And THUD! Another Blog Sold
It’s common knowledge that most blogs simply die alone.
Starting a blog is damn easy; it takes two seconds. Name and template, then go. But maintaining a blog is not easy and many bloggers give up early, hit the snooze button and nothing happens ever again.
I’ve been guilty of this on a number of blogs over the years, sometimes because my life changes and the blog no longer fits, and sometimes because I simply get lazy or distracted by other things. But there is a choice: let your blog slowly fade, or go out with a bang. Perhaps you’ve worked hard and grown your blog to a point where it is worth something, and the time is ripe to sell.
RyanShamus.com ran for over six months, started by Ryan Shamus at about the same time RichMinx.com was started by Rich Minx (I’ve legally changed my name now). Over that time Ryan has come up with a zillion ways to make money online. And Ryan even quit his day job, such is his determination to make it online as his own boss.
Now Ryan has sold his blog for $2,500. While I felt a little sad at this news, I think Ryan got a good price and it’s fitting that Mr Shamus’s energy and Make Money Online philosophy has carried through to the end. But it’s not exactly the end; buyer Gavin will continue in Ryan’s footsteps and keep the blog alive.
I think this growing trend of selling blogs is great. Why not pass your “baby” on to someone who will love it and look after it, instead of abandoning it completely? Not to mention making some $$ in the process.
Some thoughts/questions about blog selling:
- What makes a blog valuable? Is it PageRank, age, name, content, traffic, personality, pictures, revenue?
- If it’s all of the above, how many of those factors translate over in the sale, and what are some success stories from the buyer’s perspective? (I just had a glance at CareerRamblings.com for the first time in ages, since BBB - Bubbly Blond Businesswoman - Jane May sold it for a reported $25K earlier this year. I notice her image is still in the header and as the favicon - why? I wonder if the sale was a good investment - activity seems somewhat lighter than it was…)
- Would you sell your blog? I feel like I wouldn’t but everything has its price
What are the “selling points” of your blog? My blog can tap dance.
- How do you determine the price? Is it by a year’s projected revenue? But how can you really tell? Who knows what will happen on the internet?
- Would you ever buy a blog? Here is an article with tips on how to sell and buy a blog.
- What about ‘renting’ a blog out instead of selling it? Or is that too close to pimpin’?
Answers on the back of an envelope.
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Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 10:16 am
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Thanks for the great write up! You do raise some “thinker” points, and I’m really excited to see some other blogging buddies attempt sell their blogs.
Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch! Now I have more time to read all of my fav blogs (like this one!)
Cheers
November 4th, 2007 at 2:29 pmLotsa blogs for sale these days. I was surprised to see this one: http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/auction/15405
November 4th, 2007 at 6:54 pmOneMansGoal! Wow. Clearly I am lagging behind by not putting mine up for sale!
November 4th, 2007 at 8:06 pmI don’t think I’d ever sell my blog. It was given to me actually as a 21st birthday present, so that’d make me feel bad. I dunno though, as you said everything has a price
November 5th, 2007 at 1:47 amAlways sell, a product only has a certain shelf life, the trick is to get the right price and the right time to sell. Utilise your cash flow while you have it to start something else, at some piont what you are currenty doing/ selling/ blogging will go stale. move on and get paid for it while you can.
November 5th, 2007 at 7:06 amBlogs are too labour intensive so if you don’t have the time or just decide that you don’t really like your topic anymore then it’ll start becoming a pain in the arse. Selling is much better than neglecting the poor little thing, I think. If I ever get sick of my blog though I’d probably find a wey to convert the content into a website type format rather than sell. But then again if someone offered me something I couldn’t refuse, like $50, then I suppose I’d have to sell.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:00 amI would think the time to sell is either when you get fed up with it or the blog stops growing.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:26 amIf you have an established blog with a growing income you could be selling for what will be a monthly income in a years time.
I’ll give you ï¿¥500 and a discount coupon for subway.
Deal?
November 6th, 2007 at 3:07 amI think it’s interesting that the blog sold for so much even though the domain was his name. I currently use my name as my domain and wonder how it will impact me down the line.
November 6th, 2007 at 6:39 amI am sure once you have made a name for yourself, even if the domain is another person’s name,the sales of it will be worth at least $2000. Let’s say johnchow sells his domain..
November 6th, 2007 at 5:47 pmI’ve thought about “renting” my blog– maybe that is not the best term for it, but I’ve considered letting someone else manage the advertising on it in exchange for a share of the proceeds, because I’d rather not deal with it myself, but my blog could probably make more money than it does…
November 10th, 2007 at 4:51 amMinx, I just gave you (and others) a little link love.
http://misdolinklove.blogspot.com/2007/11/share-love.html
Btw, please update your blog some time!
November 20th, 2007 at 1:09 pmHi RichMinx,
I am looking into the possibility of selling my blog, for the simple reason I’ve just discovered it’s a PR4 which I find amzing as I hardly ever blog on it, once a week maybe about domaining, I get very few readers and yet for some reason Google in their wisdom have given me a PR4 ! So how much is a blog worth ? I must find out so I will read the article you linked to - but if you know please let me know and save me a lot of messing about ! The Older Vic
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 pmP.S. Dave Carson’s calculator says it’s worth $64,000 ! So where do I find people with $64,000 to spend ?
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:33 pmVic, I would starting loitering around Silicon Valley. I hear there are lots of rich people there who would know what a blog is.
The same calculator told me my blog is worth $154,000. That just blew my mind.
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:31 pmI’m packing my bags as I type ! (With my feet) - Do you get paid when people click on the link to Silicon Valley that seems to show in the e-mail but not here ? If so, where do I sign up ?
February 4th, 2008 at 12:12 am