Selling Websites for Beginners

I Make Money Buying and Selling Websites—and You Can Too

The title of the blog says for beginners, and I mean it. I was one myself not long ago. I’m going to start out assuming you don’t know the first thing about how and where websites are bought and sold. I’m also betting you have little idea right now just how fun and lucrative website flipping can be. I know you at least have some interest in the subject though, or you wouldn’t be reading this. You’ve probably heard something about it and want to learn more. Perfect—that’s our starting point.

Success Online Begins and Ends With Motivation

Countless people set out to make money online and fail. Why? Well lots of reasons of course, but a whole bunch of them fall under the category of motivation. People start learning about the internet and money-making strategies, and the first thing they discover is that it’s hard. It’s slow. It’s tedious. Those are three strong incentives to quit, and most people do, before they ever generate enough momentum to keep themselves going.

For me at least, buying and selling business websites, blogs, and other internet properties is different. Make no mistake, there will be some real work involved—though I’ll be telling you a bunch of ways to lessen the workload. (In fact you can hire others to do all of the hard work for you and still come out ahead.) But on the whole, website trading is a fun! Once you try it and get a taste of success, you'll be hooked. And it goes without saying that if you're doing something you like, something interesting and engaging, you'll have greater motivation to learn and to succeed.

What makes flipping websites one of the most FUN ways for beginners to make money online? Let’s see…

1. Treasure hunting. Roaming the internet searching for properties to buy can be addictive—just don’t get bogged down in search mode!
2. You get to do many things, not just one thing. Consider what’s involved in a single site-flip project. First comes the search for prospects and possibilities. Then research and analysis so you know you’re getting a good deal. When you’re finally ready to buy a website, you’ll need to negotiate to get the best price. After assuming ownership you’ll start to plan and carry out a site improvement strategy with a focus on each of five different areas: appearance, content, traffic, ranking, and income. (Tipping my hand a bit here—I’ll have much more to say about all of this in future posts.) And finally, applying the right tricks and techniques to market and sell your website for a profit.
3. You can choose what interests you. In some forms of internet marketing you almost inevitably end up trying to write content or run promotional campaigns about things you may know very little about, and may not even like. Of course you can take that sort of “anything goes” approach to site flipping as well. But for beginners an easier and more comfortable option is to stick with something familiar, something you know pretty well or that inspires or motivates you.
4. Scalability. What I mean here is that website flipping can be conducted across a wide range of time, work and investment scenarios. The possibilities run from quick-fix turnarounds to long-term business development projects. You can buy a website for $20, or $200, or $200,000, or $2 million. Many of the fundamental skills of buying and selling websites apply across all price ranges, which means you can get your feet wet with low cost investments and then work your way up. Whatever range you’re working in, chances are the buyer of your site will be someone who thinks he can take what you have created and advance it to the next higher level.
5. Adding value. Website flipping is all about taking what someone has already put together, but not longer wants to maintain, and raising its value. Sometimes it means buying a site that someone created quickly and cheaply, with the intention of selling. Such sites may not have a lot of value, but they save you the legwork of getting a site set up and give you something real to start working with. Other times as a website flipper you may buy a blog or hobby site that the owner no longer maintains, or has lost interest in. Still other times you may buy a bona fide internet business because you think you can increase its profitability. In almost all cases sellers are happy to sell, and your own risk is minimal. You work with the site, improve it, and pass it on up the chain. And even if your improvement efforts don’t succeed as planned, as long as it’s the right kind of site and was properly valued, your initial investment is secure.

How to Buy and Sell Websites

Buying and selling websites—sometimes known as website flipping—has been called the most reliable way to make money online. I believe that’s true, because it’s fundamentally the simplest and most timeless strategy there is.

No matter how the internet changes or what fads and clever money-making schemes come and go, there will ALWAYS be opportunities to buy internet properties (websites, blogs and online businesses), improve them in a way that increases their value, and sell them for a profit.

I also believe that learning how to buy and sell websites is the best way for total beginners to start earning some online income. And that’s why I’m here.

I’m not someone you’ve ever heard of before, and I didn’t just sell a website for half a million dollars last week (as it seems many others would like you to believe). I’m not going to try to impress you with my income—that’s my business. But I have been doing this for a while, and given a lot of attention to figuring out the process of website flipping--what works and what doesn't. I’m starting this blog to share what I’ve learned.

Does that mean I’m really here to sell you my secret formula for making tons of money buying and selling websites? Nope. In fact, here’s Lesson #1: there is no secret formula! It’s a very basic process, really, with countless variations. Find a website, buy it, improve it, sell it. The way it works for me may not be exactly the way it works for you. You may emphasize or be most comfortable with any one of those four components—and that’s perfectly fine.

Of course there are some strategies that can help you buy and sell your websites effectively and profitably, and that’s what this blog is here to provide. For free. Other sites will offer you the $47 ebook or the $97/month exclusive membership, and I’ll leave them to it.

You see, I’ve taken those classes and read the books, just to see what they’re offering. And guess what? With some notable exceptions most of those information products are quite good. If you’re the sort who is more likely to trust and value information that comes with a price tag, it’s worth it to invest in some “professional” training.

But my advice to you is this: save that $50-$100 for buying your first website! That’s when the learning really takes place. Most of the “book learning” you can get is basic nuts and bolts—and I’ll be covering all of that here. I won't be giving anyone else's "secret formulas" away, but I do have plenty of tips and tricks of my own that I want to share.

If you want to follow along, let me emphasize again that no technical knowledge is required here. You don’t need to know a thing about website development and design. I know that’s true, because I started out that way myself, and still understand only the very basics of how websites really work. I don't write code. And I've never had the patience or the mindset to delve very far into the intricate details of internet marketing.

And yet I'm earning an income doing this, and you can too. You'll pick up all the "technical" knowledge you need along the way. My whole approach stems from the insight that good judgment, curiosity and enthusiasm are the real fundamentals for success. And with that in mind, I’ll close with Lesson #2: Website flipping is FUN.

Fun? Now why is that so important—especially to beginners? Stick around for my next post and find out.

Until next time—

Swedish