I am going to deviate slightly from Thursday’s usual format today because I have come across something that I think will be of interest to many of you. I know a lot of my readers here are pretty businesses and I know that even for those of you who are not pretty businesses, there is still a real interest in that medium called ‘blogging’.

I know this because I get asked a LOT of questions about blogging by my readers! For about six months I have been thinking ‘Wouldn’t it be great if there was a nice and simple beginner’s guide to blogging’. Well blow me down – my bloggy friend Louisa went and wrote one.

It’s called How to start a blog – A beginner’s guide and it’s brilliant. Literally every question I’ve ever been asked is covered in there and for those of you thinking about dipping your toes in the pond, at $8 it’s a no-brainer investment

The very first thing Louisa covers is ‘Why blog?’ and I couldn’t agree more with this:

At the heart of blogging is relationship; whether your blog is personal or professional the end goal is to connect with others. Blogging enables you to connect with like-minded people from all over the world and form cyber communities that offer support, encouragement and fun.

I could give you a million example of the wonderful things that blogging has done for me but the chance to connect with like-minded people is the number one thing I love most about it. I have become friends with some wonderful people through this blog – people who I would otherwise never have come across in real life.

Connecting with some wonderful designers and handmade businesses here in WA inspired me to create my own ‘label’ and product line The Smile Collective. This is something that would never even have crossed my mind previously.

So back to Louisa’s book. After she tackles the ‘Why blog’ question she moves on to such essentials as:

• How to name your blog (very important!)
• Blogger vs WordPress (she breaks down the pros, cons and technical aspects beautifully)
• Setting up your blog
• Five things every blog needs
• How to find readers (most asked question in blogging!)
• Tip and Tricks for successful blogging

So as you can see – very comprehensive yet easily digestible. I’d highly recommend this little e-book to anyone thinking about taking the plunge or even for those of you who might have recently started a blog but feel like you are operating in the dark!

And if after reading Louisa’s e-book you still have any questions about blogging – feel free to come back here and ask them!

** No moola has been exchanged between Louisa and myself for this review, I am putting it out there because I truly think it is most excellent and I wish I wrote it myself