“Do you want to build a successful blog?”
Peter Problogger smiled at his friend Amy Amateur as he handed her Janice Wald’s book.
“Thanks for the book, Peter. I thought my blog was successful, Peter,” Amy Amateur said, her raised eyebrows giving her an injured look.
“By ‘build a successful blog’ I mean this, Amy. Would you like more traffic, readers, friends, and people who are influenced by YOU?”
“Influenced by me. Sure! That has a nice ring to it! I definitely want THAT! I guess I don’t know it all. I can improve,” Amy said relieved.
What about you?
Are you OK with getting fewer and fewer visits your blog?
Are you convinced that you KNOW everything about blogging? Do you think your blog could not get ANY better?
THEN PLEASE DO NOT READ An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Blog
Do you get confused by all the tips, tricks, and blind alleys? Do you try to understand all the skills involved in blogging, and still get stuck?
Then READ An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Blog.
TRAFFIC-WISE I did in five years what Janice accomplished in one year.
Shock!
Like Amy, I am still learning about blogging!
Blogging has changed since I started ago. HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of bloggers have joined the blogosphere. Maybe the blogosphere changed while you were busy creating posts, too.
This was a hard review to write. Why? Because I learned so many tips. Some were quick to apply. Some took longer. It took me two weeks to get halfway through Janice’s book.
What I Learned to Build Successful Blogs
- Always have an odd number in your headline.
- Put “YOU” in the headline.
- Readers find your blog easier if you add an alt text line to every graphic.
- Google your headlines before you publish your post. Notice how many tips each article wrote about your topic.
- Write one or two more tips – just end up with an odd number!
Blog Prompts to Build Successful Blogs
Wald mentioned influencers but I did not know who she meant. Were they ordinary bloggers, pro bloggers, or someone in a specific field?
To find out I checked out over 80 blogs of her acclaimed “influencers” she quoted. I wrote four blog posts in a week based on what I learned. Several of her “influencers” became my friends and followers.
Influencers Who Built Successful Blogs
Here are a few of Janice’s friends mentioned in An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Blog. 
- Jason Cushman (a.k.a. Opinionated Man) He really cares about people.
- HughsViewsAndNews.com He’s so funny, and he will keep you guessing.
- Melinda, the PurpleSlobInRecovery.com. She will make you laugh and keep you company if you are lonely.
- TerriWebsterSchrandt.com. She wrote Better Blogging With Photography
.
- DGKayeWriter.com who wrote Have Bags Will Travel
.
- Mike Allton’s book Blog Promotionology
More Comments
Melinda reviewed her book and said, “This book is a compilation of (Janice Wald’s) posts teaching the ins and outs of blogging.”
One reviewer said she “did her homework.” Another reviewer said she did not guard her secrets. I have to agree.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
25 responses to “Build Successful Blogs: Book Review”
[…] right, I reviewed Janice Wald’s new book, An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Blog about blogging. Even though I’ve blogged for four years, I’m learning too much to keep […]
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[…] fall, it was reviewed on Marsha Ingrao’s site Always Write and Michelle reblogged the […]
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Hi Michelle,
Thank you!
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Yay! 🙂
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I love that alliteration. It’s so… you!
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🙂
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Hi Marsha,
Imagine my surprise when I went to Twitter this morning and saw you reviewed my book!
Thank you so very much for the wonderful review and this exposure.
You’d mentioned in your article that you still had a question– what to do after publishing your blog post.
I hope you don’t mind I brought you a link to a checklist. It tells you what to do after publishing your post:
http://www.mostlyblogging.com/blog-post-publication-checklist/
Thank you so much again for the favorable review.
Janice
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Perfect. It’s always good to have the follow-up articles. There is so much to learn about blogging. Thanks for commenting, Janice! Hope things are going well at school and beyond.
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You are welcome, my friend. Thanks.
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What a great review, Marsha! You convinced me to buy this one. I have linked your post to my blog.
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Thanks so much, Michelle! I’ve liked it and tweeted it. I’ll follow up on some additional tweets and a post on Always Write FB page. 🙂
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Great review, Marsha!! Thanks so much for including me!! Now, I need to go back, and add you to mine!
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My review will post this Friday. Of course you’re in there!
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Awww, that’s great! I’ll look forward to i.t 🙂
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😀 ❤ you, Marsha Marshmallow!! You know that's your new name, right? 😉
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Sure Marsha! Email me anytime at d.g.kaye.writer@gmail.com, or message me on FB. 🙂 Enjoy your holiday.
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Thanks, I look forward to chatting soon! 🙂
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You did a fabulous job. What a great reviewer and promoter you are! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Debby!!! That means a lot. I’d love to have an email or messenger chat or call and talk. I’m on vacation this week, but would you like to chat about promotion ideas? And other things, too, of course.
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Wow Marsha, you’re one heck of a promoter! You’ve devoured and dissected this book to its core. And once again, thanks for mentioning me. I’m looking forward to having Janice over next month. And I’ve yet to get to her book, but very much contemplating getting in paperback as well, as all my writing tool books I buy in paperback for easy referencing. Thanks again. 🙂
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Paperback is easier. I’m going to have to get it like that, too. For doing reviews, I like ebook if I want to quote the author. I hope I did not dissect it too much! There’s a lot in it! 🙂
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OK, Marsha. You convinced me. I’ll seek it out.
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Great. It’s more or a blogging format rather than book. But there are so many ideas in it, I think it is a valuable resource. I wrote about 4-5 posts delving into ideas or people she mentioned. I linked up with several influential bloggers. You can’t ask for more than that from a book, can you?
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Even reading about this book leaves me breathless!
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Try reading it, then! You will stop breathing! But wait until after Jan 16th. You won’t want to do anything but blog! 🙂
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