Keep Your Blog Accounts Separate: 10 Things to Consider Before Starting a Blog (Part 8 of 10)

Today's post will be short, sweet and to the point, but I believe the topic is something very important to consider before starting a blog.

There are some things which you can do right at the start of your blogging adventure which will benefit you further down the road. Today's post discusses one of those things. 

Some people know right from the first key stroke on their blog that one day they hope to grow their blog into something bigger and possibly even one day earn money from it. Other people start out blogging as a hobby and for some this hobby turns into a bigger venture which earns them some income.

Either way, if you end up with a blog which becomes more of a business than a hobby, you'll be glad you read today's post. 

One of the best things you can do for yourself to make your life easier down the road is to keep your accounts separate. 

Here's what I mean, if you have accounts for anything and you are planning to use the same service for your blogging, don't mix the accounts, set up a separate one. This rule applies for most things.

For example, if you already have an email account, don't use it for your blog, set up an email account just for your blog. If you already have an email capture system such as Mailchimp or Aweber, which you are using for something else, don't be tempted to mix the emails you capture into this same account, set up a separate one. 

But even more important than email accounts is anything financial related. For example, if you have a Paypal account, don't use the same account for business. If you have a checking account, set up a business account for your blogging business. 

I know this may seem like overkill but it isn't. When it comes time for bookkeeping and taxes, you will be very glad you separated accounts. Going through 12 months in numerous accounts looking for information for bookkeeping could be a lengthy process which could have been avoided. 

This rule of keeping things separate applies to just about everything, but there are a few exceptions to the rule. One exception is if you have personal social media accounts, you may or may not want to use the same account.

A situation where I could see combining accounts is if you are an artist or an author and your business is branded by your name. In this situation it may make sense to use the same account.

However, if you prefer to keep your personal and business life separate, you can still set up separate social media profiles using your name. For example, on Facebook you could set up a group or a page instead of a profile. Or you could add the word "artist" or "author" after your name for certain social media profiles. 

As you begin blogging and setting up services think through each and every account as you set it up. If you take the time at the beginning to think through the long term effects of how it is set up, you can one day pat yourself on the back.

What accounts have you found helpful to separate and or keep separate?