Do you want to be a better blogger? Read this e-book review, Successful Blogging written by blogger Annabel Candy, to find out if this book will help you get there.
I’ve been a blogging personally for 7 years and professionally for 3.
But am I successful blogger?
I’m not really sure. I don’t make six figures doing so, but I do just fine.
With that being said, I’m passionate about honing my craft. That’s one of the reasons why my hand was raised when successful blogger of Get in the Hot Spot’s Annabel Candy asked if anyone was interested in reviewing her new e-book.
That and the fact that I’ve been secretly following her ever blooming career from hobby blogger to a truly admirable and envy worthy professional blogger. Have you seen her on Problogger?!
I saw the 65 page e-book in front of me and was ready to take action to make this blog and my inspiring one more delicious for the average reader.
But I didn’t go in without some assumptions, however. Could this book provide me with more information than I’d learned in the 7 years total of blogging? Can a book transform me into a better blogger? Are the tips Annabel shares the secret to her Successful Blogging career or was it her (personality, talent, skills) that got her there?
Hmmm…Only one way to find out!
Successful Blogging E-Book Review
Sixty-five pages are not a lot. If I can get through 600 pages in a biography, what’s a mere 65 right?
So I thought.
It took me a lot longer to get through Annabel’s 65 pages. And I was embarrassed by it actually.
But I had a good reason!
There was SO many tips packed in those 65 pages. While it was an easy read, there were topics in there like analyzing your blog and on blogging itself, that needed time for simmering and thinking. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Let’s start with the pros:
Annabel has a down-to-earth, positive, good natured spirit that comes across in her book. She delivers information about blogging that is helpful and clear. (It just goes to show you how wrong I was and how I little I know about blogging.)
Annabel is an expert at drawing people to her and at setting goals. I was impressed by her before I read the book, but I was even more so afterwards.
I think one of the misconceptions of blogging is that it’s easy. You simply get words down on a platform and then wait and see. But one of the things I liked best about Successful Blogging is that it truly laid-out how much work goes into being successful. Things like analyzing what posts work well for your blog by checking out Google analytics and finding out where your biggest readers are being directed from and then making the appropriate changes to increase its popularity.
If you are already a blogger, you’ll still get lots out of this book. I took forever reading it because I found myself stopping to make instant changes based on the recommendations in the book.
I don’t know if these changes will impact the popularity of my blogs, but it definitely couldn’t hurt. And lots of the tips she gives are basic business-find out what your readers like and give it to them.
Cons:
This is a comprehensive book covering everything from social media to blog topics. Obviously, one cannot write so deeply about every single topic in a 65 page e-book. So if you’re looking for a book with more in-depth information, I would look at other books.
I would say that for a few of the topics, Annabel mentioned just hiring a graphic designer or someone to help you with the technical side of blogging. And her topics on guest blogging and the visual design of your blog are the strongest parts of the book (which makes sense she has a design background and has done well with guest blogging). At the same time, I think that she was honest about what she knew and didn’t know and this worked fine for me. Again, if you’re looking for info on purely tech questions on blogging, this isn’t the book for you.
The bottom line?
This is the type of book that I’m going to read more than once. It provides an overview of everything I need to know to become a successful blogger in easy to read tidbits that I can use as a resource now and again. I’m still not sure if it’s Annabel’s personality, skill and experience that made her a successful blogger, but her enthusiasm is catchy and she’s convinced me to follow her and try to be like her. So I’m willing to give it a go. Let’s see how I do.
If you’re interested in getting Annabel’s e-book, the prices start at $29. I am affiliate and if you’d like to buy the book, I will get a % of the profit. You can click here to get it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing so, please feel free to check out her site and pricing options without my affiliate link here.
Thanks for reading this uber long post either way!
