Blogging to the Bank, a review.

By Andrew Wilson.

A little over year ago a guy called Rob Benwell launched an e-book called Blogging to the Bank. A couple of days ago he released an update of that book. This article is a review of Blogging to the Bank 2.0 I have not read the original version and so can make no comparisons between the two versions.

First impressions.
The e-book has 61 pages and most of the content is worthwhile, little enough filler. According to Rob the original book was 37 pages, but that is probably not to important.
The book is aimed at taking somebody who knows almost nothing about blogs and giving them a decent appreciation of how to set up a money earning blog using WordPress. Without giving the game away I think he succeeds. automated blogs users will be accustomed to running more sophisticated sites than those that Rob trains his readers to build but there is plenty here to follow and learn from. I think this is true in terms of an appreciation of the basic principals behind the sites that we build in the automated blogs program.

The e-book aims to provide a step by step blueprint and he covers the right ground, starting with marketing research which rightly comes before even considering how to build the website. He moves through setting up domains and hosting accounts through building, content, optimising, site promotion using Web 2.0 sites such as Squidoo for traffic building and promotion and ends the blueprint by covering how to outsource work and building out one's blog empire.

There are additional chapters on further techniques, these appendixes are more of an eye-opener than an in-depth how-to guide to the subjects of getting extra revenue from your sites, advanced SEO and even selling the e-book as an affiliate. (I guess that's where I come in.

Going Deeper
When we are building our sites we need to follow a plan. It can be argued that almost any plan that is followed is better than the best of plans that is left unimplemented. This is certainly true in the world of internet marketing where we are constantly bombarded with new ideas, new 'must-do's' and schemes. And that's even before we get to the real changes in a dynamic system imposed by search engines and advertising systems.
What many of us need is a way to enable us to drown out the noise. To enable us to follow a well defined path. Not to make changes or our own imagined 'improvements'. Here is where Blogging to the Bank 2.0 really scores. Rob has been able to distil from all the noise and distraction an system that will in my opinion, if followed, work very well and give a good basis for a business that can be moulded to suit one's own needs.

Some examples of what I mean.

In Blogging to the Bank 2.0 Rob tells us of a way of building WordPress blogs that is a very nice alternative to using expensive and unreliable tools and also to the Fantastico installers many of us are familiar with and certainly a very viable alternative to the hosted blog solutions offered by Google's Blogger.

We are given a very good tutorial on how to add an email response form to our blogs. I dare anyone to tell me that they were not able to follow these instructions successfully!
The basics of installing and configuring a couple of important plugins is covered in detail and I think that following through the instructions will help users with other plugins to better understand how to manage them.

Rob provides a simple page diagram to show how to lay out one's pages for affiliate and Adsense (PPC) advertising whilst making it clear where his preferences and priorities lie.

One of my favourite parts of the e-book is the coverage of Squidoo, after reading it I really felt that one could go out and make a Squidoo lens following the step by step Blogging to the Bank instructions. My guess is that this section alone may add significant value to many readers. It is similar with Rob's coverage of the use of Netscape and Digg and I learned, for example about an important difference between the two that will influence the choices I make from now on.

Bonuses
Blogging to the Bank 2.0 comes with several bonuses, some are limited by time and so check the sales page for updates. Unusually, I found them to be useful.
There are some researched niches with banners and content (hmmm…., so so)
Then some PowerPoint slides from a presentation. I found these to be interesting but I'd not buy Blogging to the Bank to get them.
More importantly I got a good article submitter and a very neat Rss/blog directory submitter.

In all honesty, if one were in the market for a basic article submitter and a very handy blog submission tool to get your feeds out to the world then one could do worse than buy Blogging to the Bank 2.0 in order to get them, they do offer real added value.

Conclusions
In buying and reading Blogging to the Bank I was thinking from two perspectives. The first viewpoint was from the viewpoint of the beginner. here, I have no doubt that the book is worthwhile. If one follows through the steps and applies them to one's own sites (hopefully automated blogs) then I am sure that success will follow.

The second viewpoint, that of the more advanced user, I was less certain. I did not read much that made me think 'AH-HA', not so many light bulbs above my head. But then I understood an important thing: Most people, including those who are technically proficient do not earn very much from their efforts. They know lots of stuff about lots of things but do not follow a system. This book provides a system, a framework and on that extent, whilst not providing earth shattering insights, will, if used as Rob Benwell intends, lead to a successful outcome in terms of income and that is very valuable indeed.

Blogging to the Bank 2.0 is, in my opinion worth a buy – unless you are already making a sizeable and growing income from your blogs. Don't simply say that you already know all the stuff he might teach; at the end of the day it is about putting it all together and here Rob has done a great job, follow him and you won't go far wrong.
Not too much revolutionary but a very good blueprint for success and at the end of the day success beats revolution almost every time!