Do Bloggers Need Another E-Book?
Confession: I wrestled with making that headline Do Parent Bloggers Need Another E-Book?
Why?
Because I wondered if this post would get more play by focusing on a particular niche or if it would be better to leave it open. It doesn’t take much to see what direction I went in but it doesn’t answer the question, Do Bloggers Need Another E-Book?
Why Does It Matter?
It matters because time is worth something. My time is worth something and so is yours. There is no point in writing another e-book unless people are going to read it.
Some of you might say it is still useful even if it is not read. Some might argue there is value in being able to show prospective employers/clients that I have written an e-book.
You might suggest that it demonstrates a certain level of understanding and expertise. You might argue it would lend itself towards generating speaking opportunities and that those opportunities lead to more exposure and exposure leads to good things.
We could go round and round about whether we charge a small fee for it or provide it for free. I can offer support for why providing it for free devalues it and how providing it for free is of benefit.
Neither one of those arguments answer the initial question of whether it would be useful or beneficial.
Ask my children to fill you in on some of my business/life philosophies and they’ll tell you the importance of working smarter and not harder. They’ll tell you that dad doesn’t work for free because our time is worth something and if you don’t make that clear people will think less of your work/ability.
About Working Smarter
I can handle the working smarter aspect. I can take old posts and weave them together to create a tapestry that tells a story and has depth. For example I could use the following to help build the body of an e-book.
- When Blogging Became a Popularity Contest
- The Problem With Blogging Conference Speakers
- The Dad Blogger’s Guide To Blogging- A Writer’s Tool Kit Part One.
- How To Make More Money and Have Better Sex Through Blogging
- All I Want To Do Is Write
- Monetizing the blog
- Stop Worrying About Whether Anyone Reads Your Blog
- A Writer’s Voice
- Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger
Flip through the ten thousand posts here and you’ll find plenty more about writing/blogging and social media. This joint isn’t solely about the stuff my children do, the fiction I write or dad talking about how crazy parenting can be.
Part of me says it might be worth taking the time to paint that picture I talked about earlier and put together the book but some of it is curiosity and some of it is ego.
Maybe that is exactly why it should happen or exactly why it shouldn’t.
Straddling The Fence
Part of what I like best about blogging is how it provides a venue for thinking ab0ut things and for potentially inviting in the wisdom and insight of crowds.
That is part of what I am doing here, thinking out loud and listening to see if this resonates with anyone. Might lead to an interesting discussion, might not.
And the second part is I am trying to generate some more pageviews from these older posts. With a bit of luck it will bring in some new readers who will stick around to read about writing/social media and laugh at stories like the one where I had to jump off of a roof because the ladder broke.
And with that I bid you goodnight, way too late here in LA. See you in the AM and or in the comments.
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Kenya G. Johnson September 10, 2014 at 6:04 am
You didn’t link the jumping off the roof story. Now I am going to have to do a search. For me I have a hard time getting into any electronic self help book. I am an early adopter with reading digitally but it’s strictly stories – fiction and non fiction. Other types of books I like to flip through and skim.
The JackB September 10, 2014 at 2:30 pm
I have to go looking for that one. It is in here, somewhere on the cybershelves.
I tend to be very skeptical about self help books so that probably impacts my perception of need.
Jens P. Berget September 2, 2014 at 8:49 pm
I don’t read ebooks as often as I used to. But, if someone I trust recommends one, I’d read it. So, I guess another ebook about blogging, marketing, or whatever relevant, would be interesting if it was very different from all the others.
The JackB September 3, 2014 at 6:38 am
For me it would have to be someone I trust before I bought another. Too many people have written about the same topics, I have become a bit skeptical.
Sebastian Daniels September 2, 2014 at 12:06 pm
Now you are a disqus man. Seeing which one you like the best ; D. I don’t read ebooks on blogging, just one persons’ view and lifestyle choice hehe.
The JackB September 2, 2014 at 8:28 pm
I had DISQUS running here about two years ago, made the importing of old comments much easier this time around.
View and lifestyle choices, that makes sense to me.