How to Sell Your Website
If you’re unsure of how to take your website to the next level and are tired of maintaining it, don’t simply let the domain expire and cancel your web hosting account. Instead, make some extra money from it and sell it to the highest bidder. This has become easy to do thanks to websites such as Flippa.com, one of the sites where “website flipping” has not only become one of the quickest-growing industries, but also an extremely profitable option for website owners.
Sites such as Flippa hold auctions that focus on the sale of websites. The auction on a certain listing will last for a certain amount of time at the end of which, the website will be sold to the highest bidder. While the process is relatively easy, there’s a lot to know and you’ll need to be very active before, during, and after the sale.
Things to know before selling your website
You might think you already know everything about your site. After all, you’re the one that created it and that’s been maintaining it, right? While that’s probably true, you’ll still need to know two very specific figures before listing your website for sale – traffic and revenue.
Traffic. You’ll need to know how much traffic is coming to the site on a regular basis, and you’ll need to have exact figures. Buyers are going to determine whether or not they’ll buy your site based on its revenue potential and website revenue is dependent on one thing – traffic. Make sure that Google Analytics is installed on your site (it should have been since launch), and have those numbers ready for buyers.
Revenue. Keep in mind that websites typically sell for one to three times their yearly profit so, in order to sell your website, it should be making substantial revenue. If not, your site might not be ready for sale just yet. If your site is producing revenue, keep accurate records that are provable, and keep separate accounts for web businesses.
During the auction
Once your site has been listed and is officially up for auction, you’ll need to do more than just ride out the auction time and wait to collect your payment. The chances are that buyers are going to have lots of questions. Make sure that you’re available to respond to them, and to be as active as possible with buyers – you’re not only selling your website, but yourself, too.
Also make sure that you don’t get discouraged if your listing doesn’t get a lot of bids right away; most come within the last 24 hours.
After the auction
Just as you need to be present during the auction, you also need to be present after the auction, otherwise the sale could very well fall through. After the funds have been released from escrow (the gold standard of auction websites) you can then transfer the site to the buyer. Remember that the buyer may also ask for the name of your web host, graphic designer, content creator, or any other person that has been involved in the creation and production of your site. Always be sure to ask ahead of time if you can pass on that information, so you can have it ready when the buyer asks.
The process of selling a website can be a long and tiring one, and it’s important to know that there will be a lot of expected of you before, during and after. In the end however, you may end up enjoying the process – and the profit – so much that you become a professional website flipper!
Sites such as Flippa hold auctions that focus on the sale of websites. The auction on a certain listing will last for a certain amount of time at the end of which, the website will be sold to the highest bidder. While the process is relatively easy, there’s a lot to know and you’ll need to be very active before, during, and after the sale.
Things to know before selling your website
You might think you already know everything about your site. After all, you’re the one that created it and that’s been maintaining it, right? While that’s probably true, you’ll still need to know two very specific figures before listing your website for sale – traffic and revenue.
Traffic. You’ll need to know how much traffic is coming to the site on a regular basis, and you’ll need to have exact figures. Buyers are going to determine whether or not they’ll buy your site based on its revenue potential and website revenue is dependent on one thing – traffic. Make sure that Google Analytics is installed on your site (it should have been since launch), and have those numbers ready for buyers.
Revenue. Keep in mind that websites typically sell for one to three times their yearly profit so, in order to sell your website, it should be making substantial revenue. If not, your site might not be ready for sale just yet. If your site is producing revenue, keep accurate records that are provable, and keep separate accounts for web businesses.
During the auction
Once your site has been listed and is officially up for auction, you’ll need to do more than just ride out the auction time and wait to collect your payment. The chances are that buyers are going to have lots of questions. Make sure that you’re available to respond to them, and to be as active as possible with buyers – you’re not only selling your website, but yourself, too.
Also make sure that you don’t get discouraged if your listing doesn’t get a lot of bids right away; most come within the last 24 hours.
After the auction
Just as you need to be present during the auction, you also need to be present after the auction, otherwise the sale could very well fall through. After the funds have been released from escrow (the gold standard of auction websites) you can then transfer the site to the buyer. Remember that the buyer may also ask for the name of your web host, graphic designer, content creator, or any other person that has been involved in the creation and production of your site. Always be sure to ask ahead of time if you can pass on that information, so you can have it ready when the buyer asks.
The process of selling a website can be a long and tiring one, and it’s important to know that there will be a lot of expected of you before, during and after. In the end however, you may end up enjoying the process – and the profit – so much that you become a professional website flipper!