When I decided it was time for me to start making money from home again, in order to have a flexible schedule around aging parents and young grandkids, I did a lot of research into computer work at home opportunities, and decided to give blogging and writing online a try. I’ve been working towards that goal for a few years and really got serious about it two years ago. I’ve learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes, been encouraged, discouraged, and overall, have had a lot of fun. Haven’t made much money yet, but I’ve gotten a great education for very little spent, so it’s definitely been worthwhile.
If a business from home using the internet to make money online is an interest of yours as well, stay tuned. I’m going to be sharing lessons learned and resources discovered on a regular basis. I’ve read a ton of books in the process and I thought I’d share some of my favorites – old and new, hard copy and ebooks.
Tonight, I’m starting with one of my favorite bloggers and writers. Problogger is the name of the book AND the name of a great resource site for new and old bloggers. The book gives a great overview of making extra money at home as a blogger and is excellent for beginners. Written by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, it’s both interesting and informative! This is a hard copy book that you can find at most bookstores, including Alibris or you can order it for your Kindle. Be sure to get the most current edition as there were updates in it.
In addition to all the great info at the site, Darren also does a specialty series, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, periodically. I discovered one he had done previously through the book, and read through most of the posts online, learning a ton as I did so.
This past year he did another 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. I signed up and did many of the assignments. I was quite excited to see how much I’d already learned since the last one, but I also learned plenty of new things as well, in addition to being reminded of lessons I’d previously learned but hadn’t yet started doing. After he completed this series, he wrote an Ebook with all the lessons we learned online, plus additional information.
As he explained it,
· it contains new tips and reflections for each of the 31 days (6000 extra words of content)
· it puts all of the 31 days of tasks and teaching into one document that you can dip into and out of for all time
· the tasks have all received a refresh with a professional edit and design/layout including notes areas so you can record what you’re learning and planning.
It’s definitely a great resource for beginners who already have their blogs. Technically it’s not for people just starting out – prebloggers as he refers to them. Personally, I would start with his first book, Problogger, along with some other good books for new bloggers (which I’ll write about in future posts), but I would read this, as well, before starting.
I printed my copy out and put it in a three-ring notebook. But I also keep a copy of it on both of my computers, as it has clickable links in it. That makes it easy to go back and work through it step by step as we get going on our sites.
It’s a terrific resource for a reasonable price, complete with a money-back guarantee, and he is also offering a free one-hour audio interview with answers to frequently asked questions. Click here to view more details
My only regret about it is that he didn’t write it a year earlier. It is a lot easier to read this than the 200+ miscellaneous pages I printed from his website last year! Then again, those are useful too. With Problogger, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of his materials. 
Despite what many people like to say, there are very few, if any, easy ways of earning money at home using the internet. It takes a lot of learning, a lot of hard work, and a lot of persistence. These two books from Problogger are a HUGE help for all of us as we work through that process!
