7 Website Flipping Tips On How To Add Extra Value To Your Sale
Fri, Sep 12, 2008
My Grandmother Is Flipping Websites!
It’s now official! Every blogger and their Grandmother is taking a shot at website flipping in an attempt to make some extra money!
Is the website flipping marketplace saturated now?
No! There are plenty of buyers looking for quality sites daily! However, it’s a good idea to think creatively and do your best to offer a little more than the average seller if you want to increase your chances of a sale (and a higher selling price!).
What Can I Do To Add Extra Value To My Website Flips?
An excellent way to break away from the herd is to add more value to your website flips by spending an additional hour or two creating extras and bonuses. You can also outsource these ideas, but just make sure the added value outweighs the expense.
Not only does adding extras help your site stand out from the crowd as the better deal, but it also provides enticing features to add to your sales copy. This can be extremely beneficial for brand new sites that might be lacking in traffic and/or revenue.
Here are 7 Ideas To Easily Add Extra Value To Your Site Sale
Include A Lens Or A Hub
Creating a HubPages hub or a Squidoo lens is pretty simple, and can offer a couple benefits that will help your sale.
- If you’re building a new site, using keyword-rich articles in these pages will drastically increase your chances of ranking in Google for those keywords fast - hopefully by the time you plan to sell.
- From a buyer’s perspective it’s one aspect of promotion that’s already been done for them (that they probably would have planned on doing themselves or outsourcing). The less time and money they have to spend after the sale, the better.
MySpace Account
MySpace accounts might not fit into well into every niche, but it can be a very powerful addition to a site sale. You can create a new account and have a decent looking template applied within minutes. After that, you can spend a bit of time getting the ball rolling by adding friends as well as a few keyword posts to the blog section, linking back to your site. Again, this benefits you in search engine rankings, as well as being a targeted traffic promotion already in place for the buyer.
eBook (PLR, MRR, or Unique)
Adding an eBook that the buyer can sell as their own product can really boost interest in your site sale. Many buyers actually prefer to buy sites that have their own product that they’re able to sell for 100% of the profits as opposed to promoting affiliate products.
If you look hard enough, you can find decent quality PLR or MRR eBook products for as low as $5-15 that have resale rights included and fit well into your site’s niche. You also have the option of writing a unique eBook from scratch. This would add more value, but would also be more time consuming and/or cost you more money. A PLR/MRR eBook fits better in this list of fast methods to add extra value to an existing site.
Additional Articles (and/or posts)
As I mentioned above, the buyer would like nothing more than to invest in a site that’s ready to roll with minimal effort on their part after the transaction is over. If you are selling a blog, maybe you could timestamp an extra 10-20 posts for them so it’s running on autopilot for a couple weeks after they take possession. Another idea is to offer an extra 5 or 10 unique articles for them to submit to article directories and/or use as content updates right away. Call it a bonus article pack or whatever your creative genius conjures up.
Additional Domains/Sites
Many of you probably have several domains in the same niche not being used. Check to see if you have any in the same niche that will be expiring soon, or that you don’t think you’re going to use. Of course, it’d be better to build on it first, but maybe you can think of a way to make an extra domain look like a great bonus? Maybe you can whip up a fast site or design a cool logo to go with the second domain, adding even more value? Selling the second site as a hot bonus could really add value in the buyer’s eyes, and might not take you that long to create.
Hosting
You’ve probably seen hosting added as a bonus for site sales before. If you’re going to sell often, it might be a good idea to purchase a reseller account at a hosting company and offer a few months free hosting to your buyers. You can raise the price of the site sale, but it’s not going to cost you much to host the sites (typically).
Support
This one is a must. Some sellers are really missing out on major opportunities by simply not being friendly and offering support. I know because I’ve experienced it as a buyer myself. It’s common sense that you’ll be available to help the transfer of the site along smoothly the day of the sale, but why not take the extra step by at least asking if they need extra help or have any additional questions.
Offer to transfer the site for them! I’ve done it for buyers before and yes, I did it for free. It took an hour of my time at the most, and I ended up with new friends in the Internet marketing world because of it. In one case, I made a new friend who became a repeat buyer of a few niche sites that I didn’t have to list on SitePoint. If you’re worried about the money, think of what I saved on listing fees right there.
Follow up! In a week or two after the sale, take 10 minutes out of your day to ask how the new owner how the site is going. Show that you care about your customers being happy and you will find you have a list of repeat buyers in no time.
It pays to go the extra mile. When you genuinely go out of your way for free, that’s when the money comes. Plus, it feels good. try it.
Did you like this article? Check out some more website flipping articles while you’re here!
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Cheers!
Jay
Tags: website flipping
September 12th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Superb information once again. You lay it out so simply it’s a wonder my granny is not at it too!
The real kicker that so many people miss is the ’support’ you mentioned here Jay. This is so very underestimated, with people thinking that they are done after making a quick sale. If you think of the buyer as a customer, you will benefit so much more. Think of it as if you are buying the site…what would you want from a seller. Treat it as a business and offer first rate customer service and after sales care!
Bonuses like these will really help you build a better sales page and increase the sale value! Something that works for me is to offer bonuses as encouragement to BIN!!
September 12th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Yeeeeeaaaa Boooiiiiiiii
Man If site flipping was crack, I’d be in fetal position huddled in a corner hitting that pipe!
That response wasn’t for you sensitive pansy pushers.
Great tips bro!
Elijahs last blog post..Roll With The Punches - Update 3
September 12th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
@Nota Bene: Thanks! Yeah, you’d be surprised how appreciative people are when you give them that extra bit of support or even just “friendliness”. That’s because, unfortunately, it’s a rare commodity.
@Elija: LOL. Get off the pipe man, you got flippin’ to do!
Cheers guys!
Jay
September 12th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
About the market being saturated… i do believe that it is saturated by garbage and so for people looking to create garbage and try to sell garbage, they will be the ones saying “site flipping doesnt work, it’s over saturated….”
If you provide quality (and any of the 7 tips above help to add quality to a site sale) then you won’t ever have to worry about the market being saturated.
Breakaways last blog post..Setting up an Emergency Fund
September 12th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
@Breakaway: Thanks man! Now my page ranks for the keyword “garbage”!
What you say is true though. It’s saturated with crappy sites. lol.
It’s beneficial to the seller to create and sell quality anyway - more money, good rep, and repeat customers.
Cheers!
Jay
September 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
E-books tend to work well for me.
They pull the value of my sites for sale up!
Lucass last blog post..Simple Tips to a More Effective Sales Page
September 13th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Jay,
Thanks for the tips. As usual, I learned something else.
Haven’t been by in a while, working on getting some sites to the market place to sell. Got three in the works, but going to keep one of them for at least a month or two and see what that does for the value. May end up keeping it long term if it works out like I think it may.
I will be using some of those tips. I am hesitant on the support right now because I am still a newbie at this and don’t want to get in above my head, but a few more flips and site builds and I should be ok.
Talk with you soon,
Freddie
Freddies last blog post..Monday’s Motivational Moment: Bridge Builder
September 13th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
LOL! I just saw the Home page tab at the bottom of the site. Thanks, that is a great location also!
Freddies last blog post..Monday’s Motivational Moment: Bridge Builder
September 14th, 2008 at 2:34 am
@Lucas: Cool! Do you find it makes a “big” difference? Do you use PLRs?
@Freddie: Cool on the flips. Hit me up and show me the sites if they’re not “secret niches”.
LOL@ home button. The one for you was up top. The one on the bottom has always been there. Good to see you’re finally reading all the way to the bottom of my articles now though. lmao
Cheers!
Jay
September 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I want to take my blog sales from the low hundreds to upper hundreds and beyond, so adding additional value, such as you have pointed out above is one way to do this.
I’m also thinking of getting a reseller account, does anyone know if Dreamhost offers this? Let me know. I’m more familiar with Dreamhost and i have all my sites there. But whatever makes it easier and more profitable to flip, i’ll consider it.
Thanxs, Jay.
Missys last blog post..3 Column Wordpress Theme, Meet Mandigo
September 14th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I also have to ask what exactly is PLR? I’ve heard the term before and loosely understand what it is.
Maybe you can clarify this (baby style) once and for all for me. For some reason i equate PLR with dup content. Am i wrong, confused or what?
I was on DP yesterday, and noticed a site for sale listing, where the seller listed extra articles as a bonus. I said to myself, “very cool idea”. I like your idea even better, as far as the time stamping. Fantastic idea, and should definitely add value.
Missys last blog post..3 Column Wordpress Theme, Meet Mandigo
September 15th, 2008 at 5:23 am
Truthfully I tried to sell a website by creating an ebook for it. I even paid $65 for the ebook to be created. But I listed it and no sale. I am going to use the ebook myself to build some names and then sell it on.
September 15th, 2008 at 9:23 am
@ Missy
I don’t know about DreamHost, but HostGator’s reseller account is really simple to use. Plus, if you cannot figure it out, their customer service will take the time to explain it all to you.
I am slow and they stayed with me for like an hour explaining everything that I wanted to know. I asked a lot more questions than the basics and got everything I needed.
If you used Cpanel with DreamHost, the switch will be a piece of cake. It uses the Cpanel’s as well and it looked just like my last Cpanel so the learning curve was really short. I just opened my account last week, so I am still fresh to this whole thing, but you can do it!
@ Ryan
Website didnn’t sell huh? Would you mind posting it, maybe we can give you some pointers?
LOL! Look at me, I have successfully flipped one site and now I am trying to give pointers. LOL!
Well, at least maybe Suite J will be able to give you some insight at least!
Anyway, good luck!
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Hey Jay,
Great article….I am still yet to flip a site and am a little afraid that the market is saturated.
However I have an old site that gets about 500 page views a aday and has not been updated in a while…. I’m thinking of just putting it up on sitepoint and seeing what happens.
Forests last blog post..Cheap Healthy Recipes - Wholemeal Curry Tortillas
September 24th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
@Missy: I missed yo on this one..sorry for the delay. I always answer the reseller account question with a “if you need it, get it”. Does it make it easier to to be a website flipper? It can, if you’re selling a LOT. But I wouldn’t say it’s “necessary”. I have a few different hosting accounts. I personally don’t find it any easier, but that’s because the steps I take to transfer/sell is just as fast for me either way. I would have to do a post on it to explain the details of that, but I would say it’s more of an individual choice more than whether it’s a necessity or not (depending on your needs, how often you flip, what you offer, etc.).
@Ryan: Selling/Flipping takes a lot more than just creating something to sell. There are many other variables involved that can make a difference. Niche, popularity, timing, site stats, and the all important sales letter and site/product presentation. The presentation is everything.
Freddie: Thanks for answering questions and offering help buddy and glad you liked the article.
@Forest: You kicked ass on your first site and it would have sold for more than mine no doubt. You don’t have to worry about saturation, because your stuff is quality. The saturation lies in the bottom of the barrel where people are trying to make a fast buck by selling a brand new site that has low quality content and a crappy site design. But guess what? Even they’re making profit with good dales copy. Hit me up if you ever decide to flip.
Cheers guys!
Jay
October 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Outstanding coverage of this topic Jay. I’m always, always, ALWAYS looking for ways to add a little more value to a sale. Thanks for this.
Clyde Denniss last blog post..Buying and Selling Websites: What Everybody Ought To Know
October 11th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Thanks - this is very good advice!
I won’t have time to try site flipping right away because I have so much to do on my own sites. I support the question of “to flip or not to flip” also has a lot to do with quantity of cash return vrs speed of cash return.
Ie, 30 hours spent creating your own site might add up to thousands of dollars in recurring income over the next years, but you won’t see that income right away. Whereas 30 hours creating and flipping a site could result in a few hundred dollars right now. So if I am able to learn to flip site successfully, that might be an ideal solution for times when I need more money on an immediate basis. Or to cover outsourcing costs for my long-term projects ….
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