Collis Ta’eed has put together a 10 point post with Tips to Successfully Selling a Blog which has some useful tips in it both to those selling and those buying blogs.
What I found particularly useful was the tips for those buying blogs – especially the advice around keeping the momentum of a blog going.
I’ve seen a number of blogs sell over the last few years and almost come to a complete standstill after the sale while the buyer either recruited writers, did redesigns or finished other projects etc. Even a short break after a sale can see loyal readers disappear and the profitability of a blog decrease.
So the advice that Collis gave of not changing anything too quickly, keeping writers on, asking the blogger to stick around and introducing change incrementally is key. The change needs to be managed carefully and hard work needs to be done to convince readers that it’s worth sticking around. Read the full post from Collis here.
Interesting… I wonder if there is a market for that. People who make blogs just to sell them? Or is it just a once in a while thing?
-Thomas
Hmm… Makes me second guess why Skellie is around…
Just kidding.
Great article to keep bookmarked!
Yep I have to agree. Matt Jones has just put Blogging Fingers up for sale as he wants to work on other projects. That’s a real shame and because he won’t be writing it anymore, it will no longer be the same blog so I unsubscribed. If others do the same it must be hard for the buyer to maintain the original momentum.
Very usefull information I have been asked 3 times this year to sell my blog and I denied it.
Good points by NxE
I’ve thought of buying up domain names to sell them before, but I’m more interested in using them, so I would probably hold on to them for a while. That being said, I don’t think I would buy a domain from someone because it is difficult to keep up the same caliber of work that has been done.
Sometimes the same car with a new engine is not the same car.
Interesting article. I wonder if the methods used to “buy and flip” houses could apply to Blogs? Besides the auction route, what about “Blog Agents” that sell blogs like real estate for a commission?
The formula to arrive at a price to value a blog seems much to simplistic even though it’s just a guideline.
I think interest in Blog buying and selling is going to increase greatly and who ever can come up with an innovative business model to capture this business could hit the jackpot.
The mistake that most buyers of blogs make is making it too commercial.
It appears that the only major reason to buy blogs or other Web sites is to make a profit. Usually an owner sell because they no longer have time to keep it up or the expense has just gotten out of hand and they do not want to solicit ads or donations.
But usually, those who buy are so interested in the profit margin – that the site or blog usually goes downhill. There a numerous examples of this. Readers can sense the change i n karma and bonding.
Sometimes, cash strapped bloggers would sell text links or ads to raise cash, but now even that is losing its appeal with the penalties from Google and the pressure to use the NOFOLLOW – thus depriving buyers of the PR juice they sought. And who want to ask readers to contribute???!!
Perhaps this is a tactic to force bloggers to use AdWords or AdSense??????
Perhaps before buying a blog, a blogger should be a high profile contributer for a few months and get a sense of bonding with the readership – then make the transition with the original blogger for a few months after that.
I think you make a good point here Miss Universe: People who buy a blog for a lot of money usually buy it to make a profit off it. They probably don’t have the same love for the blog as the original owner, else they would probably start their own blog and grow it to the same level.
Yes Blogging Fingers is for sale, but that is not a reason to unsubscribe. Surely the new owner deserives a chance to prove themselves.
For details of the sale see my latest blog post.
Blogs are very fickle. Actually, I should say that blog readers are very fickle. I’ve noticed with my own blog that if I don ‘t post for even a few days, the number of hits I get declines sharply!
If someone sells a blog that is popular, it doesn’t make sense for the buyer to change it in drastic ways. Obviously the blog was popular for a reason, so the buyer should ensure that he/she builds on the previous success, not try to redefine it.
I don’t think anyone should sell his/her blog. Blogging on someone else blog and get paid for it, that’s ok. Loosing a paid blogger in future can decrease the profitbility of the blog.
Excellent article, I wonder after reading this how many bloggers set up blogs to sell, or are thinking of selling theirs now. It could be the next big thing but I doubt it, blogs are hard work to keep going.
Regards.
So, we have reach the era of Blog-Real-Estate now? Hmm… I don’t think it’s a nice idea since a sudden changes will have a great effect on the content presentation.
Instead, person who would like to sell their blog (blog-seller) need to work on the background to support the new owner to blog and slowly switch over the new owner’s voice before officially switching authority.
The purpose is to guide his existing readers to adapted to the new voice of the new owner.
I have successfully sold two of my blogs. One that I sold has been and still dormant since the sale (April). The other I sold a couple of months ago and it is dead, no website or anything.
I have no idea why people waste so much money.
People go to a blog not because of the writing, but the writer.
Thanks for the link up Darren! Did you know the new owner is another Melbournian! They’re taking over! :-)
I couldn’t stop my self from requoting these lines from nxe
“The perception of popularity makes a big difference to the perception of worth”