3 Ways to Convert Blog Content Into a Word Doc

For those bloggers who would like to book a blog, or repurpose their posts into a book, turning blog content into a word-processing file can pose one of the largest challenges. You likely need a Microsoft Word file, since these are used by designers and to create a variety of ebook formats. Yet, it’s not so easy to get blog content off a blog without manually copying and pasting each post into a Word file.

After much research and some trial and error of my own, here are the three ways I have discovered to convert blog content to into a Word file without the time spent copying and pasting.

DEVONthink Pro

If you are a Mac user, you can do what LifeHacker blogger and author Gina Trapani did. She used a Mac program called DEVONthink Pro, which costs $79. It creates a database of web pages, plain notes and word processing documents out of your blog. You then can organize this data into a book outline. Using this program Trapani was able “to suck all 5,000 of Lifehacker’s blog posts into its database immediately” as she worked on her book. Pretty cool. (I have tried this program for free but found it difficult to navigate; I never managed to get my word processing docs.)

With that in mind, you might be able to find a coder, or computer programmer, to extract your blog posts into a database even if you aren’t a Mac user. It’s amazing what a good coder can do—and for very little money. Try placing a request on oDesk.com or Elance.com and see what you get back.

BlogBooker

BlogBooker.com is a service that produces a Word document for you if you use its PDF + DOCs (beta) service. It supports WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, Livejournal, and Tumblr. This service asks for a donation but has no set fee.

To use the service, first export an XML document from your blog, which is easily done by going to “Tools,” “Export” and then choosing “Posts.” Then click on “Download Export File.” You can choose posts by a particular time period or category prior to exporting the XML file.

Choose your blog type, and indicate the URL of the blog. Then upload your XML file. You also have a few features you can choose for your output.

I have had varied success with this site. Sometimes I get a Word file and sometimes a PDF, which is not so useful (but can be converted to Word in some cases). I’ve gotten other types of files as well. It’s worth a try, though.

BlogBookMaker

Or you can use BlogBookMaker.com. This program requires that you first have your site validated (to prove you own the content), and you can then reliably download posts with photos into a Word file quite easily. It exports by category, and you only have use of the service for one week’s time. It produces a “book” that you can edit in Word. This service costs $250.

Due to high fee, if you use this service I suggest you download as much content as you can in that one week. The files you get are clean and worth the money.

When you have finished extracting all those posts from your blog, you will, indeed, have what looks like the makings of a manuscript. Don’t, however, get too excited yet. You still have work ahead of you. You need to edit, revise, and fill in any content gaps. If you don’t do this, all you have is a bunch of blog posts slapped together into what appears to be a book. It isn’t really a book.

Do you have any other solutions for going blog to word-processing doc? If so, leave me a comment.

Copyright: kgtoh / 123RF Stock Photo