Set Yourself Up for Business Success

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Set Yourself Up for Business Success

Set Yourself Up for Business SuccessSpeakers:

AJ Wolfe // DisneyFoodBlog.com // @disneyfoodblog Angele Lafond // Shoebox-Be-Gone // @shoeboxbegone

Brandi Riley // Mama Knows It All // @BrandiJeterSusie Yoo // Kramer Holcomb & Sheik, LLP// @KHSLawyers

Susan Getgood // BlogHer // @sgetgood

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

You, INC.: Outsourcing and Hiring

AJ Wolfe // DisneyFoodBlog.com // @disneyfoodblog

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Am I Ready To Outsource?

• You, Inc.: What Is Your Time Worth?• Move Yourself Up the Chain of Value• Be Strategic in What You Delegate

Who Do I Hire?

• Hire To Your Weaknesses• Different Strategies For Different Jobs: Websites, Word of

Mouth, Friends, Family, Offshore, Headhunter Search• Date Before You Marry• Keep It Clean

How Do I Manage A Virtual Staff?

• ROWE• Autonomy• Communication And Value Are Key• Keep Your Eye On The Big Picture – Stop Micromanaging• When It Doesn’t “Work Out” – Anticipate Fallout, Clean Break

How Do I Start TODAY?

• Calculate The Value Of Your Time (How Much Would I Charge Per Hour For Consulting?)

• Finalize Your Big Picture Goals (What Would You Be Working Toward If You Had More Time?)

• Determine What You Could Delegate So That You Could Reach Those Goals (What Costs Less Than Your Time?)

• Map Out A Quick And Dirty “You, Inc.” Org Chart • Identify People Who Could Fill Positions On That Org Chart, Or

Determine Three Places You Could Go To Find Them

Set Yourself Up for Business Success

Angele Lafond // Shoebox-Be-Gone // @shoeboxbegone

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Set Yourself Up for Business Success

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Working With Agencies

Brandi Riley // Mama Knows It All // @BrandiJeter

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Wait, there are people who want to PAY me to blog?

Who ARE these people?

How do I MEET these people?

Do these people want to work with me?

Even better question, do I want to work with THEM?

Should you work with an agency?

• Is your blog a business or a hobby?• Are you flexible?• Do you understand, or are you willing to learn, about

marketing and business?• Do you have the time to commit to writing

professional posts?• Can you follow instructions?• Can you work independently with little direction?

YOUR BLOG POST IS A LINE ITEM IN A MARKETING CAMPAIGN.

So, uh, back to “pay me for blogging”. How much PAY are we talking?

Revenue, Reputation & Recognition:

Defining your Path to Monetization

Susan Getgood // BlogHer // @sgetgood

BLOGGING FUNDAMENTALS

Agenda

1. Who I am and why we’re here2. The Three Rs3. The 10 Guiding Principles

Susan Getgood

Blogger

Author, Professional Blogging For Dummies

VP Sales & Influencer Marketing, BlogHer

Co-Founder, Blog With Integrity

Photo source: Susan Getgood

Disclaimer

• Some of the content in this session may relate to financial and legal matters.

• I am not an accountant. I am not a lawyer. • Nor do I play one on the Internet or at blogging conferences. • I will share with you my perspective on certain financial and

legal topics, but the only ADVICE I will give you is to please get the appropriate credentialed professionals to advise you on financial and legal matters.

The Three Rs

• Revenue • Reputation• Recognition

10 Guiding Principles for Successful Professional Blogging1. Begin with the end 2. Why do you blog?3. The dreaded elevator pitch – differentiating yourself4. Paths to monetization5. See and be seen6. Credentials. A.K.A. What have you done for me lately?7. Business basics when going pro8. “Find your tribe”9. Ethics, disclosure and other best practices10. Do it because you love it!

BEGIN WITH THE END: objectives, tactics, strategy

Source: “Notorious” via wikimedia

commons

WHY DO YOU BLOG?

Photo: tobinblack on Flickr

A Marathon, Not a Sprint

Photo: PeanutButterRunner

Monetization

Source: Controlling My Chaos, http://www.controllingmychaos.com/

Paths to Monetization (there’s more than one!)

• Advertising• Affiliate• Sponsored• Hired

Source: Ilva Beretta, Lucullian Delight

Advertising• Ad Networks • Google AdSense• Ad management platforms like

Double Click for Publishers (DFP)

• Sell your own• “Native” ads• Programmatic

A simple definition:

Native advertising is an advertising message delivered in the “native” (natural) format of a digital platform.

“Native” Ads for Blogs

• In-line Ad Units • In-Text Links • Content Recommendations

Native Examples

Affiliate • Amazon, the big Kahuna of affiliate programs

• Low barrier to entry• Has not been available in the “tax nexus” states that treat the aggregate of state-

based affiliates as a “physical” presence in the state for the purposes of state taxation, leading Amazon to shutter the program for residents of those states to avoid the taxation. • This situation is very fluid. Amazon continues to make deals with affected states • Good Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax

• Retailer Affiliate Programs • Most are managed by affiliate networks such as Rakuten LinkShare, ShareASale and

Commission Junction• You need to join the network, and then apply to each individual retailer • Tax nexus usually not an issue because most stores have bricks and mortar presence

already

Sponsored• Sponsored Content• On your blog• Using your social graph (Twitter,

Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+)

• Securing opportunities• Through your ad network• On your own, proactively• Pitches from PR

Hired • Freelance opportunities

– On other blogs– For companies/media properties

• Book Deal• Consulting • Spokesperson/Speaking• Full Time Employment

How Much Is Your Work Worth? Baseline: Compensation for Work Performed• What is the task?

• Simple post? Cover an event? Develop a recipe? Create a Craft or DIY How-To? Produce a UGC video? Participate in a custom video program? Is travel involved?

• Do you have special or unique expertise? • How many hours will this take? At a reasonable hourly rate?

Next: Factor in Your Reach• Your monthly pageviews. • Your social graph, especially Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

Finally: Add Results/Projections• Quality and timeliness of your work for the sponsor in the past• Previous results, including number of post views, comments, earned social shares/pins, clicks to sponsor

site• What are you willing to guarantee?

Work

+ Reach

+ Results

Your Fee

Do it because you love it!

Photo source: Meg Duerksen, whatever