Jade Craven

First Impressions

I have developed a bit of a blog crush on Ali Hale. I think she’s amazing. I see her guest posts everywhere and am amazed at the quality of her writing.

I bought this product immediately after I read her guest post on Problogger. I was blown away at the quality of the content and was really surprised she was charging so little. Staff blogging is  steal at $19 – but she has been offering it at a discount for $14 if you use a discount code. If your interested – and you should be – the code for my readers is Jade.

The content

Each module is quite short. At first I was disappointment, until I saw the amount of information she was packing into each module.

In the earlier modules she answers common questions on separate pages for easier reading. As someone who was reading on the computer, this was somewhat annoying.  It was definitely worth putting up with as it was a brilliant, comprehensive product.

Unit One: Basics of Staff Blogging

She gave a brief history of her adventures, and then answered 5 of the commonly asked questions

• What exactly is staff blogging?
• How much can I expect to earn?
• Do I need to have my own blog?
• Do I have to be a good writer?
• How do I know if staff blogging is for me?

This was a very useful introduction and one that most people would find quite helpful.

Unit two – finding your first job

She talked about four main methods of finding your first blogging gig:

• The Guest Posting Method
• The On‐Spec Application Method
• The Jobs Board Method
• The Networking Method

This was fascinating unit because most people would just consider the job board method.  For me, it has been the networking and guest posting methods that have led to the most opportunities.

I loved this because she gave a solid overview of each method – just enough so you knew how to proceed. It is also useful to know about all methods so you can combine them when necessary.

Unit 3 – Applying for a blogging job

In this unit, she talks about how to find job in the following three methods

• Guest Posting Method – Next Steps
• On Spec Method – Next Steps
• Job Board Method – Next Steps

This unit is SO useful because it expands on the information included in the previous unit. If you are knew, you may know just enough information on finding the jobs but may not know the next steps – especially when it comes to guest posting.

It was really useful and interesting.

Unit four: Getting Paid

Ensuring you know what you’ll be paid per post

• Establishing whether this is per post submitted or per post published
• Using Paypal
• Whether you need to invoice – and how to do so
• Keeping track of the posts you write, and what you’re owed
• What to do if you don’t get paid

I have only done a little bit of work and found that I’d rather go unpaid, than make any mistakes rather than ask about payments. This was the best chapter because she even includes sample invoices. I think they would be worth the course cost by themselves!

The information is solid and comes from months of experience. For instance, are you set up to receive payments? Do you have the negotiating skills to ensure a fair rate?

Honestly, this unit was so helpful. It was one of the reasons I decided to really work towards becoming a staff blogging.

Unit Five: Producing your posts.

Ali calls this producing your posts because there is often far more work involved than just writing. She discusses:

• Writing for the web
• Formatting blog posts
• Finding images
• Uploading and creating posts
• Replying to comments

This unit is so helpful, I’d recommend it to those who are just looking for help with their own blog. A lot of people talk about guest posting and staff blogging don’t don’t talk about the other work involved in the post. It can be quite a shock when you realize all the extra tasks you may have to perform; some of which you aren’t able to do.

Unit six: Staying inspired and productive

In this unit, she talks about:

• Staying organized
• Maintaining a reasonable workload
• Generating ideas
• Handling writers block

Again, these are ideas you can apply to your own blog. Ali writes on productivity and personal development, and really knows what she’s talking about. I’ve had to create dozens of posts for this blog launch and Ali’s advice (especially surrounding writers blog) really helped me get through it.

Why I loved it so much:

She did so many things that I admired:

• She separated each topic into a different unit. Each unit had accompanying worksheets
• She included a list of actions at the end of each unit, accompanied by the worksheets
• She made a complex subject quite simple.

My recommendation.

If you have aspirations to be a staff blogger – or even a successful guest poster – than this product is a must read. I believe Ali Hale is one of the rising stars of blogging. She knows her material and has used it to earn over $1000 a month.

There are a lot of really solid ebooks targeted at freelancers and webworkers, but this was the best ebook I’d read to help with my staff blogging aspirations.

My first impression.

I’ll be honest – I didn’t think Bloggers Bible would succeed. The information was for free elsewhere and if not, people could access the course over a period of a year. I barely read the free emails I got and just filed them away.

When I got a review copy of Bloggers Bible, I was really surprised. It was structured really well and you could really see the connection between the various lessons. This material is best read in the ebook format and devoured on a module by module basis.

You can also get the content as free weekly emails.

The content

This e-book contains 12 modules that build on the previous lessons.

Module 1 – Introduction

• Lesson 01 - Welcome to the Bloggers Bible
• BONUS – Selecting the Right Topic For Your Blog
• Lesson 02 - Defining Direction For Your Blog
• Lesson 03 - Initial Blog Planning
• Lesson 04 - An Introduction to SEO For Blogs
• Lesson 05 - An Initial Post Repository

This is a really solid module and a really useful introduction to the ebook.  She could have easily just launched into the technical aspects but instead, she focused on giving you a decent overview. This is really useful as it prevents you from getting overwhelmed from the information.

Module  2 – Technical Setup

• Lesson 06 - Blogging Software & Hosting
• Lesson 07 - WordPress Plugins
• Lesson 08 - RSS & Analytics
• Lesson 09 - Contact Form & Archives Page
• Lesson 10 - Final Technicalities Before Launch
• Lesson 11 - Launching the Blog
• BONUS – Tweeting Your Blog Posts

All of this is second nature to me, but it still is really useful module. She has a very informal writing style and managed to convey complex information with ease. I would have liked her to include some more aspects of the technical set up, but believe she did a fine job of not bogging down the readers.

Module  3 – Basic Content

• Lesson 12 - Creating Great Content For Your Blog
• Lesson 13 - Effective Use of Images
• Lesson 14 - Pillar Post Ideas
• BONUS – Showcasing Your Best Content

This was a really cool module and one that a lot of my friends would learn from. Most people wouldn’t understand how to use images to make your blog really stand our; nor would they understand how to showcase your content. I’m glad she chose to expand on the pillar post ideas in the later section, as it is something I know many have trouble with.

Module 4 – Basic Monetization

• Lesson 15 - Contextual Advertising
• Lesson 16 - Your RSS Feed
• Lesson 17 - Direct Advertising
• Lesson 18 - Affiliate Marketing Part 1
• Lesson 19 - Affiliate Marketing Part 2

I believe there are more topics she could have spoken about – both here and in the advanced section – but that could have confused the readers. She wrote about some of the more accessible forms of monetization. While I have had more success with others, this is still useful for those in the experimenting stages of their blog.

Module  5 – Traffic

• Lesson 20 - Introduction to Traffic & Paid Traffic
• Lesson 21 - Blog & Forum Commenting
• Lesson 22 - Guest Posting
• Lesson 23 - Poking Other Bloggers
• Lesson 24 - Analyzing Your Blog Traffic

I do think there are many other forms of traffic she could have covered, but really appreciated the detail she gave in this section. The only part I didn’t like was the section on guest posting. It was useful, but as a serial guest poster I felt that a lot more information could be included.

Module  6 – Basic Link Building

• Lesson 25 - Introduction to Link Building
• Lesson 26 - Social Bookmarking
• BONUS – Blog Carnivals
• Lesson 27 - RSS Directories

I really liked this section – it was comprehensive, but not overwhelmed. I’m not sure if the section on blog carnivals is as relevant as there are far quicker ways to build links these days.

Module  7 – Social Media

• Lesson 28 - Introduction to Social Media
• Lesson 29 - StumbleUpon
• Lesson 30 - Micro Blogging
• Lesson 31 - Facebook
• Lesson 32 - Social News Sites
• Lesson 33 - Bookmarking Revisited

I believe this section is a bit dated, as there are new platforms are available, but the information is really solid. It gives you a decent overview of some of the more popular forms of social media. Again, Caroline focused on making the information easy to understand. I wish she would discuss this more on her blog.

Module 8 – Readership

• Lesson 34 - Encouraging Comments
• Lesson 35 - Showcasing Your Readers

I think there are many more ideas she could have spoken about in this section but again, they may have overwhelmed readers. Both of these ways of two of the best, and easiest to encourage a community around your blog.

Module 9 – Maintenance

• Lesson 36 - Blog Maintenance

I’ll admit – even after two years, I still find blog maintenance quite daunting. While basic, I think this module is both a useful reminder and decent guide for those looking at keeping their blog efficient and relevant.

Module 10 – Advanced Content

• Lesson 37 - Advanced Pillar Post Ideas
• Lesson 38 - The Pillar Series
• Lesson 39 - Audio Content
• Lesson 40 - Video Content

I’m a content geek. I would have included most of these in the basic content section but I’m biased.

It was useful to place the information here so the reader could build up their knowledge. The pillar series concept is quite basic, but may seem daunting to the new blogger. Also, creating video and audio content often requires more technical skills so it gives the reader extra time to experiment and learn.

I really liked the audio and video content sections. She provided a lot of basic information that could allow the reader to experiment and learn a lot more. I was really impressed.

Module 11 – Advanced Monetization

• Lesson 41 - Selling Your Own Product
• Lesson 42 - Building an Email List
• Lesson 43 - Creating a Digital Download
• Lesson 44 - Membership Sites
• Lesson 45 - Creating Your Own Affiliate System
• Lesson 46 - Pitching a Service

This was my favourite module of the ebook. This is the good stuff – the type of blogging information that I love. There are so many of my friends that get confused when I discuss advanced monetization strategies and Caroline made the concepts a lot easier to understand. I really appreciated the effort she put into it.

Module 12 – Advanced Link Building

• Lesson 47 - Article Marketing
• Lesson 48 - Web 2.0 Properties
• Lesson 49 - Press Releases

I prefer these methods of link building and believe that the two modules should have been combined. However, I can see why she put them here – it gives the reader a chance to build up to this knowledge.

I do wish she had gone into more detail about other techniques, but that may have defeated the purpose of this being a beginners course.

My recommendation.

If you are new to blogging and want a comprehensive overview to basic and intermediate strategies, then this is for you. I think it is a bit overpriced at   , but can understand that it can save loads of time for some people and may be worth the money. My bias is probably due to my existing blogging knowledge.

There are cheaper products for entry level bloggers – such as Probloggers 31 Days To Build A Better Blog e-course. I’d recommend you do your research and buy this if you are a fan of Carolines style and want to learn more about her specific experiences.

You can also get it as weekly emails.

Who is Johnny B Truant?

Johhny is one of my favourite bloggers. He has made over $10'000 in the first three months of his new blog and has been taking the blogging community by storm. He has guest posted on many blogs, included Problogger and Copyblogger, and has been the subject of a lot of buzz surrounding the release of his latest information product.

Zero to Business is a killer course detailing all the steps needed to create your own business website. He makes the technology seem ridiculously easy and provides step by step video tutorials. Zero to Business is expensive, at $297, but is also incredible value for money.

Can you learn this information elsewhere?

DAY 1: Launch your website

• Get your website hosting
• Launch that blog, yo

This is the type of information that is freely available - both in free and paid products and blog posts. Many people have released free ebooks about it simply because of the affiliate comission they'll get from the hosting. The tutorials are very dependant on you using the same host as Johnny. If this is your main reason for buying, I'd look for information elsewhere. Fortunately though, the remaining modules are awesome and comprehensively build on the information learnt in this module.

DAY 2: Fancy up your boring site

• Tour part 1: Themes and plugins
• Tour part 2: Adding content and more
• Working with widgets
• Make your blog like a normal website
• How to add YouTube videos

This is the module that will useful to many of my friends. They are struggling to get their head around the idea of getting hosting and installing wordpress. I've had people contact me, really scared about how self hosting will change how they use themes and plugins.

Johnny explains all the info in a method that is easy to understand. Again, this information is available elsewhere but I found it really useful to have it all in the one section. I particularly liked his section about making your blog like a normal website. I think this will be really useful for people looking to sell their services online.

DAY 3: Email and some boring stuff

• Create email addresses
• Check your email online
• Create email forward addresses
• Back up your database and site files
• Add more websites and domains (optional)

This is the module where it gets to the really good stuff. I've been blogging for two years and I'm still using hotmail. I've had many of my peers comment on how unprofessional it looks. Johnny explains i easily and then talks about the concepts that you have to think about, but try not to because its too hard.

DAY 4:  Start your emailing machine

• Set that shit up
• Making and configuring lists
• Adding subscribers manually
• Forms: Not just for taxes anymore
• Send something, already
• Pester people with autoresponders

This is the section where it gets really awesome. Many people who are new to online business barely know what they want from a mailing list, let alone how to use one. Yet many prominent internet marketers

DAY 5: Start selling your wares

THE EASY OPTION: e-junkie

• 1. Set it up and look around
• 2. Add products and use links
• 3. The common affiliate program
• 4. Product affiliate programs

THE HARDER OPTION: KickStartCart

• 1. Adding products and categories
• 2. Add buy links to your site
• 3. Just a bit of customization
• 4. The default affiliate program
• 5. Product affiliate programs
• 6. Upsell with autoresponders

I loved this module. This is some of the hardcore information that took me weeks to learn. I still haven't touched kickstart as a method of selling products. This is where Johnny really shows of his skills and you can see just how awesome the course is. This information may be available elsewhere, but I still preferred learning it within the context of the course.

DAY 6: Make $$$ off the backs of others

• Using affiliate links
• TIP #1 – Believe in the value of the product
• TIP #2 – Be proactive/tie to service
• Start with my stuff
• Now find others

You can find some of this information elsewhere, but it is still very useful information for those who are new to affiliate marketing. There is no point having spent so much getting your site up and going only to alienate those readers by spamming them with poor affiliate promotions.

Johnny only covers two of the basic tips but they are very useful, especially within the context of the previous modules.

DAY 7: Keep learning and doing, smarty

• You need to use Twitter
• Search engine strategy
• Awesome resources to check out

This is mostly the type of information you can find on blogs, but makes for a really relevant conclusion to the course.

My thoughts.

I've been talking to a lot of struggling bloggers during the months preceding my blog launch. One of the things they really struggle with is setting up their site. Many times, getting a complete set up costs hundreds of dollars and they are left with no idea about how to maintain it.

Zero to business does cost a fair bit, but it also gives you the skills to do it all yourself. I think its worth doing to avoid leaving potentially thousands of dollars of work and leads on the table.