Initially, the concept of ’selling’ or spending large quantities of money on a virtual database-powered 2D on-screen entity may seem absurd. But let’s face it - blogs make money, therefore they have value and in turn become a commodity that can be sold or used to make more money!

Although the blog marketplace may seem like a far off notion to most bloggers, there is a surprising amount of currency to be made by building up high profile, high traffic blogs and trading them off for a tasty sum. Take this story from Problogger for example. And there are similar stories of bloggers selling off their hard work for up to millions of dollars.

Before you get carried away, creating a worthy blog that draws in mass traffic becomes a full-time occupation and can even require several writers. It takes time and hard work, but the pay-off can be huge. Here I’ll discuss some of the pros and cons of buying and selling blogs, whilst examining the market in more detail.

Selling up

For many of us, especially part-time and one-man (no sexual discrimination intended) writers - the concept of selling sounds far more appetising than buying. This could be down to the vision of a huge paycheck, and also based upon a love of blogging - why buy someone else’s work when you can create? The flip side is why sell a blog that you’ve put so much love into and that’s probably already making a consistent profit through advertising and whatever other means?

Often, the idea of selling their blog may never even cross people’s mind - until someone pops up with an offer, then everything changes…

…Sell your blog, buy a new car and take a break on a cruise then come back with some extra pocket money and start again. New blog, build it up and maybe sell that?…

…and thus it practically becomes a business.

Sometimes the primary objective from the start is to develop a blog and sell it, yet sometimes the blogging process just becomes too time-consuming, tedious or difficult and instead of letting their blog go to waste - it can be worth trying to reap some reward for the time and energy put into it. At some point hosting fees, domain renewal and advertising fees will creep up, and if your blog is losing traffic or making less revenue then the practical option is to try and sell up.

Buying blogs

Selling your blog seems straightforward enough - it’s about making money. But at the other end of the spectrum, someone has to buy what you’re selling, so why buy?

The target is still to make money. So expelling intial capital sounds like a step backwards? But there are indeed many great reasons for buying up blogs:

• Fast-track ahead. No matter how diligently you work and how good your SEO skills may be - building up blog traffic and recognition takes time. Buying a blog that already has a consistent reader base and high regular traffic gives you a head start.
• If a blog is already making money, this assures a cashflow from day one. You then have the ability to work and improve the blog to increase traffic and income. A lot of the initial hard work has already been done for you.
• Obtaining another advertising platform. If you already have other blogs or products making money, buying into a popular blog provides you with a means to reach far more people for free to advertise and promote your other products.
• Buying security. Aside from just obtaining an asset, you’re also getting the knowledge and security that it works. It’s not always as simple as creating a new blog and it will develop in time - some things don’t work out. By buying into a proven concept you’re negating that risk.

Well, that’s all dandy. But it can’t all be great? Of course plenty of downsides and risks to buying a blog:

• Obviously - the cost element. Spending a lot of money doesn’t always guarantee a continuously successful blog with a promising future. At least starting a blog from scratch can be almost free and allows more control over it’s image, direction and target audience.
• Typical online sales risks. Selling a virtual creation can always be a daunting task. A very secure and agreed transaction should take place, yet it’s still so easy for someone to run off with the details for a site after being paid, or misrepresenting a blog’s true value. It’s essential to research both the blog and the seller well before parting with any money.
• Keeping loyal readers happy. Regulars are regulars for a reason. They like the style of certain blogs - perhaps it’s the design, the tone of voice, the quality or quantity of the articles or the community it promotes. If you storm in and change everything - you may loose lots of valued visitors and regular traffic which can undo all the hard work of the previous owner, and potentially destroy your investment.

So, when buying - research well, respect the theme and readership of the blog you’re buying into and be prepared to work hard to keep it running at the same, or a better pace.

How do you value your blog?

If you’ve decided to sell, or have been made an offer - that’s great. But how on Earth do you value a blog? You can’t exactly take it down to the local jewellers or do an Ebay search. You can however glimse the competition at sites such as Performancing.com and the Sitepoint Marketplace.

Valuing your blog is not something to rush. And as blog sales aren’t feverishly common - there’s no set RRP or rules that dictate exactly what’s worth what. Valuation is subjective and so the selling process lends itself to auctions and even bartering. However, there are still plenty of factors to be taken into account to help reach realistic values.

• Traffic. One of the best measures of a blog’s success is it’s traffic. The 2 key aspects to consider are consistency and rate of growth. If traffic is still on the up then it’s most likely a good time to pitch it to a potential buyer. Use an accurate, unbias analytics package. I’d recommend Google Analytics because as well as being a fantastic piece of free kit - it’s a reliable name that should ensure a level of confidence.
• Readership and Subscribers. The other respectable method to analyse a blog’s popularity is it’s audience. Not just random traffic, but regular, repeat traffic that have a purpose in visiting your blog. The best way to assess this is through RSS subscribers, registered users and email subscribers.
• Inbound links. The more high quality inbound links - the more alternate entry paths to your blog. Don’t just aim for the homepage but try and obtain recognition for deeper level pages and important traffic sources that will aid your search engine rankings.
• Current earnings. If your blog is already making profit through whatever means, this will be a huge selling point and seriously help to assess your blog’s value in it’s rawest format - money.
• The full package - design and content. Aside from all the statistics - when you’re selling your blog, you’re also selling all the design work, code and developement that’s gone into it. If you were to build a website for a client and charged a £1,000 - a similar sized blog should effectively hold such a value. Don’t forget this when valuing your blog or website, it’s not just about traffic and popularity. The chances are a better design and more considerate, functional blog will fetch more money.
• Domain name. A single string that may have cost no more than £5 originally can become extremely valuable when paired with a recognisable brand or website. Domain names alone have been known to go for millions. An easy-to-remember, snappy and recognisable domain name can contribute immensely to a site’s success and it’s worth.

Adding it all up

The way I look at it, the way to calculate a blog’s value is to estimate how much it would cost to create everything again from scratch - if every element had a value. Without trying to get too mathematical, my personal formula works out something like so:

But, before you rely on the above diagram it’s worth noting that I’ve yet to sell a blog and will most certainly not be selling Redswish any time soon - so experts on the subject may use different techniques.

My key advice would be research, research, research. Don’t rush into anything.

Considerations when changing hands

When selling, the main concern is receiving the money before full control is handed over. When buying, it’s more complicated. Transferring a sum of money can be a simple procedure, but transferring the keys to a blog requires several considerations:

• Domain and hosting will need to be transferred.
• Whois information requires changing.
• Site information will need amending, such as about and contact page and any mailto links.
• CMS access, database and possibly server details may need to be changed or transferred.
• Any external accounts that directly tie in with the blog will need to change hands. Eg - Feedburner, Technorati, BlogCatalog etc.
• Google Analytics or tracking scripts may need to be changed to the new owner’s details.
• Advertising accounts, adwords etc need to transfer to the new owner’s bank details.

So - before buying or selling, bear in mind the many other factors in the transaction. Could you imagine spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on a blog, only to forget to change the affiliate account bank details over and the revenues continue to go to the previous owner?

Keeping in touch

Selling your blog isn’t always the end of the line. You may be kept on as a writer, or have to teach the new owner’s how to use the CMS or blogging platform. However don’t forget to charge for this. Bigger blogs with regular visitors may miss your blogging style or presence and may not care much for a direct changeover.

Blogs represent a lot of different things to different people. Some are purely to present information make money, whereas some are an outlet of personal expression and opinions that contribute and help others. Think before selling - is it really worth it? Think before buying - can you continue to make this work and recoup your intial investment?

Play safe, have fun! Discuss…