Selling a website is one of the last steps in a successful “flip.” Online entrepreneurs make a living by finding websites with a potential to grow (and make money), purchase the site, renovate it and expand on the audience, and close the deal with a sale that yields much higher profits then what it took to originally buy it. Oh, the world of flipping websites.
If you have made it to the “selling” phase then you should pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself. You’ve already put in most of the hard work! Careful though, take your time on the sale as you want to make sure you got the very best deal possible and deal with reputable buyers.
There is no easy way to figure out what the valuation of your website should be. However the simple fact is your site is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Easier said than done right? You need to find a value that will answer questions when interested parties ask, “How much?”
Again, it’s quite hard to determine a selling price. Factors such as what industry your site operates in, the competition, amount of labor and technical skills, operating costs, and overall potential all are variables in the equation.
Keep in mind that standard business practices such as supply vs. demand and other basic economic concepts play a role in online commerce.
Some say that a business should be sold for ten times its gross profit or five times the average revenue. But these standards vary according to who you talk to.
Sometimes you’ll need to ask for much more than the norm, especially if you believe the site has a huge amount of growth and money-making potential, just be prepared to have less interested buyers.
The more information you provide to potential buyers the better. It’s just that simple. People want to know what they are getting. If you do the homework, people will respect your hard work and become much more likely to trust you and reward you for your efforts. Don’t hide anything either.
Raw statistics are especially important. Include traffic statistics such as unique visitors, page views, growth rates over time, which countries they are from, how much traffic derives from search engines and direct bookmarks, which keywords your site is popular for, and the PageRank of the site.
Financial figures such as the profit and loss statement are also sought after from buyers. Record the profits earned from advertising, bills for expenses (such as hosting and domain names), and income from the site.
Including screenshots of these figures will increase the likelihood that people will buy from you.
If you’re having trouble selling your website you could draft a sales letter introducing the website and yourself. Include the mission, design, and history of the site. Provide interesting facts, the original roots of the site, etc. Also provide a paragraph explaining why you want to sell the site, what the site will offer to the new owner(s), and any other important information. Provide statistics about the site to help give each prospective buyer an idea as to how successful the site is and ultimately how much it will cost.
Settle on a rough estimate for what you would like to receive for the site. Some may believe that selling is a passive action. Not the case in the world of online commerce. Unless your site is extraordinarily popular (MySpace and Twitter come to mind), buyers will likely not pursue you. This is different from the world of real estate where you can afford to sit back and wait for the offers. Remember you cannot plan a “For Sale” sign on your home page. You need to be the one pursuing leads.
Sellers can also pursue perspective buyers by searching through classifieds of web entrepreneurs or other individuals interested in flipping websites. eBay’s “Business/Websites For Sale” section is a great place to start. Just beware of scams and scammers on eBay. Some may avoid the hassle of bargaining on eBay and turn to forums like SitePoint SiteSell.
Owners can list their site for sale and get exposure as well as search archives to see what others sites have sold for in the past.
Visit our links section to find places to buy and sell websites!
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