Book Description:

The writer, Brandon Colker, has a long blogging career and he has learned about the ways to make money and lose money. He wrote this book to share his insight and help others.

Chapter List:

1. An Introduction to Passive Income Through Blogging
2. Outlining the Appropriate Use of Branding and Self- Promotion
3. Identifying a Central Subject or Concept
4. Establishing Trust Through Expertise
5. Understanding the Importance of Consistency, Clarity and Quality
6. Building the Blog and Attracting an Audience
7. Passive Income Explained
8. When and How to Monetize (Passively!)
9. Expanding Reach Through Additional Mediums
10. Leveraging Expert Status to Generate Added Opportunities

This book covers important steps for establishing yourself as a brand and understanding the main foundation for a successful blog such as branding, self-promotion, concept, consistency, quality and how to reach an bigger audience. Most importantly, he explains in detail that process of generating passive income. This is my first time hearing the term so I was immediately interested to learn more about it.

My Thoughts:

When I decided to create this page my goal was to create informative and honest content about different products and services that I have the opportunity to try. Also, it would be a way for me to improve my communication skills through writing, create a network of friends and colleagues, have new experiences and help me become more financially independent.

I listened to the Audible version of this book which you can find here: http://goo.gl/JS9E5x
Product URL: http://www.amazon.com/Brandon-Colkers-Make-Bucks-Blogs/dp/1517756537

The narrator, Harry Roger Williams III, did a nice job at keeping me engage and it was a very pleasant and relaxing experience. The audio book length is 1 hr and 2 minutes. The organization of the book is very clear and easy to follow. It presents the information in a very straight forward and short manner. It does not repeat concepts to much and it follows nicely from chapter to chapter. Also, the organization is very practical because it allows you to refer back to a specific section.

The author did a great job at summarizing the most essential parts of a blogging career/business. He draw emphasis to areas of great benefit for your business. He provides the information but you must take action and design your business from the bottom. He is very clear from the beginning about your role and that a successful blog requires a lot of work and passion. 

This is not the type of book to tell you what to do or how to do it. It explains why you might consider using different approaches to make you blog be known. Such as using social media not only to promote your blog but also to create a solid brand. In Chapter 2, he explains the importance of self-promotion and its impact not only on the growth of your blog but also on creating new business opportunities for yourself. Most importantly, it helps you create a strong relationship with your readers and solidifies trust.  

We get a short introduction of passive income in chapter 1 and it is further explain in chapter 8. Unfortunately for me, only the name of concept name is new to me but the process or definition is not. It was nothing completely revolutionary, in my opinion. Passive income is basically the income received on a regular basis with little effort to produce it. I learned this concept as "unearned income"in the past. After you built a strong foundation and establish your blog and your brand, as time passes you will be able to receive income with less intervention from your part.  

My overall assessment:

* Price Point: 4/5
* Quality/Durability: 5/5
* Need: 3/5 (although it claims to be target to beginners and even experience bloggers, I believed that most older bloggers will not find this book so insightful)
* Recommendation: 3/5 (I would recommend it to those of you who are pure beginners and you have no idea on how to start. )
* Overall Assessment of Product: This a nice starting point for new bloggers. It offers a nice outline for creating a successful blog. It brings out interesting and important concepts to consider. This does not contain a unique and bulletproof formula to earn money immediately. It is a source of information that can help you establish your blog.


ASIDE NOTE: After I listened to the audio book, I decided to visit the bloggers blog or blogs (He mentioned that he has blogs). I was unsuccessful and I could not find more information about him aside from the author information on Amazon.com. I am not going to lie, I felt very disappointed. I really wanted to see how he applied his own teachings.





****FTC - I received a discount for this product in exchanged for my honest and unbiased review. Compensation of any kind is never accepted in exchange for a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my experience with the product and not edited by any companies mentioned. This is just my opinion, your experience with this product might be different. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines concerning the se of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. If my review was helpful to you, please let me know your thoughts.

Description:

The book, The Watchers: Knight of Light, written by Deirdra Eden tells the story of Auriella, an orphan who has loss everything and finds herself alone and afraid. After losing her parents in a horrible and devastating fire, she runs to the forest after being accused of being a witch since she was the only one who survive the fire. She leaves her village with more questions than answers. Soon after that nightmare, she encounter danger again. In the forest, she meets a wide range of creates and enchanting beings that will change her life forever.

 

Before Reading:

From the title and book cover, I expected a magical story that contained elements of bravery and courage. I read the description of the book but I still had no clear idea about what the story will be about and who is Auriella? But I figure, I would find out right along with her.

 

As I read:

Although we meet Auriella in the aftermath of the fire that killed her parents and her departure from her village, I found the first couple of chapters to be very low pace. I normally don't mind but my mind tends to wonder off if it is not intrigued and engage. I struggle a lot to stay focused and interested. Until we meet Cassi, a pixie who has been captured by the same witch that capture Aurilla. So far before Cassi, we have only met a few character so I was so happy, we got to meet a pixie. We witness the alliance of Cassi and Auriella in order to escape. Soon after we meet Rupert, a dwarf who unintentionally serves a great role in the escape of both prisoners. I was so touched with the fact that the story will finally move along and I would get the adventure that I wanted.


I loved how her new friends served a essential role in the development of the story and served as life guide for Auriella. They are such great friends. Cassi is adorable, funny and helpful. Rupert(aka my favorite character) is so wise, reliable and loyal. I definitely love and enjoy the interaction between the three friends.


After meeting some amazing friends, Auriella gets a taste of a family from a noble family. I was extremely happy for Auriella when she found the love of a mother that she has been so desperately wishing for since loss her parents. In the same house, she finds love. However, even thought I was so happy for her, I still knew that sooner or later she needed to face her reality.


The story continues with Auriella realization that her true identity is not something that she can continue to escape. She goes through harsh changes, loss, and hopelessness in her road to self-discovery.

Evaluation:

I am so glad I decided to read this book. I found it very inspirational. Although I struggle in some areas of the story because I wanted the story to move along. Also, I found Auriella continue denial very tiring. But I understood why she did it. She had lost so much already. She just wanted to protect the little bit of happiness she has found. Even thought I understood her, I knew that she could not run away for much longer. I felt so proud of her in the final chapters when she had finally come to accept her destiny and she took charge of it. She went from being a normal girl, an accused witch, a slave, a mercenary, a lady, a warrior, a knight, to a symbol of courage.


I found the language to be very engaging and powerful. I could read a couple of chapters in one sitting. If it weren't from other time demands, I could had read it in one go. Each character had a significant impact in my understanding of the story. Also, each character smoothly developed and grew as the story went on. Now that I have read it, I can say that I miss them a lot and I can't wait to read the sequel.


I found myself reflecting about my own humanity, desires, goals and destiny. The book in written from the perspective of Auriella so we have access to her inner thoughts. In the description of the book provided by the author which is also written in Auriella perspective, she says, "Even though we all feel human at times, we must remember, we are not them, we are their watchers". While I witness Auriella's struggle to accept her Truth and her struggle with loneliness and lost, this line kept appearing in my head. She is a watcher or guardian of Earth from evil, but she still has similar experiences of a human.


Although I was feeling uninterested in the first couple of chapters because I thought I was not getting the sense of adventure that I hoped. I now realized that I got a new kind of adventure. It is not the typical heroine story. I now appreciate that Auriella showed human emotions and desires that she could barely control. She needed to understand her humanity and herself before confronting her fears and her own destiny. She really surprise me and I felt a sense of joy, relief, and sadness as I got closer to the end.


I find this book to be perfect for children, young adults and adults. Both males and females because it has a little bit of everything. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and continue reading its sequels. I can't wait to read about Auriella's new found goal, and her friends.



Product URL: The Watchers: Knight of Light
http://amzn.com/B017T295JS

****FTC - I received a discount for this product in exchanged for my honest and unbiased review. Compensation of any kind is never accepted in exchange for a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my experience with the product and not edited by any companies mentioned. This is just my opinion, your experience with this product might be different. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. If my review was helpful to you, please let me know your thoughts.

This is the second book I read about business opportunities. However, unlike the previous book I review on this blog, this book contains valuable information about using new ways to not only earn extra revenue( increase your revenue) but also for ways to improve your business using the internet. Once I establish my business, I understand that it is important to consider new ways to increase my earnings and at the same time increase my customer base. This book covers this need in great detail.


It claims to provide important insights about different web-based opportunities to increase your income, promote you business and enhance your brand recognition. It contains seven chapters discussing different areas of profitability potential for yourself and your business. I decided to share some of my thoughts and/observations about some of the chapters.



Chapter 1: Blogging*


I have a blog, so I thought I understood the importance of it and the potential. However, as I was reading this chapter, I thought, "wow! How did I not make the connection? Why didn't I think of that?". It really explains a blog can increase the visibility of your business even if you have a professional website for your business. This is a must read chapter, and one of my favorites.


Chapter 2: Freelance*


One of the main terms that I took from this chapter is "Cross Promotion". It explains how different freelance opportunities do not only can increase your earnings but also provide ways to promote your business.


Chapter 3: Selling and reselling*


This chapter builds on the idea of cross promotion and complementary strategies that can help you achieve additional income and brand recognition.




This are just a few chapters but I don't want to spoiled every insight included in the book for you. Other areas covered in the book include Online tutorials, Using Etsy, Fiverr and tutoring. I like the writing style and the organization of the book. While you get easily open the book at any chapter and read it individually with no particular order. I really liked that as I was reading each chapter the next would build on the previous and make reference to the general ideas and theme of the book. I made it easy to read and comprehend the material.


Another area to highlight is that I really appreciated that a couple of the chapter include a small section explaining and giving us tips about how to value our digital product. It is nice and helpful to know in which occasions it is acceptable to charge a certain amount for your service or product.


Overall, I am really pleased with the information provided and I am glad that I decided to read it. I learned about some new platforms to make money and new strategies about money making and promotion. Also, while the author mainly makes reference to the home building industry that ideas and strategies included in this chapter can be applied to other industries.





Product URL:

http://www.amazon.com/Ralph-Slaske-Builders-Making-Online/dp/1519493231/

http://smile.amazon.com/Ralph-Slaske-Builders/e/B018J6XPJE/

http://ralphslaske.com/about-me/



*Note: This are not the complete titles of each chapter. I mainly picked a keyword from the actual title of each section.



FTC - I received a discount for this product in exchanged for my honest and unbiased review. Compensation of any kind is never accepted in exchange for a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my experience with the product and not edited by any companies mentioned. This is just my opinion, your experience with this product might be different. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines concerning the of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. If my review was helpful to you, please let me know your thoughts.