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Blogging

A blogger’s life

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Aastha Kalia

We all have that one acquaintance in our social circle who calls herself a fashion blogger. She is always popping up on our Facebook feed, posting glamorous pictures. If all that glitz and glamour has got you thinking that blogging was just a hobby, you are mistaken. Contrary to popular belief, fashion blogging is a lot more than just posing Instagramworthy pictures or getting freebies from high-end brands. It takes a lot of hard work to have a successful running blog in the big world of the internet. That then translates into a whooping six-figure salary per month! Blogging: The beginning

Around 2007, when blogging was still a relatively new concept, people would write online with a pseudonym to keep a mystery surrounding their blog. The idea was to share their stories with the readers. Fashion bloggers would then just write about their experiences with a particular brand or review newly launched products anonymously. Gradually, they built a loyal readership on their portals and the readers started looking up to them for fashion advice. That’s when the bloggers revealed themselves to their viewers. One of the major reasons why people connect with bloggers is because as opposed to a magazine, where fashion is restricted to a specific body type and moves around expensive designer wear, blogs are very realistic and practical. Today fashion bloggers have become major influences in people’s purchasing decisions — be it something as small as buying a lipstick or as big as finalising a designer for a wedding. Fashion bloggers are stylists for the common person.“My focus as an influencer is that I style looks on myself and put up pictures of them on my website and social media. These serve as inspiration to style lovers. I explain the look, talk about products and mention their availability,” says Delhi-based blogger Surbhi Sethi, who runs the Blog HeadTilt.Now, the business

With lakhs of followers across social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, these bloggers have proved to be positive influence on social media. And this doesn’t go unnoticed by major brands, who make these bloggers an integral part of their marketing campaigns.Chandigarh girl Devina Malhotra’s Guilty Bytes has won three blogging awards and has a viewership of 5 lakh plus on her blog. “Being a full-time blogger means being on the job 24×7. From brainstorming an idea, sourcing the garment from a designer and arranging for a shoot day to finally sitting on post-production to get it all right is a two to three days work. And this is not as fancy as it seems as you then have to repeat the drill three to four times in a week.” Is she complaining? Not at all. “I can proudly say that I take home a six figure salary and that too while sitting at home and doing what I love,” Devina says. And nothing can match the high of readers recognising you in a mall and telling you how much you have influenced their lives. “That also makes one vulnerable to criticism. I am constantly being judged. I have to be more responsible for the kind of brands I endorse,” she says.In the race

Also gaining ground is blogging for men. One of the new bloggers on the block is Tejeshwar Sanddoo of Blueberry Blackout, who writes about men’s fashion. “With more menswear brands coming up, there is a need for male influencers and the market is gradually accepting the requirement of male bloggers,” he says. However, for him, blogging is more of a passion. “I don’t think a lot of men can take up blogging as a full-time job right now. We have a long way to go.” Amid all the razzmatazz, Shikha Duggal, senior manager brand and communication with a major cosmetic brand, says the sudden rise of such websites is more of a fad than passion. “In the end, only the ones that create credible, unique, informative, engaging and new content for the viewers will survive this race.” Well said.

Getting started

Setting up a blog is not very difficult. All you need is a good camera and a laptop with a strong Wi-Fi connection. Maybe that’s why there are more than 2 million fashion blogs present on the internet currently. The competition is rising every minute, giving brands a lot more options to choose from. “Every blogger has their own vision and we have to fight to stand out with our individual voices in a crowd,” says Varun Singhania of BeardsEyeView. Follow these

  • ThatBohoGirl by Kritika Khurana: Her fashion sense is influenced by bohemian culture; a perfect guide for a 20-something girl.
  • StyleDrive by Aayushi Bangur: A Mumbai-based blogger, her Indo-western looks are extremely pleasing.
  • BigHairLoudMouth by Nilu Thapa: Her bold and quirky style will leave you in complete awe. She experiments and nails it every time.
  • Indian Dandy By Amit Hansraj: His take on men’s fashion is very fresh and new.
  • TheDapperSquare by Ashkeev Puri and Harman Sandhu: The duo shares blog posts on how to dress on fleek.
 [“Source-.tribuneindia”]
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Blogging

When and Where Bloggers Blog

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for When and Where Bloggers BlogMost bloggers write their posts during business hours and do their blogging from home, according to research from Orbit Media Studios.

The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2016 of 1,055 bloggers from around the world who create content in a wide range of verticals.

Most respondents (64%) say they write blog posts during business hours.

Some 35% write blog posts at night; 35%, on the weekends; 29%, in the early morning; and 29%, after business hours:

Some 79% of respondents say they blog from home and/or in a home office; 41% blog in an office outside their home; 21%, in coffee shops; 6%, from co-working spaces; and 16%, from other locations:

Some 36% of respondents say none of the posts they create are guest posts; 6% say more than three-quarters of the posts they create are guest posts:

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2016 of 1,055 bloggers from around the world who create content in a wide range of verticals.

[“Source-marketingprofs”]

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Blogging

How I Turned Engineers Into Bloggers With 50,000 Views

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How I Turned Engineers Into Bloggers With 50,000 Views

B2B marketing writers are not boring — they are bored. In the rat race for SEO, clicks and visibility, they’re pressured to write at a relentless pace. Consequently, they sacrifice clarity to jargon, experience to corporate-speak, the personal for the impersonal. In most cases, they don’t even put a name on the byline. Most B2B content out there is “Nothing” by No One.

Not surprisingly, marketers struggle to capture the passion, expertise, and experiences of their organization. The alternative is to mobilize your entire team — engineers, designers, HR, salespeople, and marketers — into an army of bloggers.

B2B content normally sterilizes the human experience. Companywide blogging restores it. When you liberate employees to write what they care about, the content can build your brand. Excited people tend to write exciting stuff.

That’s what I discovered at my company JotForm. 10 years ago, I started blogging. Whether I attracted readers or not, writing was intrinsically valuable. The blog became a place to untangle ideas. It was the mental equivalent of putting data into a graph. When I took the unstructured information from my brain and organized it in a meaningful form, I discovered its real essence. You don’t really know what you know until you attempt to communicate it.

You could come up with dozens of reasons why I shouldn’t ask my team members to blog. Aytekin, it’s a waste of their time – programmers should program and designers should design. Aytekin, who wants to read long blog posts these days? Aytekin, why not just keep that stream of mini-posts rolling through your Facebook and Twitter feeds? If you ask, who’s going to take up the challenge of blogging anyway?

Here’s my response: Who better to write about programming than programmers? Who better to talk design than designers? When experts on the ground share their craft with passion, people not only want but demand the details.

Sure, social content is easier, but it’s ephemeral. The social feed is like a fashion runway where all the models speed walk. And to the last objection, have you ever asked your employees to write? When I did, it went better than expected. Here’s what worked:

  • Ask people to brainstorm ideas from their day-to-day experiences. The internet is already full of opinions and tips divorced from knowledge. When your colleagues just write about what they’re doing, ‘smart’ ideas emerge naturally.
  • Make it concrete. Employees will all struggle with the same question: What should I write about? I ask them to pitch me three ideas, and I choose the most compelling one. That condenses an infinite list of possibilities into one, defined assignment.
  • Promote craftsmanship. Most B2B content is unusable. Often, you can’t implement the tips without buying the company’s product. Instead, ask your team to write about how they approach their craft. Specifically, tell your people to write what they want to read.
  • Beware the 4-1 Rule. If you encourage four employees to write blog posts by a particular deadline, one person is going to do it. That’s what I’ve observed, anyway. If you want six blog posts, bring it up to 24 people.
  • Let marketing handle edits and revisions. They will help your team members overcome the anxiety of writing with proper grammar, syntax, etc. Leave redlines to the pros.
  • Repeat winning themes. We find that readers gravitate towards similar types of articles. Some have chalked up more than 50,000 views. I’d label them under the following meta-topics:
    • Here’s something difficult I accomplished, and here’s how I did it.
    • Judgment call: Why you should do A or use B
    • Lessons learned: What X taught me about Y

Blogging builds your company brand by unveiling its human nature. In a competitive market, buyers can’t distinguish between products easily. They can, however, differentiate between the thoughts and personalities of the sellers.

Thus, blogging is a way to earn not just mindshare but trust and appreciation as well. It gives you a local, personal feel in an otherwise global, impersonal technology market. The process is also rewarding. Telling stories has been good for trust-building, morale, and teamwork.

Personally, I want to learn what the world’s most talented people know. So be generous. Spare a bored marketer, and let all of your employees share their passion.

[“Source-smallbiztrends”]

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Blogging

‘Brown Girl Bloggers’ creator shares her journey, gives helpful tips

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Credit: CandiceVanWye.com

Courtesy of CandiceVanWye.com

Blogging has become an essential factor for not only creative minds but creative companies in order to further express what it is they’re selling and to engage their audience on a personal level. With content everywhere, one millennial noticed the lack of women of color who are in those spaces and thriving. Candice VanWye, a blogger turned creator, was blogging for a year when she realized there wasn’t much of a voice coming from girls who looked like her, with stories similar to hers. The 25-year-old quickly realized the necessity for that space to be filled. With practice and passion, VanWye created Brown Girl Bloggers in 2014.

Brown Girl Bloggers’ mission is to help women create amazing blogs in a safe and fun environment.

Blogging involves commitment and consistency. How did you get started with creating the Brown Girl blog?

I got started with Brown Girl Bloggers through social media. Brown Girl Bloggers was only a blogroll at first and I listed blogs under different categories like interior design or food and told people to check those blogs out. I would then go on Twitter and Instagram to look through hashtags like #bloggers, #blackgirls, #creatives, etc and every time I came across someone with melanin, I would add their blog to our blogroll and then contact them to let them know about BGB. It was a slow process, but eventually, bloggers started telling other people about BGB and using our hashtag. Now we’re connecting our members with brands, teaching our content creators how to master their craft, and making genuine connections that go beyond blogging.

Brown Girls Blog has close to 70K in Instagram followers, along with 11K followers on Twitter; with so many social media platforms today, how do you go about marketing BGB and making sure that the website’s content stands out from competitors?

I ask our readers what they want to see or go through our analytics to see what they are responding to the most. For instance, I noticed when we post quotes about positivity or anything about the Black girl experience, it invites a lot of comments — which I love. Whenever I want to encourage conversation on our platforms, I’ll do that. This helps our mission because bloggers usually connect with each other through the comments or tweets and it helps our brand because people tag their friends and if their friends didn’t know about Brown Girl Bloggers, but like what they see, they become followers too.

Being engaging helps in the social media climate. Most of us aren’t doing anything revolutionary. We are largely just reinventing the wheel and putting our personal spin on it, which is OK. To stand out, everything you do has to be done amazingly and you need to pull people in with your unique perspective and voice. The best way to showcase that is by being engaging.

This doesn’t apply to everyone, obviously, but I think it’s relevant to those of us coming up. I notice that really popular bloggers or celebrities can have a lot of followers, comments, and even generate sales without a lot of interaction with their audience, but that’s because they’ve already built a loyal following over the years.

I can’t expect people to support BGB, especially through purchasing things, if they don’t know who I am. I need to show my passion for minority women who create content and most importantly I need to show that I am truly like everyone who reads the blog.

If you’re trying to build a loyal following you can’t ignore the people who support you. You have to respond to comments, ask follow-up questions, retweet them, reply to emails, and support the things your followers are doing. That’s going to help your brand more than you know.

Why do you feel it’s important to create a space specifically for women of color?

It’s important because we aren’t always celebrated in other spaces. It’s gotten better, but it’s not where it needs to be. Honestly, I don’t believe other groups will ever support us like we support ourselves. No one can deny how helpful mainstream media is for content creators, but it will never replace the need for our own media and communities. In a community like BGB, you’re learning about blogging with your specific audience in mind, you’re getting real interactions from people who want you to win, and you’re getting the recognition you need to keep creating. I can’t tell you the amount of gratitude I’ve received just because I reposted a blog link or followed a fellow blogger’s Instagram. We want our work acknowledged like everyone else and in our own communities we are the focus and not just the token.

With you helping other women of color to create blogs and ultimately ways to express themselves, what are some common mistakes you see bloggers make when they are starting out?

I see a few big mistakes. New bloggers start out thinking it’ll be easy and that they will be an overnight success. I get a lot of emails from bloggers asking how to grow their audience fast and monetize. My answer is always that they should focus on creating a great brand first and then monetize after that. Most of the time I’ll click over to look at their blogs and it’s clear that they haven’t invested money in a design or learned how to write with their audience in mind, and they usually don’t have any type of consistency, but they want people’s time and money. That’s crazy to me.

I also notice that a lot of bloggers think the only way to be a successful blogger is to monetize through ads and sponsorships and become entrepreneurs. It’s so unrealistic to think that everyone can be an entrepreneur because it takes a special kind of person to do that properly.

Your blog can do so much more for you. It can help you land your dream job, meet your future life partner, or help you make friends. You might simply learn a lot about yourself and have a great time. Everything doesn’t have to be about money. Sometimes, you can blog for the love of it and watch everything else fall into place.

What are three things you personally learned while getting your brand off the ground?

I learned so much, but if I have to think of my top three I’d say …

  1. Community is more important than everything else. When you build a real community around your brand, you’re going to be successful. The thing about building community is that you’re building a group of people who want you to succeed and will do what they can to ensure that you do. That means putting your community first without the ego and helping them. If you’re helpful, you’ll build community and if you build a community, you’ll build a brand. It’s that simple.
  2. Always have a platform that doesn’t rely on social media. You need an email list and your own website so that you don’t always have to play by everyone else’s rules. If your business can be destroyed because Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook changed their rules, you’re being lazy and your success is dependent on those platforms. Build your own outside of them.
  3. You have to trust the process and stay committed. Building a brand is filled with highs and lows. Sometimes everything is going great! And other times, the thing you worked super hard on flops. That’s OK. Nothing lasts forever, so you have to trust the timing of your life and stay committed even when it doesn’t seem like things are going your way. This is why consistently creating is good for you. When you train yourself to be consistent you’ll keep going through the good and the bad.

Are there any women in communications or in the blogger world that you admire?

I admire a lot of entrepreneurs. Myleik Teele, Patricia Bright, and Claire Sulmers come to mind. These are all Black women who have amazing businesses with employees, which I admire. I also love that they are all building empires in their own ways. Seeing Black women do that is inspiring and beautiful, even.

Millennials love their news now. What are three “make or break you” tips every blogger needs to know while having a blog?

  1. You have to invest in your blog. The people you see that have successful blogs online, invested time and money into whatever you’re seeing. This doesn’t mean you have to put a lot of money in to start, but you should buy a domain, choose a nice theme, and put some effort into learning how to be a master at your craft. That might mean taking a photography class or learning the basics of HTML from Google, but you have to do something.
  2. Creating content is the smallest part of your job a blogger. Creating content for your blog is probably going to take up about 20 percent of your time, while everything else like marketing, social media, pitching, design work, etc. will take up the rest of your time.
  3. Although it happens, you probably won’t become an overnight success or a millionaire by starting a blog and that’s OK.

I’ve read that there’s a launch coming soon, what does that entail? Any other future plans in store for Candice VanWye and Brown Girl Bloggers?

Yes! Brown Girl Bloggers is launching a new membership area in May. Our membership area will have original and curated stock photography featuring black and brown people, private forums and a private Facebook group, lots of learning materials to help bloggers create better content, writing prompts, weekly office hours with me, and live Q&As with successful women. There are also other perks like discounts and giveaways. You can sign up to learn more here. I’m also very excited to host live events later this year and next year, in which, our members will hear about first.

On a personal note, I have my podcast called The Creative Millennial where I interview amazing creatives every single week and I’ll continue to do the most on Instagram and Snapchat (@candicevanwye).

What’s VanWye’s definition of the phrase, Black girl magic?

I see Black girl magic in everything from hanging with my high school friends and cracking jokes in the ‘hood to seeing Black women thrive in careers like law to seeing us carve out niches on the internet and get paid to do it. Anytime I see a Black girl prospering I feel like I’m prospering and that’s the magic of being a Black girl. We are magic by default but when I see another Black girl living a life that makes her happy, regardless of the type of life it is, I see a little bit more of our magic.

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Blogging

5 Gift Ideas for the Bloggers and Vloggers in Your Life!

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Hey listen – blogging is serious business! Like literally – it is! And if you friend, family member, loved one or spouse is a blogger (or vlogger/video blogger) than you know just how serious it is to them! I began blogging in the early part of 2000, while it was still in it’s infancy. Back then, it was still taboo and most people kept their online hobby on the down low. Now here we are, a decade later, social media has taken over the internet and blogging has become a way of life for many. As we approach the holidays, birthdays or other special occasions – you are probably asking yourself – “What special gift can I give to th blogger in my life?”. I’ve put together a list of the top gift ideas for the blog fanatics!

1. Services: There are a few essential items that a blogger will need when he or she decides to take their website to the next level. Many will begin on free platforms such as Blogger (formerly known as BlogSpot), WordPress.com or Typepad, however if they want to be taken seriously – moving to a dedicated host (i.e. an independent.com) is a must. Having your very own website is a relatively simple process – you just purchase your domain name from a provider like GoDaddy.com and register for hosting service, with a company like HostGator.com. You can purchase a domain for as low as $1.99 with coupon codes, and hosting packages for as low as $4.99 – $9.99. Give the gift of a full year of hosting service paid upfront. For less than $100 – your loved one will be on their way to super blogger status!

2. Website Templates and Design: After your blogging friend upgrades to a dedicated hosting service and their own.com, they will then need to decide on a blog platform and begin to build their website. WordPress.com is the most popular CMS (content management system) available. It’s a free software that’s available in a one-click install via the HostGator.com hosting service. It’s the most versatile platform on the web, however – the “out of the box” install comes with one standard template that is pretty boring and plain. What I personally love the most about using WordPress is the ease of building a great looking website. There are literally thousands of web templates available on the net, a great number of them are free. Now, I’m not one to turn my back on “free” – but when it comes to establishing yourself as a reputable blogger and building your brand – it’s best to go with one of the Premium WordPress themes. Premium themes can cost anywhere from $25 to $150 – but it’s money well spent in my opinion. You get a streamlined, modern looking web template that you can edit to your discretion – and most packages come with support for a limited (or unlimited) amount of time. My favorite WordPress premium template sites are WooThemes and StudioPress. These are, hands down, the go-to sites for quality themes and support.

3. Services: As a blogger, I know there are a ton of tedious tasks that must be done on the back-end if you really want to be successful in your chosen blog niche. Some of these assignments include managing a Facebook Fan Page, building back links, banner or logo design and building your social network. As mundane as they are, they are crucial to the success of a website, I like to outsource many of this tasks – doing so frees up my time to do other things (such as the actual blogging!). My favorite outsourcing site is Odesk.com – I’ve been able to hire workers to do tasks for as little as $2 per hour (yes, it’s true!). If there’s something that needs to be done, and it’s able to be outsourced – Odesk.com is the best place to go to find quality pre-screened talent who are competitively priced and ready to work!

4. Organization: An organized workspace is essential for successful bloggers. Similar to your office workspace – a website owner needs a place to store important books, items, drives, and a quiet place to work. If you’re bedroom has turned into a blog headquarters – it is a good time to dedicate a portion of the house just for their online hobby. If you have an extra room – spring for a high quality desk and chair. The desk should have enough space for multiple computers and/or computer screens, as well as a printer, scanner and hard drives. If you’re pressed for space, opt for a mobile desk – like the FoldAndStow mobile desk from StacksAndStacks.com.

5. Gadgets: In taking a brief, informal survey – there was one item that every blogger selected for their holiday wish list, and that was a new laptop! We aren’t casual internet surfers, there are days when I can spend hours working on my laptop, researching, writing, editing photos or doing general maintenance on my websites. Because of this, the computer of a dedicated blogger goes through more wear and tear than average. We need computers with a ton of space, wireless capabilities, easy to tote, and multi-media friendly.

Of course you can always go for the top of the line, coveted Macbook Pro, just keep in mind that there tends to be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to the Apple products. Macbook Pro will run between $1999 and $2500, but they are known for security, durability, and includes all the bells and whistles. Generally speaking, Macs last a long time, although you’ll pay more on the front end – you will save a ton over the years as well.

If a Mac is out of the question, you’ll want to look for a laptop that is portable – thin, light with a decent sized hard drive. Netbooks are affordable, sleek, effective, and strike a balance between mobility and performance. I also find the standard notebooks to be great alternatives to Macbooks. I’d recommend the Sony Vaio Laptop (notebook) above anything else.

[“Source-josic”]

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Blogging

Find out where prolific bloggers in your niche contribute

by onkar
written by onkar

Not every site will explicitly identify guest blogging opportunities. Sites that already receive many unsolicited pitches may not provide a process for applying to become a guest contributor, making the above queries ineffective. This doesn’t mean, however, that there are no opportunities; it simply means that you’ll need to be smarter, or at least you’ll need to work smarter than the average would-be guest blogger.

To find out where influencers in your niche contribute guest posts, start with a simple Google search for the influencer’s full name. Scroll through the search results to see which sites they’ve contributed to. This basic search will likely elicit and reveal many relevant searches, like media or blog mentions. To get even more specific, try the following operators:

[Influencer name] guest.

[Influencer name] guest post.

[Influencer name] author.

Another strategy is to visit the social media profiles of prolific bloggers in your industry. Many will promote their guest posts via social media, and some will even reference their regular guest posting gigs in their profiles or bios. Google+ is perhaps the best social networking site for this strategy: Visit the profile of the person you’re investigating, and click on, ‘About.’ Scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the ‘Contributor to’ section. Most prolific bloggers will be proud to include links to the outlets they contribute to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[“Source- huffingtonpost”]

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Blogging

New global blogging platform allows bloggers to earn Bitcoin SV

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

A new blogging platform has emerged to little fanfare. Literatus allows authors to publish their content for free or to offer it for a fee. In order to make payments, readers will need to have a Bitcoin SV (BSV) wallet, as this is the only cryptocurrency accepted.

Literatus is the brainchild of Emre Özdemir, a Turkish blogging fan and novice programmer. He began working on the platform several months ago, releasing the alpha version only last month. He explains of the site, “It’s multilingual by design and can be easily extended to many languages on demand. The homepage has been google-translated to multiple languages as a proof of concept.”

The site flows nicely and already has a considerable amount of content. Unlike other blogging sites, there is real value to bloggers through Literatus, as it allows them to earn for the content they produce. Accepting BSV simply makes sense, as it is quickly becoming the go-to crypto and continues to offer a fast network with extremely low transaction fees compared to other digital currencies.

According to Özdemir, “I believe that it can bring thousands of transactions and non-crypto users from all over the world to the blockchain if it’s used correctly thanks to its multilingual nature. People in third and second world usually tries to find alternative ways of making money and alternative platforms. Contrary to this, well-situated people usually don’t seek and don’t like alternatives. So I think non-English languages will be important for Literatus.”

The site is still young and, as is the case with any site, will be tweaked as it progresses. Some users have already suggested that Özdemir include the Money Button application, which will make paying for content with BSV even simpler.

Özdemir adds, “It’s obvious that I am not able to manage and moderate different sections of the site alone. So I’m planning to offer some people in the SV community to manage the site together. I think it should be started with as many languages as possible for the success. I’ll take care of Turkish section in such a case.”

Check it out and get involved—Literatus is a user-friendly blogging platform that is based on community input and deserves to have the support of the BSV community.

[“source=coingeek”]

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Blogging

Tax guide for YouTube bloggers: Here’s how to determine your income tax liabilities

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

The recent years have witnessed the emergence of a new profession—video blogging—more popularly called as vlogging. YouTube is its main medium. Many of you might be ardent followers of such YouTubers who give quirky life lessons, offer fashion tips, review books or movies or just repost clips from popular movies among others. India can now boast of its own YouTube stars with millions of subscribers.

Several budding vloggers, who make a mint by uploading popular videos (ideated by self or from credited sources), are uncertain about their tax implications. Let us explore this in detail. Before getting into tax rules for YouTubers, it is important to determine the source of income of such vloggers.

Nature of income of YouTubers

One aspect that attracts entrepreneurial minds to vlogging is that there are no age constraints and everything you make will be owned by you. It doesn’t require a lot of investment. Many YouTubers have started with uploading videos shot on their mobile phones. Many even keep their regular jobs until they get a breakthrough. Here are the kinds of income made by YouTubers.

-Payment from YouTube for audience engagement (assessed based on the number of reach, views and comments)
-YouTube advertisements
-Consultancy services on video making, designing and optimisation

-Affiliate sales or other freelance income from YouTube

Tax Implications for Income from YouTube

You will be taxed as a sole proprietor unless you register your business as a company, LLP or Partnership Company. Tax provisions applicability depends on the source and nature of income. Here, a YouTuber’s income is considered as business income.

Being a service sector business, the assesses can only opt for normal provisions under the Income Tax Act,1961. If the gross total income exceeds Rs 1 crore, then section 44AB i.e., tax audit will be applicable to the YouTuber. Additionally, Tax Deducted at Source(TDS) provisions will also be applicable to you on every receipt of payment. You can view your TDS amount through 26AS, which can be generated electronically.

If your gross turnover is below Rs 1 crore, then you have to follow the normal tax provisions to calculate taxes and maintain books of accounts. But if your gross total income exceeds Rs 1 crore, you must follow all bookkeeping requirements under Rule 6A and get your accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant(CA) under section 44AB of Income Tax Act,1961. You will have to pay taxes on the net taxable income after considering all the business expenses and depreciation as per the income tax slab applicable to you.

You may also have to pay advance tax if your total tax liability is more than Rs 10,000 in a financial year. You have to pay advance tax in four instalments given your tax liability is more than Rs 10,000 in a financial y year (FY).

Starting from June 15 , 15 percent of the advance tax has to be paid. Then by September 15, you should have paid 45 percent, by December,  75 percent of the advance tax liability and by March 15, 100 percent of it.

You have to pay your advance tax liabilities by the due date after considering the amount of TDS that has been already deducted from payments made to you. This TDS can be cross-checked from Form 26AS.

Don’t forget to claim the below expenses

a. General Expenses: If you can submit the required bills, expenses directly related to earning your income are fully deductible. It includes your internet bill, costs incurred for computer or camera maintenance and any other cost for creating and uploading the videos.

b. Other Expenses: Costs to promote and market your video expenses.

c. Depreciation: Please remember that the expenditure of assets cannot be deducted completely deducted against your income. For instance, you can only claim 15 percent depreciation of the camera price and 60 percent depreciation of the cost of the laptop.

In case you have calculated your taxes under normal provisions and tax audit does not apply i.e., your gross total income is less than Rs 1 crore, you will have to file your income tax return by July 31 of the assessment year. For assesses who are subject to tax audit, the return filing deadline is usually September 30 of the assessment year.

 

 

[“source=moneycontrol”]

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Blogging

Live Blogging from Blog University – How to Pitch Bloggers

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

This is my second post in which I am live blogging from the New Communications Forum “Blog University,” here in Napa, California.

Right now Alice Marshall of Technoflak is leading a session on “How to Pitch Bloggers.”

She’s talking about how PR and corporate marketing professionals should or should not approach individual bloggers to promote products and companies.

Alice points out these important points to remember about pitching bloggers:

  • To identify the blogs which are influential in your target space, check services such as Technorati and Bloglines to discover which blogs are discussing your clients or your company, and its products and markets. Then visit those blogs and check their blogrolls and post links to find other related-topic blogs.
  • The time to develop relationships with influential bloggers is before you need to make a specific pitch. Spend some time commenting on blogs that are key to your client’s or company’s markets, so that you are not unknown when a need to make a pitch arises.
  • Personalize your message to the blogger. Phrase your email something like this: “I read your post about such-and-such, and it reminded me of this point….”

The group discussion also turned to the topic of paying bloggers to write about particular products and companies. The general consensus: any paid relationship needs to be made obvious and open. How to go about disclosing that relationship is subject to somewhat more difference of opinion, but most people seemed to agree on this basic point: transparency is key.

[“Source-smallbiztrends”]

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Blogging

50 Small Business Ideas for Bloggers

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

50 Blogging Business Ideas

Blogging isn’t just a way for businesses to promote their products and services. It can actually be the main concept behind a number of different businesses. If you want to start your very own blogging business, here are 50 different ideas.

Blogging Business Ideas

Freelance Blogger

If you want to get paid to blog, you can offer your services as a freelance blogger to other businesses and publications that will pay for your expertise.

Ghost Blogger

You could also offer your services as a ghost blogger, where you can essentially write content for other bloggers which they publish as their own.

Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing can be a great way for bloggers to earn income. You can start a blog in basically any niche and use affiliate links to promote products or services from other brands and earn a percentage of each sale that you send their way.

Influencer

If you’re able to build up a significant following and some influence with that following, you can work with brands to promote products or services as an influencer.

Blogger with Advertisers

You can also earn an income as a blogger by offering visual advertising opportunities on your sidebar or other parts of your blog.

Email Marketer

Bloggers also often have the ability to start a significant following with their email newsletters, which you can also use to sell various products or services.

eBook Author

50 Blogging Business Ideas - eBook Author

You can also use your writing skills to put together and publish ebooks. And you can use your blog as a way to showcase your talents for potential readers.

Infopreneur

Or you could opt to sell other types of informational products like forms or guides. And use your blog as a platform to showcase your expertise and facilitate the sale of those products.

Online Course Creator

Online courses can also be a great way for bloggers to earn money. You can use blogging as a way to build your expertise and then host your courses on your website or email list.

Product Reviewer

You can also review products from various companies on your blog in exchange for a fee.

Sponsored Post Writer

Or you could work with brands to put together sponsored posts on your blog as a way of earning an income from blogging.

Business Blogger

If you’re knowledgeable about business topics, you can start your own business blog as a way of building up your influence and expertise so you can offer business consulting, coaching or similar services.

Social Media Blogger

Similarly, you can start a blog about social media and use that as a way to market social media management or consulting services.

Event Blogger

50 Blogging Business Ideas - Event Blogger

You can also cover different events on your blog and charge a fee to promote them or even use your blog to promote your own event planning services.

Fashion Blogger

If fashion is your area of expertise, you can start a blog related to the subject and then work with fashion brands to facilitate ads or sponsored content opportunities.

Beauty Blogger

Likewise, you can work with beauty brands by starting a blog about hair, makeup or other beauty related topics.

DIY Blogger

You could also start a blog that features a lot of DIY tutorials and projects and then work with craft brands and other companies that might provide some of the supplies you use.

Recipe Blogger

Food brands can also provide opportunities for bloggers to earn an income if you start a blog that provides recipes and other food related content.

Lifestyle Blogger

You could also potentially start a blog that covers several different topic areas and call it a lifestyle blog. Then you could potentially work with brands in a variety of different industries.

Email Newsletter Writer

If you want to actually write for other companies on a freelance basis, you could also offer your services as an email marketing expert or writer.

Tech Blogger

50 Blogging Business Ideas - Tech Blogger

For those whose expertise lies in the technology industry, you could start a blog about tech and then work with brands in that niche.

Membership Site Creator

You could also earn an income by starting a blog on a specific topic and then offering a membership section of your site that people can access for a regular fee.

Industry News Site Creator

Or you could specialize in covering news related to a specific industry and market your content and marketing services to companies in that niche.

Comedy Writer

If you have a great sense of humor, you could try to channel that into a humorous blog where you could sell ad space or earn income from affiliate programs.

Giveaway Blogger

Giveaways are also incredibly popular in the blog world. So you could specialize in hosting those contests and even charging a fee for brands that want to take part.

Photography Blogger

If you’re a photographer, you can use blogging as a way to share your work so that you can gain clients. Or you  can use it as a way o  offer your own photos for sales as downloads.

Fitness Blogger

Or if you specialize in fitness, you can use blogging to earn an income and to promote your services to potential clients.

Web Design Blogger

50 Blogging Business Ideas - Web Design Blogger

Web design is another area that you can blog about as a way to bring in potential clients.

Mobile App Blogger

Or you could specialize in blogging about mobile apps and then work with mobile app companies to offer ad space, affiliate links or even offer your own app development services or apps for download.

Gaming Blogger

You can also start a blog about video games and similar topics and then work with gaming brands to earn an income.

Family Blogger

It’s also possible to start a blog about your own family or one that offers tips on family related topics and then work with brands that want to market family related products.

Education Blogger

Or you could specialize in blogging about educational topics and then work with educational institutions or companies that make educational materials.

Finance Blogger

Or you could start a blog about financial topics as a way to share your expertise and offer financial services or products.

How-to Blogger

If you start a blog that offers instructions for people on how to do anything from losing weight to learning an instrument, you could potentially turn it into a business by offering more in-depth guides for sale or working with brands that relate to your instructional posts.

Directory Site Operator

For bloggers who specialize in pretty much any subject, you could also start an income stream by having a directory section of your site where you charge businesses or individuals a listing fee.

Job Board Operator

If your blog topic relates to jobs at all, you could potentially start a job board on your blog as well and charge businesses a fee to list their openings.

Blogging Coach

For those who have a lot of experience in blogging, you could start a business as a coach for other bloggers to help them get off the ground.

Community Leader

You could also start your own community on your blog or another platform and use that as a way to monetize your blogging skills.

Industry Thought Leader

Or you could build a business as a thought leader in a specific niche or industry and use blogging as your main way of showcasing your expertise for hire as a consultant, coach or speaker.

eCommerce Blogger

If you run an ecommerce business, you can use your blog as way to promote your products on other sites or sell them  directly from your blog.

Copywriter

You could also build a business as a copywriter and use blogging as a way to show potential clients your writing skills.

Printables Seller

If you’re a skilled designer, you could showcase your design skills on your blog and then use it as a place to sell printables of your work that customers can download.

Workshop Host

You can also blog about a specific topic and then host workshops related to that topic, either in person or online, and earn an income from that.

Conference Host

Or you could set up a larger conference type event related to your blog and use that as a source of income.

Podcaster

If you want to start a podcast, you can easily use a blog site as a way to host and sum up all of your episodes so that listeners can easily access content and learn more about your podcast.

Vlogger

Likewise, you could start your own video blog and then also have your own site where you can host ads or earn income in other ways.

Blogging Tutor

If you want to help beginners learn the very basic technical or writing elements behind blogging, you could start a tutoring service.

Underwritten Post Writer

Underwritten posts are like sponsored posts, but the main content is completely your own and there’s only a small section at the bottom that includes information about your sponsor. This is another way bloggers can earn money from blogging.

Premium Content Seller

You could also have a blog where you share some content for free, but offer some other, more advanced content for a fee.

Blog Seller

Or you could start a blog, create content, build up an audience and then sell that blog to someone who doesn’t want to start from scratch.

[“Source-smallbiztrends”]

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