OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Start a Successful Blog" by Jacob Langer.]

Start a Successful Blog by Jacob Langer is an instruction book for anyone interested in blogging. In the introduction to the book, the writer talks about the difference between a successful blog and an unsuccessful one. He says that "a popular blog always has something special about it, and it is often hidden in the personality of the author, who is not afraid to express his own opinion (sometimes radically different from the standard) by publishing it in his articles."

He explains the major points of a successful blog and how these points will attract readers and followers. He tells why each point is important and how to use each one effectively in the blog. He does this while using second person point-of-view. By doing so, he draws "you," the reader, into the knowledge that he is sharing about blogging. He says that choosing a specific topic in the niche that works best for the writer and choosing a catchy name for the blog that folks will remember are very important considerations to the success of a blog. He explains the pros and cons of free web hosting versus paid web hosting. His opinion is that if a person is using a blog for personal use, such as a diary or journal, then the free web hosting is probably fine. If one desires to be a serious blogger for income, then paid web hosting is the way to go.

Among other things, the author addresses how to build an audience, and he names several different ways to earn money with a blog. Mr. Langer also says that the "About Me" page of the blog is the most undervalued by bloggers, but it is the most visited by readers. Revealing some of one's likes and dislikes allows readers to form a bond with the blogger. The intimacy fostered by the blogger who shares personal information will bring readers back for more.

There are some grammatical errors in the book, but, overall, Mr. Langer does a great job of giving the major points of successful blogging. There are a few terms that I would like to have defined in more detail, but anyone who is more tech-savvy than I am will not have a problem with the vocabulary. Most of the words that I questioned can be understood within the context of their useage.

As a relatively new blogger, I learned some things from Mr. Langer's book that I need to put into practice in my blog. I'm not sure that I can write every day, as he advocates, but I do need to start writing more often than I have been. I may even need to start a new blog with a more concise focus than the one I now have, because what he says about having a tight focus makes a lot of sense.

I believe that Mr. Langer's book will be very helpful to anyone wanting to start a blog. His points are clearly organized for the beginner. Folks who have already started blogging are apt to find tidbits in Start a Successful Blog that will enhance their blogging abilities. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for the information in it. Because of the proofreading issues, I would remove half of a star if I could. Aside from that, the instruction Mr. Langer gives is a great foundation for any would-be bloggers who have a strong desire and determination to succeed. If bloggers follow the author's advice, they should be able to build very successful blogs.

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Start a Successful Blog
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Nice review! I have considered blogging before, but I don't know too much about it. This sounds like a good book for beginners.

nice review and well argumented! I've not started a blog yet but a book about it would help. Good to know we have a 4 star one

Very nice review! I started a travel blog a long time ago, and never wrote in it once I reached my destination!

I just have one question. A lot of bloggers will actually post their advice for writing blogs, so a lot of good advice can already be found online. Knowing that, would you still recommend Langer's book?

I haven't considered writing a blog, but according to your review, this book would be a good one to learn from. This is a very informative review and tells a lot about what all is included in the book. I think I would like to read this book to see if I would be interested in starting a blog.

Nice, insightful review! The book seems very handy with a lot of tips and advice all in one place. I love the artwork on the cover!

Rachaelamb1 wrote:Nice review! I have considered blogging before, but I don't know too much about it. This sounds like a good book for beginners.

Thank you, Rachelamb1! I still don't know a LOT about it, but this book helped very much. I haven't applied what I learned yet, because I haven't been working on the blog like I SHOULD be doing! My fault!!! NOT the author's fault!!!

-- 28 Jan 2016, 17:01 --

charysma_lilly wrote:nice review and well argumented! I've not started a blog yet but a book about it would help. Good to know we have a 4 star one

Thank you, Charysma_Lilly, I have to put into practice what I've read. I think I have to either re-do my blog completely OR start a new one! Probably starting a new one is the answer and then just keep the one I now have as more of an online journal! But at least I got a start which has encouraged me (especially after reading this book by Mr. Langer) to push on!

-- 28 Jan 2016, 17:19 --

katiesquilts wrote:Very nice review! I started a travel blog a long time ago, and never wrote in it once I reached my destination!

I just have one question. A lot of bloggers will actually post their advice for writing blogs, so a lot of good advice can already be found online. Knowing that, would you still recommend Langer's book?

Thank you, Katiesquilts,
To answer your question, Mr. Langer has compiled a lot of info in one place, so it prevents one from having to search hither and yon. It's true that one probably CAN find everying needed to write a successful blog by searching, but I didn't do that. And I'm sure there is sound info in places online where you wouldn't have to go to other sites to get it all.

I guess I really don't like having to guess who knows more about which part of blogging and do they really know or are they guessing. I felt like Mr. Langer was making sense.

So it probably boils down to how one prefers to learn, but for the price on Amazon, yes, my opinion is that the book is MORE than worth it to get a good start!!

-- 28 Jan 2016, 17:26 --

Amheiser wrote:I haven't considered writing a blog, but according to your review, this book would be a good one to learn from. This is a very informative review and tells a lot about what all is included in the book. I think I would like to read this book to see if I would be interested in starting a blog.

Thank you Amheiser, I really did learn a lot from the book. I'm just curious as to whether you did get the book and if so, if you've started working on a blog yet. I have yet to put into practice what I learned, to my shame! --I've been doing more crocheting than writing lately!! (as folks can tell by my delayed responses on here, also!! Again, to my shame!!)

-- 28 Jan 2016, 17:42 --

bookowlie wrote:Nice, insightful review! The book seems very handy with a lot of tips and advice all in one place. I love the artwork on the cover!

Thank you, Bookowilie, Yes, that's what I really like about the book is that it has the info all in one place. I would much rather go to one place to get info, than to surf all over the internet to get bits and pieces here and there and somewhere else AND THEN have to compile it myself!!! I have had to do just that to refresh my grammar, punctuation, and other writing/reviewing information and it can be quite tedious! Little things that I THOUGHT I knew, when it came to writing reviews (especially COMMAS, like right now!!!) I found I didn't remember quite as much as I thought! And I attended a writers' meeting last month and learned a bunch of stuff that is being done DIFFERENTLY from what I learned in high school a few decades ago!! i.e. -- a lot of publishers aren't requiring TWO spaces after a period any more!!! REALLY?? Yes, that's what the speaker/writer/publisher who was conducting the meeting told us!!! Is my 1967 high school diploma no longer valid? And my 2000 university degree in English??? Ouch! LOL!

-- 28 Jan 2016, 17:43 --

And the artwork is really nice! Very attractive!

I have been blogging for several years now. However, I only maintain personal blogs. This book sounds like something I should read. Great review!

Wow, publishers aren't requiring two spaces after a period anymore?! I always thought those types of grammatical rules were set in stone.

An English professor at my school recently told me that he doesn't think the Oxford comma is necessary. It took all I had not to say, "Ok, well...You're wrong..."

It seems like the rules of grammar are always changing, due to people's personal preference more than anything.

bookowlie wrote:Wow, publishers aren't requiring two spaces after a period anymore?! I always thought those types of grammatical rules were set in stone.

Yeah, me, too! I haven't quite got to the point where I can actually DO it! Habits like that are hard to kill. My thumb just automatically does the two-space dance at the end of my sentences!

-- 24 Mar 2016, 16:14 --

katiesquilts wrote:An English professor at my school recently told me that he doesn't think the Oxford comma is necessary. It took all I had not to say, "Ok, well...You're wrong..."

It seems like the rules of grammar are always changing, due to people's personal preference more than anything.

Yes, something gets common use in everyday language and suddenly it becomes "okay..." and then "preferred" and then it's "proper!" Well, unless someone tells me NOT to use the Oxford comma in whatever I'm writing at a given time, I'm going to continue to use it!!! And sometimes it really IS necessary for clarity!

-- 24 Mar 2016, 16:20 --

kimmyschemy06 wrote:I have been blogging for several years now. However, I only maintain personal blogs. This book sounds like something I should read. Great review!

Thanks, Kimmyshemy06! It's been a while since I read the book now and my blog is being sadly neglected! I need to go back and get the wheels rolling again. Too many irons in the fire, I guess.