Laura’s Blog

By Jock Purtle
Guest contributor

When someone asked me if I’d ever thought about selling my blog, my reaction was a mixture of shock and anger.

“Why would I do that?” I asked. My blog is my baby.

It took years of refining the content, connecting with other bloggers, pitching ideas to other sites and pounding my head against the wall trying to figure out what went wrong. The thought of selling it just didn’t seem right.

But a fellow blogger, someone with whom I worked throughout the life of my blog, actually did sell their blog. When I told them I thought I could never do that, they explained their rationale.

About a year later, I ended up selling mine. At times I miss it, but the decision has allowed me to move on to other things. I don’t regret it.

If you’re like me, you probably read the title to this post and shook your head “no.” Well, let me try and talk you out of it. Selling your blog might not be the best move. But there’s a chance it is.

Let’s discuss five important questions you need to ask yourself before selling your successful blog.

1. Can you maintain it?

This is the first thing you need to think about when considering whether you should sell your blog.

Chances are your blog is not your full-time job. If this is the case, you need to decide if you can keep up with the amount of effort required to keep it running.

• Will you have enough time to generate the content?
• Will you have the opportunity to keep reaching out to other bloggers?
• Will you have the time and resources to review and edit guest post submissions?

If you are doing all of this on top of another job, the most important question to ask yourself might be: Do you like doing all of this?

As you know, if you take your foot off the gas for even a second, you can lose what you’ve built. So, if you’re not prepared to keep that up, it might be time to consider moving on.

2. Can you grow it?

Do some projecting into the future. It is one thing to be able to keep your blog where it is, but is that really what you want?

I am the type of person who is always looking for something new, or a different challenge, and it has been my experience that most bloggers and online entrepreneurs are that way too.

So, try to envision what the site would be like one, two or even three years down the road.

If you see it being more of the same, maybe it is time to cash in with what you have and let some fresh hands take it over. It’ll be fun to look back on it years later and see what the new owners have done with it.

On the other hand, if you see some real growth opportunities, you’ll have a decision to make.

Can you make the commitment to grow it into what it can be? If yes, then buckle down and enjoy the ride.

But if no, you’ll want to use this projected growth as a way of helping boost the business’s value so that you can fetch a higher price.

3. Do you still love it?

We’ve touched on this a bit, but let’s go deeper. Whether blogging is your full-time job or something on the side, you know that it takes commitment.

So, ask yourself, do you still love doing it?

For me, the project got stale. I loved the blog, but towards the end, I was having a hard time coming up with new ideas and I wasn’t getting nearly as excited as I used to be whenever something went well.

That led me to spend less time working on it, which produced less results and then less motivation to work on it. This cycle repeated until I decided it was time to move on.

4. What will your next project be?

This is a big one to ask yourself. If you’re going to sell your successful blog, it’s a good idea to have another project waiting in the wings.

If not, you may find yourself regretting the decision. You’ll sell the blog and turn it over to its new owner, and then six months or a year later, you’ll be thinking, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

I’m sure you’ve got ideas as to what you would do if you had extra time on your hands. Flesh out those ideas so that when you do sell the blog you have a plan and will be thrilled at the time you have to work on it, instead of sorry you sold out.

5. What’s your blog worth?

This last question is a far more practical one. A lot goes into determining the value of a business, both online and traditional. Take some time to understand this process.

Then figure out what price you might be able to fetch for your blog.

Set a number that you would need to get to consider selling.

This gives you a way to make the decision. If you get a perfect offer, take it. If not, leave it alone.

You’ll be surprised at what you can get for your blog. It has to do with how much you are making now, the audience you reach and growth possibilities. Who knows, someone could be ready to hand over some serious cash for your blog. That might help make the decision easier.

How to sell your blog

After reading this, you may be saying, I hadn’t thought of this before, but maybe I should sell my blog! How do I do it?

It is not as simple as putting an ad on Craigslist or calling some friends and offering to sell. You’re trying to find someone who will give you the money that you deserve.

There a few different ways you can do this.

1. Self-listing

The first method of selling your blog is to do it yourself. Platforms such as Flippa and Exchange, which is for eCommerce sites, allow you to advertise the sale of your blog to potential buyers.

This might seem like an attractive option, as it exposes you to people specifically looking for blogs to buy, but it might not be your best option. Most people who go onto these sites are in search of a bargain. They can sift through thousands of different sites and then send in lowball offers to see who bites. These kinds of platforms are only good when you have a good idea of what your business is worth and are able to fight for it.

It might take some time to get someone who is willing to pay what it is worth, so you’ll need to be patient and resist the lesser offers. If you’re looking to move quickly, you might want to look for other options.

2. Blog brokerage services

The other solid way of selling your blog is to hire a brokerage service. In this way, the market for online businesses functions very much the same as the real estate market. You give rights to a broker to list your business, and then they use their networks to get you the best deal.

A reputable broker will also help you through the entire sale process, from getting your business records ready, all the way through using an escrow service to transfer the payment and website assets.

The flipside of this is that when a broker sells your blog, they will take a commission. But chances are they will be able to secure you a higher price than what you will get listing the website yourself, meaning you’re not missing out by enlisting help in the sale of your business.

3. Ask your audience

Another way to sell your blog is to self-advertise. If you’re considering selling your blog, it is probably because you have a dedicated following and customer base—meaning it is worth something. Informing readers that the blog is for sale might encourage someone to offer to take it off your hands.

This is a bit of a shot in the dark, and you should not bank on it. But it might be worth a shot.

4. Design your selling strategy

Take some time to ask yourself these questions, and if you think it might be time to sell your blog, start thinking up your strategy for doing so. The idea might seem foreign now, but it could be the exact change you are looking for in your life.

Chime in

Have you considered selling your blog? If so, what would be the reasons? If not, what is stopping you? Let’s talk some more about this in the comments.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]I hadn’t considered selling my blog until I read this article[/tweet_box]

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Selling your blog: how to earn what it’s worth[/tweet_box]

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Should you sell your blog? 5 important things to consider before deciding[/tweet_box]

Jock Purtle is a former blogger turned entrepreneur and the founder of Digital Exits, an online brokerage that specializes in the buying/selling and appraisal of digital businesses.