The Business Sense of Blogging
Posted on February 11, 2008
One of the easiest things to do, when you do decide to give it your best and quit your full time job to blog, is getting lost in the newfound “I have no boss!” feeling. But let me reign you back to the third rock from the sun for a while, and give you some tips on how to make it so you now don’t fail.
Here’s some of my quick tips and tricks for you., listed in no particular order. This can be done while you are still working for that boss that you want to get rid of so badly, or they can be done after you have. (Keep in mind that I’m NOT suggesting you quit your day job to do blogging - in fact, the BEST way to do it, in my humble opinion, is to do it part-time while slaving behind your desk.)
Create a business plan, which includes step-by-step marketing ideas. This will be the blueprint for your business. Your blog is a business, so treat it like one!
Create a name of your business. On your site, always put contact information. Not only will potential joint venturists look for you, but also web site visitors.
Speaking about the name of your business, why don’t you make yourself official and get a business name. You can file directly online at www.irs.gov for a tax ID (or an employer identification number). Check with your state government to see how to file a fictitious business name, corporation, or other entity.
Join a local organization, even if you have to volunteer your time, and especially in the topic of your blog. This is especially important if they have a newsletter that you can write for! For a $10 donation, I joined a local Korean-American organization called Ta-Ri (www.ta-ri.org), which put a link to my web site, mentioned me in newsletters, allowed me to network, and helped me network. Once in a while, I write an article for them, and I get free advertising for my web site. Word of mouth is still a powerful tool in the blogging world. I’ll never know, but maybe I picked up a hundred loyal readers!
Gather up all the local, free newspapers. Although this may not pan out to any money, it gives you a lot of free advertising! Included in your by-line put your blog’s web site address and your name. You get bonus points if you write about events from your local organization. Check the copywrite guidelines for these newspapers, because you could double dip and put up the article on your own blog, which will make you look good to your readers.
Join the local Chamber of Commerce. For a few hours per month, these organizations help you network. You may be surprised at how many people will visit your blog, or offer you a joint venture. At one such meeting, I was offered a regular writing gig, which really helped ease my mind (and provided me some extra cash).
Create business cards, and hand them out to everyone.
Always put your web site and your services at the bottom of every e-mail. You’d be surprised how many people will check it out.
Be smart and create your own bank account for your business. For the first few months (until money starts rolling in), don’t spend anything except legitimate business expenses. Remember to attach your PayPal, Amazon Associates, Google Adsense, and all other freelance stuff to your new bank account.
Be honest with your books, and remember to write every single expense off. Don’t spend any money unless you have to! Mean Uncle Sam will come to get you if you don’t play it by the IRS rules. It takes some (ok, a lot of) self-restraint to not spend that hard-earned cash. My rule of thumb? Transfer 20% of that money to PayPal. Likewise, if you get paid via PayPal, keep it in there! That way, at tax-time, you aren’t crunched. Your reward? When you file your taxes, you can count on that money in your PayPal account to pay your taxes, and anything left over is like a big tax refund. Yes, you will get a “refund” – you’re taking 20% of your business income when you get to write off a bunch of stuff.
Remember what it was like to be a college student. In other words, don’t live like a Mercedes when you have an income of a Hyundai. Act like a starving artist, because that’s what you are, until of course, you aren’t.
This is a serious, full-time job now. Even at the worst, most depressing times, I got up every working day (Monday through Friday) at 7:00, showered like I would for a normal job, and got dressed. My boyfriend finished off the basement to his house and gave me a desk and a nice chair in my new “office.” Not only that, but you can now write off a portion of your rent/mortgage, utilities, and other household expenses (please check with an accountant before doing this). We even got to write off the cost of making my office.
Turn off the boob-tube. Don’t even think about watching television during the day. The only exception would be if you need background noise to work. But be brutally honest with yourself. Are you turning it on to catch a sneak peek at the soaps, or do you really need background noise (and an occasional mind-break)?
Get a good night’s sleep. Really, this helps.
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