How to sell a blog [Complete Guide]

Of course, there is one final way that you can profit from starting and running a blog and then monetizing it properly. That’s, of course, to sell your blog! While this is more of an exit strategy than a monetization method, it’s worth discussing for bloggers thinking about their long-term plans.

In this complete guide on evaluating and selling a blog, you will find out the preparations for selling a blog, how to assess it correctly, how to sell it, how to transfer the assets, and offer post-sale support. In closing, we have some real stories from people that successfully sold their blogs.

There are a few different routes that you can take to sell a site:

Look on Auction Sites

One of the most common ways you hear about sites selling is on services such as Flippa.com. These services host auctions for sites and businesses and typically work well for small transactions (less than $100,000) as they are quick to list on and expose the sale to many buyers.

However, there is one huge drawback to this style of sale. In an open auction, the process is open to manipulation. For example, Flippa runs a comments section where buyers can discuss the auction, potentially pointing out problems and issues to keep the price down.

Additionally, everyone knows what is (or isn’t) a bid for a site, taking much of the negotiation out of the equation. Finally, putting a site up for sale and having it not sell doesn’t leave you in a good bargaining position for future sales.

The sale price was based on the potential of the site. Flippa.com is the most well-known auction site. However, eBay also provides a place to sell under the category “Businesses and Websites for Sale.” You can also try sites like FreeMarket,  DigitalPoint, and Top Gold Forum Marketplace.

Listing a “For Sale” Notice

There are numerous sites where you can list a business for sale to attract leads. Some listing sites include GlobalBX, BusinessesForSale, and BizQuest. Alternatively, you can announce that you’re looking at selling on your blog, and if anyone is interested, they can contact you for more details.

Getting a Business Broker

Business brokers are agents who help shop around a site. These companies typically help find buyers, help set prices, and help with the negotiation process. Of course, they also take a cut of the sale! Ask your accountant about finding local business brokers who have online experience.

1 FE International

These guys are an online marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Their clients are usually high-end companies, and they cover transactions that start from five figures and go up. They ensure that each sale that goes through them is legit and guarantees a scam-free environment.

2. Empire Flippers

These guys provide a unique hands-on approach to selling (or buying) a website in the six-figure price range. They offer an evaluation tool to help you get a ballpark price for your site on the fly.

For more information, check Zach Zorn’s review of Empire Flippers.

3. Motion Invest

Motion Invest is a website brokerage where you can buy or sell money-making sites. The nice thing is they offer a free evaluation before listing the website. After your site goes through its due diligence process, you can have a guaranteed sale by selling directly to them, or you can list it in their marketplace for a chance to sell your site.

Shopping Privately for Buyers

Perhaps the most common way to find a buyer is to shop around for buyers privately. This might be done through some strategic emails sent out to companies you think might be interested in asking for offers and interest.

Look especially for companies you’ve dealt with before (advertisers, partners, etc.). You may also consider your competitors, both direct and indirect.

Here is a list of companies that purchase blogs, and you may get in touch with them and see if they are interested in your web property:

1. Internet Brands

They focus on four core verticals in which we are the proven leaders: Automotive, Health, Legal, and Home / Travel. Our fully integrated vertical approach combines leading web solutions for businesses and media websites for consumers.

2. DistrictMediaFinance

DistrictMediaFinance is an independent media company that delivers high-quality personal finance news and advice that informs, empowers, educates, and entertains the public. They operate a network of around 15 blogs focusing on the financial sector (saving money, coupons, investing, etc.)

3. MediaDigi

MediaDigi Ltd. established this network in 2012 to crush limits and create a community of people who want to learn and share their knowledge. And since then, millions of readers have found the solution to their problems in our articles.

Disclaimer: Mediadigi purchased Monetize.info in 2017 for an undisclosed amount.

Preparing Information for Prospective Buyers.

If you plan on selling your blog, you should ensure you have the information ready to distribute when a prospective buyer enquires.

This can be vague; get interested in more serious discussions or smaller sites. You may lay out all the cards transparently from the get-go.

You might include information such as:

1. Traffic and specifics such as search traffic.
2. Revenue, costs, and profit.
3. Assets for sale.
4. Growth.
5. Detail of how the site could grow.

Spend some time looking through listings on Flippa.com to see what information sellers present and decide how much detail you wish to give.

Doing Due Diligence on the buyers

Due diligence is the process by which business owners conduct a business, legal, and financial investigation of a company in preparation for a possible sale transaction.

It’s essential to ensure the person you are handing your business has the financial means to purchase it (otherwise, you may handle important information about your business to a competitor that poses as an interested buyer but is not).

You should also make sure he knows your niche and can take care of the website in the future. I know some sellers are not interested in what happens with their assets after a sale.

However, remember that your business became successful because visitors and clients trusted you, and they will not be happy if you sell the business to someone who can’t take care of their needs. This may backfire on you when you start a new business.

Using Escrow Services

Whatever route you take to find a buyer, using an escrow service such as Escrow.com is essential when transferring.

These services provide a trusted third party to ensure the buyer receives the website and assets and the seller receives the money. The escrow fee is typically a percentage of the transaction and can be shared between the buyer and seller.

Transferring the assets and post-sale support

This is also an essential step in closing the deal. As I’ve sold and purchased several blogs, I know this was quite stressful, but everything will work out with patience.

Ask the buyer how he wants things to proceed, and ensure you deliver everything you agreed. There may be issues with handling social media accounts and transferring company or financial assets.

If you own other sites, you should ask for a testimonial from the buyer because it will help you in future sales. Check one testimonial offered to us by Oliver Kenyon after a successful sale.

Real stories from people that sold or bought a blog

We’d love to hear your stories on how selling a blog went. So don’t hesitate to tell us more.

Conclusion

We hope we’ve managed to shed some light on the issue of selling your blog. The process of the sale of a blog in the price range of five and six figures isn’t something that you can do overnight. It requires an investment of both time and money. Do you need a professional blog price evaluation? Hire us

If you want to sell your blog and cash out, prepare for any legal issues before posting your blog for sale. This way, everything will go much smoother and with less last-minute hustle.

Are you on the other side of the fence, and you’d like t purchase a money-making blog? Check this guest post article by Flippa.