Best Books on Blogging, Freelancing and Small Business

One of the most important aspects of being a freelancer, independent contractor or small business owner is having the self-motivation to be constantly learning. It is incredibly important to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques, strategies and technologies.

As one of the authors on this list – Dale Partridge – says, “A friend of mine who is a successful businessman once told me, ‘If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. But if you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.’ ”

As I learned first-hand when I started my own little business venture, in that type of situation you will need to learn how to do a WHOLE LOT of different things, and learn them quickly. Below is a list of some of the books that helped me along my way to running my own business, working with clients and creating this blog!

Blogging

The Essential Habits of 6-Figure Bloggers
Secrets of 17 Successful Bloggers You Can Use to Build a Six-Figure Online Business
by Sally Miller

This book is jam-packed with honest, nitty-gritty advice from 17 of todays most successful bloggers. The author surveyed each of them with questions such as “What’s your advice for bloggers who are still struggling?” and “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in building your business to where it is today? How did you overcome it?”

With advice on everything from how often to post to a blog to what single strategy helped them propel their business to $100,000, this book is a must-read if you are starting your own blog. I personally benefitted and learned quite a bit from reading this book; particularly from the section on what each blogger (and/or “online entrepreneur”) would do differently today if they had to start all over again.

I think this might be my favorite book on the subject of blogging, largely because I felt like I was getting expert advice from not just one successful blogger (Sally) but from a whole bunch of successful bloggers. Learning about the real, practical day-to-day steps these 6-figure bloggers took to get to where they are today was a true eye-opener!

How to Blog for Profit
(Without Selling Your Soul)
by Ruth Soukup

The author of this book has a LOT of experience building a successful blog. Her blog Living Well Spending Less is visited by over a million visitors every month (wow!) so she obviously knows what she’s talking about. Ruth doesn’t go into much detail on the technical details of how to actually set up a blog (as in, how to set up a WordPress theme for example). What she does get into a LOT is the importance of creating compelling content and how to advertise that content out to the world.

Specifically, this book is very heavy on the subject of social media and how important a marketing tool it can be – if used correctly. It is loaded with insights on the different ways to monetize your blog, ranging from guest posting to affiliate marketing – it’s all in here.

And if you’re looking for great advice on how to use Pinterest and create pins, promote your pins, etc. then this book would be a worthwhile read for you. There are even photos of effective pin images and advice on how to create engaging headlines and pin descriptions.

The Blog Startup
Proven Strategies to Launch Smart and Exponentially Grow Your Audience, Brand and Income Without Losing Your Sanity or Crying Bucketloads of Tears
by Meera Kothand

This book is another one that is full of practical advice and real examples from the authors’ struggles and successes while building her online business. As she says on the cover, Meera’s book is a roadmap for the first 90 days of your blogging journey, and she encourages readers to take things one step at a time and not jump ahead (so as not to get discouraged). Also emphasized are things such as finding your own unique voice and writing style, and staying true to yourself and your own distinct brand.

Reading this book helped me to take a good look at myself and determine what my strengths and weaknesses are. I learned to identify my pain points and discovered how I need to focus more on what I’m interested in and enjoy writing about. As soon as I finished reading this book I went ahead and subscribed to the author’s email list because I loved her no-nonsense approach so much.

Freelancing

How to Succeed on Upwork
A Winning 7-Step Formula and Some Hard Truths from a Freelance Pro
by Diana Marinova

I have had some good experiences using Upwork, and that’s partly thanks to Diana’s book. As far as online freelancing platforms go, I can honestly say that Upwork is one of the best (if not the best) and that it holds so many opportunities for independent workers – and permanent positions can be found listed there as well.

This book is loaded with concrete action steps and strategies regarding subjects such as:

creating the optimal Upwork profile
garnering interest and interviews
finding clients
applying to the right jobs/projects and not randomly apply to anything out there
knowing the right things to say to clients to win the job
following up after interviews
and so much more.

A recurring focus of this book is how important it is to remain honest with others about your skills and preferences, and how crucial it is to stay true to yourself. Also contained therein are details on how to figure out a schedule that you can live with (and stick to), how to craft proposals that get results, and how/why/when to take skills tests.

After reading Diana’s book my brain was brimming with next steps and things I couldn’t wait to take action on and put into practice.

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Web Designer
by Neil Tortorella

This entry on our list actually spans 2 categories: freelancing and small business, but it’s under “Freelancing” because it leans more heavily in this direction. Packed with hard-earned lessons from a seasoned freelance designer, this book covers everything from creating a business plan to what to do if a client fails to pay you. One of the most important sections (that I recommend any aspiring web designer read) is about what the freelance life is really like, and what traits are needed in order to succeed as a freelancer. It isn’t always wine and roses and taking latte breaks whenever one wants to… as I can attest to).

The book itself (hard copy) is solid and absolutely packed with helpful information; it isn’t an easy-breezy read that can be skimmed through in a few hours. Along with a whole lot more detailed information, among the nuggets of wisdom are the following:

how to figure out what rates you’ll charge clients
what to do about taxes
understanding and crafting proposals and contracts
project management
generating referrals
examples of letters/emails you could send to a satisfied client, asking them for a testimonial
marketing and promoting your freelance business
if/when to hire employees

If you are ready to take the plunge into starting your own freelancing business (or other small business), you might want to check out our article that provides an overview of how to get started with a freelancing business (specifically in regards to forming an LLC).

Small Business/Entrepreneurship

Launch Your Dream
A 30-Day Plan for Turning Your Passion Into Your Profession
by Dale Partridge

This is another book that is filled with pragmatic advice, and it’s one of the earlier books I read when first launching my own web design business. The author discusses topics such as sales funnels, optimal colors for websites and marketing materials, and legal topics like what the differences are between an LLC and a Partnership. He details how important it is (before starting any business) to be very clear on what your mission, vision and values are.

Book Yourself Solid
The Fastest, Easiest and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling
by Michael Port

The author of this book is obviously a true expert in marketing and selling, so if you’re looking for more clients, Book Yourself Solid is an essential addition to your business library. This book is loaded with concrete, actionable steps and relevant exercises that solidify what you’re learning as you go along.

Just a few of the key areas that are covered include:

how to effectively communicate with clients while speaking with passion, from your heart – and how to really listen as well
strategies for reaching out to prospective clients and turning them into not only clients, but friends as well
strategies for gaining referrals
how important it is to keep in touch with past and present clients

Throughout this book Michael emphasizes how critical it is to know and understand yourself – and consequently to understand who your target audience really is. He places a lot of importance on identifying who your ideal clients would be. Bringing in the wrong kinds of clients could actually do more harm than good for your business, so I get where the author is coming from!

Choose your clients wisely or you might wind up with someone who won’t pay you for your services, asks tons of questions, calls you at all hours – or just plain drains the energy out of you with endless changes and tweaks (I have run into a few like this, sad to say).

One thing that really resonated with me was the point the author made about how you shouldn’t need to market yourself in a way where you are trying to coerce people into accepting your services. It shouldn’t be THAT much of a struggle. Instead you need to take that leap and get yourself out there in front of the people who already need and want the services you’re offering.

Other Books/Miscellaneous

Everything You Need to Know About Saving for Retirement
by Ben Carlson

Are you looking for a no-nonsense explanation of one of the most critically important aspects of life – saving and investing for the future? If so, this book is what you’re looking for.

I’ve read so many convoluted and complicated books, blogs and websites on the subject of saving and/or investing that I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding one I could stand reading. Some put me to sleep; others were so detailed and long-winded I couldn’t follow along.

But this book is different in that the author just lays it all out there, plain and simple. He repeatedly stresses the important of simplicity in any investment plan, and that is at the heart of what his message is. The charts and graphs are a nice touch as well.

Other bits of common sense investment advice include:

why saving is more important than investing
credit card debt should be avoided if at all possible
how to create a system for investing so you don’t need to keep thinking about it all the time
how to catch up if you started saving and investing later in life
and a lot more that I wish I had known about when I was younger!

I Had It All the Time
When Self-improvement Gives Way to Ecstasy
by Alan Cohen

The author of this book must have one of the most beautiful souls ever, I’m telling you. Whenever I’m feeling down or discouraged I reach for this book (that I keep by my bedside) and I never fail to find a ray of light within its pages.

I don’t think Alan’s book is intended to be read strictly in a linear fashion, like from cover to cover. It’s more of a collection of stories, anecdotes and deep insights into … well … being alive.

The overall premise of Alan’s book is based upon his assertion that we all need to stop trying to fix ourselves and realize we are already whole.

And we just need to discover and appreciate the joy of that wholeness.

One of my favorite parts/concepts in I Had It All the Time is how Alan views the subject of letting go once in a while and just celebrating the moment we’re in, right now. He states “Jesus emphasized that ‘to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you must become like a little child.’ He did not say that you must struggle and pay for your happiness; he proclaimed that delight is our birthright.”

I love this book so much I had written about at least 3 quotes of Alan’s on one of the earliest articles of this blog (towards the bottom).

Brimming with wisdom, warmth and wit, this book is a welcome anecdote for an often cold and cynical world.

These are only a few of the excellent books that have been written on the above topics, but are specifically ones that I have read and benefitted from. Please check back again, as I’ll be updating this list periodically.

Thank you for reading!! 🙂

Tags: books about freelancing Books on Blogging small business books