Blogging is one of the least expensive and simplest ways to start a side hustle or promote your business. The benefits of blogging include:
Boosting your visibility.
Positioning you and/or your business as an expert in your field.
Establishing credibility.
Increasing traffic to your website and social media profiles.
Growing and solidifying your brand.
While this sounds great, blogging can also create a lot of unnecessary risk if you don't understand the laws around it. Here are the top 10 Blogging Legal Risks to consider when starting a blog to avoid taking on unnecessary risk to your business.
Make sure you have an LLC to separate your personal assets from any risks associated with your blog.
Conduct a blog name search to make sure you aren't copying someone’s already existing blog and are able to trademark the name of the blog if it is important to your brand.
Understand copyright so you can legally use images and content in your blog.
Understand what qualifies as defamation if your blog discusses specific people or products.
Use an Unsubscribe link in your blog to ensure you don't violate the CAN-SPAM Act.
Execute a blog guest agreement for any individuals who guest post or ghostwrite for your blog to make sure you have the right to modify anything posted on your blog.
Include specific disclaimers to limit risks associated with the content you provide.
Use specific disclosures if you participate in affiliate marketing.
Have a privacy policy to ensure you comply with privacy laws if you gather personal information or allow people to purchase things directly from your website.
Have terms of use to avoid lawsuits and protect your intellectual property rights.
If you don't have any of these protections in place or want more on these topics, schedule a free consultation to discuss how we can help you keep your blog focused on growing business value, not increasing your risk.