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“Dear Celes, unfortunately I wasn’t able to take part in BIB (Blogging Intensive Bootcamp) when you conducted it earlier this year. Are you planning to release an eBook about blogging? Or will there be a second BIB? This would even be better, to do it together with a group…
Thanks a lot in advance for your answer… :-)” — Nicole
Hi Nicole! You’re not the first to ask about this. Many readers have been asking if I have plans to release a blogging ebook or course. In fact, earlier this month, I asked my readers for ideas on my next book and a number of readers suggested blogging.
I seriously considered that for a while (wrote 1.5 chapters of the book, as well as did the design for the book cover 2 weeks ago), but eventually decided not to proceed with it.
Reason being that my passion is ultimately in personal development, and I didn’t want to divert my focus away with marginally related projects (this being one of them).
When I conducted Blogging Intensive Bootcamp in Mar-Apr in 2011, it was because there was a group of participants in the Million Dollar Challenge who wanted to set up blogs as part of their MDC projects, but didn’t have the know-how. I wanted to get them up to speed quickly on their blogging knowledge, so they could get going on their MDC goals. So in a sense, BIB came about to support a Personal Excellence initiative.
BIB was fun while it lasted. We had a high number of 84 participants and worked together every day, for a month, to improve our blogs. Many participants had their blogs transformed as a result of the course.
However, now that BIB is over, my wish is to channel 110% of my energy into my main passion, which is growing and helping others to grow.
While coaching others to blog is fun, and I do have a wealth of of blogging knowledge to share since I’m literally working on my blog (and strategizing how to grow PE) every day, teaching others about blogging isn’t something I want to do on a large scale. I’m okay to do blogging consultation every now for clients, corporations, and even friends, but other than that, I want to channel all my attention into Personal Excellence and related projects — which is my main work anyway. By releasing a blogging book or course (which take considerable time and effort), it would only divert my focus away from what I truly want to do.
I’m truly sorry if there were readers who were anticipating the blogging ebook or hoping for another BIB run!
Ultimately blogging is a huge project, and I’m not able to provide the full resources to support those with blogging goals on an ongoing basis. It’s better that you seek out sites that have dedicated full resources to blogging.
Below are some great sites to start off with. I used to read Problogger and Copyblogger a fair bit when I first started (3 years ago), but no longer do so since the material doesn’t apply to me anymore. (The advice shared there is applicable for beginner/intermediate blog sites, but not for large blogs.) I have never perused the other sites, though I’m sure they are great resources in their own right.
- Problogger – Articles to help you create a better blog – from writing content, traffic generation to monetization. Most of the stuff are good for beginner to intermediate bloggers. You should have plenty to read here.
- Copyblogger – Another great resource on blogging. Copyblogger teaches you how to market your blog via better copywriting and content marketing skills. Again, good for beginner to intermediate bloggers.
- Write To Done – A blog with articles on how to be a better writer (for your blog).
- Daily Blog Tips – Daily tips on blogging. Articles are from a variety of guest writers, each with experience on blogging.
- Problogger Community – Monthly membership site where members support each other on their blogging goals. (I’ve never used this before so I can’t vouch for the quality, but it should be halfway decent since it’s a Problogger initiative.)
Hope this helps, and all the best for your blog!
Update 2015: Due to continuous demand, I launched a blogging course and created a blogging product in 2012, but ultimately retired it for the same reasons mentioned in this post. Read: Retiring Blogging Success Program & Passive Income System
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