About two weeks ago, I ordered a signed copy of John Chow’s Make Money Online book. While it did actually arrive within a few days and I read it quite quickly, I had to put off doing a review so I could focus on visiting family and my daughter’s birthday. Though I’m back on track.
Overall, Make Money Online is a very easy read. The book is less than 150 pages and a couple chapters more of reference than packed with text. The chapters can be grouped into three types: John Chow’s personal history of being on the internet, the basics of setting up a blog and blogging, and specific information about monetizing a blog.
I found John’s history to be as much a revisit on my own past as much as visit on his past. Each point in time that he targets, I can recall at which point in my development as a webmaster I was at. The major difference between us is that he was learning how to, in essence, be a businessman. I barely touched the affiliate stuff and never considered selling anything.
As I do have experience with the technical aspects of setting up a blog, the chapters on this subject did feel very slow and I had a hard time getting myself just to skim the information. However, the information presented is such that someone less inclined to coding can follow the directions several WordPress versions from now and still get a good idea of how to go about things.
Finally, the real treasure of the book – monetizing a blog. I wish I could thump the book on some people’s heads and get some of the information to stick. Not only were the chapters covering this topic inspiring to me, but even people building “regular” content websites rather than pure blogs could stand to absorb this information. If you feel confused and dizzy with all the advice floating around about SEO this and ad network that, John Chow will get all the clutter cleared for you.
I would have no issues with recommending Make Money Online to a fellow webmaster or blogger. The advice presented is clear, simple, and highly valuable.
