Selling Without Website Broker? You’re Leaving Money on the Table

This guest post is by Jock Purtle of brokercorp.com.

So you want to sell your blog?

Your site is probably making more than $3,000 per month and you know that it might be worth a decent amount of money.

Image copyright Rido - Fotolia.com

Recent sales like that of the Huffington Post give you confidence that your content-based site has value to other webmasters or investors. And with the growing move of advertising dollars to the web, you could be the next person in the sights of cashed up buyers.

You have collected all the basic information that you think might help sell it, like domain age, monthly revenue, monthly expenses, growth trends, time to run the site, unique visitors and page views, income sources, and income proof.

You think you’re ready to sell, and are looking forward to a big payday.

You’ve heard of sites like flippa.com and you are thinking about listing the site yourself. However, have you considered using a website broker?

There may be some hidden benefits that you have not accounted for when selling your site this way.

Full disclosure here: I am a website broker, so I can answer this question in full. A website broker is a business broker for websites. They help webmasters sell their ebusinesses. They evaluate the website, and position it to sell for the highset price possible for the vendor.

Here’s a list of general tasks that a website broker performs:

determine an appropriate valuecompile a business memorandumprepare a marketing strategy for the saleinterview, educate and show the website to potential buyersassist in negotiationassist with due diligencedraft and present offerscontrol information flowprotect sellers’ confidentialitylook after paperworkhelp complete the sale (including contracts and funds transfer)provide after-sales support.

Website brokers assist in the entire sales process. When selling a site, the brokerage process is similar to that of a real estate agent. There is an agreement between the agent (website broker) and the vendor (website seller) for selling an asset (the website).

A broker will normally do their own due diligence before listing a site for sale, to make sure it is saleable in the current market. Once both parties are happy, and the seller gives instructions for the broker to sell the site, the broker will then prepare a sales memorandum (sales document) to be used to market the site and create competition between buyers. This document contains the website financials, traffic stats, and a general overview of how the website works.

Buyers then view this document and decide whether they want to make an offer for the site. They sign a letter of intent (LOI), and then get a set period for final due diligence. Then, if all parties are happy and a price is agreed on, contracts will be signed, the seller will receive their funds, and the buyer will take ownership of the website.

Brokers normally have a unique method of selling a site. This includes specific marketing channels that the average webmaster doesn’t have access to, like a network of buyers, subscriptions to business classified sites, and investment firms.

Generally, a website broker will fetch higher multiples than auction sites or owner listings. If you look at our websites for sale you will see the general asking price is around multiples of two to three and a half.

An example of this is a site we recently sold. The owner was a single mom who built up a great blog about parenting. It had over 4000 pages of unique content, 30,000 monthly uniques, a strong community with lots of repeat traffic, and was monetized through advertising and affiliate sales.

The site was getting to a point where the business was putting pressure on her family time, and she wanted to sell. Her 12-month net income was $25,203. She came to us thinking that the site was worth about $30,000. We eventually sold the site for $68,000.

It normally takes about two months to finalize a website transaction. However some sites can take a week and some six months—it really depends on the site in question. The longest part of the sales process is normally the due diligence and the back-and-forth between buyer, seller, and broker.

Some buyers need more time than others. If buyers request things like tax returns or older financials, it usually takes a little while longer.

On average, a broker will charge around 10% of the total selling price for handling the sale of your property. Some charge more, some charge less, but that figure is a good signpost to run buy.

This fee is due after the site is sold, and you have the money in your bank account.

No. Brokers work on 100% commission basis. If you don’t get paid, they don’t get paid.

The best sites to sell through a broker are those valued between $50,000 and $5 million. That’s generally a site with $2,500 or more in monthly revenue.

A typical exclusive agency agreement lasts around 90 days. Good brokers will provide you with a 30 day out clause that basically means that in the first 30 days if you aren’t happy with them you can cancel your agreement, no questions asked.

Have you ever used a website broker, or bought a site sold through one? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.

Jock Purtle is a Senior Broker at Brokercorp.com. They are a full-service website brokerage specializing in website sales and acquisitions. Jock is currently offering a free website valuation at http://brokercorp.com/sell/.

View the original article here

What to do when you're so boring you are boring yourself

This guest post is by freelance writer Jocelyn Anne.

Have you ever had one of your own blogs written by yours truly complete and ready the dang thing bored of your own mind? To the point where it is too painful to even again for basic proofing?

Well if you haven't, fear not, your day. It happens. All good things must come to an end, or so they say. Not that I say you'll always boring. It's just a phase. Or something. Anyhow. Here's what's up.

If you're bored, are your readers get bored. And if your readers are bored, they're going to stop coming back — such as, super-fast. Readers are picky like that. While you may believe that your temporary boredom just a phase, and I believe that your last reckless boring post was just a fluke, other readers may have probably not so friendly. They flee boring like crazy.

So, what this boils down to the fact that you don't need a whole lotta time to live and wallow in your stage. Maybe a few posts (if you're lucky). Boredom calls for desperate measures. You'll have to ditch yourself completely to be someone much newer and cooler and hipper than you are. Sayonara baby.

My favorite way to break the boring posting slop is to create a completely new person. New alias, new pen-name, what have you. I decide what I will look like (always a kind of super model, of course), what my past was like, where I am headed in life and how many hundreds of dollars I am paid to write this blog (it helps). Then I decide what I am passionate about. Who cares if it even remotely relevant to what I usually blog about it. Clearly neither I, nor my readers can bear to read a more of that right now.

So. Are you a new person, with a new passion. If you have guts, you can book as yourself. If you're not so gutsy, post it as a guest blog. Bottom line, doing what will allow you the most freedom and most have fun. Wacky. Be crazy. Be fanatical. It is frankly irrelevant. The important thing is that you have a voice again. It would be a super hero, it would be a cartoon character. It would be your super sexy blonde neighbor with the Greek goddess tan that you despise. It would be the nerd that lurks behind the recycling at the Piggly Wiggly. You get the point. Choose one and write about bananas. Or maybe boxes.

Now, depending on the severity of your boredom "condition" you can determine how this take. You need a whole new blog? Probably not. But if you're like you feel that is just too far gone for recovery, then do it! A new break down and start again. Sometimes a new little WordPress layout already lasts. If you think you just need to break out, then more likely than not, a few posts will do the trick and some pizzazz back to the normal, everyday you. If you feel that you are back at any time could slip, then instill something Friday Fun day and post under your nickname once a week from now on. Your readers will develop a bond with the two of you and you'll get if you and someone is probably a lot more exciting.

What will happen is that you'll have fun. Believe it or not. I know, I know, sometimes blogging is torture. But this will not. You must use a whole new area of your brain, a whole new capacity of your wit and humor and your sass that probably is not yet the light of day in far too long. And, especially if you as a guest post, you have no fear of the consequences. There is nothing that can touch or harm you, because who is the nut that wrote that piece, weren't you! Brilliant, eh? To write a few pieces. Write until you see the spark and vim and vigor that you used to have in your area of expertise.

Now, while I suggested this idea especially for those of you suffering from boredom, or at least for those of you making your readers suffer your boredom, it's actually not the only thing is this handy-dandy technique is good for. It is also great for the wanna-be-writer struggling with finding and settling on a voice. Heck, try a new vote per week. Tom Toronto this week, sweet Sara next. (A genus writing voice mix-up is always interesting.) Once you have a voice you've fallen in love with, then step in your own. Claim your own name and link them to the voice that you connected. This would be very useful for writing 101 when your Professor hates everything that you do.

And finally! It is also great for the blogger who desires as controversial but doesn't have the backbone, the experienced blogger who needs some work to improve his technique, the old blogger who has been blogging for much, much too long and my personal pet peeve: the blogger who seemingly forgotten is that blogs once consisted of words and has since taken to posting annoying iPhone photos of what he ate for breakfastbreakfast, lunch and dinner instead. (Isn't that annoying?!)

Maybe you know of a blogger or two to this article to pass? I know that I do.

Freelance writer Jocelyn Anne is an avid blogger and writes sometimes like Ella Stella as she gets boring.  But, at this moment you can find her writing about fascinating used for a portable air conditioner!

View the original article here

What to do when you're so boring you are boring yourself

This guest post is by freelance writer Jocelyn Anne.

Have you ever had one of your own blogs written by yours truly complete and ready the dang thing bored of your own mind? To the point where it is too painful to even again for basic proofing?

Well if you haven't, fear not, your day. It happens. All good things must come to an end, or so they say. Not that I say you'll always boring. It's just a phase. Or something. Anyhow. Here's what's up.

If you're bored, are your readers get bored. And if your readers are bored, they're going to stop coming back — such as, super-fast. Readers are picky like that. While you may believe that your temporary boredom just a phase, and I believe that your last reckless boring post was just a fluke, other readers may have probably not so friendly. They flee boring like crazy.

So, what this boils down to the fact that you don't need a whole lotta time to live and wallow in your stage. Maybe a few posts (if you're lucky). Boredom calls for desperate measures. You'll have to ditch yourself completely to be someone much newer and cooler and hipper than you are. Sayonara baby.

My favorite way to break the boring posting slop is to create a completely new person. New alias, new pen-name, what have you. I decide what I will look like (always a kind of super model, of course), what my past was like, where I am headed in life and how many hundreds of dollars I am paid to write this blog (it helps). Then I decide what I am passionate about. Who cares if it even remotely relevant to what I usually blog about it. Clearly neither I, nor my readers can bear to read a more of that right now.

So. Are you a new person, with a new passion. If you have guts, you can book as yourself. If you're not so gutsy, post it as a guest blog. Bottom line, doing what will allow you the most freedom and most have fun. Wacky. Be crazy. Be fanatical. It is frankly irrelevant. The important thing is that you have a voice again. It would be a super hero, it would be a cartoon character. It would be your super sexy blonde neighbor with the Greek goddess tan that you despise. It would be the nerd that lurks behind the recycling at the Piggly Wiggly. You get the point. Choose one and write about bananas. Or maybe boxes.

Now, depending on the severity of your boredom "condition" you can determine how this take. You need a whole new blog? Probably not. But if you're like you feel that is just too far gone for recovery, then do it! A new break down and start again. Sometimes a new little WordPress layout already lasts. If you think you just need to break out, then more likely than not, a few posts will do the trick and some pizzazz back to the normal, everyday you. If you feel that you are back at any time could slip, then instill something Friday Fun day and post under your nickname once a week from now on. Your readers will develop a bond with the two of you and you'll get if you and someone is probably a lot more exciting.

What will happen is that you'll have fun. Believe it or not. I know, I know, sometimes blogging is torture. But this will not. You must use a whole new area of your brain, a whole new capacity of your wit and humor and your sass that probably is not yet the light of day in far too long. And, especially if you as a guest post, you have no fear of the consequences. There is nothing that can touch or harm you, because who is the nut that wrote that piece, weren't you! Brilliant, eh? To write a few pieces. Write until you see the spark and vim and vigor that you used to have in your area of expertise.

Now, while I suggested this idea especially for those of you suffering from boredom, or at least for those of you making your readers suffer your boredom, it's actually not the only thing is this handy-dandy technique is good for. It is also great for the wanna-be-writer struggling with finding and settling on a voice. Heck, try a new vote per week. Tom Toronto this week, sweet Sara next. (A genus writing voice mix-up is always interesting.) Once you have a voice you've fallen in love with, then step in your own. Claim your own name and link them to the voice that you connected. This would be very useful for writing 101 when your Professor hates everything that you do.

And finally! It is also great for the blogger who desires as controversial but doesn't have the backbone, the experienced blogger who needs some work to improve his technique, the old blogger who has been blogging for much, much too long and my personal pet peeve: the blogger who seemingly forgotten is that blogs once consisted of words and has since taken to posting annoying iPhone photos of what he ate for breakfastbreakfast, lunch and dinner instead. (Isn't that annoying?!)

Maybe you know of a blogger or two to this article to pass? I know that I do.

Freelance writer Jocelyn Anne is an avid blogger and writes sometimes like Ella Stella as she gets boring.  But, at this moment you can find her writing about fascinating used for a portable air conditioner!

View the original article here