How to Sell a Blog Part 1: Writing the Sales Post

My Experience

Being one of the relatively few people who has actually sold a blog I have some experience in this ever growing field. Many of you will remember fondly (or not) my old blog that after a little over 3 months sold for $1000 (USD). The blog had also generated about $200 from the very small amount of monetization that was present. So that’s $1200 in three months, from blogging a few hours a day.

If I were to multiply that all by 4 because it only lasted a quarter of a year (3 months) then that there would be $4800 a year. In addition I was only working on the blog about 1/3 of the time (part time). Therefore $4800 x 3 = $14,400 per year.

That may not be much of a wage, especially in ‘jolly old’ England, but it would put me up there in the top few percent of bloggers who make a substantial amount. Not to mention that there is guaranteed to be growth in earning rates during the course of a year as knowledge and experience are gained and a blog gains exponential (or at least increasing) momentum.

Where to start when Selling a Blog

A Sales Post on the Blog
This involves highlighting the good things about the blog. (I.e. a sales pitch). You don’t want to tell any lies but as an example; if your blog doesn’t receive many comments then there’s no need to mention them but if you get large numbers of comments then you could claim your site has a ‘vibrant community’.

Title of the Sales Post

Example of a bad sales Title:

“My Blog is For Sale!”

This is bad for several reasons:
1. Many people have multiple blogs. It is not clear enough that the one the reader is reading is the blog for sale.
2. Doesn’t portray an urgency to sell.
3. Doesn’t make it obvious you are trying to sell it to the reader. A visitor could think that you have plans to sell it else ware.

Example of a successful sales Title:

“This Blog is For Sale! You Can Buy this Blog Now!”

Why this title works:
1. It is blindingly clear what is for sale.
2. It portrays an urgency to sell pointing directly at the reader.
3. It pushes a reader to make an impulse buy

Stats Matter

You cannot expect the site to sell without showing-off the traffic stats. Traffic is pretty much the most important thing a buyer will be looking for so you will have to reveal the traffic. If you are working up the SERPS for a highly competitive term that you are not getting traffic for yet, say so. It could be worth a goldmine. I used this technique in my sales post because I had managed to get my old blog ranked on page 2 of the Google SERPS for the term “affiliate programs”, which would see a surge in traffic if it made it to page 1. I referred to it as being “very close to the tipping point where traffic will explode”, which helped to generate hype.

Summary of What a Sales Post Must Contain

1. Aggressive Title
2. Screenshots of traffic stats
3. Reasons to buy it
4. Explanation of the of sale system, do people make bids?
5. Payment method (paypal?)

Extra Tips For a Sales Post

Conclusion

Put into a single phrase, the sales post needs to be aggressive and transparent. In part 2 other ways to promote the sale are covered along with some extra tips.

Technorati Tags: Selling a Blog, Buy this Blog

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