In this instant-communication world, buzz means business! And one of the greatest ways to get customers and potential customers buzzing about your business is with a Web log, commonly called a blog. Blogs can help If you’re new to blogging, or if you know the mechanics of a blog but want some help refining and targeting yours, Buzz Marketing With Blogs For Dummies will get you going right away. An expert blogger shows you the ins and outs of putting together a professional-looking blog, walks you through the jargon, helps you decide what your blog should do, and even explains various software solutions. You’ll find out how Written by Susannah Gardner, who has taught online journalism, directed multimedia efforts, and provided custom Web solutions to clients, Buzz Marketing With Blogs For Dummies even shares tips from the experts who establish and maintain some of the top-rated business blogs. You’ll discover the secrets of success, how to spot and solve problems, what software can enhance your blogging life, and a whole lot more. It like having a staff of experts on call!
Hi there! Interested in blogging but don’t know how? Congrats, here is the book that will get you started right away! Been blogging for a while now but want to find out ways to enhance your blog and drive more traffic to it? Awesome, you have found the resource to help you do both! Or just want to know exactly what the heck is a blog or blogging in general? Great, this book is for you too!
Though this is not the end-all, be-all guide to blogging, Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies by Susannah Gardner is a nevertheless a pretty comprehensive book on blogging and buzz marketing with blogs for readers of all levels. It is well researched and provides ample examples to ensure that you understand what you need to know in order to start blogging or to enhance your blogs
Though I give this book five stars, it is not without its flaws. There are sprinkles of typos throughout the text. But it is not egregious enough to throw you off by any means.
If you peruse this book chapter by chapter, it will definitely appear redundant. Yes, Ms. Gardner will sound like a broken record, monotonously repeating herself a bazillion times. This, however, is by design. She explains it in her introduction. But if you’re similarly impatient like me, chances are you probably almost always skip over the preface or introduction in order to dive into the crux of the matter.
In her introduction, this is what she says in defense of her “needless repetition”:
“Chances are the fact that you bought this book means you have some ideas about starting a blog—and I want to get you started right away! You don’t have to memorize this book or even read it in order. Feel free to skip straight to the chapter with the information you need and come back to the beginning later. Each chapter is designed to give you easy answers and guidance, accompanied by step-by-step instructions for specific tasks.”
In other words, Ms. Gardner designed this text as a reference, meaning you are not supposed to read it like a novel (although you are certainly free to do so). To take full advantage of this text, she encourages you to jump around the text, looking for what you need and reading it. This is the gist of her introduction. So feel free to skip it. Once you get a copy of this book, go to the table of contents, look for what you need, and get started right away!
If you want to learn more about blogging from a different perspective, check out The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging. I just finished reading the first few chapters. So far so good! It’s turning out to be a great complement to this book.