The Ateneo – DigitalFilipino Digital Entrepreneurship Program launched this Blog & Social Media Entrepreneur Course with the aim of creating a movement – to encourage the growth of online entrepreneurship and serve the growing needs of businesses locally and internationally.

The intention of the free webinar is to introduce you to our upcoming online learning program, “Make Money from Blogging and Social Media as a Service Provider” that will start this September 19, 2012.

Course Overview:

This three-week course teaches the student on how to:

• Generate income through blogging.
• Make money from Blogging and Social Media as a service provider.
• Offer blog creation, blog marketing, blog advertising placement, content development and, social media promotion as a service to businesses.
• Build a blog content writers network.
• Build a blog advertising network

For the hands-on project, the student is tasked to come up with a blog marketing service and roll it out for a client. The effectiveness of the service during the time frame allotted shall serve as basis for grading.

Schedule:

Free Webinar briefing about the course:
Briefing on Making Money on Blogging and Social Media as a Service Provider:
August 29, 2012 Wednesday (10am-11:30am)

For enrolled participants
First Webinar Lecture: September 19, 2012 Wednesday (10am-12pm)
Participants who can’t join the webinar lecture can access the video and handouts in our e-learning system.
Final Project Presentation: October 24, 2012 Wednesday (10am-1pm)

Registration Fees:
Early Bird Deadline: September 5, 2012
Pay per module – P10,000.00 OR pay only P9,000 per module if you pay 2 weeks before the start date (early bird rate)

Becoming a Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur from Janette Toral on Vimeo.

By the time I write this part, a lot of things have happened in the blogosphere that affected me as a blogger. There are approaches not embraced before and made me re-think my blogging strategy where there is a stronger focus on relationships.
I encourage you to use these five insights, compare with your thoughts and experiences in blogging.

Social networks will rule

Blogging started as an individual activity. But with so many blogs out there, getting your voice heard and noticed is not as easy as it seems anymore. Big media sites are gradually inviting interested community members to try blogging and post interesting content. This includes Yahoo Shine (http://shine.yahoo.com) and Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com). I’m sure that this trend will continue. Bloggers who are serious in their craft should not hesitate to experiment with these platforms and learn from it.
Blogging within social networks, if you have a good number of active connections, can be effective and worthwhile. Serve content to where your potential readers are and build traffic to your site in the process. Gradually, these sites are embracing the flexibility blogs have such as customization of themes, adding of widgets, and including revenue generating features.
Getting to know readers better is important. Recently, I decided to create my own social network in Ning (http://www.ning.com) and post content. For this to work, consistency in developing quality articles is key. As I’ll be publishing more books and e-learning programs, this is the path I’m inclined to pursue.

Companies embracing blogs

There will be more companies utilizing blogs as an extension of their website and some will make it their default homepage. Many will invest in building relationships with bloggers for buzz generation, getting feedback on products and services, and even ask for insight.
As bloggers are capable of generating substantial traffic to their site from direct visitors and with the help of search engines, their potential for advertising placement can no longer be ignored. Especially if the amounts involved, compared to big name sites, is worth taking the risk.

Individual person-focused

Bloggers are great examples to what Thomas Friedman’s book “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” mentioned about the globalization of the individual. With technology, you can make your presence felt online and even make a difference. You can have followers, friends, and clients from different parts of the world.
Manage your online profile properly. Build a portfolio including what was published online, feedback and conversations generated.
Bloggers are capable of creating a unique brand and identity. This can be planned or the community tags or brand you in the process.

Blogging is fast becoming political

A great blogger must be willing to reach out to readers and fellow bloggers, interact, and give help when able. Otherwise, you might arrive in a state where no one cares about what you are saying. Blogging has become competitive as communities are formed and groups established in the process. They support each other through regular blog visits, exchange of ideas, sharing of opportunities, and even collaboration on projects. Those who hesitate in reaching out and take chances in relationship building will find themselves alone. The age barrier is also diminishing fast in the field of blogging. As a result, we find old bloggers expressing concerns on the activity of the young ones and vice versa. Authority is not assumed because of age and past accomplishments.
It is also about respect for the other that earns you respect in the process.

Blogging is now a serious activity

Blogging is now serious, not necessarily by its tone, but assumptions the community has on what bloggers should know. This includes:

• Being truthful so as not to mislead readers.
• Being fair and ethical in conducting one’s blogging activity.
• Taking accountability on any information and opinions given, and accepting its consequences.

How do you hire bloggers and writers? Is it easy?
I use discussion groups, my blog, and social networks. This gave me the following lessons learned:

1. Offer a per article fee or a fixed monthly rate. For fixed monthly fee, there can be a target number of stories that have to be done during the period, among other tasks.
   For part-time writers, a per article fee is the usual arrangement and this is negotiable. The typical rate is one hundred dollars (US$100) for twenty articles.
2. Will the articles come in the form of an opinion, research, or interview? It depends. Assignments that encourage sharing of personal experience is written from a personal opinion perspective.
   In corporate blogs, features on people are often done. However, not all bloggers are able or willing to write interview-type of articles.
3. Byline and authorship. Consider whether you are giving a byline (authorship recognition) or not. For those who have full time jobs, some prefer to write anonymously. Others want a byline right away. Companies who don’t intervene on writers selection may prefer no byline type of articles published on their site.
4. Give all applicants a one-week trial period. See them in action and observe their turn-around time for every assignment.
5. Article sources must be verified. Writers must cite their sources to ensure we got our backs covered.
   If the writer was not able to cite a reliable source, I have no choice but to take down the article and replace it with another.
6. Keep on recruiting. Not all freelance writers can contribute consistently. It is best to have an ongoing pool of writers who can accept assignments when the opportunity arises.

How do you pay bloggers, writers, and ad network members?
I prefer paying through Paypal. If we have the same bank, fund transfer is also possible.

How did you start with a blog advertising network?

There are plenty of revenue earning schemes coming out for bloggers nowadays. Signing up in several programs keep options open.
I have club members and client websites that could use some promotion. To answer these needs, I’ve decided to beta test an advertising earning scheme last January 2007 for some club members who are also bloggers.

Rates
The idea is to have a fee be paid to a blogger after including an ad link in a blog post. Depending on the blog or website popularity, fees can vary from US$1 to US$10. The volume of projects gradually increased and last November 2007, I opened the program to all bloggers interested.

How do you convince companies to advertise in your blog?
Whenever businesses evaluate advertising proposals, whether Internet-based or traditional print media, it gets reviewed the usual way such as:

• Readership or audience profile
• Content relevance
• Investment versus value proposition

Behind it, other intangible values come into play such as relationship, track record, and capability to sustain. I started with 4 clients who are all friends.
Repeat business and referrals happened from there. Lately, I also found new clients and bloggers through social networking sites.

The DigitalFilipino.com Club (http://www.e-commercephilippines.com) is an e-commerce community site which served as an initial source of advertisers and bloggers for Janette Toral’s blog advertising network.

Advertisers I was able to tap got convince on the following reasons:

• Ads to appear in members of the network and of mine. More eyeballs, diverse blogs, at a fraction of mainstream media cost.
• Add-on benefit includes search engine visibility. As most of my advertisers get clients through being found on search engine results, it made sense to support endeavors like these. Also suitable to entities testing the waters on Internet advertising.

What I learned from Chris Anderson’s book, “The Long Tail,” the more content or product selections, the more segments you can accommodate. This means that in order to succeed, like in the case of blogging, having collective strength will allow you to compete fiercely with mainstream big players. Instead of journalists, traditional consumers and technology connectors are the ones supplying the content and analyzing industry developments.

What are the lessons learned you gained in creating and managing your own advertising network? Working with advertisers and bloggers allowed me to realize the following:

• Getting advertisers to start with US$150 as initial budget was my entry point to this business. As results were delivered successfully, repeat business and referrals take place after. Although for highly competitive campaigns, expectations are managed as budget may not be sufficient enough to attain the results sought for. In such cases, risk is easier to bear.
• Trust and belief in the community is important. Bloggers in the network who joined the program have much to work on but giving them that chance matters a lot.
• Mentoring is a must. One can’t just give the assignment and let them be. Advice must be given regularly on how they can further improve their blog, increase readership base, and get more advertisement revenues in.
• Each blogger is accountable for their own blog. A blogger has every right to decide on what to do with it and how to go about things. Not be bothered by a-b-c-d lists of sort.
• Be competitive. Actually, not to compete with others but with oneself. Always outperform past accomplishment, whenever possible. Be happy with every improvement, no matter how small, and still pursue in getting better.

What do you think of bloggers who accept payment for blogging a particular product, which in effect selling a positive review?
I believe positive review is not for sale. Ads in a blog should only appear as a mention rather than an endorsement. Although of course, those who have experienced a product or service first hand can go ahead and endorse if they find it really useful.
Paid reviews, if any, should appear as neutral by citing both positive and constructive feedback. There should also be a reasonable ratio such as 3 to 5 regular posts for every paid one.

Bloggers who publish expert topics in their blog consistently and credibly are likely to get consulting projects on the side. They can be offered to you directly or seek these out.
In addition to expertise-focused projects, some attract blogging specific opportunities that include:

• Blog set-up – Help others put up their own blog that includes the necessary bells and whistles.
• Marketing – Promotion of websites or entities through your blog and related services.
• Placing advertisements in blogs – Help companies get publicity and attain search engine visibility through blog marketing.
• Writing content for blogs – Contribute articles to another blog or write anonymously.

If you are serious in attracting blogging projects, let it be known. Discuss your insight on these topics and share your knowledge. Build well-maintained blogs to demonstrate your seriousness.
Another way to market your expertise is through training and workshops.
Refer to the Events section to get more ideas.

Book Publishing Based from a Blog

One thought that strikes bloggers nowadays is to publish a book or e-book. Some sell it while others give it away as an incentive for those who subscribe to their blog.

Why publish?
People write and publish books for different reasons. The common ones include:

• Fulfill a need – If you have written substantial content on a niche topic and has attracted significant following, publishing can help your blog reach new audience.
• Establish an identity and promote your work - Completing a book project earns the writer a certain level of authority and respect especially if the output was impressive. The amount of work, time, passion, dedication, and resources cannot be underestimated. These efforts, authors undertake, despite the slim chances of success – more so for self-publishers.

The best return here is the recognition given by peers in the field you are in. Being introduced as an author implies your expertise, gives you a competitive edge as well in terms of positioning.
A blog can provide you that introduction to the market, and put your content to the test, build an audience, a following, and make yourself known to more people.

Publishing Process
There are four stages in the publishing process that includes:

• Development of manuscript
• Preparing the book for printing that includes layout and design
• Printing the book
• Marketing and selling the book

Each stage is important as neglecting or having shortcomings to any of them will affect the book project in reaching its full potential. These rules apply whether publishing a book or e-book.

Development of manuscript

Research
Before writing, start by conducting a research in the marketplace for books of similar topic. See if other bloggers have done it before. Download if free, or purchase, or borrow from local libraries if available. Figure out what makes your idea stand-out that will elicit attention from your target readers. In addition, get an idea on its structure, format, section that may apply. The output of this phase is an initial book outline or table of contents. You can also use a mind map to illustrate your project.

To publish or not?
Test your idea for the book project and ask for feedback from friends, family, industry peers, professors, editors, publishers, among others, who should be knowledgeable or interested on the topic and share their thoughts. Use the feedback to calibrate your outline and proceed. Decide also whether you’ll work with a publisher. If uncertain, one way is to release the completed work in an e-book or online learning format to gauge interest.

Write the manuscript
Use your outline or mind map to write the manuscript. Don’t forget to complement with images to help readers visualize what you say.
Although all works are assumed to be of the author’s copyright upon creation, specify this at the start of the book. Information includes assertion of your rights in relation to the published work (or freedom that you give to readers
on how to use your work), copyright owners identity, publisher information,among others.

Edit the manuscript
Once the manuscript is done, you will need to review and revise. Check for spelling errors, grammar, and punctuation used. Hiring an editor and proofreader is an option.

Prepare the book for printing
A lot of writing projects, especially self-published, tend to collapse at this stage. Especially when the author has uncertainty upon receipt of the first layout draft. To avoid this situation, better get your material proofread and edited. Don’t print until you are happy with the manuscript.

Cover Design
Getting a cover design done takes place at the start or after the manuscript is complete. This is used to create buzz about the book. Check out other book covers for inspiration.

Layout
Ask your artist to send a pdf version of the layout and print to visualize how the book will look like. You can give a stylesheet, if you want, to the layout artist and printer to comply with it.

Registration
Depending on how or who will publish the book, this is when you need to get an International Standard Book Number or ISBN assigned to it. If you have a publisher, they can take care of this part. A book project e-book and printed edition will each require its own ISBN. The same applies for hardbound and paperback.

Register your book to various book publications as they take quite sometime to come out. This will also give you enough time to print your book and take advantage of the publicity given by these catalogues once out. Of course, there are costs involved and must be factored in your budget.

Permissions
During research, you will find writings and images of interest that can be included in the book. Make sure to get the necessary permission from its owners and citing where it will be used.

Printing
Once all layout work is done and approve, you are now ready to print. I prefer getting a layout designer who commits to watching the book get printed and will take responsibility that it shall be done properly.
As to how many you’ll print will depend on your budget and confidence in relation to book sales.
Offset printing is ideal for high volume. Another option is digital printing that can give you the flexibility to print-on-demand. Check out the print shops in your area and pick one that suits your need.
Some sites worth checking out also for self-publishers are:

• CentralBooks (http://www.central.com.ph)
• Lulu (http://www.lulu.com)
• iUniverse (http://www.iuniverse.com)
• CreateSpace (http://www.createspace.com)
• BookSurge (http://www.booksurge.com)
• BookPal (http://www.bookpal.com.au)

Sales and Marketing

Retail and Distribution
Getting your book known to the market will require exploring of various channels such as:

• Book distributor. If you are an independent self-publisher, getting a distributor who can handle bookstore relationship is the most practical. In this case, be ready to give up 60% for bookstore and distributor commissions.
• Bookstore. You can deal with bookstores directly. These players get from 30% to 50% commission from every book sold.
• Virtual stores. Tap various online stores to sell your book. If you have high chances of attracting buyers from the U.S., getting your book listed at Amazon.com should be a priority.
• Own website. If you want to keep as much revenue to yourself, create a website and sell it online. Just be ready to factor in 3 to 6 dollars for local shipping while 13 to 20 dollars for international.

Promotion

Whether you are self-published or under a publishing house, much of the promotion work will rely on you as the author. I suggest the following to create awareness. This in addition to all the marketing promotion tips shared in Blog Promotion lessons.

• Give a sneak peak prior to release. Offer it as an e-learning e-mail program and build-up a database of prospective buyers. Like this book, sneak peak was given as early as 2006 although its format is not as comprehensive as it is today.
• Free shipping. Offer free shipping for those who’ll order the book prior to its launch. If you’ll have an event to celebrate it, invite prospective sellers and book buyers.
• Bulk discount. Encourage people to buy in bulk and give discount.
• Tap organizations. Offering the book through an association and giving part
  of the revenue is also a popular approach.
• Send a press release. Media outlets may find it of interest and publish it.

Conclusion

Publishing a book has many rewards and not all gains can be quantified through its direct sales revenue. It opens opportunities to greater things. I highly recommend the book of Euan Mitchelle “Self Publishing Made Simple”. It is concise and straight to the point. Find out more about it at http://www.overdogpress.com/3.html

I discovered that some bloggers post the amount of income they earn online. Am I required to do the same?
No. I observed that only those who have a blog theme of “making money online” do. They share their lessons learned and reflect on what programs were effective. Disclosing how they are doing can boost the credibility of the blog and its blogger

How do you go about accepting advertisement payments as an individual and issue receipts? Are bloggers required to pay taxes?
With numerous advertising and income opportunities available today, bloggers can participate and even earn from it. Fees are usually transmitted
through bank deposit, person-to-person payment, money remittance service, credit card payment gateway, Paypal, among others.
If we are serious in growing ourselves as a professional, it is important to record income and expenses properly. Pay taxes when it is due.
There are also awards and financing opportunities, you may want to avail later on, that requires proof of the earning claims we make and nothing beats a tax return document. It also reflects our personal financial ethics.

From personal experience, in the Philippines, you can:

1. Register a business as a single proprietor (http://www.dti.gov.ph) or corporation (http://www.sec.gov.ph).
   If your business will have significant volume and have partners who are willing to work hard, then this may be the best way to go.
2. Register as a professional (BIR form 1901) with the tax office (http://www.bir.gov.ph) I registered as a professional consultant. Through it, I am able to issue official receipt (BIR form 1906) to any payment received and file income reports.
3. Ask corporate clients to issue the payment to you as a professional deducting all taxes concerned and get proof if.
   For number 1, another way to do it is partner with a company who can accept payment in your behalf. I use this model whenever I have trainings and corporate members signing up in my community.

For number 2 and 3, the payments we receive get deducted with professional taxes. Ask corporate clients to issue a 2307 (Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source). This is a supporting document to a submitted annual income tax
(1701) filing.

BIR has rules on tax deductions and documentation requirements if income exceeds 750,000 pesos in a year. This includes having a Certified Public Accountant issue a certification attesting to the accuracy of your 1701 or annual income tax return.
If annual fees collected exceeds the amount of 750,000, you will be converted to VAT status and charge 12% VAT on top of your fee. Below that is the usual 3%. This is remitted to the BIR monthly.

Consult an accountant for more information.

In Australia
If you are dealing with Australian businesses, it will be important to get an Australian Business Number (http://www.abr.gov.au/) in addition to your Taxpayer File Number (http://www.ato.gov.au). Otherwise, any Aussie business can deduct 46.5% on fees payable to you.

Although blogging can be done comfortably at home, manage so it doesn’t affect obligations and time spent with family. There were reports lately featuring bloggers who got sick and hospitalized as they were not able to sleep, eat, and rest properly. Remind yourself to:

1. Have a time limit. Your activities such as turning off the computer at a designated time and get 6 to 10 hours of sleep a day. Set your Internet and blogging hours at home like 3 to 8 hours daily.
2. Spend quality time with family members. Avoid the situation at home, that you hardly talk with family and always busy in front of the computer.
3. Pursue non-Internet interest. This can be taking up a sport, going to the gym, join a craft group, gardening, reading books, among others. These can be good blogging topics too later on.
4. Eat properly. Set proper time for cooking (if you are in charge of it) and have your meal or snack without doing anything else at the same time.

Insights on Blogging
The following set of lessons for the Insights category is not the kind of truth that is cast in stone. However, you can reflect on it and recognize that there are folks, like me, who has this point of view on a wide variety of issues.

Gone are the days when blogging used to be a simple journal. Through it, you can discover new friends, peers, clients, critics, and even enemies.

Each one of us is entitled to our own opinion. These are beliefs that are not necessarily founded on proof or certainty. When it comes to blogs, opinions are out in the open and can also be subject to feedback, positive or negative.

Different people have their own style in giving perspective on issues. Author Karl Albrecht, in the book Social Intelligence: the New Science of Success, reminds individuals to treat people how they want to be treated.

In giving criticism, popular leadership author John Maxwell said, be objective, pinpoint concern carefully, provide encouragement, and don’t sound insulting or attack personally.

If done properly, your effort will be more than appreciated. Otherwise, you might get ignored, attacked by readers and other bloggers, and expose to legal risk by being charged with libel.

The more popular you become as a blogger, the more criticism you’ll get. If you believe that the concern given has basis, constructive with an effort to help, and the person presents it in good faith, take the time to interact, learn, and appreciate the feedback received. Otherwise, best to disengage at the moment and understand the situation much better.

Reference:
Criticism that counts (http://maxwellinmanila.blogspot.com/2008/06/criticism-that-counts.html)
The Platinum Rule (http://www.influentialblogger.net/2006/12/platinum-rule.html)

• Disseminate information about a charity or non-profit institution and their services.
• Encourage qualified volunteers to help out.
• Raise money for charity donation.
• Donate proceeds of your blog income to charity.
• Help out in making call for relief donation.

CRIBS Foundation (http://cribsfoundation.org/blog/) offers a foster care program and helps out abandoned and abused children.

A lot of us like free stuff especially when it is something really valuable. Their relevance is dependent on the time it was given and what the wants (rather than needs) of the target audience were then. This I learned from Seth Godin, author of
the book “Free Prize Inside”.

Should you decide to explore making giveaways, have a clear goal on what you intend to gain in return. For example, I was creating free e-commerce, software process improvement, and blogging workshop in the past. My goal then was clear and that is to test the size of the market for an upcoming book. At the same time, I am offering services in relation to the topics I write about and this
helps for competitive positioning purposes.

Manuel Viloria (http://www.manuelviloria.com) is a professional blogger sharing his insight on problogging and traffic-boosting tips. He gives free reports regularly through his blog.