The book covers five main areas: Content, Design & Usability, Networking, Promotion and Monetization. I really like that he saved monetization for last, as it is really pointless to consider making money from a blog without doing the other steps first.
Content Content is always the most important thing to a blog. If you don't have good content there is no reason for anyone to visit your blog. If you don't post on a regular basis, there is no reason for anyone to come back. In this section of the book Daniel gives some great suggestions on content creation, posting frequency, and the ever important headline.
Design & Usability The design of a blog is also very key. There are many possible actions that you will want your visitors to take, but if you try for all of them it will make your blog too cluttered. The end result is that they will just leave and not take any action. His key for this section is to focus on a small number of things and reflect that in your design. Personally I value subscribers over anything else and my design reflects that. Look at the sidebar to the right and you will notice the RSS and email subscriptions are the focus. (This is the part where I suggest you subscribe if you enjoy books.)
Networking Networking is a key part of blogging. You can't succeed on the internet being a loner. You also have to be genuine. Creating real relationships will be very rewarding over the course of your blogging career. Do not go at this looking for what others can do for you. People will see through it and ultimately it just won't work.
Promotion Unfortunately writing great content isn't enough for a successful blog. If you never let anyone know that it exists nobody will ever read it. Self promotion can be very difficult for some people, but it is something that you have to do to a certain extent. This is where the networking can come in handy. If you have made real relationships, those people will be happy to help you with promotion when have a really great post you want to share. Notice how everything needs to work together to be really successful.
Monetization Monetization is last because without the other pieces it isn't possible. The real key to Make Money Blogging is that you have to have good content and lots of traffic. Once you have those in place it is much easier to make money. In this section Daniel shares tips for several different monetization methods including google adsense, direct sponsorships, affiliate marketing and a few others. The tips are good for someone who is new to the idea of making money with a blog, but probably nothing earth shattering if you are familiar with the concept.
Overall I enjoyed Make Money Blogging and I would recommend it specifically to anyone new to blogging whether they want to make money with their blog or not.
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