Are you looking to start a blog or simply learn to blog?
Well, you’re in luck! In this article, I have listed 14 of the best books for bloggers that will help you get a solid foundation about what is blogging and help you get started “the right way”.
I’ve listed these books on blogging from all sections that will help you with content skills, blog management, workflows, productive blogging, and how to build an audience that is your fan!
All these, without having to waste thousands of dollars on blogging courses!
Let’s start!
15 Best Blogging Books to Upgrade Your Blogging Skills in 2023
1) How to Start a Blog (The Right Way) in 2023
The first step for anyone looking to get started in blogging would be to know how to start a blog.
Not about content strategy, not about backlinks, no fancy advanced stuff, just the basic concept!
This book (written by yours truly) gives you all of the information you need to process in order to get started with blogging along with proper homework. It also comes with step by step guide to setting up your blog (along with screenshots).
I’ve been blogging since 2012 (so nearly a decade, if I may say so) and make a living off it.
So, I figured I’d jot down a resource I wish I had when I got started (which could have saved me a year or two getting a strong foothold in the blogging scene).
However, How to Start a Blog (The Right Way) is basically for starters. If you’re already a blogger or want advanced strategies to grow your blog then the next book on the list is for you!
2) Content Inc by Joe Pulizzi
- Author: Joe Pulizzi
- Published: 2021 (second edition)
Content Inc rightfully earns the second position on our list of books about blogging.
The book was originally published in 2015, and it was updated in 2021 with the goal of helping people to build a content business.
The book gives you a complete framework, from finding your blog’s niche to diversifying revenue streams and even an exit strategy.
For example, you’ll learn how to differentiate your content from the competition, effective ways to build your loyal audience, and content monetization strategies.
This book is essential for your blogging journey as it helps you treat your blog as a business to succeed.
Key things included in the book:
- What is a content business
- Framework to start building your content marketing journey
- Ways to create unique content that stands out from the competition
- How to monetize content and build a loyal audience
Quote from the author:
“The Content Inc. model helps you build a loyal and trusting audience over time and accomplish your marketing goals.”
Also Read:
- Best Storytelling Books of All Time to Capture Your Audience
- Best Copywriting Books of All Time to Boost Conversions
3) The Art of SEO: Best Blogging Book for Beginners
- Author: Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, Jessie Stricchiola
- Published: 2015, Updated 2022 (4th Edition)
Google properties now own about 90% of all searches on the internet and that shows how important it is to learn SEO in order to drive traffic to your blogs.
The art of SEO is one of the most popular books on the web that shares best practices, guidelines, and a process to execute your SEO plan.
This book will help you understand how Google’s algorithm works, the right way of using advanced search operators, the importance of links and user experience on rankings, building a blogging team, and much more.
In fact, you’ll also master the technical aspects of SEO, including canonical issues, redirection, hidden content, crawling budget, etc.
This book shows you a holistic approach to SEO and blogging that goes beyond modern SEO trends, SEO tools, keyword research for SEO, and others.
The book’s first edition was launched in 2009 and is updated in 2022 (4th edition) with over 200 pages of updated material that focuses on the current state of SEO this year.
Key things included in the book:
- A holistic view of SEO
- How Google’s algorithm works
- Important ranking factors
- Role of links, user experience on improving search engine rankings
Quote from Authors:
“Good marketers are empathetic, and smart SEO practitioners — as well as the search engines — share the goal of providing searchers with results that are relevant to their queries.
Therefore, a crucial element to building an online marketing strategy around SEO and organic (sometimes referred to as “natural”) search visibility is understanding your audience and how they think about, discuss, and search for your service, product, and brand.”
Related:
- Is blogging dead? Answered by veteran blogger
- Blog post checklist: Things to do before hitting publish button
4) Search Engine Optimization For Dummies
- Author: Peter Kent
- Published: 2020 (seventh edition)
The author, Peter Kent, has decades of experience in the SEO industry. And this book gives you the chance to get authors’ years of SEO knowledge and practical experience.
SEO for dummies book has five major chapters such as:
- Part 1: Search engine basics
- Part 2: Building search engine-friendly sites
- Part 3: Adding your site to the search engine indexes & directories
- Part 4: After you’ve submitted your site
- Part 5: Parts of tens (common myths, tools, etc.)
After reading this book, you’ll understand SEO basics, how Google ranks web pages, how to execute an SEO strategy to get results, and useful SEO tools and strategies.
The seventh edition of the book (published in 2020) is a great starting point for anyone who wants to improve their SEO skills and become a better blogger.
Key things included in the book:
- Understanding organic and PPC results on the SERP
- How to make your website SEO-friendly
- Finding keywords to write about
- Principles of good web design
- On-page SEO understanding and tactics
- Local SEO, and more.
5) Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina
- Author: Andy Crestodina
- Published: 2019 (fifth edition)
Andy is one of my favorite bloggers of all time. There’s a lot to learn from him!
Content chemistry is one of the best books on blogging and building a content strategy that you’ll ever read.
In the book, Andy describes the fundamentals of building a content strategy that drives your blog traffic, leads, and sales.
Content Chemistry is not limited to blogging or SEO. Instead, this gives you frameworks and strategies about:
- Optimize the website and important pages for conversion
- Copywriting for landing pages
- Advanced SEO strategies (like topic clusters)
- Collaboration with bloggers and influencers
- Content promotion to get traffic, and much more.
So, read this book and learn the right way to build your content empire through blogging.
Quote from the author:
“Marketing is about telling stories, and stories have characters. Which means that images of people are key to connecting with potential customers.”
6) The One-Hour Content Plan by Meera Kothand et al
- Author: Meera Kothand
- Published: 2017 (fifth edition)
If you’re new to blogging and don’t know what to write about or how to drive sales through your content and blogging, then this book is for you.
It will help you create a content workflow that will fill your blog content calendar for the full year!
Consider this book a ‘How-to’ guide that includes:
- Finding share-worthy content ideas instantly
- Creating content to drive traffic and turn them into customers
- Optimizing your blog posts
- Finding the brand voice of your blog, etc.
In addition, the author shares the common beginner blogging mistakes and how to avoid them strategically.
Quote from the author:
“If you’re nodding yes to any of the above, The 1- Hour Content Plan will help you generate countless ideas. To be exact, a full year’s worth of traffic building and sales boosting content ideas in 60 minutes or less.”
Pro Tip: 9 tips to become a successful blogger
7) Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson
- Author: Russell Brunson
- Published: 2020
Traffic Secrets is one of the best-selling books on blogging that is recommended for both beginners and advanced bloggers.
The key aim of this book is to help you diversify your blog’s traffic channels. It teaches you to not rely on a single traffic source be it Google (and their unpredictable algorithmic updates), social media channels (and their dying reach), or email marketing.
Key things included in the book:
- Finding your dream 100 customers
- Building your sales funnel
- How to repurpose and promote your content effectively
- Growth hacking to drive traffic
The best part?
You don’t need to always rely on Google or other search engines. You’ll learn how to diversify your traffic sources which is important to make your blog Google’s algorithmic update proof.
Quote from the author:
“If you want to become an entrepreneur… start publishing somewhere. It can be a blog, podcast, or video, just do something. You are going to feel awkward at first… but if you are doing it consistently, eventually you’re going to get good at it.”
8) Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
- Author: Ann Handley
- Published: 2014, updated 2022 (2nd Edition)
Blogging isn’t only about blog writing, we write on social media, email newsletters, Twitter threads, you name it.
With Everybody Writes Ann Handley helps you create content efficiently, which includes content creation, optimization, and publishing with actionable tips.
Everybody Writes is easily one of the best books on blogging for beginners because it trains you to write result-oriented and relatable content no matter the platform you write. Something that novice bloggers should master early on in their blogging career.
Key things included in the book:
- Explanation of grammar rules for business
- How to proofread and edit your content for readability
- Storytelling
- Creating actionable content along with strong journalistic rules
- Useful blogging tools (writing tools, style guides, image search engines to download images, etc)
Also, this book can be useful for bloggers to improve their website content, including important pages like the homepage, about us page, contact us, and others.
Quote from the author:
“If you have a website, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means we are all writers.”
9) The Adweek Copywriting Handbook
- Author: Joseph Sugarman
- Published: 2007
Joseph Sugarman is one of the top copywriters in the world. And you can label his copywriting handbook as one of the best books on blogging for money.
It doesn’t teach you blog monetization methods but helps you with one core aspect that affects all blog monetization methods.. your content.
The book helps you create enticing content that grabs your reader’s attention, hooks them, and motivates them to buy products you recommend or review.
Also Read: 30+ high ticket affiliate marketing programs to make money from your blog
Key things included in the book:
- 30+ psychological triggers to motivate your readers to buy
- copy elements to create actionable content
- Understanding what type of content works
- Ad examples
This book is good for bloggers in almost any niche, but I’d recommend it the most to niche site owners who do affiliate marketing.
Quote from the authors:
“Your readers should be so compelled to read your copy that they cannot stop reading until they read all of it as if sliding down a slippery slide.”
10) The Art and Business of Online Writing
- Author: Nicolas Cole
- Published: 2020
The author, Nicolas, has 10+ years of experience in writing, with over 100 million views on his content. The number shows his credibility on the topic.
His book is a goldmine of insights, tips, and strategies that helped him to create viral content and build a content business (another better and much-appropriate name for blogging).
This book shows you the potential of writing online and how you can create a content library to build a passive income flow.
Key things included in the book:
- How to create content that goes viral
- Structuring your blog posts
- Content roadmap to becoming a trusted influencer
- How to build content assets (newsletter, eBook, etc.) and a loyal audience
- Important habits to become a better writer
Quote from the author:
“There are 2 types of writers today: those who use data to inform and improve their writing and those who fail.”
11) The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-step Guide to Writing Copy that Sells
- Author: Robert Bly
- Published: 1985
The copywriter’s handbook is a copywriting goldmine that every blogger should read at least once. The insights shared in this book are still relevant for today’s web writing era.
If you’re looking for step-by-step techniques to improve your copywriting skills, look no further than this Robert Flys’ copywriting handbook.
Key things included in the book:
- Finding the ideal audience for writing
- Writing the hook (introduction of the content)
- Blog content headline ideas
- Drawing readers’ attention
- Optimizing your content for conversions
- 15 techniques to make sure your email newsletters are opened (essential if your blog has a newsletter)
Quote from the author:
“According to AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), the copy must first get the reader’s attention, then create an interest in the product, then turn that interest into a strong desire to own the product, and finally ask the reader to buy the product or take some other action that will eventually lead to a sale.”
12) Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Author: James Clear
- Published: 2018
Blogging, as an online business, is very taxing on your personal life (mind, health, and overall well-being).
Being alone and in control of the business makes it difficult to manage as compared to a job where you have rules to stick to and authorities to report to.
That’s where developing sustainable habits can help you boost your writing motivation, productivity & overall performance.
Key things included in the book:
- Framework to break your old habits
- Planning tiny habits for everyday
- Implementing positive habits into business
- Learning the art of habit stacking
- Creating systems to succeed in your business and life
Quote from the author:
“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”
13) Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Author: Cal Newport
- Published: 2014
Deep Work is one of the best books on blogging for beginners & advanced bloggers alike. It is written by Cal Newport who is a blogger himself.
The book teaches you to use “deep work” to learn and acquire valuable skills that you can further use in your niche to build up wealth alongside working with enriching and positive people (and circumstances).
Key things included in the book:
- Why deep work is effective
- Concept of deep work vs shallow work
- How to build habits for deep work
- Actionable ways to stay productive
- How to stay away from online distractions
Quote from the author:
“Two Core Abilities for Thriving in the New Economy:
1. The ability to quickly master hard things.
2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality and speed.”
14) Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
- Author: Brian Tracy
- Published: 2017
Eat that frog is one of my favorite books for bloggers!
As a blogger, you’ll have to handle multiple tasks such as writing content, editing blog posts, promoting content on social media, cold emailing bloggers, and many more.
Therefore, staying productive while doing all the daily tasks can be overwhelming. The book Eat That Frog gives you 21 actionable tips to stay productive and save time for your friends and family.
For example, one of the important tips from the book is to start your day with the most important tasks.
We should tackle our most difficult and important tasks first thing in the morning to get them out of the way and enjoy the rest of our day.
Key things included in the book:
- Reasons you should aim for higher work efficiency
- 21 ways to stay productive
- Action items to implement each productivity hack
Quote from the author:
“The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous.”
15) Books for bloggers Honorable Mentions
While we’ve listed a wide range of blogging books, we’ve also omitted a few solely because of the reasons that they’re updated for quite a time and the blogging scenario has changed.
This doesn’t take away the fact that these were some of the best-selling books on blogging and are listed below in case you want to take a look:
- Secrets of blogging your way to a six-figure income by Darren Rowse
- Blogging, All-in-One for Dummies by Susan Gunelius
- How to blog for profit without selling your soul by Ruth Soukup (one of the best books on blogging for cash)
- One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane
Wrapping Up: Best Selling Books on Blogging 2023
I hope you liked our collection of best books for bloggers.
We’ve selected a range that will help you get started with blogging, get traffic via SEO and then diversify to other channels. There are also blogger books to create viral content, and get followers.
If you want the cream of the crop, we recommend:
- How to Start a Blog (The Right Way): One of the best, precise free books on blogging to get started
- Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina: For intermediate and advanced levels of blogging skills
- Atomic Habits by James Clear: To help you build habits and grow your blogging business.
If you have any questions about these books about blogging, please let us know in the comments below.
FAQS on Best Blogging Books 2023
1) What are some of the best books on blogging for beginners?
The art of SEO, Content Chemistry, and Blogging All-in-One for Dummies are some of the best books on blogging for beginners.
2) What are some of the best books on blogging for money?
How to blog for profit without selling your soul by Ruth Soukup and Traffic secrets are some of the best books on blogging for money.
3. What are some best books on blogging for cash?
How to start a blog (the right way) by Swadhin Agrawal and The Copywriter’s Handbook are two books on blogging for cash. The former is one of the best free books on blogging for starters while the latter has advanced strategies to help you make money via your content.
