Author: Andy Wibbels
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Year Published: 2006
Rating:
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Andy Wibbels was one of the earliest blogging evangelists who coached small businesses on how to start up and get their business blog running. In Blog Wild, Andy explains what a blog is, why your business can benefit, and how to set one up in 15 minutes or less.

The book is laid out in five parts. The first part explains what a blog is and other blogging lingo like trackbacks, pings, and comments. The second part delves into why blogging can benefit your business. The third and fourth parts tackle how to set up a blog using Typepad while part five discusses how to promote your blog.

Blog Wild targets the blogging beginner, so if you have some idea of what a blog is or already have a blog set up, this probably isn’t for you. However, if you’ve heard the term “blog” thrown around and want a quick read to get you up to speed, Blogwild is an excellent choice. The book is only 174 pages - and it’s about half the size of a normal paperback, so it shouldn’t take you more than an hour or two to read.

Blog Wild ’s main strength is its step-by-step tutorial on setting up a blog on Typepad and learning Typepad’s interface. Andy explains some of the most popular features and how you can start using them immediately. Unfortunately, there are no screenshots included, which may have helped clarify some of the instructions.

The book is also primarily a tactical manual. It doesn’t delve too deeply into arguments like how blogs can help your business, how to integrate a blog into your marketing plan, how to make a case to your boss for business blogging, whether blogging is right for your company, or how to measure your return on blogging. If you are interested in these topics, pick up Debbie Weil’s Corporate Blogging Book.

The book also doesn’t go into much detail about how companies have used blogs to grow their business. Andy tells some anecdotes about his own blogging experiences - like how he got 5000 hits in one day during the 2004 US Presidential election - and there are various success stories peppered throughout the chapters, but none are longer than 2-3 paragraphs and don’t provide much substance.

Despite the shortcomings, Blog Wild is an excellent resource for the absolute beginner who wants a quick overview without the overwhelm.

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