Pro-Blogging Secrets by Bob Lotich - A Book Review

Have you been blogging for a while, but you’d like to take your blog to the next level?  Do you dream of making a full-time living from your blog?  If so, then Bob Lotich’s Pro-Blogging Secrets: Strategies, Tips, and Answers You Need to GrowYour Blog and Earn More Money may be the perfect read for you.

This book is the second book in the series.  If you’re a new blogger, you’ll want to start with the first book, How to Make MoneyBlogging: How I Replaced My Day Job with My Blog.

What Can I Expect from This Book?

This highly informative book contains eight main sections:

Getting More Traffic 

Lotich grew his Facebook traffic by 20,000 people in 7 months by posting more frequently, sharing other people's content, and using images.

In this section, Lotich explains how to:

·         grow and engage a community on Facebook,

·         create content that others want to share,

·         get more readers from Pinterest,

·         pick the most important posts to add pinable pictures to,

·         find blogs and forums to comment on, and

·         guest post

Content Creation

Content creation is important, but it’s only one component to having a successful blog. To come up with inspiring content, Lotich suggest having a checklist of ways to promote your post and avoid writing for bloggers.  Instead, write for your audience.  In addition, he suggests how to come up with blog post ideas and how to find good keywords.

Making Money

Most bloggers care about earning money, especially if they want to make a full-time living from their blogs.  Lotich doesn’t disappoint in this section.  He urges bloggers to earn more from AdSense with the Experiment screen on the dashboard and by placing the ads in the right location.  He also suggests taking advantage of AdSense custom size ads. 

Another clever idea is to find your highly trafficked pages and see who is advertising on AdSense on that page.  Then see if those companies have an affiliate program to join.  In addition, find commission programs for all the products that you mention in your posts.  Finally, sell services or products that you've created.

The Business of Blogging

This section deals with the nuts and bolts of running a blog, including setting up your business legally.  You can run your business as a sole proprietor, but for optimal protection, choose to be an LLC instead.  Setting up your business legally is easier than you probably imagine.  You can likely have it done for between $250 and $500, depending on your state.

Lotich also talks about what you can do if others steal your content and where is the best place to get pictures as well as how to protect your site from hackers.

Other useful information includes the top 10 plugins he can’t live without and how to keep e-mail from eating up all your time.

Delegation

At some point in your blogging journey, you’ll likely need help.  Lotich tackles where you can go to find help.  Of course, he covers the basic places like Fiverr and Elance, but he also offers so innovative suggestions. 

Next, Lotich asks, “should you hire writers?”  The answer to this question largely depends on if you want readers to connect with you personally or with your brand.  If you do decide to hire writers, Lotich shares how he found his writers by offering an American Idol-type audition on his blog.

Graphics and Design

First impressions are everything.  A great photo on Pinterest can drive hundreds (or thousands) of people to your blog.  A new visitor can leave after a few seconds or stay and delve deeper depending on how welcoming your blog design is.

Lotich offers ideas for where to get pictures, programs to edit your pictures, good designers, and what you should put in your sidebar.  He also offers DIY suggestions for determining what links are getting clicked most often on your blog and how to make your own ebook cover.

Email Marketing

Email lists are essential to staying in contact with your readers.  Lotich explains all you need to know about email lists—what service to use for your emails, how to get more email subscribers, and what to do once you have them.

Additional Questions

Lotich offers his final tips here including, 

• the importance of having a start here page, creating an ebook, and creating an email course, 
• 
  
• how to connecting with others in your niche,  
• 
  
• what to do when you want to quit, 
• 
  
• what are your chances of becoming a professional blogger, and 
• 
  
• common traits of successful bloggers (including spend 50% of your time on marketing).

Is This Book Right for You?

At $6.99 (or free if you have KindleUnlimited), you can’t go wrong with this book.  Almost all bloggers, whether blogging for six months or for six years, will find information to take away that can help them build a better blog.  If you want to take your blog to the next level, this ebook can help you get there.