Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett have just released their 2nd edition of their best selling book “Problogger – Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income“.
Ironic since I was just reading a article about how with the USA turning more and more to forced government programs a lot of businesses are trying to go 100% to the web so they have the freedom to live wherever they want in the world.
There is no easier way to start making money online with ZERO technical ability than through a blog. Period. It’s 100% free to setup through WordPress or Blogger and they provide free lifetime hosting too.
Don’t think a free hosted blog can grow into something big? What if I told you almost every blog I know that makes over 1 million dollars a year started on a free WordPress or Blogger account!
But while it’s easy and free there is a lot to learn. What do you write about? What do you do when you get writers block? How do you get links? What kind of titles get people’s interest? and of course How do you make money without turning off your customers?
The Problogger book answers all of these questions and more. I still have the first edition on my desk and frequently browse through it. Its a really good book.
In this new 2nd edition Darren and Chris have a TON of new content, case studies, and examples for you to follow. Its a must have book.
If you are currently blogging or looking to getting into blogging this book is an absolute must have.
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2416 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
Images provided by ShutterStock
Perception is Everything (or “Fake It ‘Til You Make It”) 
Are Your Products F’n Nasty (NSFW) 
Why Do You Give A Crap About What People Think About You? 
{ 146 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool, Hey Shoe have you read it? Would you say this is geared towards newer students or veteran IMers?
Lou
Its really ideal for both to be honest.
What if you just want your site to be better and it’s not your money maker. Does this show how to get traffic?
Hey Shoe,
I was considering buying it. Have you read the second edition? Would it work for any new bloggers?
Caleb
It’s really meant for people interested in getting started blogging, or who have just begun. Intermediate bloggers find it helpful, too.
It’s a great read for new bloggers. Give it a try.
just bought the book, cant wait to read it.
Goes to show that in 2 years, alot can change indeed.
I got my hands on the first book and really enjoyed it from a bloggers perspective. They really break it down for everyone and make it for all to read. Remember, sometimes you have to swallow the fact you don’t know it all and learn from others. This one has to be a classic as well, but I guess I need to get out there and read it and see what I take from it.
Thanks for the post Jeremy – appreciate it.
In terms of who this is for – I’d say we had beginners in mind when we wrote the first edition but that we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from both beginners as well as intermediate bloggers.
the 2nd edition is an update of the first although we’ve added two new chapters (one on social media and blogging, another is a case study on how I grew my main blog (dPS) and have done loads of other smaller updates throughout the book too.
Oh wow, I loved the first edition of your book. I’m looking forward to getting the updated version, though.
Is there and electronic version one can purchase?
Thank you!
Search at ebooks.com. I found one but it was the first edition.
Bought. I’ll give it a read!
I love problogger – I just bought the book and can’t wait to get it
I got to read the first edition of this book ‘coz a friend lent it to me. This time I’ll buy the 2nd ed.
Interesting article. I was just talking to a friend of mine about how most blogs nowadays are used for monetization. If people want to write about their lives they don’t write it in a blog, they share it through social media. I guess it’s just practical to make money out of a personal blog especially if you bought your own domain.
I know what you mean. Most of the blogs I read, even those in Wordpress and Blogger, have ads. Five or six years ago that wasn’t so common. Now it seems every blogger out there wants to make money on the side by blogging.
It may be practical, but sometimes it gets annoying when there are too many ads and pop-ups on a blog. I don’t feel like reading through posts when all i see is a maze of attention-grabbing ads.
I agree with saha. It’s annoying when a blog post you want to read takes forever to load because of all the money-making gizmos on it.
There are lots of ways to make money that won’t completely slow down a reader’s browser or clutter a page up. I bet the book discusses that, too.
Me too. There’s a limit to how long I’d wait for a page to load, especially if it’s just a blog I’m checking out.
That’s usually just a matter of design rather than anything else. Shoe must make tons off this blog, and yet it loads up pretty quickly and is easy on the eyes.
You can also look at Gizmodo.com and Justbento.com for economically sound aesthetic design that won’t turn readers off.
I think most people get turned off by too many ads in one blog. You come there to read, not to drown in product pushing popups. If I wanted ads I couldn’t avoid, I’d watch tv.
Most bloggers know this and keep their designs simple enough. It’s really a basic bit of knowledge. You’ve just been looking at the wrong blogs.
I’m not just talking about popup ads. Links could be annoying too.
You’re reading a well-written, interesting article, and then suddenly you see half of the article is peppered with links. Worse, the preview thumbnail option is turned on so every time you hover your pointer over a link you see a preview. I swear those are the most annoying! It just ruins the article.
Is there are ebook version of this? It’s been a while since I read an actual book.
I found an e-Book here: http://www.ebooks.com/ebooks/book_display.asp?IID=343709. Thanks to Google.
But it looks like it’s the first edition. The second edition e-Book might be out later.
In my opinion it’s better to get the actual book from Amazon than the e-Book. It’s basically the same price, but Amazon has a better deal since they have free shipping for purchases over $25.
Thanks. I didn’t know there was a digital book available. I’ll keep your tip in mind too.
Looking forward to reading this. Thanks, Shoe.
Just read the customer reviews on Amazon. Most are giving it four to five stars and saying great things about it. I’ll def give this book a try.
I would really love to read but I dont think Amazon can ship it in Philippines.. Not sure of that.
Amazon ships to Asia. I have a couple of books I bought from Amazon, and I’m in Singapore.
If it does, it will probably take too long. Amazon takes too long even when you’re in the US.
Absolutely recommending this book. I learned a lot from reading the 1st version, and I’m guaranteed I’ll be learning a whole lot in the 2nd version.
Just bought mine yesterday. I heard about this from a friend, a big ProBlogger fan.
This would be a good resource for a new blogger like me. Thanks!
I haven’t been blogging much lately, but I’ve heard of positive things about Problogger’s book so I might buy this. It’s never too late to learn blogging tricks.
I wasn’t able to catch the first edition of this book before I began blogging, and I wonder if there’s anything I can do to tweak my skills and writing style. I’ll be looking for this on local bookshelves soon.
I want this book. Now if only I could get it for free.
I love this book. It’s not like the other blogging books that discusses a great deal about what is blogging, and blah blah blah. It’s focused on making money through blogging. I’m very satisfied with the book’s contents. Really well-written and informative.
I’ve heard of this book, but I haven’t read it. Thanks for the review.
Playing the devil’s advocate, but is there really anything about blogging you can learn from a book? I thought blogging was a process you could only master by doing. And really, why spend money on a book? Why not attend a seminar, or find what you need off the internet?
I have to agree and disagree with you. I agree that you learn blogging and marketing by practice, you don’t really learn it in theory. But the problem is there are simply too many resources on the web. There are a lot of “secrets to successful money-making blogging” books.
Now, I’m not saying the Problogger book is the best book — I haven’t even read it. But what I can tell from people’s reviews is this book was able to present all the relevant information for a person to start blogging and monetizing his blog. Maybe it’s like a condensed version of every blogging book out there. I don’t know actually, I have yet to read the book.
Why spend money on a book? I can think of a lot of answers to that. But personally my answer would be this — I want my learning resource to be concrete, something that I can hold and keep. Attending a seminar and finding internet resources on blogging wouldn’t satisfy me and I would want to learn more. Although it also depends on the person. Some people I know are completely contented with articles and guides they find online. Me, I’m traditional, so a book would be great.
Well, it still pays to read up and do research before doing anything. Wouldn’t you rather avoid the common mistakes that bloggers make when starting out, and just get to the good stuff?
Books work for the people who want to come back to it as they go along. You can’t always switch on your laptop or scroll through to your favorites pages on your mobile devices. Books are easier for a lot of people to use.
I’ve always wondered if businesses will really try to go 100% to the web, Shoe. I mean, there’ll always be businesses that value person-to-person interaction. What’s more there are always arguments against working from the web – such as being too dependent on unreliable systems such as cloud platforms, such as Google docs.
I think what Jeremy means is that a lot of businesses that can migrate their processes to the web will try to, not that he sees all businesses migrating to the web. I doubt any of us believe that our economy will soon be 100% web-based.
I agree with Susan. It’s more practical for a lot of businesses to go online for a lot of their processes, especially for companies that want to offer more items for sale but don’t really want a massive warehouse/showroom. But I don’t think everyone’s going 100% to the web. It’s just like outsourcing. Some things are better done online, some aren’t.
I don’t usually judge books by their covers but I can’t help but comment: Awesome book cover. I like the simplicity. Simple and clean covers are the most effective.
Is it really possible to make one million dollars a year by just blogging? Well if you say so, Shoe. I better get this book to find out.
It’s quite possible. A lot of people make their living through blogging these days. Or if not actually a living, a decent profit.
I read this book, I liked it. And to think I’m not into marketing and blogging for money, although I do write for money.
But I found it too easy, I guess? Easy in a sense that I think only those who are new to blogging could learn more from it. The people who have been blogging/writing for years — not so much. But I still liked this book.
Same here. It didn’t really offer advanced blogging and monetizing tips. Maybe the 2nd edition has more tips for advanced bloggers.
I already have Darren ebook but I`m waiting your ebook shoe I want to learn from you too…from basic step until the expert step. is it possible shoe????
Looks like I’m going to have to spend some money online again. At least I’m spending it on a book this time.
Think of it as a very sound investment.
I get excited for new interesting books. Thanks for the recommendation, Shoe. I’ll make sure to buy this book.
I’m definitely getting this book soon. Not now, I’m kinda low on the funds right now. Definitely soon though.
@Jeremy,
When you said, “Ironic since I was just reading a article about how with the USA turning more and more to forced government programs a lot of businesses are trying to go 100% to the web so they have the freedom to live wherever they want in the world.”
Could you post the link to that article, I’d love to read it.
Its in the May Playboy issue that just came out.
Hey, how about your book? Are you going to write a book about the Shoemoney system?
Wow one million a year. Will read this book for sure.
This seems a great book. I will definitely buy this one. Thank you for sharing it to us.
A lot has changed in the last 2 years since the first edition, the second edition will be good to learn new tricks of the trade
I have to admit I never really understood how people can make a living just by blogging. Not my thing, though. I’ll just send the link along to my writer friends.
Blogging isn’t just blogging, really. Nowadays when you say blogging it implies writing, advertising, selling. If blogging is just writing articles on a site I wouldn’t think you could earn one million dollars in a year. But advertising/marketing by blogging could actually bring you a lot of money.
A six digit profit off a blog? Does this really happen in real life?
Love the book! not a blogger, but I got it last week!
A friend gave me this as a gift for my birthday last week. So cool.
I wonder how long it takes for an average blogger – not someone who already has a claim to fame – to achieve a six-figure profit from just blogging.
A looooong time, that’s for sure. An average blogger probably doesn’t spend a lot of time optimizing his blog or trying to get a lot of traffic.
Probably a long time.
I swear I commented on this earlier. My comment got eaten up
A looong time, that’s for sure. An average blogger probably doesn’t spend a lot of time optimizing his blog or trying to get a lot of traffic.
Is it really possible to make a six-digit profit from blogging alone? I find it hard to believe.
I find it hard to believe that one can make this much through blogging. Is it really possible to make a six-digit profit from blogging alone?
I think it’s possible. You see, aside from the backlinks and all the affiliate stuff as mentioned in the book, there is also the chance of publishing a book version of your blog (AmateurGourmet is a good example of such), and then there are the advertisers who will want to advertise on your site. Finally, there’s ex-deals, imagine the products a very popular blogger gets.
A six digit profit off a blog? Does this happen in real life?
I doubt that too. Maybe it’s possible, but you have to spend a lot of time doing SEO, spreading links, getting into different aff marketing programs, etc. That adds up to a million bucks.
I’ve always wanted a concrete reliable source of information on blogging. Thanks for the recommendation, Jeremy.
I liked the first version, I learned a whole lot. Which means I’ll be picking up my own copy of the second edition soon.
I saw this in a local bookstore the other day. This makes me think I should go back and get it.
I’m getting one for my niece – she runs her own blog about baking specialty cakes. I’ll let you know if she starts making more than I do, lol!
It’s really encouraging to know that a novel idea, some decent writing, and a FREE blog platform can earn you that much money if you know what to do with them.
Imagine… making a million dollars annually from something that began as something to promote yourself online and was, for a time, a general bother to people.
Sounds like Twitter and Facebook, doesn’t it?
I really doubt anyone’s ever going to rake in a million dollars a year on Facebook, Tammy. Twitter, with their recent monetization attempts, maybe, but not FB.
A lot of blogs are still personal and meant for non-profit. What was annoying back then – and still is now, actually – is the number of emo people griping about anything an anything in a very non-interesting way.
Can someone suggest a good blog platform? I’m partial to Livejournal, myself.
Wordpress is the best. Livejournal isn’t really for monetizing… it’s just weblog site. If you want to make money Blogger and Wordpress are good, but in my opinion between the two Wordpress is the best. Lots of plugins and features available, it’s completely free, and it has anti-spam.
Been blogging for a long time, and it’s been Wordpress for me since day one.
I like Blogger, myself.
If you’re new to blogging, it’s either Wordpress or Blogger. But I noticed Wordpress is much easier to work with. You don’t have to know codes to put widgets in your blog. You can post music, photos, tag cloud, twitter posts, etc.
I never looked into it, but there are a ton of free blog platforms out there.
Here’s a link: http://speckyboy.com/2008/02/03/top-10-free-blogging-platforms-features-for-web-designers/ Best of all, it’s all free.
I’ve been following Problogger a while. There was a post about this in 2006. Here’s the link: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/15/choosing-a-blog-platform/
They say it’s really more about the talent than the tools, and I heartily agree.
I love the fact that the book discusses creative difficulties such as writer’s block along with technical stuff. I’m ordering this from Amazon as soon as some cash gets freed up.
Agreed. A lot of how-to books get bogged down in the technical side of things.
These days, everyone has a blog. It’s even an app on some social media sites.
I think this book is just what I need to perk up my blog. I must have it! *manic laughter*
Cant wait to read it. Thanks for the recommendation, Shoe!
I must have this book!
> “What if I told you almost every blog I know that makes over 1 million dollars a year started on a free Wordpress or Blogger account!”
Names and references of blogs that make over 1 million dollars a year, please, or else I don’t believe it.
That’s pretty surprising to me. Most of the blogs that make a million dollars started on free wordpress or blogger accounts? Weird but cool. That’s all I got to say about that.
Actually it ain’t that surprising. A lot of people, me including, would rather use a free platform.
I guess it’s completely possible. A lot of people who start out and never expected to make so much money started out using free platforms.
I was just looking blogs and book and resources about online marketing. This isn’t exactly about online marketing, but it’s relevant at least. Thanks for the tip.
I honestly have never heard of anyone making one million dollars a year by blogging. I know there are guys out there in affiliate marketing who have earned five figures in a month or so, but a million a year is just pushing it. It’s not like you can earn five figures or even four figures every single month. There are times when you’re going to struggle with sales.
ok, just bought the book! I’m psyched, I can’t wait to read it!
Cool. Not so much into blogging though, but I’ll look for this book. Might learn something or it might convince me to start blogging
Does this book teach you how to write too? I think I need to write properly first. I don’t think blogging = good writing, necessarily.
The reviews say that the Problogger book gives tips on how to structure a proper article and how to get past writer’s block, but it doesn’t necessarily teach you how to write or have good grammar. Basic grammar and correct spelling is necessary, but there’s always spellcheck and grammar check for that. Don’t put off getting into blogging too long, or you might regret it.
I would love to read this book but I’m not big on buying books. Is anyone willing to get it for me?
Did ProBlogger just release this?
problogger just blogged about it today or yesterday, not sure. very recent. so we can assume they just released it.
“There is no easier way to start making money online with ZERO technical ability than through a blog.”
Is writing a technical ability? I think you need to be able to distinguish bad grammar from good grammar at least if you want to earn through blogging. I’ve seen some really bad blogs out there with bad articles. Just incomprehensible.
I think I am the case why grammar really does not matter
I beg to disagree, Shoe. Your grammar doesn’t matter because you have a significant offering that isn’t minimized by bad grammar. But it would matter for different kinds of blogs.
Just think if you were running a cooking blog and you couldn’t describe a process or a flavor well enough. Who’d want to read that?
Well, writing isn’t a technical ability. I think they mean the whole “how-to” of setting up the links, or your user pics, etc.
I think this is a good guideline for those who want to earn from online and making money. Thanks for posting.
Just curious, are you getting commission for this? I don’t see an affiliate link somewhere. I’m assuming you’re not since you seem to be good friends with the problogger people.
‘Course he does!
Maybe not.
Networking is power!!!
Just ordered my copy. Thanks for recommending the book.
There are a lot of things to learn about blogging. It’s not just about picking topics, knowing the right subjects, etc. The money-making aspect of it is actually what makes it challenging. I’m glad that this book touched on all those topics.
I have this book, first ed. I’m not sure if I’ll buy the 2nd one. I’ll look for reviews first before deciding. Thanks anyway, Jeremy.
I have read thier first book, and it was amazing! Highly recommmend it!!
This will make the perfect blogging companion for me.
Just goes to show how fast the landscape of blogging is changing – two years, and you need an update.
I’ve always wanted to branch out into blogging to market my products, but didn’t have the inspiration. Maybe this book will be it.
Not very interested in blogging, though this seems to be a very interesting read. Thanks for the lead, Shoe.
A lot of fuss over blogging these days. It ain’t as easy as people make it out to be – get the book, read it through, then get started. Fail a couple of times. Then you’re due some success.
Too bad they didn’t have this when I got started with my blog. But I follow the Problogger blog, so I’m pretty confident I’m not too far behind.
Nice to see all the Problogger followers out here at Shoe’s site as well.
Just finished ordering my copy on Amazon!
In blogging it is not a foot race it is more of a jog. Or should I say a blog is like a fine wine it gets better with age. As years go by, I hope to have some of my blogs make some coins to help pay for me girls college. Could be Sweet.
well as always problogger comes out with fresh stuff every time ! hope they would live up to the expectations !
blognseo’s last post blog and seo
I love the stuff Darren puts out. Can’t wait for my pay check so I can order this book!
I was considering buying it. Have you read the second edition? Would it work for any new bloggers?
Darren always has the best blogging tips.
It seems that every site is promoting this product, John Chow also
That’s a very helpful book. I think I need it too…. thanks
I read ProBlogger weekly (don’t have time for daily blog reading) and there are always good tips in there. Better yet, they are actionable tips.
The 31 days to a better blog book is killer.
I bought the first edition, very good, but unfortunately because of a lack of time I couldn’t put in practice too many things, maybe I will buy also the second edition, so when I will have the time I will have everything in hand!
I have some much books on Blogging. I just want to run a Blogging course now for newbies. For people that need Blog set up for them from a – z
Have not had a chance to read pro blogger I think alot of blogs are starting to put too much advertising on them now trying to make money off everything. Personally I use my blog to offer free information and give aways without trying to make a dolloar from it, am I crazy probably by doing this I gain trust in my readers then when I do have something of value that has worked for me or my own product I can recommened it through my list, then there more likely to buy because I have created the trust.
The success of a blog often depends on its audience size. When many people read your blog regularly, your content will potentially be circulated widely, which grows your site faster.