Website Flipping: Dig Deeper Into SitePoint To Improve Your Sales
Fri, Oct 24, 2008
Welcome to another weekly website flipping post! I’ve touched on this subject before, suggesting that you use the SitePoint marketplace itself as your research tool. Well, today I’m going to outline a few detailed ways that you can use SitePoint on a regular basis to gain advantages as a seller and help improve your sales.
Subscribe And Stay Informed!
You definitely want to keep up to date on everything that pertains to you as a seller on SitePoint, especially if you’re going to be flipping websites on a regular basis. Staying in the loop is crucial to success and there are several things to watch for such as hot niches, marketplace policy changes, marketplace features, and more. The good thing is, you don’t have to have a ton of bookmarks and head back to SitePoint 37 times a week. Simply subscribing to the following can save you time and keep the latest information coming straight to your feed reader and/or inbox:
- Market Watch Newsletter
This is a bi-monthly newsletter focused strictly on the aspects of buying and selling websites. It’s worth checking out simple for the fact that it’s coming straight from the marketplace that you’re selling in. - Marketplace Categories
Did you know each category has it’s own RSS feed? I’m not saying subscribe to every category. If you do most of your selling in the “Startup Websites” category, then subscribe to it so it’s easy to track the sales action feed reader. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll pick up just by scanning sales titles and excerpts! The RSS feed link is at the very bottom of the main category index page. - Sitepoint Development Blog
SitePoint has a blog that posts news and development as it happens. The cool thing about this is that there’s a marketplace category that you can subscribe to separately. I found out about BIN specific features through that feed that made a big difference on how I priced/sold my next site. I probably wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. - Individual Sales
Did you see an interesting sale that you want to follow? You can add it to your “shortlist” which basically is like bookmarking it within your account on SitePoint, but you still have to return to SitePoint in order to view the updates.
If you actually subscribe (to receive email updates only), you will receive notification whenever there is any changes in the auction. The subscribe link is at the bottom of the sales page.
Use The Forums!
This is something I still need to do myself more often, but it’s worth the extra time for a few reasons:
- Reputation
If you don’t have a lot of sales under your belt or still waiting to receive some positive feedback on your account, having solid posts in the forums might help make bidders feel more comfortable buying from you. - Help People That Might Turn Into Buyers (Or Friends!)
Maybe you can help out potential buyers by answering their questions on the forums. They might turn out to be your buyer! Also, you can meet other sellers who become friends and share ideas, tips, etc. Plus, it’s just good Karma. - Learn From Other Buyers And Sellers
Did you know that SitePoint has a forum titled “How To Buy And Sell A Website“? The threads cover a lot of topics and you can gain a lot of knowledge from them. Not only can you use this forum to get answers for your own questions as a seller, but you can also see what buyers are having issues with and use it to your advantage by becoming a better seller. For example, let’s say you see that a large number buyers are complaining about never seeing detailed traffic stats. You know to over-deliver on traffic stats reports on your next auction! See what they want and give it to them.
Follow!
How many people do you follow on Twitter? What about blogger feeds? Why aren’t you following site flippers that are kicking ass and taking names on SitePoint? When you see a sale that you think is hot, click the seller’s username (left sidebar of auction sales page). This will take you to the seller’s profile and show you a list of their recent sales. Check them out! Did all of them sell for BIN? See if you can figure out why and implement those strategies into your sales.
Advanced Search
Search is another one of your best friends on SitePoint, and using the advanced search can be a great research tool. The advanced search link is located at the top right of the marketplace page.
- Help Choosing A Niche
If you want to have an increased chance of selling a fast flip by creating a new site, you generally can use SitePoint to choose your niche for you and judge how well it will do.
Let’s say you were thinking of creating and selling a new Yoga site. You can find out how well Yoga sites have been selling recently by entering the following:- Listing Title: Type in “Yoga”
- Listing Type: Choose “Auction” from the dropdown menu
- Categories: Choose “Startup Websites For Sale” from the dropdown menu
- Listing Status: I usually choose “Won” from the dropdown because that shows me sales that have ended successfully with a buyer
After you click “search marketplace”, you will get a list of recent sites that sold successfully with “Yoga” in the title. if you like, you can search by different status, etc. It really depends on what type of info you’re looking for.
This was just a quick example of how i use it. It’s way faster than scrolling through the page listings, plus you actually get more details of the auction this way, without clicking through the headline. It’s a huge time-saver.
- Learn From Successful Website Flippers
As I mentioned earlier in this article, following successful website flippers on SitePoint is the same as taking a course on auction sales copy (learn, don’t steal though!), plus you can get an idea of what type of sites are selling and why.
With the advanced search features, you can type in a username of a seller that you like, and also narrow the search by category, and by auction status.So, let’s say you only wanted to see a seller’s listings that successfully sold in the Startup Websites category. You would enter the following in advanced search:
- Username: Type their SitePoint username
- Category: Choose “Startup Websites For Sale” from the dropdown menu
- Listing Status: Choose “Won” to give you the results of only the sites that sold successfully.
- Archived: To get older auctions, you can check the box next to “Include Archived Listings”
So, there you have it! If you treat website flipping like a business and take it seriously, then you will make serious money. When you see the sellers on SitePoint making a sale with every effort, it’s not because they’re lucky. It’s because they invest time in honing their craft, much like you would with any skill or trade.
Let me know if you have any other ways to stay on top of your website flipping game using SitePoint!
What? You haven’t subscribed yet? Do it now via RSS or via email!
Cheers!
Jay
Tags: website flipping
October 24th, 2008 at 6:01 am
J, good stuff. I didn’t know that you could subscribe to the RSS feeds of the catagories. That is good to know for the future. The site I sold was in the Start Up, but I like to watch the older sites as well.
That advanced search feature was a great find for me and yes, searching by won auctions is definitely the way to go. You can find some very interesting things out there.
I saw a lady that sold like 8 sites in a row for about $600 each and have been following her every since.
Good stuff, J, and I love the Halloween Logo!!!
Freddies last blog post..Using the SWOT Analysis for Bloggers
October 24th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Great tips. The site I just launched is intended to be a flip, but now I am debating that. But I think I might subscribe to a few of these just to see if anything like it is being sold. I might hang on to it for a few months and then let it go later.
Thanks
Adam
PS Did you really have to try to out do my Halloween header?
Adam - Creadivs last blog post..Looking For Guest Posters
October 24th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Freddie - Is that lady’s name Kate Anderson by any chance? :p
Great tips Jay. I find my bloglines subscription the Startup Sites section invaluable as market research is so much easier. I’ve even subscribed to the listings of 1 particular seller.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Excellent information J. Learning from successful sellers has to be a good idea. Past Sitepoint sales offer a wealth of information you can learn from.
October 24th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
It is amazing how much i have learned in the past two months on the subject of site flipping. Mainly the importance of site design, presentation, and keyword selection (hat tip to you for this one) on site flips.
I’m still debating joining the BFB, mainly because i think it is kind of silly to shell out $97 bucks to chat with other flippers. I don’t discount the VALUE in chatting with other cool flippers. I just don’t see why i need to pay such a large fee to do so.
BUT if that’s what i have to do, then i will do it. there is still loads of learning to do and more importantly there is still loads of execution to do. (well not kill people, but you know execute what i have learned) lol.
Excellent guide on Sitepoint above.
Missy.
Missys last blog post..AppLoop: Make An iPhone App From Your Blog
October 24th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
@ Girish - Yes! Kate Anderson is a monster! And I see I am not the only one that has notice. She must have a real following by now!
Freddies last blog post..Using the SWOT Analysis for Bloggers
October 24th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Man oh man…
Brian Clark better get his game face on… lol.
Some serious info bro - shit I never even thought of, but makes total sense when you point it out i.e. getting social with top dogs on SP.
I love it.
Put me down for a pre-order of your ebook.. What? you’re not doing one? no one is supposed to know? huh?
my bad.
Elijahs last blog post..Internet Marketing Causes Insomnia
October 25th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Hey Jay,
Awesome post and I will be soaking up every piece of advice.
I really want to be a “Site Flipper” now I have had the taste of selling sites and believe I can get myself involved in some interesting projects. In a good and a bad way I have quite a few client design projects that are really stopping me from putting 100% into site flipping. However for now I will chip away at it as much as I can.
Thanks again, you are an inspiration.
Forests last blog post..Easy $15 by PayPal…..
October 25th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
@Freddie: Cool man! Glad you like the article, and the “halloween face”. lol
@Adam: What’s the site you just launched?
@Girish: Yeah, subscribing to sellers individually is great. I like scrolling through all the new sales in my reader though. It subconsiously instills good titles/copy into my brain without having to visit SitePoint. Plus, I might find a site I want to buy.
@Paul: Glad you liked it Paul. Thanks for stopping by. Hope to cya around more often
@Missy: The good thing about BFB is the forums, but also you can have a “blueprints” layed out in order before you. I hear ya on the price. Not everyone’s got $97 to toss into the learning pot.
@Elijah: LOL. thanks man. If I don’t release a flippin’ book, I’ll write one just for you.
@Forest: Thanks for the kind words man! Actually, it’s good your clients are still coming though, because you seem to have a passion for design, so you might find you don’t want to stop that anyway. Also, it’s good to have multiple streams of income. You just need to find a way to do both productively.
Cheers guys!
Jay
October 25th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Hey excellent post man, I need to try that stuff about flipping sites… But I have a question for you my friend, how much a starting website should cost? I imagine that more than your investment, like hosting and domain… Can you explain me that?
October 26th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Hey, first time visit to your site and I must say what a post to come in onto! Absolutly fantastic - its great to know all these little hints and tips regardiong sitepoint. Iv sold a couple of sites on their and really could of done with this post before, so thank-you
Dans last blog post..Secrets Of Lists And Reports
October 26th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hey Mr Javo, if you are asking how much you could sell a startup for then I recommend hanging around the Sitepoint Marketplace for statups: http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/categories/startup-websites-for-sale
Doing this will give you a good feel for what an unestablished site will sell for. And also what types of site are selling at the moment.
Pauls last blog post..You Can Sell A Website
October 26th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Excellent post! In depth information is what people love.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
@Paul Thank you very much! I will check it out
October 27th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Hey Suite J,
Great post. Lovin’ that flippin feelin’.
I set up a site where buyers and sellers of domains and websites can post their sites for sale, or list types of sites wanted.
At this time it is all free.
Inviting everyone to post.
We’re already getting pretty good traffic even though it is new.
http://www.iDotNames.com
October 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am
@J
My new site is logopallet.com Is is a logo design gallery website.
Adam - Creadivs last blog post..My Newest Project
October 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
@MrJavo: Hey, glad you like it. Check out my post on how to calculate your net profits. It gives you a basic rundown of costs involved and how to work it out.
@Dan: Hey! Glad you like the post. You might like some of my other website flipping posts as well then. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back more often!
@Franklin: Thanks! I’m going to drop by your site to get some of that “in-depth” info too!
@Adam: Ah yes! Been there.
Cheers guys!
Jay
October 27th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Excellent information as always. But looking at all you have to do to be a top site flipper? I think I’ll stick to Squidoo for now.
WordVixens last blog post..You Wanna Make Some Money For Me?
October 29th, 2008 at 9:51 am
WOW great tips i was just thinking should i start wite flipping and now i m serious about it lets see what can i do
October 29th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
@WordVixen: All you have to do? It just likes a lot…I’m long-winded. lol
@Sohail: Thanks dude! Glad you like it. Check out my other website flipping posts before also, to help you get started!
October 29th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Where are you Jay? You’ve been MIA a few days now. I need my compadre to guide me and steer me in the right direction, the direction to pots of gold.
Holla.
Missy (from G34 Media)s last blog post..iPhone Recycling Blog - Latest G34 Media Property
October 29th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
@Missy: I’m working on the master plan, Missy. What’s up? Email me.
October 30th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hahaha. Ah yes, the master plan. Cool. Look for a Skype PM. I have a quick question for you.
Missy (from G34 Media)s last blog post..iPhone Recycling Blog - Latest G34 Media Property
October 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hey J, I’ve seen you around a bunch and just subscribed. Good stuff here and I may be getting into flipping as well.
Dennis Edells last blog post..CommentLuv is Back! H U G E Thank You’s To It’s Tireless Creator!
October 31st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
@Dennis: Cool beans! Glad you like it and thanks a lot for subscribing! Hope to see ya around a lot. There’s a bunch of cool peeps that come by here regularly.
Cheers!
Jay