Blog Risk Management: 8 Ways To Manage Your Risk

Blogging is a very risky business, especially if you put all your eggs in one basket. Your risks are even higher if you are a pro blogger and do not have a backup source of income to get you through in case things go wrong with your blog. When you go to business school, they teach you about the importance of risk management for large businesses. Most top companies have solid risk management plans in place to help protect them against uncertainties in their market. The same concept does apply to bloggers as well. The market is changing all the time and no matter how smart or dedicated your are, things can go wrong in ways that you could never anticipate. So it always pay to have a plan just in case you are faced with a nightmarish scenario.

Pro blogging is not as easy as it sounds. Writing content and promoting your content are only a part of the story. There are many moving parts that could potentially go wrong and halt your business operations. That’s why you should have a risk management plan for you blog. If you have no idea where to start, here are 7 ways you can manage risk for your blog:

1. Have a backup plan: it’s never too late to write a risk management plan for your blog. It does not have to be something formal. But you want to make sure you are ready to take the actions necessary to save your business when faced with an unanticipated situation. For instance, your database could fail on you or you can get kicked out of your favorite affiliate program. If you have planned for these situations ahead of time, you won’t have to worry about going completely out of business.
2. Diversification: never put all your eggs in one basket. I see so many bloggers who talk about how their affiliate partner makes them a lot of money each and every month. Would that partner stick by you if Internet tax is legislated in your state? Would you go from hero to zero without your affiliate partner? If you haven’t planned out your escape, that could happen.
3. Keep Your Eyes Open: just because you spend hours of your day coming up with content for your blog does not mean that you should forget about what is going on in your industry. It’s so easy to fall behind and miss some of the major developments in your industry if you are too obsessed about content development. Let’s take Internet tax for instance. A few states have already passed the law, and it could be coming to a state near you. You can easily track such legislations if you are following the news in your state. But if you keep your eyes closed, you are going to get sucker punched.
4. Grow Your Business: I do not make my living from blogging. I never intended to do so. But there are a lot of people who do. If you are relying on your blog to make money and have no other source of income, you are going to get burned badly when something happens to your blog or your niche. I am not suggesting that you should forget about blogging and focus on other endeavors. But this business is not predictable, so you should always take time to grow your business and never sit on your past success.
5. Expand To New Areas: going back to the previous point, it always pays to be involved in multiple markets and have multiple businesses. In that case, you are always going to be prepared when one of your businesses fails. Let’s say your blog is bringing you lots of revenue through affiliate advertising. You should also take time to identify other ways to bring revenue to your business just in case your affiliate partners go away. Being involved in multiple niches would help as well.
6. Build Layers Of Competitive Edge: your goal as a blogger is to build assets that will last your business a long time. Your content is one of those assets. Your domain and brand are other assets available to your business. The same can be said about your membership website, your book, and your videos. You get the point. Being involved in all those areas makes you more prepared for the tough times ahead.
7. Never Burn Your Bridges: sometimes your business is not going to work out no matter how hard you try. It’s tough to accept, but it happens. Never burn your bridges with your contacts if you want to have an escape plan in that scenario. In fact, you should focus on building long-lasting relationships as a blogger just in case. You never know what doors your contacts can open for you.
8. Be Optimistic: the only thing to fear here is the fear itself. Don’t let your risk management process stress you out. Remember, you are preparing for those worst case scenarios, but that does not mean that they will happen. When you are faced with those scenarios, you are going to be more prepared to handle things without making rash decisions.

Blogging may sound simple on paper. But it is far from it. Plan ahead and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches.