31DBBB Review: A must-have book for all bloggers

Summary: 31DBBB gives clear step-by-step instructions on how to improve a blog and become a better blogger in 31 days. A must-have book for all bloggers. Rating: 4.5/5

31 Days to Build a Better Blog is an eBook that gives a clear step-by-step instructions on how to improve a blog and how to become a better blogger. Awesome resource for new and established bloggers alike. You can buy the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog -eBook from Problogger.net for $19.95 $29.99 USD.

A twenty-dollar downloadable eBook that changed the way I blog forever

When I started blogging I didn't have a clue on what is a good blog and how to make my blog better. I fumbled for 4 years with my gaming blog, never seeing much success. At the end of May 2009, I started this blog. I moved the old blog to this domain and started blogging for real.

At the beginning, I didn't really know what I was doing, I was reading a lot blogs, tons of how-to’s and tried to learn as much as I could. I did learn a lot, but I was having hard time deciding what I actually should do with the limited time I had. There were so many good tips that I got paralyzed. I faced an information overflow.

After working a while with the new blog, I saw that Darren Rowse of Problogger.net released an eBook called 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (31DBBB). I bought it the day it was released and started doing what the book told me. The clear structure of the book not only showed how to do things, but why and when too.

I felt I was making progress, which was important for my motivation at the time. I was putting effort to the things that really mattered and my traffic started improving. I've shared my blog traffic stats from 2009 with you and the real time stats from this blog are publicly available, so you can see how I took this blog to 4800 visits a month on July 2009 (second full month after I started), using what I learned from the 31DBBB workbook.

Did all that happen because of this eBook? No. I did a lot of work for it. I knew what to do, because of the tasks given in the book. And I learned a lot about blogging and walked away with a better blog, just as the book promised.

I later moved the gaming content back to the old blog and traffic for this blog dropped for a moment, I even took a short break from blogging, but I've continued to use the 31DBBB as the road map for improving this blog. I've read more books and taken blogging courses since then, but the foundation for my blogging came from this book.

Blog Like an Expert in 31 Days

With the help and step-by-step instructions from the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog book, I now had a blog with traffic and readers, something I couldn't do in 4 years with my first blog.

Here's how you can change your blog for the better too: buy the 31DBBB eBook, take 31 days, do these tasks, and drastically improve your blog and its performance. You'll learn the best practises for blogging; get clear instructions on what to do, why that will make your blog better, and how to do it.

If you want to read more about what the eBook itself, read the rest of my in-depth 31DBBB review below, or head out to Problogger.net and get it right away.

What is 31 Days to Build a Better Blog?

31 Days to Build a Better Blog (31DBBB) is a downloadable eBook, created to help bloggers to make their blogs better and become better bloggers in the process.

Originally 31DBBB was a 31+ posts series where participants took one action each day to make their blogs better. Thousands of new and experienced bloggers alike have taken the challenge and enjoyed great results afterwards.

The 31DBBB "event" itself has taken place on 2005, 2007 and 2009, and the 31 DBBB -workbook was published on 2009, combining all the posts in the series into an eBook.

Even that the original posts are available for free at Problogger.net, the 31DBBB eBook sold nearly 20000 copies in less than 6 months, and has continued to sell well.

The daily tasks have been improved and polished for the book giving more information than the original blog posts, to keep it up to date and give more value for those who decide to take the step and buy it. And it's easy for you to print it out and have it next to you when doing the tasks.

How 31DBBB Works?

On each of the 31 days, the workbook

• gives a task for that day
• explains why it's important to do that task
• tips on how to do the task
• additional notes and extra bonus tips for the task

This format works well, as it gives clear action to do. The 31DBBB workbook takes you step-by-step through the tasks and it is easy to see why the book is so popular.

There's no fluff, just pure content.

• The tasks are easy to understand.
• The tasks are easy to implement because the book tells you EXACTLY what you need to do.
• The tasks make sense, because the book explains clearly why the task at hand will make your blog better.

In short, each day or task is formatted like this:

• DO THIS - TODAY - WHY - Here is HOW you do it.

31DBBB Workbook Will Help You

• Improving the focus of your blog
  • Writing an elevator pitch for your blog
  • Analyzing a top blog in your niche
• Creating better content
  • Come up with 10 post ideas
  • Writing a list post
  • Writing a link post
  • Writing an opinion post
  • Writing a review post
• Keeping your blog fresh
  • Creating an editorial calendar
  • Updating a key page on your blog
  • Interlinking your old blog posts
  • Breathing life into an old post
  • Hunting for dead links
• Building a community to your blog
  • Paying special attention to a reader
  • Calling your readers to action
  • Solving a problem your reader has
• Promoting your blog
  • Joining a forum and participating
  • Promoting a blog post
  • Leaving blog comments on other blogs
  • Boosting your blog's profile and readership

And more, like building relationships with other bloggers, monitoring your blog statistics and planning the next steps for your blog.

This book won’t show you how to start a blog, how to install and configure plugins and widgets, or how to choose a blog topic. If you already have a blog, you’ve written couple of posts, the book is great. It won’t show you how to build a blog; it will show you how to build a better blog.

How to Use 31DBBB Workbook

Even that the book is called "31 Days" to build a better blog, it could also be called 31 tasks that will improve your blog. You can use the book as the original 31DBBB was, doing one task a day, or do the tasks at your own pace. Or just read the book and make your own way to incorporate these tasks into your blogging schedule.

If you choose to go through the book in 31 days, you can then start again, making it a monthly habit. During the next cycles you can skip some tasks if you have already done it, or check if you can improve what you've already done related to that task.

I suggest you take the book and go through it once, doing one task each day and see how it feels. I'm sure you'll see great results and can then decide whether to turn the tasks into a monthly habit. Or you might notice certain tasks working exceptionally well for you and you can put more effort into that.

How to Buy the 31DBBB Workbook

As it is a downloadable eBook, you can be reading the book right after you order. Darren sells the workbook through E-junkie.com, which uses PayPal to process the payments - You don't need a PayPal account, if you don't have one, you can pay with credit card too.

You don't necessarily need a PayPal account, but for the future, you might as well open one while at it. The payment at PayPal is secure, and your purchase is backed-up by Darren's money back guarantee, if you for some reason are not satisfied after a month.

1. Go to the official 31DBBB -page at Problogger.net, check the full information and click on the "Add to Cart" there. Or you can buy the eBook from E-Junkie right now:

• New window will open and
• take you to the E-Junkie.com shopping cart where you can finalize the order.

2. The E-Junkie shopping cart looks like this:

3. Check the order

• the 31DBBB workbook should be there and the amount is automatically set at one.
• change the amount if you're ordering several

4. Click on the PayPal icon for checkout

5. You'll be taken to the PayPal for the payment:

On PayPal, either login to your account and proceed as instructed, or you can pay with credit card (and bank account on some countries) even if you don't have PayPal account.

6. After payment, you'll be taken back to Darren's site and you will receive an email with the link so you can download your eBook.

Download the eBook and you're done. Now you can read the book on your computer, or print it out, put it in a nice binder and start taking action.

My thoughts: Awesome book for any blogger

I bought the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook when it was published and I think it is the best investment I have made as a blogger. For less than $20 it has improved my blogging and blogs tremendously and more than any other book or resource I’ve read about blogging.

Following the 31DBBB tasks gave this blog a flying start with thousands of visitors after just two months and the same advice keeps improving all my blogs today.

With that, I am proud to recommend it to you (and use my affiliate link). 31DBBB is more than worth what it costed (I bought it with $19.95, now the price is $29.99 USD), and I'd been happy to pay more if it would've costed more (but it didn't, so it was a steal).

I think each and every blogger, new or old, should go through the 31 days / tasks and improve their blogs and blogging skills in the process. Even if you don't go through the book over 31 days and just read it, you will enjoy better blogging results and understand what it takes to build a great blog.

When you take what you learn, either following the book step by step or on your own, taking action, you will have a better blog. Start here: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.

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Head out and buy your here: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog -eBook

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book, and how it has helped your blog. So if you've already bought the book or decide to buy it now, join the discussion below!