​I’ve attended more events than I can count as an influencer.  It’s something I really love to do!  
 
Influencer marketing is huge right now, and it’s still on the upswing.  One way to get a lot of marketing around an event you are throwing is to invite influencers.  There’s key ways to

• Attract influencers to an event,
  
• Ensure they have a great time while they are there, and 
  
• Encourage them to create and post quality content to share with their followings. 

I’ve compiled an easy check list, as well as examples and explanations.  Download the 11-page guide below (free, no strings attached).

To my fellow influencers: have I missed anything?
​Read my tips on how to get invited to a swanky influencer event here.
Check it out: Here are some videos I’ve created of events I’ve attended over the last year or two.

​Wait a tick, how much will the taxes be?

It depends, but a good rule of thumb is to set aside ⅓ of the income you make for taxes.  
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That’s stupid high.  But OK, back to what you were saying.  So how do I register the name of my business? 

Five easy steps.  I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.  Didn’t even get a ticket for parking illegally.  Wait what?

1. You go to your local county clerk’s office.  Find this by Googling “county clerk.”  Get thee to thy county clerk.  Go very early to avoid lines.  I hate lines.
2. Tell the person in the office you want to register a DBA (Doing Business As) or whatever your state calls it.
3. Fill out the form.  It’s easy, as long as you know such information as your name and address.
4. Hand the notary your license and sign where he or she tells you to sign.  You should receive two certified copies of the DBA.
5. Pay your $35 (or whatever your state charges).  My county clerk took cash or credit (not checks, but honestly who uses checks?)

Congratulations!  You’re officially registered!  Why not celebrate? Celebrating is fun!

Next thing I did was get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS.  Note:  You do not need to have a DBA to get an EIN if you are just using your legal name and not a business name. 

Now why would I want to get an EIN?

Again, for me, this was about the money / taxes.  I wanted a business bank account to keep things separate, and the banks require an EIN.  You can apply for one and get one immediately online here: Yay Instant Gratification! 

The IRS wants to make it as easy as possible for you to pay them money, so it’s really not a difficult process.  I had mine within 10 minutes.  When they ask you the questions with radio buttons, click “no” for all of them.  They generate you an EIN and give you a PDF (I emailed it to myself).  

Then you take that into the bank with your DBA paperwork and they will get you set up with a business account.       

So how do I open a business account at the bank?

I went to Bank of America because I already have a personal account there.  I’m not specifically recommending them, but I’ll say this for them: they aren’t awful.  I’m sure whatever bank you use has comparable options.  I was able to open a business account with no monthly fee if I spent $250 on the account’s debit card or kept a minimum balance of $3,000.  I had more than that to put in, and I figured I would try to pay for business expenses out of my business account with the debit card, so this worked out fine for me.  

Do I hafta do all this though?

No, you probably don’t.  If you work for yourself as a freelancer, and the companies make out checks to your legal name / wire money to your personal bank account, and you don’t have any employees, then you don’t have to register a DBA and you don’t have to get a business account.  The IRS is just as pleased to take money from your personal accounts and you can use your personal social security number instead of an EIN.  

Just know if the company you are working for reports the money they paid you, you will have to pay taxes on it regardless of whether you are considered a business or not.  At least if you’re set up as a business, you can deduct expenses from the crazy exorbitant taxes freelancers have to pay.    

If you have any questions at all, just let me know!  I will try to answer based on my experience.

My Top 5 Early Suggestions

1. Make it easier to follow someone.  Ultimately, as much as I like exploring interests, I follow a person because I relate to that person and trust his or her style/judgment. I can’t even figure out a way to search for another user by name right now.  You need to have some socializing in social media in between the buying frenzies.  
2. No hashtags? Wiggity what?  Right now you can only choose from Amazon-designated categories for photos, and hashtags in captions are inactive.  They will need to adopt this ubiquitous topic-categorization system.  Facebook had to do it, and you’re gonna have to do it too, Amazon overlords.
3. Make getting to Spark easier. As of now, you have to go into your Amazon app, click the three lines in the upper left hand corner to drop the navigation menu, then click on Spark.  Three clicks to get to my feed?!  Who has this kind of time?
4. Reviewer ranking should be better integrated into Spark.  Here you have a base of loyal Amazon customers who have a proven track record of contributing to the community.  Right now, the ranking is just a number in someone’s profile.  Leverage the high levels of trust those Amazon addicts have spent years building!
5. A la Pinterest / Twitter / Instagram, allow users to save and / or "re-tweet" posts.  I may not be ready to buy today, but if I could easily add a pretty post to my Amazon wish list, I would.  I would also re-sparkle a post I really liked.

Have you tried Amazon Spark yet?  What are your thoughts?    
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