7 Best Books About Blogging — According to Professional Blogger
So you want to read books about blogging?
Don't waste your time.
Seriously, I don't recommend it.
Most books written about blogging will be outdated just six months later. Things change so quickly in the blogging and social media world that it's tough to keep published books updated with the latest trends. I mean, think about it—how many times has Pinterest changed its algorithm in the last YEAR? (I rest my case.)
It's far better to purchase an online course, as those are more easily and regularly updated. For example, I use and love Pinterest Traffic Avalanche, and Lauren does a GREAT job posting an update to the course every time Pinterest changes something.
Having said that though, there ARE some blogging books that are timeless—the ones that don't focus on trends but instead on timeless truths that are required for any business venture.
Below, I'll share 7 of the best books about blogging that will help you treat your blog like a business and make more money. Some of these books are explicitly about blogging, while others are about creative work or business in general.
Enjoy!
7 Best Books About Blogging
#1 How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul
You've probably heard about (read: gotten TONS of marketing emails about) Elite Blogging Academy. No, I have never taken the class nor can I recommend it (it's pricey), BUT did you know the creator of that course also wrote a book?
It's called How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul, and I read it at the height of my blog monetization journey in early 2017. I was burned out, sick, and frustrated by my seeming inability to hit my goal of making $4000/month from my blog. I was plateaued at around $2,900.
This book is actually useful. It shows helpful stats like how many pageviews, on average, a blogger needs to hit before she can make a certain amount of money.
Not long after reading this book, I surpassed my goal of $4K/month. THIS is definitely one of the best books about blogging I've read thus far. It's so good, I bought it for a blogger friend for her birthday!
>>Check the price of How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul on Amazon<<
#2 The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Blog: How to Sell Your Blog for Six Figures and Be Your Own Broker
In my early years of blogging, Carrie Smith Nicholson (formerly of CarefulCents.com) was one of my blogging role models! She was CRUSHING it in the affiliate marketing income game, and she shared helpful posts, such as income reports.
Well, Carrie sold her blog in 2019 for nearly SIX FIGURES!
How? She shares it all in her book, The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Blog.
Right now, you may think you'll never sell your blog, but as someone who has sold a blog, I can tell you there is A LOT of money to be made here and it can be a GREAT career move once you're ready to move on to new projects.
Definitely check out The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Blog to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to exit your business.
>>Get The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Blog instantly on Amazon<<
#3 The One Hour Content Plan
Another one of my blogging role models: Meera Kothand is the QUEEN of content and email marketing. I emailed her for advice back in 2017 when my blog income had plateaued and she was SO kind and helpful.
Well, if you want to know how to churn out high-quality, rockin' posts on your blog, then you need her book, The One Hour Content Plan.
Never again will you wring your hands as you rack your brain for what to write next on your blog.
Meera will give you concrete tips on how to plan out your blog posts STRATEGICALLY—in a way that gets you more traffic and money. (Never again will you write a blog post that reads like a journal entry describing what you had for lunch that day; that doesn't make money.)
>>Conquer your blog content with The One Hour Content Plan!<<
#4 CREATE Blog and Editorial Planner
How much do I love Meera Kothand? So much so that I'm gonna recommend another book of hers: CREATE Blog and Editorial Planner.
This one is more of a planner/workbook—but it has PLENTY of actionable advice inside as well.
Back in 2017, I purchased THREE different blog planners in an attempt to find the best one—Meera's is the best one!
Inside, she helps you map out your blog growth strategy for the year, quarter, month, and even week.
I credit this amazing blog planner for helping me hit my $4K/month income goal with my blog!
>>Get your blog act together with the CREATE Blog and Editorial Planner<<
#5 How I Made $45K
Natalie Bacon is one of those women who seem like superheroes. Why? She was CRUSHING it with her blog even when she was working full-time (she has since QUIT her job to blog full-time!).
I followed her obsessively on her blog monetization journey, and in one year, she made $45,000 from her blog!
And you're in for a treat because, in her book, Natalie shares EXACTLY how she managed to make $45K blogging while also working a full-time job. She even shares her exact income reports for those 12 months; you can't find these online!
>>Get Natalie's book, How I Made $45K, to get a complete blueprint for monetizing your blog<<
#6 Do the Work
“On the field of the Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.â€
Steven Pressfield, Do the Work
Okay, now we're shifting away from strictly books about blogging. Do the Work is a book about creative work in general—but it has changed the way I view my work and given me the kick in the butt that I've needed on several occasions.
Author Steven Pressfield writes a lot about Resistance—that invisible force that tries to stop you every time you've set your heart on something.
#7 The One Thing
The winner of 12 book awards and a bestseller on the Wall Street Journal and New York Times lists, The ONE Thing is the book you need to cut through the noise and hone in on your target.
Again, another book not directly about blogging, but SO crucial. If you're in the blogging world, you KNOW we're constantly bombarded with things we “should” be doing right now: Post to Instagram! Master Pinterest! Learn SEO! Build your email list!
But what is the key to success? Focusing on ONE thing. Yep, you read that right.
Back in 2017, I was working myself to the BONE on EVERY conceivable blog strategy and was STUCK at $2K/month of income. So I shifted my strategy in 2018 to focus on ONE thing: Writing long-form, SEO-friendly blog posts. And I hit my goal of $4K/month in July that year!
If you want to succeed at monetizing your blog, you need to learn laser focus.
>>Learn laser focus by reading The One Thing<<
Which Blogging Books Do YOU Love?
So there you have it, the best books about blogging according to me (I've been blogging since 2010!).
