5 Simple Steps To Get Started Website Flipping This Weekend
Fri, Sep 19, 2008
Before I started “Flippin’ Fridays“, I had considered launching a niche blog focused on website flipping. I decided against it after seeing the ridiculous amount of excellent information that is already available. So, I chose to dedicate Fridays to website flipping on this blog instead, basically outlining my views on what works, based on my own experiences.
For some reason, people who haven’t even tried to create and sell a basic site are not using this information, yet they are seeking more “advanced tips”.
Now, let me explain the rationale behind today’s post. I’m aware that many of you guys who come to this site have already popped your cherry and flipped a website by now. However, some of you are still waiting, and continue to search the Internet high and low for the latest website flipping tips and tricks.
Here’s my advice to you. STOP SEARCHING FOR MAGIC BEANS! Build a site this weekend that you can flip next week!
The Secret That You’re Looking For Is “Take Action”!
The biggest step to overcome is actually taking action. There you go! I just UNLEASHED the secret you were looking for! Now, get your hands dirty this weekend and flip a new website! Even if you make $25, you will have gained experience that’s worth much more and your second flip will be better (and more valuable) because of it.
Don’t Use This Excuse:
The worst excuse I see from people on website flipping forums and blogs is that they don’t want to “waste their time in case their site sells for a small amount of money“! Yet, they have no problem spending hours reading and commenting about how “website flipping is not worth it“. Unless you’re getting paid to make excuses, then you’re contradicting yourself.
All the time you spent on long-winded comments about why you haven’t started flipping websites yet could’ve been used to create 10 or more unique articles on a new site to flip!
Yes, Getting Started Is Simple
These 5 steps that outline how to flip a new site are going to seem very basic. Do you know why? Because creating and selling a new website isn’t complex! Yes, there are advanced techniques used in many different areas such as traffic, revenue, sales copy, etc., but don’t put the cart before the horse. Just do a basic flip and then worry about bigger and better afterwards.
You can’t be a pro (and make good money) at something before you’ve even tried the basics. Every skill requires practice and that includes flipping websites.
Here’s 5 Simple Steps To Create A New Site To Flip:
If you get motivated, then check out more advanced tips throughout Flippin Fridays posts that will help increase your chances of higher profits on this site. Yes, it will take more of your time though.
Most of you are either bloggers or have websites, hosting, and know how to install Wordpress, so these steps don’t include those nitty gritty details.
[ONE]: Keyword Research
Most of you have experience with this one already. Since you’re creating a brand new site to sell fast, it’s a good idea to take a look on SitePoint in the Start Up Websites section to see what niches have been selling well lately. You will increase your chances of a good sale if you choose a niche that’s hot in the marketplace right now.
All you need is the free wordtracker tool. Find keywords with high daily searches and low competition. Use those stats in your sales page too!
[TWO]: Buy A Domain
Try your best to get a .com, especially since you’re selling a new site that probably won’t have much (if any) traffic when you sell.
If possible, choose a domain that is one of the keywords that you’ve chosen. For instance, let’s say you chose the niche “stain removal” and one keyword that gets high seraches and had low competition was “stain removal tips”. Try to get StainRemovalTips.com. This will help you get indexed fast, plus the buyer will like it. Don’t try to get creative with a name like “TheStainerOuter.com” or anything like that. Use the keywords exactly.
[THREE]: Choose A Wordpress Theme
Ok guys, you know I love the Woo Theme Clan, but since this is your first website flip to get you started, I’m going to suggest that you find a free theme until you’re churning out sites and can afford the premium themes (which often will add value to your site flip).
Here’s a search result link on Smashing Magazine that gives you more than enough choices:
[FOUR]: Write Some Content Based On Your Keywords
Write at least 10 unique, keyword rich articles based on the research that you did in step number one.
Try to add nice large photos that are relevant to the niche and each article.
Depending on the niche, you can often find 10 good ones for free at stock.xchng
[FIVE]: Sell On Sitepoint
Since this is a brand new site that you’re selling almost as soon as it’s built, it will go in the Start Up Websites section. This will cost $10. I’d recommend getting the bold and the highlight features for total of another $6. It’s a small price to pay to stand out amongst the other new sites in the same niche that didn’t add those options.
I’ve already posted quite a few tips on selling that will help you gain confidence in your sale:
Earn A Solid Reputation As A Website Flipper To Ensure Repeat Business
Set Your Goals And Calculate Your Net Profits (especially if you plan to sell regularly)
Avoid Being Scammed By Fraudulent Buyers
Feeling Motivated Now?
You see how easy it is? Those are basic steps and explanations, but the point I’m getting at here is that it IS simple on the big scheme of things.
You CAN sell a site with that basic outline for anywhere from $80-$200 or more. I see it on a regular basis. Search the marketplace and you will see it yourself.
Now that you’re fired up, how about spending an extra couple of hours adding more value to your site to increase your chances of a sale?
Don’t forget to subscribe to the rss feed or via email so you can stay up to date!
Cheers!
Jay
Tags: website flipping
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September 19th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Perfect advice as always Jay. It’s not rocket science right?!!
Wow…did I just beat Ryan to a comment???
September 19th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Jay,
Solid advice! Action is so true. It is not difficult to flip blogs at all and getting TOO much information can cause one to freeze and do nothing. This is the enemy of your future, in-action.
Don’t let the enemy stop you from advancing your career. The most radical thing you can do at this point is just what Jay said, “Build a site this weekend and sell it next week.”
It really is that simple.
My issue is I followed this advice and sold my first site for $350. Now, I have two more sites posted for sale and probably expected too much from them. But, they are different sites than my original. One is a turnkey site and the other is in a niche that I knew was probably over populated.
Nevertheless, every flip gains you actual knowledge that can be applied in the future. This knowledge cannot be taken away from you and it is going to make you a better flipper.
You cannot benefit from this knowledge if you don’t take action!
Great post Jay, and I am looking forward to more, more, more in the future from the Big Head Avatar…Star!
September 19th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Good one buddy! It’s true the only wrong action is inaction! Great motivator, kick in the butt,slap across the face, and roundhouse to the forehead of those of us that have yet to even try and flip a site!
Normal Joes last blog post..I Caught John Cow Talking About Me Behind My Back!
September 19th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Great tips Jay!
I definitely see what you mean!
Take action — that’s what I’m talking about! I see you read my latest post!
It’s something that happens to us all at some point. But people are asking you for advanced blog flipping tips already?
LOL!
Gees!
You can flip all you want with the tips in this post! I haven’t popped my cherry yet, simply because my flips aren’t done.
But they’re getting done.
Wait till you see them!
September 19th, 2008 at 6:42 am
I am not a fan of site flipping any more. Will be writing a post on why blog flipping sucks soon. Nice post though…every post about site flipping overcrowds the market more
September 19th, 2008 at 6:52 am
@Ryan
Just like every post on adsense, or affiliate marketing, or seo, or any other marketing topic overcrowds the market more. I see what you’re saying, but don’t agree with the logic.
Though I’m not a site flipper, that same logic can be applied to anything online..then we should all stop talking about anything.
All these methods are just that, methods…there are millions trying them and the opportunity is there for anyone that wants to take it.
Normal Joes last blog post..I Caught John Cow Talking About Me Behind My Back!
September 19th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Great post Jay. You made some very good points and that people spend way too much time reading and not enough time actually doing.
Although I would like to say that I tried out the WordTracker free tool. It is showing something about Google Trends and it seems like they use their data. I think using this tool will give you a false sense of just how often your keyword is searched.
I was over in Google Keyword Tool where they provide the actual (ok estimated) searches per month for a keyword. One of my keywords is searched about 4400 times per month. Divide that by 30 and you get about 146 searches per day. I plugged that same keyword into the WordTracker tool and it showed a total of 2 searches per day.
While I am not saying that WordTracker is wrong (I have never looked into what data they are actually using) I think I could trust Google more then WordTracker. After all Google does have complete access to their stats so they are going to be able to provide the most accurate estimation of searches.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:15 am
@ Jarret
Interesting comment. I have yet to cross reference Wordtracker, but you have officially made me curious. I just got Wordtracker this week and now am curious to see about their accuratcy.
The comment about trusting Google is understandable.
I just hope I didn’t get got by Wordtracker because their prices cost a little bit of change, but we will see if it is worth it.
I still have to remember to use it before every post so I can craft my title, topics, and headings appropriately.
Thanks for the heads up!
September 19th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Hey Freddie, I have never used WordTracker so like I said I am not sure just how accurate they are. But if they say they are using Google Trends which I am not sure why…..trends are searches of how popular something is.
So I may have worded my comment wrong. If WordTracker goes by trends then yes they are not showing the true number of searches per day that your keyword will receive. They are showing more of just how popular that keyword is compared to other trends.
I just tried using my keyword at trends.google.com and it could not return any data. So I am assuming that while my keyword does receive traffic it isn’t actually a popular search term if that makes sense. Which would conclude that WordTracker, while it may show daily searches could actually be NOT showing you keywords that would be worth going after.
P.S. I just came up with all of this right now. There is no specific research or anything behind this. So anybody that is going to tell me that I am wrong you are more than welcome to. This is just my observation after a quick glance over of WordTracker.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Bang baby! There you have it. Think about it this way.. $10 for a domain, $10 to post your auction… as long as you make over $20 your making profit - it’s fool proof. I’ve seen guys flip sites in 24 hours that look like garbage and make $60-$100 off it.
Not only is site flipping a good solid way of making income NOW, it’s also a phenomenal way of stepping up your CSS, html, and wordpress skills.. The more you do it, the faster you become at the entire process..
@ Freedie and Jarret - Wordtracker is the goods. Period. I have had a subscription to them since March and I have yet to fail with getting my keyphrase on the 1st page of Google, with the right techniques obviously. Wordtracker basically points out what keywords are profitable, you can search in the US and UK stats engine.. I’m going to be doing a several part Wordtracker tutorial in the very near future. It will probably answer a lot of questions you guys have about the accuracy of their data and the interface of the paid version.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
@Elijah - Hey, looking forward to the tutorial!! Still gonna stick by what I said though until you prove me wrong
September 19th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
@Nota Bene: LOL @ being first. It’s definitely not rocket science lol
@Freddie: You said it buddy. Don’t worry about sites not going for as much as your first one. You will have ones that go for MORE as well as less. I’ve seen crappy sites go for more than kick ass ones - right time, right buyer, right place.
@Joe: lol @ the flurry of mixed blows to the body and head to get someone to “take action”. Yeah, it’s cool if you never flip a site, but the point is….just don’t bitch about it if you didn’t even try. lol
@Luis: Looking forward to seeing your flips man! Hit me up in email if you got links.
(well, you could post them here too if you want)
September 19th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
@Ryan: Doesn’t your site give away a free website flipping guide to subscribers? I hope your new post tells them all that it’s useless now! lol
September 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
@Jarret: The Wordtracker comment needed it’s own reply cause I know you and Elijah are going to start a freestyle rap battle dissing each other’s keyword tracking tools here on my blog.
This “discrepancy” has been discussed a LOT ever since Google’s keyword tool started showing the actual numbers instead of the “bars”.
I don’t have enough information to debate the intricacies of the search results on a technical level, but there’s quite a bit of debate going on if anyone is interested….
Read this artcile as well as the linked articles at the top of the page:
http://www.nonbot.com/blog/index.php/2008/google-keyword-tool-update/
I have had continuing successful results that can attest to Wordtracker producing solid info.
I can’t speak for others, but I’ve used Wordtracker countless times to find keywords that actually made me “money” because it gave me solid results that I put to good use.
Truth is, I have 4 keyword tools that I use randomly. For quick results that I’ll use for SEO / targeting organic traffic on niche sites, Wordtracker always comes through for me.
For the most part, I use Wordtracker for SEO, G Keyword tool for PPC.
Until I see major poor results “myself” from that, then I will continue.
My advice would be to judge a tool only after you’ve used the keywords and put the results to the test. However, there are other variables to consider since you will also need additional SEO, PPC, sales copy, and other skills to make them work for you.
As for your comment on Google Trends, I linked to the Gtrends addon version of the free wordtracker tool, only because I like how I can click the graph icon next to each keywrod and view the “optimized results” in Google. I was trying to make it as easy as possible for the people who are trying to flip their first site fast.
Cheers!
Jay
September 19th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
@Jay
Haha! Nah, no quarrels from me at least
I am sure that WordTracker does a great job at well……tracking words lol
I kind of got on a groove making that comment and just kept going with it. I don’t doubt that WordTracker performs as well as everybody says it does.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Nicely done, Jay.
I don’t know why I’ve never taken hold of site flipping. Maybe it’s just a mental block I’ve had for a while. Then again, I once had a mental block of not selling anything online before and I’ve broken through that barrier, so who knows - I may warm up to the idea eventually.
I agree that you shouldn’t get too creative about the domains you’re trying to buy for niches. However, I do have two tips to add to that. One is to add a simple word to the end of your keyword or keyword phrase like “blog”, “online”, or “center” and the like. I also believe it’s important to have the keywords before using those additional words.
Second, I’ve been looking into site building services like Weebly that allow you to create subdomains which will always include the word “weebly” in them. I don’t think that should be a hindrance however because by including that one word, it opens up a whole new territory to finding a domain with the keyword you’ve dreamed of. So if something like “stainremover.com” is taken, you could very well score “stainremover.weebly.com” and might do just as well.
Mark Sierra at MeAndMyDrum.coms last blog post..How To Make Money Until You Strike It Rich
September 20th, 2008 at 10:42 am
@Mark:
Who would BUY a weebly sub-domain on a blog flip? I know, i wouldn’t. But in any case, i also dont think extra words like you mentioned add any value. It might make the domain longer, which is not good. (example: thestainlifterreviews.com) That is four words now. Too long.
@Jay: Another “double” of a post. (baseball reference) I have a question for you. And i’m serious, this isn’t a joke question. I recently tried to sell an image host of mine (BinkYou.net) and it didn’t sell. My guess is that there wasn’t ENOUGH of a selling point. But do you think at $175 it was over-priced? Do you think my sales copy was lacking? or is it the niche?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this. I don’t like giving up, now its become a CHALLENGE to sell it. LOL.
Want to hear your opinion on the matter. Thx!
September 20th, 2008 at 11:30 am
another motivating tips that burns my spirit, thx.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
@Jay
My bad, I wasn’t thinking site flipping when I suggested the subdomain, but you’re right, that’s only if you decide to keep it. However, I’m not sure I follow your line of thought with regard to the length of the domain being a negative thing. With meaningful one-word domains already taken and two-word domains probably in the same boat, why would Google or any SE subtract authority or whatever to the length of the domain?
September 21st, 2008 at 3:22 am
Yet another fantastic article, Jay. I have been asking myself why didn’t I start flipping just like everyone’s else? and I guess it all boils down to the motivation and lack of the know-hows.
Perhaps if you keep coming up with great tutorial like this, in the next couple of weekends, I’ll be doing my first flip.
Yan
September 21st, 2008 at 4:09 am
Really great advice, Jay! Those are [more or less] the steps I follow everytime. I stumbled this post for you! I hope a lot more people read this…
Lucass last blog post..Question and Answer Time (10 Sep 2008) - Answers
September 21st, 2008 at 6:51 pm
@Mark: I hear ya on never getting around to it. I’m the same with some “other” IM ideas. Website flipping is one good fit for me because I’m used to whipping up sites/graphics already.
As for the domain length, that was Missy that said that, not me. Personally, I have no problem using 3 or 4 words, esecially if it is an exact keyword that is really high search/low competition.
@Missy: Not sure about your image host. It has a lot to do with what the stats are, the domain, the age, the traffic, etc. On top of that, I haven’t seen image hosts sell for that much in general. The competition is crazy, and buyers might view free image hosting as a hassle, and a hard way to make profit.
Weebly wouldn’t be good for a flip, but fine for an “added promo site” as an extension along with your Squidoo, Hubpage, etc.
@Armand: Great! I love to “burn spirits”…in a good way. Thanks for stopping by Armand! Glad you liked it, and hope you stick around. There’s a fun bunch here.
@Yan: Well, flipping isn’t for everyone, but that’s yet another reaosn to give it a try. You won’t know until you do, right?
@Lucas: Thanks! yeah, those are the real basics, but at the same time, it’s all you need. It’s the cake….you can add extra layers and icing afterwards.
Cheers guys!
Jay
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 am
Thanks for the tips, I guess it is time to get started once again. Also I have helped you out with a stumble.
Coach Kips last blog post..Boost your Confidence with Mantras
September 26th, 2008 at 4:23 am
Great tips. Thank you!
Salwas last blog post..The Biggest Mistake Bloggers Make
September 26th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
This is a great article. I had never really thought of, nor heard or, website flipping in the past. I will be trying this out shortly.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Sorry guys, but I don’t really understand a point in site flipping. You went thru keyword research, identified high-traffic, low competition site name, registered domain, bought hosting, wrote 10 articles and then flip site for $100? How many hours you spent? McDonald job probably pays better…
Why not to keep growing a site? Add affiliate products, text links, other ads and you will make more money in long run.
Max@Viliat-Blogs last blog post..Blogging In Action – Learn How To Build Successful Blog Fast
October 6th, 2008 at 2:52 am
This was a very helpful post and I’m going to come back to it (also to read all the comments - WOW!)
Joe said
“Though I’m not a site flipper, that same logic can be applied to anything online..then we should all stop talking about anything.”
I agree! Yeah - really ! Why don’t we all shut up. LOL.
I’m really glad I found this post. It is exactly what I needed because I was interested in the idea of site flipping (maybe not full time - I want to build my own sites!) but I don’t have time to do it right now and I wouldn’t have time to go all-out. I have to keep my discipline in on finishing old projects before going too wild with new ones. So these basic steps are perfect.
Thank you Suite J! You’ve won a blog reader - no matter how many other people have written about site flipping (or not flipping).
October 9th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
@Max: The “McDonald’s analogy” is getting pretty old at this point. Did you come up with that yourself or did you see someone else compare flipping to flipping burgers? lol
If you had a choice between flipping new sites online from home and flipping burgers at a fast food joint for the same amount of money daily, I’m guessing you’d choose the former.
That being said, you can make much more flipping brand new sites than you could at working a fast food joint. I’ve done it, and so have many others. If you can’t then it’s because you’re lacking knowledge and/or skills.
This particular article isn’t about making big $$ though. It was meant to help get someone started, light a fire under their butt if they’ve been wanting to learn/try to flip a site.
Keeping sites is a smart thing to do as well, but if you’re starting out, you can flip websites for “cash now” while the ones you keep build into passive income. Otherwise, you won’t be making any money online until the ones you keep build up to making passive income (which may take a while).
In a nutshell, let me try and help you “see the point”. You build an easy site fast for (let’s use your number) $100. Now, you’ve also learned something from doing the process (so who cares how long it took, it’s a learning experience).
Take that knowledge and exapnd on it. Build sites faster and add extra value to them for more money (premium themes, ebooks, social traffic, extra articles, logo, etc.).
After making some profit, outsource your articles and other tasks so you can produce volume for less work and more profit. Spend your free time on the sites that you’re building to keep while your website flipping cash flow is coming in.
Start looking into buying small established sites to flip in addition to building new ones. Now you have the sales of those sites coming in while you wait to flip them, and your niche sites you’ve kept are still building and starting to make money. … I could go on…but that’s the basic point….flip for cash now while you’re building passive income so you make money “right now”.
Cheers!
Jay
October 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
@Anna: Hey! Thanks, glad you liked the article, and Joe is right. Sometimes people try to make simple things hard instead of finding ways to make the seemingly hard things easier.
If you ever need any help with anything related to site flipping, hit me up and I’ll try to help.
Cheers!
Jay