I will start by saying I am totally not the market for this book, as although I have my own business which relies on online marketing this was more about monetising websites which are not attached to a business. So for example affiliate websites, blogs who recommend services for commission and e-commerce.

The premise seemed to be -
1) Find a niche (which doesn't have to be anything you are actually knowledgable about), set up a website and post 3 articles a week on subjects associated with the niche (an example the author uses is tattoo removal) If this doesn't work, find a new niche..

2) Set up a website - this section covers almost 30% of the book and includes screenshots of how to set up a website with Wordpress how to register a domain name and hosting service. The author admits that before the book went to press Wordpress did an update so none of the screenshots actually look like those in the book which in my mind defeats the object and shows that this section will be totally out of date within months. - if not already

3) Ensure keywords and SEO are incorporated into the site - including into the domain name. Content is key, as long as it matches all those keywords and SEO to get it ranking in Google.

The author truly lost me with a major contradiction where in chapter 1 he stated if you sell content to clients, to monetise this, outsource the writing to the Philippines and then do a mark up. Then the rest of the book is about how important great content, with SEO and keywords is essential to the site. No mention of outsourcing this to the Philippines and getting it on the cheap.

The book is also a 'typical American self-help' book in the sense that it is a giant advert for an online training that he offers which costs $500 as well as links to his affiliated partners (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost) which also get extensive coverage in the book.

I think there were a few good ideas in this book but I felt that it was clearly part of the monetising of his website rather than a book for the joy of spreading knowledge. I felt continually sold to.

I found this rather too American for my taste, although it had some good advice. I do think some of the reviews are a bit over the top though. I'm probably not really the target audience, though.

From Nothing is an incredibly useful step by step reference guide to starting an online business. I requested a review copy from NetGalley while looking to promote my visual novel for learning Mandarin Chinese. Promoting one of my own digital products is listed as one of the "only four paths to wealth online." The others were content-based business monetised through advertising, service based businesses and e-commerce. Each pathway is discussed in depth, as well as developing your mindset (thankfully not woo woo), finding your niche, building your website, setting up Google Analytics, keywords, writing quality content and increasing traffic.

Ian Pribyl does not promise any get rich quick schemes and outlines how to difficult it is to be successful in online marketing. His advice is rooted in classic business skills and consistency. This is not a book promising any secret system to instantaneously have passive income so you can play with your children all day as a digital nomad in Bali. However, he does recognise that working online may be appealing to you due to various factors such as having caring responsibilities or for improving your quality of life.

Selling digital products, he rightly points out, may require years of education and production before the product goes live online. However, the profit margins are noticeably higher. He does not shy away from providing formulas and numbers, including the number of hours you should be working per week, to even think about approaching success. He is also very clear about how much startup capital (money) you'll need to launch a website and the pros and cons of various marketing tools you can purchase to make the most of your website. In his outline of what the first year should look like in terms of creation, traction and generating income, he once again shows how working online is still real work that requires a lot of trial-and-error and self-study. For those who don't know how they would like to make money online, there is a brainstorming guide on how you can make a career change after reflecting on your interests, skills and previous traditional work experience.

This book does not cover social media marketing in depth, however he list other useful sources for the reader to look into. Much like Cal Newport, he reminds us to focus on the quality of our product and forming real connections, rather than feeling as if we are working because we are highly active on social media. He recommends social media marketing for brands wishing to appeal to younger buyers or for lifestyle brands.

This book is not for those involved in multi-level marketing and indeed, the author mentions he published an article titled "How MLMs Ruin Friendships." Since I just finished listening to the horrifying MLM podcast series The Dream , I'm happy this book is written for those wishing to promote their own product or service as authentic entrepreneurs. I'm personally wary of how the dropshipping industry has been flooded, but this book does cover dropshipping and crucially outlines how one could start with dropshipping and expand into their own branded products.

I have an undergraduate degree in advertising from a century ago and so I was pleased that this book updated my knowledge on how digital marketing has wildly changed since then. The book itself is in a familiar format to most business textbooks with useful summaries in bullet points at the end of each chapter. For my last position in a startup, I did attend a digital marketing day conference and I am so pleased that this book is not at all like most of the presentations at that conference. Far too often digital marketing tips have focused on being a 'personality' or 'building your brand' or 'telling your story' without enough attention on how to make sales. From Nothing also includes a number of helpful step-by-step images on how to navigate WordPress and also the best way to format your blog posts in terms of text, images and advertising links.

If you are looking to work online or make a career change but feel overwhelmed by the number of online guides to various aspects of starting a business, this book is the best place to get started.

From Nothing provides a step by step tutorial on starting your own blog/website online and making it a profitable business. It is a great starting point for beginners and is straight to the point without the hype. It has a range of topics including how to register a domain, host a website, make a website, keyword research, how to write high quality content and lots more. It is a great all round guide for any online business. The advice is up to date and also has some free video training accompaniment if you follow the links to his website. Overall a great reference and information book.

Interesting book about things we tend to forget, the things that being us to success. Mainly it is focused around American Area but I think that looking for success and believing in who you are and what you can achieve is not connected to any specific geographical location.

"From Nothing" is a good primer on the very basics of how to get started in internet marketing. Especially if you don't want to put in a ton of effort. It explains how to set up a website, how to generate traffic and how to monetize it with a few ways. The challenge, for me (as a marketer), is that it didn't go BEYOND what I already know about internet marketing. I was hoping to learn about how to leverage social media, work with influencers, design my site to maximize conversions, and get into some of the bigger ad networks, etc. Granted, what I'm looking for might be internet marketing on steroids, and for those who already have some decent traffic. So maybe I had too high of expectations for this book, and wanted it to be something it's not? If you only have $100 and don't care about social media marketing and learning how to work with people to generate traffic, this might be a good reference guide.

Thanks to NetGalley for an electronic copy in exchange for my honest review.