Stray Curls eBook Review: A Book for New Bloggers
In today’s blog post, I’m going to review a book I read recently. It’s one of Stray Curls’ blogging e-books.
I have decided to tell you about Start a Blog from Scratch in this article, not only because it is the latest Stray Curls e-book I have read but also because I believe this is a great starting point for new bloggers.
That said, I have followed Angela’s blog for several years now and have purchased several other products from her shop.
I think Stray Curls is an excellent resource for new bloggers.
What is Stray Curls?
Stray Curls is a blog about art, creativity, business, and blogging that Angela Vaz started back in April 2018.
Before becoming one of the coolest online business blogs out there, it was an online shop selling merchandise. Today, Angela sells pintables and e-books tailored for women who want to start an online business from scratch.
Who is Angela Vaz?
Angela Vaz is a 30-something-year-old blogger, illustrator, comic artist, and dog mommy who was born in the UAE and currently lives in India.
She has done graphic design, built websites for clients, created logos, and drawn comics for companies all over the world.
She is known for her chilled approach to blogging and the humorous cartoon illustrations that she uses across her Stray Curls branding.
Besides this blog, which is all about online business and blogging, she runs a few others in different niches: a hair blog, a personal development blog, and a drawing blog.
To learn more about Angela, please read my recent interview with her.
This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. I only recommend resources that I use and love! Read my full disclosure.
Start a Blog from Scratch by Stray Curls: eBook Review
Start a Blog from Scratch sets the foundation for starting a blog on the right foot.
It’s your guide on the prep work that you must do to ensure that your new blog has the potential for growth. It discusses what it takes to build a successful blogging career.
What is this blogging e-book about?
Angela starts the e-book by sharing her own blogging journey. She doesn’t hold back on how she started and grew several blogs to where she is today.
Her writing is personable and entertaining, but what I love most about her is that she tells you all things as they are.
She doesn’t paint blogging as an easy way to make a living online. She can actually come off quite harsh at times.
This is your reality check as to whether you should start your own blog! Angela dives deep into what it takes to grow a profitable blogging business.
1. Choosing the right blogging niche
The e-book starts with an extremely detailed guide on choosing the right niche: one that works for you but, above all, has growth and monetization potential!
In fact, niche selection strategies take up almost half of the entire book.
Choosing a blogging niche is key to setting your blog up for success, but that’s also where many new bloggers go wrong.
If you haven’t started your blog yet, or you’re planning to take a turn on your blog’s topics, I highly recommend that you follow Angela’s advice.
Please click here to check out the Start a Blog from Scratch eBook.
2. Building a blog
With that settled, she moves on to helping you choose a domain name and actually start a self-hosted blog on WordPress.
The guide includes chapters about hosting, branding and design, the website pages to include, Google Analytics, and more.
This section is more of what you’d find in other blogging courses and e-books. But Angela does have some good tips for choosing the right domain name.
3. Blog Monetization & Growth
Toward the end of Start a Blog from Scratch, Angela dives into monetization strategies and search engine optimization.
These topics take up 70 pages of the e-book and will give you a solid overview of what needs to be done in the new era of blogging – Yup, it’s even been updated with some new material on AI!
SHARING IS CARING 🙂
Start a Blog from Scratch: Contents
Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn from Angela’s e-book:
- What exactly is a blog? Should I start a lifestyle blog or a niche blog?
- Doing research before starting a blog
- How to choose a good domain name
- How to buy hosting and install WordPress
- Branding & Design: How to design a clean, simple and beautiful website
- Build the necessary pages
- Set up Google Analytics
- Understanding traffic and monetization – how long will it take to gain organic traffic
- How to write SEO-optimized content for your blog
- How to monetize your blog effectively
How is it delivered?
This e-book is delivered as a PDF document via email. Angela uses SendOwl to handle payments and delivery, so you’ll get an email from SendOwl with the download link.
Bear in mind that the link has limited usage—I believe you can download the e-book up to five times, and it expires after a while.
For example, I’ve now lost access to a few of the products I bought before the summer of 2023. It’s fine because I saved them to my computer, but I’d advise you to keep a backup or print the document so you can access it later.
I am used to getting lifetime access to these types of products, so I was surprised to see that I couldn’t access my purchases again.
This also means you won’t be able to get updates whenever Angela makes changes unless you are still within the set timeframe.
That being said, I recently contacted her requesting access to an e-book I no longer had access to – the SEO Blueprint – and she restored my access within less than 24 hours. Yes, yes, she is a real human, always ready to help her readers and followers 🙂
How much does it cost?
Start a Blog from Scratch costs $49 with occasional sales throughout the year. Right now, it’s at $39. Please check the latest promotions on this page!
How long will it take me to go through the e-book?
Because I have already started several blogs and am familiar with most of the concepts discussed in the e-book, I took this as leisure reading.
I love learning more about blogging and business and supporting fellow creators. I strongly believe that learning from each other is what makes us better.
Plus, reading other bloggers’ strategies and opinions is inspiring to me and keeps my brain popping!
All of that is to say that I wasn’t actively applying what Angela teaches. I was only enjoying her content over the weekend. So it took me about a day to read through all 242 pages of this e-book.
I know this sounds like a lot, but Angela uses a large font and line height, and there are plenty of cute graphics too. This can’t be compared to a regular book with the same number of pages.
It isn’t that long.
And the formatting makes it easy to read, especially if you’re like me and like studying on the go.
I read the e-book on my phone in between other things I had going on over the weekend. It was convenient to have it accessible as a PDF and designed in a way that seemed made for mobile.
In fact, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend printing it out. You’ll probably spend a lot of ink and paper, and you won’t be able to access the links for blog posts and other resources Angela mentions and recommends throughout.
In either case, if you follow Angela’s recommendations, brainstorm your topics, and (literally) start a blog from scratch as you read, you could easily dedicate a week to it.
Other digital products by Stray Curls
Angela’s website also offers several other e-books and digital products. If you like her distinct style, as I do, I believe you’d enjoy most of her products.
I have purchased and read through several of her e-books, and I still have a few more on my list. Here are a few of my top picks:
- Start a Blog from Scratch (this is the e-book you’ve read about in this post)
- Grow your Blog to $1K (it helps you choose topics for your blog and pick keywords for SEO)
- Only 7 Emails (this is essentially a case study and an excellent resource for when you’re ready to launch your first digital product)
- Little Tripwire (how to build a high-converting tripwire and convert readers into buyers)
- Roadmap to Building a Profitable Side Hustle (everything about starting an online business and earning passive income online)
Conclusion
Starting a Blog from Scratch is a book for anyone who’s considering starting a blog but hasn’t taken the first steps yet.
Angela from Stray Curls is legit and knowledgeable about starting and growing profitable online businesses.
To get to know her a little better, go ahead and read our recent conversation about her business. She also shares some great tips and advice on which of her e-books are best suited for beginner bloggers.
