A question from a reader:
“A friend of mine proposed I start a blog and he be the web developer. What’s a reasonable split for profits?”
It depends on who is doing what work. To be honest, the web developer isn’t really needed after the initial set up. They only need to tweak the website. If they aren’t involved with the marketing or the content creation, then that’s the all the money they should get on the front end.
I’m guessing you don’t know a lot about internet marketing based on what you’re asking, because you would have known that from the get go. So, you’ll probably be easily pushed around by your business partner, which is never a good situation to be in.
So in this case, I feel as if you are being set up to being used. What really counts on the internet is the ability to direct attention and then them to focus their attention on something else. After you can do that, then your next task is to get them to take an action. Whether that be clicking a link, getting an opt in, or getting a sale. The marketing is what counts and not the look of the site.
I would clearly define who is working on what and what that work means for the business. You can just as easily open up your website and use WordPress. After you have done that, then you can choose a template and get plug ins that will be at least usable in the beginning.
The web designer will want to build everything but it’s not totally necessary and can slow down your ability to make money. You have to remember that a designer or web developer’s first priorities are: the look of the page, and the gadgets underneath it. It’s not to make money; it’s to make things clean and neat either on the page or in the code. As a business owner, your main priority is to get money in the door, everything else is secondary.
Is a web developer necessary to start a blog? Absolutely not, in fact, it’s probably just going to slow you down because their goals are different than yours. Also the content you will develop has nothing to do with them, so you should take most of the money in my opinion, because you are the marketing, it is not the web developer who is the marketer. They only build, they don’t market. If you are doing the long term marketing, then you should get the most money. That’s just how I see it.
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