Comments on: Starting my Media Buy.

By: Roxie Boyd

Roxie Boyd — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:52:41 +0000

For tax purposes, I would claim a media buy as an advertising expense. If you keep your receipts you shouldn’t have any trouble. I keep everything business related separated just like Ruck does, separate bank account, paypal, etc. If you are going to incorporate or create an “LLC”, you shouldn’t try to set up a Nevada or Delaware corporation either, unless you live in one of those states, you need to incorporate in your own state. I say ouch to that because I pay $800 a year to the State of California just for the privilege of doing business in this fine state.
I used to work for a company in Las Vegas that did incorporations so I was knowledgeable enough to know how to do my own paperwork, almost. I did get confused as to when I was supposed to apply for my “S” status. [It is within 45 days of incorporating]. I thought it was at tax time.:-) I got approved though.

Thanks for all the good information on this site.

Roxie

By: Ran Aroussi

Ran Aroussi — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:16:58 +0000

Excellent read. You should defiantly go check out Ruck’s media buy posts on http://www.Convert2Media.com/blog

By: andrew wee

andrew wee — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:42:46 +0000

Thanks for that post!

By: Another style of Landing Pages | Cash Tactics | The Internet Marketing Blog

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:57:44 +0000

[...] as an update to the Media Buy. I have heard back from 2 people so far. I’m hoping I’ll hear back from more on [...]

By: Minimize Your First Online Media Buy Risk - Use PPC | All The Affiliate Marketing Shit That's Fit To Rake

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:09:25 +0000

[...] been following closely as some fellow affiliates explore some less mainstream traffic sources, mainly media buys. (Those blogs are well worth a [...]

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:48:36 +0000

Thanks for answering that Ruck!
I pass everything through my cpa. Those little expenses add up over a year so I make sure I report as much as I can.

By: MontysMegaMarketing

MontysMegaMarketing — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:06:00 +0000

Never mind. I hacked it together…lol. :-)

By: MontysMegaMarketing

MontysMegaMarketing — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:47:21 +0000

Thanks for clearing that up, Ruck. I was wondering that myself as I have just released my own e-book and am receiving a lot of payments via PayPal. I’m still wondering a bit how that income is reported on my taxes. I do have a separate TIN but I’m running this as a sole prop for now. With things picking up, I might switch over to an LLC.

P.S. – Where can I get a 125×125 C2M banner? I’ll look on the site again but I didn’t see one before. Thanks. – MP

By: Ruck

Ruck — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:42:10 +0000

@ TMoney – Interesting point from someone business savvy. I cant speak from others but on a personal note it depends really for me. If I were to buy up spots on my companies behalf then they are usually higher end deals into the thousands. Usually these are on sites with sales force or skilled professionals handling their advertising so it just kind of goes without saying that they know what to do with their revenue and I know what to do with my expense.

However, on a personal note and own buys as an affiliate marketer myself (which I operate an S-Corp) also, I have only really gotten to the point of high end media buys ( or what personal affiliates would consider a high dollar buy) or reoccuring monthly spends on a site a few times. Most of the Gigs I do are directly related to me watching the rankings of a certain webpage on a site and not advertising on the site itself and usually its a one month thing. Honestly, I do write it off as an expense and I have no idea what the other webmaster receiving the funds does.

But Paypal is used a lot for buying up spots but like I was speaking with Kris about, I have overnighted checks across the world as well as send wires or ACH deposits. It all gets recorded on my end. If you are wondering about how “to prove it” then my suggestion is really exactly how I run my business.

Paypal account for business
Business bank account
Business checking
Business Credit Cards

Each business entity is its own. Their are many classifications for expenditures when it comes tax time but I let my accountant deal with that. As always my CPA signs off on everything so that they are the first to be involved should any problems arise. Never had any problems though, but keeping businesses seperated is crucial.

By: MontysMegaMarketing

MontysMegaMarketing — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:13:40 +0000

Ah, we’re off to a good start. I think I’ll check out DMOZ tonight.

BTW, how do I get one of those 125×125 C2M banners for my blog? I had to make my own. Thanks. – CM

By: TMoney

TMoney — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:36:49 +0000

I’m assuming most media buys are paid for via Paypal. Is the Paypal transaction record that we sent money to Joe Smith valid when it comes time to report taxes? Of course this is really an advertising expense for us but how do we prove it? All the IRS sees is that we shipped $1,000 bucks to some guy. (It could look like we are just sending cash to friends as a way to increase

Since you and Ruck have done this before, what did your accountants advise? Does the webmaster need to send you a bill in the mail or some official statement. What do you recomend we do when paying for advertising straight to a webmaster via paypal so we are ok when it comes time to declare expenses?

By: Web Content

Web Content — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:45:51 +0000

You hit the nail on the head. If the marketer has a great place to research, not only will they know more about their niche, they will be able to provide lasting and informative content to their viewers.

Give them something good to read and they will keep coming back for more.