Online publishing is a business. Like any business it requires work. It requires paying taxes. And it requires investments of cash to keep going.
That last hurdle is the one that many people stumble over.
They think that because the only equipment they need to set up an online publishing business is a computer, that\’s the only expense they\’ll ever need to pay.
Wrong.
It is possible to set up a successful online publishing business for next to nothing. It\’s possible too to start on a shoe-string then lay aside a part of a growing income each month to get better images, better services or more marketing.
But even when you\’re just starting out, you might find yourself spending at least some money on three things:
The first is the design of your website. If you\’re good at art and know your way around Photoshop, you can do it yourself… and pay in time. And while it\’s possible to simply stick with whatever template you can find, personalizing your site will help it to stand out and build loyalty.
If you\’re not buying in content, design could be your biggest initial expense.
Much of your initial promotional may also cost you time rather than money. Post the sort of content that wins links doesn\’t cost anything and optimizing your site for search engines can be learned, but advertising is one easy way to bring in traffic and get the users that make the effort worthwhile.
That might cost you some money but you\’ll get to choose exactly how much and you should be able to cut off the flow at any time.
And hosting is likely to cost you money too. While you can find hosting services for free, you usually get what you pay for. Often, that means ads that annoy your users and earn you nothing, limited stats reporting and even a sub domain instead of the sort of unique URL that search engines like.
Altogether, you could find that initially your monthly costs are… not more than a few dollars a month. How quickly that amount grows will depend on how much you want to invest… and on how quickly your site grows too.
But don\’t be afraid to spend a few bucks at the beginning and each month to get much more later.