If you are in the market to sell a website, there are some suggested steps to take: first, determine how much your site is worth; second, prepare your financial information and statistics; and third, find a buyer.
Before discussing each step, it is important to discuss some special considerations.
Questions to Ask Yourself
There are several important questions to ask yourself when selling your website. The main question to answer is why you are selling it.
Did you create and maintain the website as your main source of income or was it merely a hobby and something you leisurely worked at?
What type of future owner do you want for your website? Are you personally attached to your website and do you want it to continue to be a success?
Or, are you okay with merely selling your website for the money and don’t particularly care what happens to it?
It is important to ask yourself these questions before you begin the process of selling your website so that you can determine your correct path.
Determine How Much Your Website is Worth
The first step in selling your website can be a bit tricky. It is hard to determine how much your website is worth for one particular reason: you are selling virtual property.
You can’t really touch what you are selling and thus it is hard to determine how much it is really worth. There are several suggested methods for determining your site’s worth.
Some experts suggest multiplying your site’s profits (before tax and interest) by three to six. For example, if your website’s earnings are $50,000 per year than you could potentially try to sell it for a minimum of $150,000.
Another aspect to consider when determining valuation is what price you would be happy selling it for. You also need to consider what costs are associated with maintaining the site and if your site has potential for increased revenue.
Supply and demand will also be a factor when it comes to selling your website and if your particular industry is in high demand you may be able to ask for more money.
Prepare to Sell
As with anything you sell, you will need to prepare some basic information.
When it comes to selling an e-business, some helpful statistics to prepare include the following:
- Your website visitor statistics
- Financial information
- An informative letter describing your website
Most buyers will want to know some statistics upfront and having information on your website traffic counts, search engine rankings and keywords will be helpful in making the sell.
A potential buyer will also want to know your financial basics such as how much it will cost to run and maintain the site.
You will most likely need to provide bill information for things such as domain registration and web hosting as well as any administrative costs to run the site.
An informative letter describing the history of your website and future potential will also be helpful to your potential buyers.
Find a Buyer
The last step is to find a buyer. One of the first places you can look is in your website’s industry.
There may be a local company that sells the same products or that has previously advertised on your site. You can also look outside your industry for someone who is merely interested in buying a website for monetary or investment reasons. F
inally, you can try the online market to sell your website. There are several useful forums that can help get great exposure for your site.
Once you have found an interested buyer, the negotiations will begin. Make sure to write up formal contracts and determine specifics such as when money will be paid and how long you will provide training and support.
By following these three basic steps, you will find success in selling your website.
