The title of this post will probably shock more than a few of you and to be honest, it’s not an easy post to write. However, as the title suggests, I’ve decided to place BloggingExperiment.com up for sale.
The question of “Why?” immediately springs to mind and it’s a difficult one to answer. I’ve enjoyed blogging here for the last 8 months or so and the income level has exceeded many people’s expectations. For an 8 month old blog to have 900+ RSS subscribers, and bring in thousands of dollars per month, I think everyone would agree it’s been very successful. However, despite that success, I no longer think my time is best spent on this site. I have met amazing people and have learned an incredible amount during this experiment and in the end, that’s actually why I decided to sell. I’ve got two new projects currently in the works that evolved out of this experiment and unfortunately, I just don’t have the time or resources to go around.
When I set out on this journey my goal was to discover whether or not an average guy could launch a blog and turn it into a source of a full time income over the course of a year. Many of you will probably look at the sale of this site as the end of that experiment or think that it has failed. While I can certainly understand that sentiment, I would strongly disagree. In just under 8 months I have created a blog that is worth a significant amount of money. Exactly how much will be determined by the auction. But, if I then leverage the income from the sale of this blog, into something that is able to generate a full time income for myself, would that not make the experiment a success?
It’s absolutely not the path that I would have expected to take with this blog, but I’ve found things rarely turn out how I predict (just look at my March Madness Brackets for further evidence of that). Granted, I won’t have gotten this blog to JohnChow.com levels of income, but there is certainly more than one way to skin a cat. I’ve spent a lot of time lately agonizing over this decision and I feel strongly that this is the best way to reach my goal of a full time income online.
The auction lasts for 7 days and if the reserve is not met, I’ll continue to post. Until that time, things will proceed as normal. I’m working on another installment of the Lessons on Blogging series and we’ve got another useful WordPress Wednesdays post coming up as well. And, as always, please feel free to weigh in with your comments below and let me know what you think of my decision.
Update: The blog has indeed been sold. I can’t disclose specifics but the final closing price was into the 5 figures. And, best of all, I’ll be staying around to post for the next several weeks. So don’t go anywhere, you’ll still be reading the same quality content you’ve come to expect here on BloggingExperiment.com!
Author: Ben
Updated: May, 2012
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Updated: May, 2012
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Sad news…I just started reading your blog a few weeks ago and it was refreshingly different from the other Make Money blogs out there. Ah well, hope it financially works out for you. Are you worried though about a subscriber/reader drop by annoucing the sale of the site before it is sold?
Definitely a very hard decision to make. I hope all the best for you and if the sale of this site gives you the seed capital to concentrate on something you love full time then it will have been a success.
@Andy, I am glad you enjoy the blog. I would hope readership doesn’t drop because until the auction closes and the money changes hands, nothing is set in stone. Also, there is a possibility that the new owner will have me stay on in some capacity so the content will still be the same quality you’ve come to expect from this blog.
@Matt, it was one of the more difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make. Now that probably speaks more to how blessed my life has been but I certainly did not take it lightly.
Ben…I know this is not an easy thing for you but I am sure you will pop back up in the ‘sphere’ soon.
I think that’s a great news. It means you are moving on to the next level of your journey. People moves on because they have to grow. Giving up something small means gaining something big.
Good to see great example like this. I believe that it is a difficult choice, but a great choice. Good luck to your new projects.
Keep us updated on Twitter.
I kind of had a feeling this was coming after you were questioning what to do after the 1 year is over.
I just had a feeling.
Probably not a great idea to announce it before you sell it. Some people will now leave or unsubscribe. That will reduce the value you can get from the site.
Why? Maybe 1000s of people who never saw it before will now see it and subscribe?
@ DJ, as I said, I would hope people would not unsubscribe but even if they do, I feel it’s the right thing to do. I mean how would people feel if they stumbled across the site for auction and I hadn’t mentioned anything about it? I’d much rather people hear it from the horses mouth so to speak.
Ben, I just came to your site from your Sitepoint listing. Yes, writing about your blog sale on the blog is a fair thing to do. Not only are you staying transparent, its also possible one of the readers might want to buy it too. Good luck!
Wow! I know I suggested it earlier today in my comment on the previous post, but I didn’t really think that there was any possibility that you would sell the site. Your posts gave a very strong impression that you loved writing about the topics covered here. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the articles you’ve written here – I’ll be sad to see the site change hands.
Still, you have some great numbers working for you from a traffic standpoint, and it can’t hurt to try to cash in on that now. The challenge that I see in this sale, however, is that a significant portion of your monthly revenue comes from theme sales, which may be a saturated source, to a degree – maybe I’m wrong on that, not sure.
Anyway, best of luck with the sale Ben. Hopefully you won’t be shy about revealing some of the things you’ll be working on in the future!
One other quick comment – I’ve thought for a while that you may be undermonetizing the site… if you’re going for a sale, you might want to pull out all the stops to ramp up blog income prior to selling. Although, if you only have 7 days before the auction ends, it probably won’t make a difference. I think if you held off for a month or so, you might be able to really increase your sale price.
@ MMO, I’d thought of that as there are certainly other ways the site could be monetized. However, I felt like that would be a bit like sacrificing the user experience to make a few extra bucks leading up to the sale.
Also, I absolutely enjoy writing for the blog. I simply have two new projects in mind that I think will be a more profitable use of my time. Since time is limited (especially with me working a 8-5 job) I figured it would be better to sell the site and allow someone else to dedicate the time and effort to it, while I pursued the other projects.
Man, if I had some more dough right now I’d definitely buy the site.
So much potential for the new owner. I’ll be sad to see you leave Ben.
Best of luck Ben! You have built a fantastic blog and should get well into the 5 figures
WOW…I didn’t expect that at all. You will certainly leave a hole in my daily blog reading! I don’t blame you though. I’ve heard that a blog or website could be worth 24 months of income, so you could get a considerable amount of money. Great job.
Good luck.
Ben, I won’t drop my subscription right away. I’ll give the new blogger a chance. I can’t however buy it as I am in the slow and steady stage of my blogging expierence. Good luck what ever happens.
Ben, If you don’t mind me asking, how much income were you making from the site month by month since the beginning? Maybe you should just keep it as a sort of constant online journal? I’m sure the ad income would pay for hosting and then some.
Ben – I completely understand not wanting to ruin the user experience, but even something as simple as adding an “Exit Ad” to appear at the end of an article, only appearing on the individual post page could make a huge difference in earnings (especially if you could run a contextual ad network like Adwords for that one spot – I know your situation with Google, though).
Anyway, I have a ton of respect for you making the decision that’s right for you – if these other projects are more worthwhile, you should absolutely go for them, and don’t let anything hold you back.
Again, good luck with the sale. I’ll be following it closely. Also, I’ll do what I can to promote this post, as you deserve to get paid for creating a great site.
I agree with Mark – I won’t unsubscribe just because you’ve announced you’re selling the site. I’m actually really interested to see how the sale goes and what the transition to the new writer will be like, which I hope you’ll be chronicling. Hopefully whoever buys it will continue writing great content.
@ Christine, I’ll absolutely be chronicling everything. I’m already working on a post about the process of actually listing a site for auction etc.
Ben I wrote a post about your sale too. Hope you take it the right way.
So what will you be working on next?
Sad to hear that Ben, I was really following with interest in your venture but I believe you are making the right decision for you.
Good luck with the sale! This has been an exciting ride for all of us. It’s been fun following your progress since the beginning.
BTW, will you continue posting until the end of the 12 month period? It would be a shame to see you sell out before the end of the experiment.
I’m happy and sad that you’re selling. Happy because you’re doing what you want and are happy where it has come in 8 months. Sad because I was hoping to see where you were going to take this. Good luck with the other two projects you have coming.
~Terry
@Bill, good post. I certainly didn’t take it in a negative way.
@Diane, I’m not quite ready to reveal that yet but I can tell you I’ll be making use of my Teaching Sells membership.
@Coryan, whether I remain on as an author is up in the air right now. If I do, it will be up to the new owner and it will likely be on a much less frequent basis.
@Terry, thanks, I really have enjoyed this blog and thanks for the well wishes.
Does this have anything to do with the recent buzz regarding WP Designer selling for 65,000? Don’t get me wrong, that’s a hell of a reason to sell…
I will just say this as an observation… the guys selling their blogs these days just don’t seem to be telling us lowly followers the whole story. Reasons just seem a bit vague (not just yours either).
Anyway, best wishes and good luck!
@Life’s Hard, I’m not sure how I’m being vague other than not divulging what exactly my new projects will be. I’ll definitely be promoting them once they are ready but until then, it doesn’t make much sense to do so. If you have other questions I’ll be happy to answer them.
Ben…wouldn’t your blog have made a GRRREAT place to promote your new endeavor?
I hope whoever picks it up continues with your quality of posts and development. Good luck, Scott
@ Bill, the new endeavors would have probably benefited from having the blog as a launching point but I think the benefit of being able to invest a considerable amount of money into the projects will outweigh the lost benefit.
@ Sonny and Jason, the blog did indeed sell quickly. I can’t disclose the final purchase price but I can say it was into the 5 figure range. While nothing is final until the site and cash are transfered, I’m fairly confident that the sale will go through without a hitch.
However, you won’t be getting rid of me just yet. I’ll have more details as things progress but I’ll still be around for a while.
I just see that the site has sold. One thing buyers don’t count on is the drastic drop in success once they buy a blog. I’ve seen it happen numerous times… a new owner takes over and the Alexa rating plunges, as well as loyal readership and most of the revenue. Hopefully whoever bought it knows how to keep everything going.
@Ben – Good ideas can always find money. I am glad you seem to have got what you want but I can tell you from many years of experience, if your idea is actually good, you won’t have any trouble finding money to invest.
Moot point now, Congratulations on the fast sale. Onwards and upwards, hopefully the next guy doesn’t suck.
@ Mademind, see comment #35
@ Bikeintro, don’t take off just yet! You’ll still have the same quality information presented as you’ve come to expect.
Sad to see this site is going to go away…, but the Sitepoint link doesn’t seem to work
-Mike
Mike, the auction was already closed and the site has been sold. However, it’s not by any means going to “go away” and as I mentioned in the update, I’ll still be writing for the blog for a while as well. Don’t worry, you can still nominate me for your read of the day
Wow!! Sold already? That was lightning fast. You went from realizing you didn’t have an exit strategy (or continuation strategy) as the 1 year mark approaches, to putting the site up for auction, to sold in less than 48 hours?? Crazy turn of events.
Nothing wrong with selling a blog, I’m trying to sell a few of mine since one of my sites has become very popular and demands more of my attention.
Let’s see, 5 figures… 10,000 – 99,999 . Sounds very nice!
5 figures does sound like a nice tidy profit is going to be made. Congratulations on the sale!
It’s good to hear you’ll be around posting for awhile longer.
~Terry
I hope the site doesn’t go the same way as Cash Quests did.
I agree with Matt, and I will always nominate your posts Ben
-Mike
Hey Ben,
I’m glad I followed this blog for the past 8 months. You were one of the people that inspired me to quit my full-time job and work for myself from home. It’s been great these past few weeks. Sad to see you go, but glad you’ll be moving on to bigger and better things.
Hey Ben, just wanted to let you know that you did a phenomenal job w/ your blog and I really enjoyed following as much of the experiment as I could
P.S. Couldn’t you just hire a good freelance writer and keep this baby going? Or wouldn’t it be worth it? Best wishes to ya Ben!
You have done an incredible job with this blog in eight months, better than most can do. I call this experiment a success. I’ve loved watching Blogging Experiment grow over time – good luck with your future projects!
Ben – when do we get an update on the sale and its impact on future plans for this blog? Who purchased it and what will their experiment be?
wow, I had a backlog of bloggingexperiment posts in my rss reader (I’ve been away ill for a week or so) and wasn’t expecting this at all! Anyway congratulations on the sale and all the great achievements. I can’t wait to hear about your latest ventures.
I’m happy for you, Ben, and I wish you every success with your other 2 projects.
Stay experimental…
I will miss BloggingExperiment as well. My plan was to visit here every once and a while to see what you guys are discussing.