Simple Blog Taxes

Advice for New Bloggers: What You Really Need to Make Money

Advice for New Bloggers: What You Really Need to be a Money Making Business

I remember when I first decided to try to make some money blogging. I devoured everything I could find on blogging, all the advice for new bloggers I could find.

What to write about, social media tips, how to start an email list, content marketing. There is a ton to read about and I spent hours thinking about blog posts and page views.

When you are a new blogger it is easy to imagine writing a blog post and then the money rolling in, but once you get started you see it isn’t all guest posts and figuring out what you are going to be blogging about next. It’s real work.

Why is it work? Because if you want to be successful you are having to run the business side of your blog too. You can’t ignore your cash flow or the taxes that accompany it and expect to succeed.

There is a lot that goes into all of this, but for new bloggers, I have 5 big tips to help when you really start to turn your blog into a business., and 2 things you don’t need to do to be a real business.

Post: Advice for new bloggers: How to be a real money making business. Picture of a women sipping tea and typing on laptop

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PayPal and Tax Reporting for Bloggers

PayPal and Tax Reporting for Bloggers

PayPal is a wonderful thing. You can pay people and get paid without having to exchange credit card or bank account information or your social security number. This makes it perfect for bloggers!

It also makes it a little confusing come tax time. If you received payments through payment processors like PayPal, the tax forms you get are a little different than what you are used to. And you might not even get a tax form.

If you are a blogger accepting payments through PayPal or if you pay for services for your blog through a payment processor then you need to know about how to report those payments to the IRS and on your taxes.

Here is what you need to know about PayPal and tax reporting for bloggers.

How To Track Blog Expenses and Income

How To Track Blog Expenses and Income

Blogging is a great way to make extra money at home because it generally has minimal start-up fees. There are even free ways to get started. I think that’s why a lot of us got into it.

But as your blog grows you will find it helps to upgrade, which means spending some money. Themes, schedulers, courses. They add up. I know, that’s annoying. You’re trying to make money, not spend it!

Pretty much every small business has to make some sort of financial investment before it starts making money though, and blogging is no exception.

The most important thing is to keep track of all your expenses and any income that comes in. This way you know where your money is going. You can also predict how much money you will have to spend in future years to maintain your blog, which will make it much easier to budget.

The thought of having to keep track of all the financial transactions of a small business can be a bit intimidating. You don’t have to be a master at spreadsheets to run your own business though. A simple worksheet can be used while you get a feel for your business.

And I have a free one for you to start using today.

Here is what you need to be tacking in terms of blog expenses and blog income to be ready for tax time.

Big Tax Mistakes Instagrammers Make and How To Fix Them

Big Tax Mistakes Instagrammers Make and How To Fix Them

Instagrammers can make a lot of money. That’s the goal of a lot of influencers, right? Turn your Instagram account into a money-making business.

That’s a great goal to have. And I have seen lots of people turn Instagram marketing into a way to make money for their families. It seems so simple, right? Get some quality photos, learn about using hashtags, and create a great Instagram post.

There is one big thing that doesn’t get mentioned in the discussion of monetizing Instagram nearly enough. Taxes. Sorry to be that person, but we need to talk about the tax ramifications of making money through social media channels.

Don’t make these big tax mistakes. But don’t worry, if you are there are things you can do now to start fixing them.

1099 Misc Information for Bloggers: Don’t Make These Costly Mistakes!

1099 Misc Information for Bloggers

Your first year filing taxes as a blogger can be a bit confusing, especially if this is the first time you’ve filed as anything other than a traditional employee. Instead of getting a W-2 with all your income information you will be getting form 1099 Misc.

Independent contractors have of course seen these before, but a lot of bloggers haven’t. So what do you do with this form exactly? And what if you made money but didn’t even get one?

If running your own small business is new to you, don’t worry. It is normal to be a bit confused the first time you deal with 1099 Misc forms. Here are some tax tips to help you learn about 1099 forms and how to handle them on your tax return.

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