Blogging for Fame and Fortune

Blog Your Way to the Big Time

Attract millions and make big money using success secrets from cyber superstars and blogging pros, including entertainment blogger Perez Hilton and Blogger.com's Taj Campbell. Learn how to build a noteworthy online identity, captivate the masses, and break into mainstream media leveraging your creativity, not your bank account. Plus, discover how to immediately cash in on your online platform and new-found popularity!

• Create a custom, sticky blog site using free blogging services
• Transform your opinions, expertise, commentary, audio/video creations, and the like into your next paycheck
• Dare your audience to take notice with 101 proven blogging topics and subject matters
• Gain the competitive advantage using expert advice from the world's best known bloggers and blog experts
• Use original, innovative techniques and powerful tools to make your blog stand out
• Learn how to avoid the 10 most common blogger mistakes
• And more

On the net, no topic is off limits. Share your opinions, thoughts, commentary, audio/video creations, and expertise to build your online presence and launch yourself into stardom!

• December 11, 2009

• Review on The Blade by Ron Schenone

• Blogging For Fame and Fortune By Jason R. Rich - Review - Part One

• June 28, 2009

• The fine art of blogging

• Blogging for Fame and Fortune
  

• By Jason R. Rich
  
• Entrepreneur Press 2009
  
• $21.95 286 pages

• Reviewed by
  

• Greg Gazin
  
• Writer
  
• Troy Media Corporation

• While blogging has been around for a few years, and some believe it may already be pass, there are, still, currently over 50 millions blogs in cyberspace, with more being added every minute.

• When I first saw the title Blogging for Fame and Fortune, my first thought was: great, more trees sacrificed for yet another guru to sell me a get-rich quick scheme and a cover story on a magazine.

• I could not have been more wrong.

• Blogging for Fame and Fortune is a well thought-out book. Jason Rich, author of almost 40 books to his credit, places himself firmly in the shoes of current and wannabe bloggers, answering the questions: what do I need to do to get started, and what do I know now that would have been nice to know then?

• The chapters follow a logical progression, starting with an explanation of what a blog is. Basically, according to Rich, a blog is a digital-based diary or on-line journal whose entries are typically presented in reverse chronological order. Topics can range from news, cars and politics to cooking dreams and personal problems. While blogs began as simple text, they and their various incarnations can now incorporate graphics, sound, (vocal/music) and even video; Beyond diaries, blogs have become an invaluable communications tool.

• Rich then discusses what type of equipment you need even before you begin, explaining the various existing services, such as Blogger and WordPress, but also contending that platforms such as FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter, albeit at 140 characters at a time, should also not be ignored as blogging platforms. His explanation isn't limited to simple text; he touches on VBlogs (video) as well as webcasting.

• Sidebars tips and warnings are sprinkled throughout the book, with very specific examples related to their chapter. He covers a blogs creation, planning and design fundamentals in detail, something you don't see too often. He offers 101 proven topics, which include collectibles, crime, computers and pets and things to consider to make you blog informative, entertaining and compelling.

• There are four other insights I really like about this book that makes it stand out.
  

• 1) Rich offers 10 strategies to creating an ideal blog, such as getting the audience emotionally invested and using the right voice

• 2) He points out the 10 top mistakes bloggers make, including being unrealistic and unoriginal.

• 3) He interviews famous bloggers like Perez Hilton who, with 38 million hits a week, has become a force in the entertainment industry.

• 4) Finally, in addition to technical advise like RSS feeds, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and all the other standard fare, he takes an entrepreneurial approach to blogging and offers advice on building and promoting your blog as a business.

• He also offers advice on traditional promotional methods such as press releases distributed to "old media" newspapers and the effective use of business cards, often ignored by "new media" aficionados, ironically, advice similar to advice I recently offered to a group of entrepreneurs at a recent seminar on Promotional Strategies for Small Businesses.

• Rich points out the benefits of using Toastmasters to improve your communications skills, advice which earns him huge brownie points from me, as we are both Toastmaster members.

• He does come clean however, and admits that not everyone will find fame and fortune while blogging, but maintains it's possible, which added to his credibility in my books.

• Blogging for Fame and Fortune is a nice step-by-step guide; it's realistic in its expectations and will, I believe, be read over and over again for a long time, if you purchase it.

• Greg Gazin, as "The Gadget Guy", writes a technology column for Canoe.ca. He also writes on technology issues for Troy Media. He is also a serial entrepreneur, speaks on small business issues to groups across western Canada, and is an avid Podcaster and producer of Toastcaster.com. He can be reached at greg.gazin@troymedia.com

Jason R. Rich is the bestselling author of more than 37 books covering a wide range of topics, including computers, ecommerce, personal finance, career-related topics, and travel and entertainment. He also contributes regularly to major daily newspapers, including the New York Daily News, as well as national magazines and popular websites.