I have been reading ProBlogger, the well-known blog of Darren Rowse for a long time. I believe it’s one of the first blogs I ever subscribed to. The reason I subscribed to ProBlogger was because it was, and probably still is, the most important blog when it comes to “how to blog”.

You can argue that it’s really a blog about how to make money blogging. But that’s not the reason why I subscribed, and the reason why I am still reading Darren’s posts on a daily basis. They are detailed, easy to read, and up to date when it comes to how you should be blogging and how you should be promoting your blog.

Since I have stayed with Darren Rowse for so long, I was eager to buy his ProBlogger book. I expected it to be just as amazing as his blog. He is a professional blogger, earning a six-figure income from blogging, therefore, I expected him to deliver fairly everything I needed to know about blogging in this book.

I should probably mention, before I continue, that Darren Rowse is not the only author behind this book. Chris Garrett, a well-known Internet marketer and professional blogger, is the co-author. I didn’t know much about Chris before reading this book, other than that I have read a few of his guest posts at CopyBlogger and at ProBlogger.

The interesting aspect of this book is that it presents a great overview of how you should start your blogging career, how you should be setting up your blog, how you should be writing, earning strategies, blog promotion and a lot more.

I like the fact that the book can be read by complete newbies, as well as fairly professional bloggers. I think that the introduction was just perfect. It started with Darren’s story of blogging, about how he worked three jobs simultaneously, studied part-time and blogged on the side. It makes you think, and it makes it a good story.

I don’t think that the book is very creative or innovative. It’s more like a 220 page tutorial, including detailed examples, of well-known “secrets” about what works for professional bloggers, and what you should be doing in order to become one.

The books is very inspirational. It’s easy to relate to Darren’s story, and a life as a professional blogger. It feels like it’s fairly easy to follow every single lesson given, and therefore, it seems rather easy to earn money from blogging. The inspirational and authoritative part is excellent.

The chapter I enjoyed the most, was the chapter dedicated to the secrets of successful blogs. I enjoyed the lessons why blogs like CopyBlogger, ProBlogger, TechCrunch, Scobleizer, and the Four-Hour Work Week are successful.

From reading ProBlogger, I think a successful blog, is about being remarkable and writing stories that people find useful.

The contents

1. Blogging for money
2. Niche blogging
3. Setting up your blog
4. Blog writing
5. Blog income and earning strategies
6. Buying and selling blogs
7. Blog networks
8. Blog promotion and marketing
9. Secrets of successful blogs
10. Creating something worthwhile

Tags: Blog Promotion, Blogging, Darren Rowse, ProBlogger