6 ways to treat your a blog like a business
If you’ve got big blogging dreams, write as an addition to your business, are working with sponsors, or are simply running ads to make a little extra cash, it might be time to look at your blog as a business, not just a part-time pass time. Here are six ways to get more serious about blogging, so your readers will get more serious about you!
Create a brand
The very first, number on this I recommend is to ditch the BlogSpot and WordPress.com domains and get one of your own. And once you’ve got that shiny new domain, create a logo and a social media handle to match. Using the same name and icons across the board help make you and your website more recognizable.
Stick to a weekly schedule
This is one of the big things I recommend to all my Badass Babes – make time in your schedule every day or every week just for blogging. You’ll find it’s a lot easier to keep on top of a posting schedule when the time is already set aside and you don’t have to squeeze it in during your lunch break or after the kids have gone to sleep. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you could even create a yearly plan to keep track of features, events and product launches.
Track your income and expenses
Spreadsheets! I think I’m the only one that gets really excited to track this stuff (yeah, for real, I love it). According to the IRS, no matter how much you make, you’ll need to report this income when filing your taxes. And trust me, you don’t want to get to next April and have to recall what you made in October and where it came from.
Set goals
Whether it’s gaining 20 new Twitter followers by the end of the month, making $100 from ad sales, or landing your first guest post, setting goals is the best way to grow your blog. All businesses know where they were, where they are and where they want to be and they’re constantly updating this info and projecting for the future. You can do it too! Each month take stock of where your blog has gained, what posts/features did well, and what readers have been asking about and then set some goals. Don’t forget to include numbers and dates AND I challenge you to be ambitious!
Build a media kit
A media kit is a one-page, few-page, or lots of pages document that helps brands and sponsors know if they want to work with you. It should include a description of your blog & content, a description of your readers, blog traffic and social media stats, what types of sponsored material you accept, and rates for ads/sponsored posts/reviews/etc. Post it as a PDF on your about page or let interested parties know they can email you to receive a copy.
Make an investment
Whether it’s a new blog design (psst…I can help with that), new headshots or killer copy, if you’re serious about blogging, putting a little money into it will pay off big time. Plus hiring someone to do the things you’re not great at helps take away the headache of late-night coding marathons or figuring out how to remove a zit in Photoshop.
