Whether you start your blog for enjoyment or you plan to monetize your blog, it is a good strategy to treat your blog like a business from the very start. There is nothing wrong with monetizing your site and earning a little supplemental income from all of your hard work (or at least recoup your costs!) The moment that you decide to monetize your blog, you will want to take a look at completing the items below.
5-Ways to Prepare to Monetize your Blog:
Decide on your Business Structure–
The first step to take before you monetize your blog is to determine what business structure will work best for your business. Two more commonly used structures for blogs include Sole Proprietorships and LLCs.
–Sole Proprietorship: A Sole Prop is the easiest and cheapest ways to structure your business. In many states, there is nothing that you will need to do. However, if you would like to operate under a different name other than your own, you will want to file Fictitious Name paperwork (commonly referred to as DBA). For example, if you would like your business to be known as “Sally’s Blogging” instead of “Sally Smith”. The main drawback to a Sole Prop is that you are essentially one and the same with the business. This means that you have unlimited liability versus the limited liability that others business structures provide.
– Limited Liability Corporation– An LLC is a type of ownership structure that allows you to shield your personal assets from business liabilities without all of the complexities of a Corporation. This is a tad more expensive to set up but sites like Legal Zoom make it very easy and affordable. Hence the name, you have limited liability, meaning you typically won’t lose more than what you have invested into the business.
These are just two of the more popular options. For more info on choosing the right structure, there are TONS of books and articles on business structures that you can find out there. For example, check out this great article by Business-ese. If you plan to monetize your blog in any way, I strongly encourage you to contact an attorney or CPA to figure out the best option for you.
Open Up a Business Account
Go to your local bank or credit union and open up a separate account for your blog. If you are a Sole Prop you can just open up a regular personal checking account because the checks will be made out to you personally. If you have a DBA, LLC, or Corp, you will need to open up a business account. Make sure you find one that is free or very cheap. There are plenty of options out there, so don’t pay an arm and a leg if you don’t have to. The purpose of this account is to keep all of your blogging transactions separate from your personal transactions. You will want to make sure not to intermingle the two as much as possible. This will make tax time so much easier for you!
Start a Record-Keeping System
You will want to research what record-keeping system will work for you. There are so many apps and software programs designed to help small businesses with their accounting and bookkeeping functions. My suggestion is to keep it as simple and cheap as possible. A good ole’ fashioned spreadsheet will work just fine for many as they are starting out. You can add more bells and whistles as you grow and figure out what your business needs. Regardless of what system you use, the key is to make sure that you are keeping track of every dime coming in and out of your business. When you monetize your blog, you will have many deductions available to you so make sure you keep receipts for everything, your accountant can determine its deductible or not.
Figure Out Your Tax Obligations
The taxes you pay are dependent on the type of business structure that you select. This is yet another reason why I suggest meeting with a CPA when you are first starting out. The last thing you want to worry about is a huge bill because you were not setting enough aside for taxes. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, it is worth it to speak to someone that is knowledgeable about small business taxes. If you don’t know who to go to , check with your local chamber of commerce or ask local business owners who they use. Make sure to vet them out and get several references!
Write a Business Plan
There are so many benefits to writing a business plan. For starters, it forces you to work through your goals and strategies that will help you grow your business. It creates a road map for your business which is invaluable to a new entrepreneur. Secondly, it is nice to have a business plan ready to go shall you ever need one for something like financing. You won’t have to go scrambling around for one when you likely won’t have the time to. SCORE has a great template that you can use to frame out your plan (https://www.score.org/resource/business-plan-template-startup-business). Don’t focus on making it perfect right now, just start putting your thoughts together.
Regardless of the reason for starting a blog, these steps will help you set up your blog successfully and prepare you for the business side of blogging.
What other tips do you have for others when they decide to monetize their blog? What questions do you have? Drop them in the comments below. We would love to help!
I am researching the monetization part of blogging. I feel like it’s a class I missed in school. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for posting this. I haven’t monetized my blog but can’t snider it from time to time and do not have any of this in order! Pinning this to save to look at down the road if I ever go that route.
Business structure and writing a business plan are both important tips! I think I need to really have a thick plan to carry my blogging success! 🙂
Thanks! That is awesome you are so successful with your blogging! Great job!
Really great information, things that everyone starting a business of any kind should know.
Thank you so much for reading. I’m glad you found it helpful!
Thanks for these tips – things I never thought about but now I will!
Thank you so much for reading!
I wished I read this before starting my blog. The best thing is it is not too late. Thank you for sharing these tips.
Definitely not too late! Thank you so much for reading!
I loved this post so much that I’m going to also book for later as a reference on the journey to monetize my blog. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thank you so much for reading!
This is awesome advice you don’t see often. Most posts focus on branding and visual aspects, but the behind the scenes is important.
xx,
Aitza B | petitelypackaged.com
I’m so glad you found it helpful. I notice that too, there isn’t a lot of info about the business aspect of things. Thank you so much for reading!
So helpful! I need to work on my business plan. Thanks for the links!
My pleasure! I’m glad you found it helpful, thank you so much for reading!
Great tips, i learn a lot a stuff i did not know before, and now for sure will try to do all of this to make my blog a business xo
https://theninebyivana.blogspot.com/
I’m glad you found it helpful! Thank you so much for reading!
Thank you for sharing. Your article made me realize that I need to get more organized in tracking my expenses.
I’m so glad that you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!
Definitely a few things in there I hadn’t even thought about. Thanks!
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thank you so much for reading!
Hey Chevelle,
Great advice, we all think about monetizing but never really think about that that makes us a business. Love that you’re encouraging some business basics for bloggers.
Thanks for the advice,
Nadalie, It’s All You Boo
NEW POST: 6 Simple Secrets to Setting Achievable Goals
ps. LOVE your blog name. It’s darling.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you found it helpful and I am so appreciative of your feedback. You made my day!
Really great information and well written too!
Dani x | http://www.flourishingfreelancer.com
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
Record keeping and figuring out the Taxes have been what is getting me… I am saving this page to look back on later. This will help me and my partner, since we are starting to monetize! Thank you!
I would totally set an appointment with a CPA or even a reputable bookkeeper in your area. They can provide you some guidance on how to get a system set up. This is often the aspect of the business that people neglect, and it’s often the most important. Kudos to you for working on getting it all figured out!
Very clear and straight to the point. Loving your posts, they are so useful! x
Aww, thank you so much! I’m so glad that you enjoy them. Thank you so much for reading.
These are soo important! Especially the tax part! Something I have been thinking about for while! Thank you for all the insight!
-Danielle Ruppert ~ http://danielleruppert.com
Awesome, I’m so glad that you found it helpful! Thank you so much for reading.
This is an AWESOME post! Before I started blogging I had no idea there is so much around it! I pinned this post and when I decide to monetize my blog I’ll be sure to read it again!
Thank you so much for reading! I’m so glad that you found it helpful. I totally agree with you, there is MUCH more to blogging than I originally thought. I wish you the best of luck!
Really great tips! I need to consider an LLC at some point.
Thank you for the feedback! An LLC is a great option because it is relatively easy to set up and affords you a lot of protection. Thank you so much for reading!
Thank you for this, once I actually get my blog all set up,
I will take your advice and meet with a CPA.
(Also, I just wanted to tell you that I love the images you use on your site, they are so cute!)
I definitely recommend that you meet with a CPA. There are also some great resources out there for small businesses such as SCORE. Thank you so much for reading and for your feedback. You made my day!
Great tips, will definitely use them, thanks!
Thank you so much for reading. I’m glad that you found it helpful!
Thanks for sharing!! 💙
and thank you for reading! <3
So helpful! Thanks for this!
Thank you so much for reading!
Very nice reading, I like also your design. Only problem on mobile I had was all your pop-ups coming up on wrong spots , I use iPhone 7 maybe you can check if there is a issue
Thank you so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it and will fix it right away!
Thanks for the tips! Hopefully I will get there one day (earning money with my blog) beacause so far I have like three readers!😂
You will totally get there! Everyone starts somewhere. Thank you so much for reading!
Great tips! Some of those I’d never thought of before
Thank you so much for reading! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Great tips. As a business consultant and accountant these are all great tips. They’d be off to a great start.
Lashaun
http://www.sellyourbusinessatlanta.com
Thank you! I’m sure you see people all the time that you wish had taken these steps earlier on. Thank you so much for reading!
This is an amazing and powerful post. Great advises. Great tips.
Thank you so much for reading!
Wow, I never really thought about the legal aspects of what you call yourself! I will be looking more into these soon! Thank you!
You are not alone! A lot of people aren’t aware. Thank you so much for reading!
I never knew about doing all of these things before monetizing my blog. Thank you so much for providing these tips!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you found them helpful!
Useful post and so on point! I must write a business plan as i think it will help me with my goals.
I’m so glad that you found it helpful! Thank you for reading.
I absolutely love your blog and i’m certain i will be spending a significant amount of time here! This was very good info! There’s so many info out there on monetizing blogs but very few actually bring this perspective.
Aw- you just made my day! Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad you found it helpful!
I have been looking for a post like this.. all this business stuff is so complicated! Thank you for the tips and resources!
A very helpful post, with most useful tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for these tips! I feel it is SO easy to wrongfully begin monetizing your blog simply due to lack of understanding of the steps involved. I am hopefully on the road to monetize one day but don’t want to make any errors, these tips will definitely help 🙂
Thanks so much! Best of luck to you, you are going to do awesome things!
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks for sharing this post! I’m a new blogger and you have some really good advice that I need to think about!