Book Review: Blogging For Bliss

Book Review: Blogging For Bliss

I’ve just finished reading Tina Frey’s book, Blogging for Bliss, a book aimed at “creative bloggers”, and here’s what I think of it:

Pros:

Very good basic overview of blogging, covering everything from history and definitions to various blogging platforms.

Beautiful!  Which I probably place too much importance on in a book, but it does make it a pleasure to read.

The easy to understand information in chapter three on blogger acronyms (lol, imho, rofl, etc.) and on some basic html code is great!  I only wish there were more of it it; but I’d rather it erred on the side of just enough than too much.  I may even use some of the code in formatting this post!

Easy and relatively quick to read.

Two featured bloggers had really useful things to say about business and blogging in my opinion: Holly Becker who, it’s said, spends 5-10 hours a day on her blog Decor8, to which I say, “Amen! Something realistic!” And Jamie Fingal of Twisted Sister, who call her blog a “virtual office” and an “interactive resume”, concepts the intrigue me.

Cons:

Dated: Though she gives a great overview of how to set up a blog and the most common blogging platforms, I have a nagging feeling that some of it is outdated, although I’m no tech expert.  She features many lovely looking blogs–how many of them still exist?  I’m not sure–but I was unable to find her blog under any of the names used for it in the book (Typing Out Loud, Bella Pink, tinafrey.com).  The book was published in 2009, which I’m sorry to report was seven years ago!

There’s a little bit too much of a “if you write it, they will come” feeling to the testimonials.  I’ve had two blogs, and I worked hard and wrote passionately, but I never had many readers, despite numerous attempts at promotion and networking, and even fewer comments.

Business:

There are at least two ways that blogging and business can be connected: a blog can be an outgrowth of a business, meant to enhance the personal connection between business owner and customer, or the blog can be a money-making business itself.  Frey features many in the former category, which a short section on the latter.

The chapter on “Finding Business in Bliss” was a pretty big letdown, being only four pages long, and covering very little but the very basics of ads and affiliate programs.  I doubt there are many people who have been blogging or reading blogs very long that won’t know the information shared here.

Blogs are apparently a great way to drive business to, say, your Etsy shop.  I heard this many times, and that’s why I started my first blog.  Between the two personal blogs I’ve had, I’ve gotten exactly 216 views in three years and not any sales that I know of.  So you might say I’m a little jaded, but at any rate, take such advice–and there’s plenty of it in this book– with a grain of salt.

Conclusion

This book was a fun read and worth the time because it didn’t take much. I think it could have been a great read at the beginning of my blogging experience, perhaps changing my direction and technique slightly in a more satisfying and successful direction. From the vantage point of having blogged for several years, though, it was basically just fun to read about the various bloggers. I’d give it a B+

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