3 Things I Learned by Selling My Blog

Can you believe that only one week ago I placed BloggingExperiment.com up for sale? The site sold in under 24 hours and the transaction closed pretty quickly after that. While this has all been a bit of a blur, I’ve learned a TON and as promised, will pass some of that new knowledge on to you. Here are three things I wish I had known before selling this blog.

1. Use Separate Accounts

When first creating a blog, most people never even consider the possibility of selling it… I know I didn’t. However, as I can attest, plans have a way of changing. So, if there’s even the most remote chance that you’ll end up putting your blog on the auction block, it would be worth it to use separate accounts for each new blog. While you won’t be transferring things like Google Analytics or PayPal accounts, you might want to include things like e-junkie, mybloglog, or social media accounts in the sale of your site. While some services such as FeedBurner make it easy transfer feeds or accounts to a new owner, many others don’t. Sure it can be a pain to keep track of multiple accounts, but when it comes time to transfer ownership of your blog and the different accounts associated with it, it will be well worth the few extra minutes you’ll spend setting up a new account for each of your blogs.

2. Stay Motivated

If I’m an indication, the decision to sell your blog won’t necessarily be the easiest one you’ve ever made. Once you’ve made it, it can be incredibly difficult to stay motivated. It’s like the last day of school after all the test have been taken and the papers have been written. Unlike school, however, what you do while waiting for your blog to sell can still affect the final outcome. I’ve talked in the past about creating expectations among your readers and even though you’ll soon be out from under those expectations, chances are you’ll want to build off the success your blog has had. If you let your readers down while you’re working on cashing out, it’s going to be tough for you to capitalize on the good will you’ve built up over the life of your blog.

Furthermore, if you start slacking off on your posting or promotion, you risk losing readers, subscribers, and all the different indicators of value that Max and other buyers look for when buying a site. So, while it might not be easy to motivate yourself to work on a blog you’ve already decided to sell, staying focused can make a big difference on your bottom line. If that doesn’t serve as motivation for you, I don’t know what will.

3. Remove Emotion

The last, and most important piece of advice I have for you if you’re considering selling your blog or website, would be to remove emotion from the equation. Selling something you’ve put a lot of work and effort into can be an emotional time. I’m not talking about getting all weepy and teary-eyed but during the course of negotiations and the aftermath of the sale, your pride can take a bit of a beating. Perspective buyers will often try to devalue the site in your eyes in order to get the best deal possible.

Now before you get the wrong impression, Max and his partner were great in this regard, but they weren’t the only interested parties and more than one bargain hunter derided the quality of my site thinking it would somehow make me sell at a lower price. They’ll explain why your site isn’t worth the price you’re asking and it would be easy to take their remarks as an attack on your site or even you personally. The fact is though, it’s just business. Everyone is out to make a buck and if you get offended every time someone criticizes you or your site, you may very well end up missing out on the best deal possible.

So there you have it, 3 Things I Learned by Selling My Blog. If you’ve bought or sold a blog or website, what other tips would you give to someone selling their first site? What types of things do you wish you’d known the first time around?