This short book is a very clear and easy guide; just about right for blogging novices seeking a quick introduction to the basics. The pages are written in “sound bites” for the busy non-tech professional, in lucid language, with no padding.

You get just the facts needed to get your business blog set up, from idea to reality, in a reading that should not take more than one afternoon. This is a quick read, laid out in step by step fashion.

My major beef with the book: the author’s single-minded focus on Typepad as a blogging platform. What about Blogger and Word Press? Both WordPress and Blogger are free platforms, and would likely be the number one choices for blogging beginners.

Typepad, on the other hand, is NOT a free service. Exactly *half* of this book reads like a how-to manual for TypePad. The title of the book is completely misleading. It would have made much more sense to title it - Blogwild! A Typepad Manual For Small Business Bloggers.

Although I understand this is the author’s choice and probably the blogging platform he is most comfortable with, nowhere on the jacket blurb is TypePad even mentioned. I bet most potential buyers would like to know this BEFORE making a purchase.

What if I already had the start of a WordPress blog and wanted to know how to develop it? Half this book, short enough already, would be wasted cash for me. I find this a bit disingenuous on the part of the publisher.

I would recommend this book only if the blogger-to-be wanted a step-by-step description of starting a blog from *scratch* on Typepad. If you fall into this category, then this manual would absolutely be a great resource for you. :-)

For people already owning a blog, and know a few things about the world of blogging, the book is just a bit too remedial. For the price, there are other books for the beginning blogger that should prove more useful and take one beyond the baby steps offered here. For those people, Blogging for Dummies and The Everything Blogging Book (both reviewed on this site) are MUCH better options.