How To Register A Blog As A Business

Start a blogging business by following these 10 steps:

You have found the perfect business idea, and now you are ready to take the next step. There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your blogging business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Check out our How to Start a Business page.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What are the startup and ongoing costs?
Who is your target market?
How much can you charge customers?
What will you name your business?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What are the costs involved in opening a blogging business?

A blogging business can be started with very little financial capital. The two main startup costs are registering a domain (~$15 per year) and paying for hosting (~$15 per month). Even these costs can be eliminated by starting a blog on a free third-party platform, such as Blogger or Wordpress.com, but hosting on a third-party platform can make it more difficult to customize, advertise and monetize a blog. Business owners that have funds available may want to invest in any of the following areas:

Features that improve the design of their website (e.g. a custom header or theme)
Content that increases engagement (e.g. infographics)
Advertisements that increase visibility (e.g. ads or sponsored posts on other sites)

Need help starting a blog? Check out our comprehensive guide to blogging!

What are the ongoing expenses for a blogging business?

A blogging business' ongoing expenses are for domain renewal (~$15 per year) and hosting (~$15 per month). Blogs may also have ongoing expenses for content creation and advertising.

Who is the target market?

Blogs can be targeted toward anyone with an internet connection. The monetization method can be adapted for the audience targeted (as well as the type of content). For instance, one travel blogging business that targets affluent travelers might use affiliate links to international cruise booking sites, while a travel blog that targets lower-income travelers may focus on promoting local attractions or gear for day trips -- both things that cost less than a five-star cruise.

How does a blogging business make money?

There are several ways a blogging business may make money:

Hosting ads that pay based on pageviews or clicks is a viable option for most blogs
Using affiliate links that pay commissions on sales made through the links is a good option for blogs that focus on a topic that easily relates to tangible items (e.g. tech blogs or sports equipment blogs)
Selling digital products directly to followers can work for blogs that provide lots of useful information (e.g. blogs on how to build websites)
Selling memberships to exclusive content can also work for blogs that have a great deal of actionable information

The most well-known advertising platform is Google Adsense, but BuySellAds and Chikita are two of several other options. Additionally, advertising agreements can be arranged directly with advertisers. Amazon Associates is a well-known affiliate program that lots of bloggers participate in, but many ecommerce sites offer affiliate programs.

To convince followers to pay for exclusive content, either through a digital download or membership, blogs must provide expert information that's not easily found for free online and is highly useful.

How much can you charge customers?

Blogs that sell digital products and memberships charge followers directly, but most blogs instead make money through affiliate links, ads and sponsored posts that retailers and marketers pay for. How much a blog brings in through these depends a lot on the blog's traffic and niche. For example, a blog on food might make an average of $0.05 per click on an ad, while one that's on education might average $1.50 per ad click.

How much profit can a blogging business make?

The profit potential for a blog is highly variable, depending on the blog's niche and traffic. Some blogs generate just a few hundred dollars a year, while others bring in tens of thousands of dollars (or more) each month. The most successful blogs usually have built up loyal audiences over several years.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Blogging businesses can increase their profitability by pursuing multiple monetization methods. They don't have to use just one method. Some blogs, for instance, incorporate affiliate links and ads into their posts, and they may even repackage posts as ebooks that can be purchased.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don't already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Blogging Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

Your state's business records
Federal and state trademark records
Social media platforms
Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your blogging business is sued.

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.

Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.

Small Business Taxes

Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation (S corp).

You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:

LLC Taxes
Sole Proprietorship vs LLC
LLC vs Corporation
LLC vs S Corp
How to Start an S Corp

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get credit cards and other financing in your business's name (instead of yours), better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.

Open a business bank account

This separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
It also makes accounting and tax filing easier.

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Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank, credit union, business-loan friendly banks, one with many brick-and-mortar locations, and more.

Open net-30 accounts

When it comes to establishing your business credit, net-30 vendors are considered the way to go. The term "net-30," which is popular among vendors, refers to a business credit arrangement where the company pays the vendor within 30 days of receiving goods or services.

Net-30 credit terms are often used for businesses that need to obtain inventory quickly but do not have the cash on hand.

Besides establishing business relationships with vendors, net-30 credit accounts get reported to the major business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.

Get a business credit card

This helps you separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
It also builds your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money and investment later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a blogging business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA's reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

In addition, certain local licensing or regulatory requirements may apply. For more information about local licenses and permits:

Check with your town, city or county clerk's office
Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.

Other Regulations

Some of a blog's operations are regulated by the FTC. Here is a description of these regulations compiled by BlogHer.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company's financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you're unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it's a great place to start for your business.

Learn more about General Liability Insurance.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers' Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it's a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a blogging business

A blogging business can be promoted through paid means, such as sponsored posts and advertisements, or through free methods. One of the most effective ways of marketing blogs without paying anything is through guest blogging, in which a business owner writes a blog post that's published on another site with a link back to the owner's blog.

Blogging business owners often also have social media accounts to accompany their blogs. Actively engaging users on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other platforms can also increase traffic.

How to keep customers coming back

A blogging business can develop a loyal following by consistently publishing high-quality content. It's important to both publish pieces that users find highly informative, useful or entertaining, and to do so regularly. Publishing infrequently or at irregular intervals can have a negative effect on traffic.

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Still unsure about what kind of business you want to start? Check out the latest Small Business Trends to help inspire you.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it's out of their reach because they don't have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn't delay building your website:

All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don't need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn't take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That's not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We've reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2021 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Nextiva

Nextiva is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.