Starting A Small Business With Paid Blogging

By Nina Rotz

Blogging for money has become a new trend, but unlike other trends that come and fade away, paid blogging is here to stay! Blogs have become a powerful tool in online advertising, and a competitive market for those who wish to work from home. There are networks for blogging geeks, mom bloggers and those with a lot of opinions on social and political issues.

Never have people been in charge more than with blogging for money. Advertisers will pay you to review their products, or to post good buzz about their companies. There are numerous ways to earn extra income just through traffic and placing advertising on your page. A blog is a potential money making machine, and anyone can start blogging with just a click of a mouse.

There is a lot of advice online on how to start a successful blog, where to look for paid hosting or even free blog hosting. How and where to purchase domain name registrations for a blog, and companies to register with that pay for blog posts. These are all topics covered and rehashed over and over again. Starting a blog is easy, but starting a small business with a paid blog is even easier.

Owning a small business is part of the American dream. You too can be a successful small business owner with these simple steps;

1. Register Your Business

Online searches of registering a business name will give you results on DBAs, LLCs and Corporations. While LLC and Corporations are good ways to register a business, they are not needed for a person starting out with paid blogging. A DBA (Doing Business As) is sufficient enough to start a small business using a paid blog. It will give you all the legal rights to the business, as well as the ability to open up separate business checking and Paypal accounts. It will also allow you to file taxes using the business name.

The DBA does have legal limitations. Although chances of you getting sued over a blog are slim, under a DBA your personal assets would be considered in any litigation case.

To register a DBA, you can check in with any County Clerk Office. The fees for registering a DBA vary from state to state. Some will allow you to register a DBA for $70, while other states do not charge a fee.

The business name you choose can even be based on the domain name of your blog. For example, Sandysbeautyreviews.com can register as Sandy’s Beauty Reviews. A paid blogging business can be filed under a business license for freelance writing. A clerk would be able to advice you on the best category to file the business name under.

2. Tax Filing

All US residents and citizens that are employed or earn income must file taxes. This is something we have been told from childhood, and everyone understands that not filing income taxes is illegal.

Associated Content and other paid blogging sites require authors to submit tax forms and even provide their social security number for tax filings. You as the individual earning the income from articles and paid blogs must report it to your accountant and pay tax on the blogging income. Failure to file taxes on blogging income can be considered as tax evasion, with serious penalties and even felonies.

This might scare you away from paid blogging, but there is no need to be afraid of blogging for money and reporting it for taxes. In fact, blogging for money shows that your household is bringing in extra income. This will help you in the long run, especially if you are applying for any sort of a loan or even a home mortgage. It shows that you are capable of bringing in additional income to the household and will be able to pay the loan payments on time.

Taxes are not scary, especially with a good accountant that can properly file the tax returns for you. In the long run, you will benefit financially and on your credit report as a paid blogger.

3. Tax Write-Offs

As a small business owner, a paid blogger, you will have the advantage of saving money by writing off deductions on your taxes. Small businesses are allowed to deduct services and products that they have purchased for the business. Not sure what all fit’s the category? Here are some deductions you can claim on your taxes as a paid blogger:

Web Hosting and Domain Name Registration – In order for you to run your business, you have to pay for web hosting and domain name fees. You can deduct this from your gross income and not pay taxes on it.

Internet / Cable Connection – A blogger is incapable of posting ads for its sponsors and advertisers without connecting to the Internet.

Paypal Fees – While companies pay you through Paypal, Paypal charges you fees for that service. You can deduct your Paypal transaction fees.

Health Insurance – A small business owner must provide his or his own healthcare insurance. Speak to your accountant about the correct healthcare plan for a small business owner and you will be able to deduct it off of your taxes!

Amortization – Your vehicle, mileage and even gas can be deducted under small business tax. While the amount may vary due to your business being mainly online, there are percentages of your amortization that can be deducted off your taxes.

Meals and Entertainment – Do you meet up with other bloggers and socialize? Do you meet up with local businesses and discuss online advertising for their company through your online blog? The meal you purchase during this business meeting can be included as your tax write off as well.

Advertising – Do you pay others to advertise your blog online, or even submit ads to the local newspaper? Well, the fees you pay for advertising can be deducted off your small business taxes.

Other – Speak to your accountant about other deductions that can be considered under your small business. You would be amazed at the amount of money you can save while showing an additional income for the household and owning your own business!

Being a paid blogger is exciting, it will allow you to socialize and meet many other smart individuals that are capitalizing on this great idea. However, being a small business owner is even more exciting! A successful paid blogger can turn their blog into a full time, work from home, money making machine. There is a lot of pride that small business owners have, and with hard work come great rewards.

In all. you too can own a piece of the American dream by being a paid blogger, but you can do even more by turning it into an actual small business. Paying taxes is not scary, and it is in fact required by all of us. Correctly reporting your income and filing taxes can be very beneficial to you individually and financially.

Nina Rotz is a dynamic and truthful writer on the topics of work at home and business building. If you would like to learn a secret step by step proven successful method for making money from home don’t hesitate to checkout The Niche Blogger Review.

*

Article kindly provided by UberArticles.com

Topics: Blogging | Comments Off

Tags: Blogging

Reprint Rights

Comments are closed.