosted WordPress.org along with a custom domain (.com is preferred).
And don’t ever think about using a VPS if you know little to nothing about it.
For most people, sign up for a managed WordPress hosting instead.
You will have people to help you with anything related to your hosting.
4. Great content is a must if you wish to succeed
People have limited time in their life, so they want to make sure they didn’t spend their valuable time consuming cheap or even mediocre content.
Most content on the internet are free, so it’s logical that most people only want the greatest content.
Following that logic, you should create a great (if not the greatest) content in order to get visitors and customers.
Don’t waste your time creating 50 mediocre content.
Instead, spend your time creating 5 ultimate content.
Great content makes the marketing aspect of your blog a LOT easier.
5. There are so many ways to make money blogging, choose the ones that fits you the most
There’s advertisement, affiliate marketing, selling products, CPA, and many more.
I used advertisement in the past (Google AdSense) until it’s no longer profitable for my blog.
So I decided to change my monetization method to affiliate marketing (Amazon Affiliate Program).
It was a good decision, and I never regret that I left the world of website ads.
Ads are ugly and not aesthetic, anyway.
6. Sometimes, selling (or buying) your blog is the right decision
In most cases, there will be times where you can’t work on your blog anymore.
The reason could anything, from being busy, or simply it turn out that you don’t have the passion anymore.
Selling your blog could be the right decision.
And it’s the same with buying a blog.
Maybe you don’t know where to start, or maybe you want to skip the process of building a blog.
If you like continue the work of others, buying a blog could be the right decision.
Although, people who buy blogs are usually experienced bloggers.
Most newbies should learn to build blog from scratch in my opinion.
7. There are so many ways to promote your blog, again, choose the ones you’re comfortable with
There’s paid advertisement, guest posting, forum marketing, infographic marketing, and many more.
I personally prefer guest posting and forum marketing because it provides value to other people.
My advice? Don’t ever do spam. Just don’t.
Don’t leave thousands of comments in random blogs.
Don’t submit irrelevant links to subreddits (most likely you will get banned, or worse, getting your domain banned).
If you can do it easily, then it’s not worth the time and risk.
8. Social media is your friend, until you get overwhelmed by it
A lot of beginners create accounts for their blog on almost all major social media websites.
It’s the right way to secure your unique usernames on those websites.
But, choose only the ones you’re comfortable using (or where your audience are).
I was overwhelmed managing so many social media accounts that I forgot to manage the main blog.
Your blog is your priority, and social media is just a tool to get more audience and exposure.
9. Observe successful (and unsuccessful) blogs to know what makes them so
This applies to any aspects of problogging, whether it’s content, design, or marketing aspect.
See what they’re doing and replicate it yourself.
Also, visit the regular blogs where there are no activities in it.
You will see so many differences between the successful and unsuccessful blogs.
Try to avoid what the unsuccessful blogs are doing.
The first thing I noticed when I visit a blog (or a website in general) is the overall design.
If it’s good looking (aesthetically pleasing), then most likely it’s a successful one.
If it looks like a generic blog with unmodified generic free theme, in most cases I will leave in less than 5 seconds.
10. To expand your blog, in most cases you need to hire people
Most of you won’t get there, but trust me, you will need more people to manage your blog.
I’m not saying you should hire a worker and open up an office. No.
You can use freelance workers to help you manage your blog.
I don’t have workers (at least not yet), but I’m using freelancers to help me create the content and design the blog.
That way, I could still have professionals working for me ONLY when I need them.
Should You Read This Book?
If you’re a blogger who wants to make money blogging, yes.
If you’re anything else, no.
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