AskBen #1: How Can I Sell My Niche Website with Low Traffic and 0 Revenue ?

Welcome to another episode of AskBen! In today’s episode, we’re delving into a topic that’s on the minds of many website owners: how to sell a niche website with low traffic and zero revenue. If you’ve ever wondered about the secrets to turning your digital asset into cash, this episode is for you. Host Ben is here to guide you through the process step by step.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

• When is the right time to sell your website?
• Strategies to enhance your site’s value even with minimal traffic.
• The ins and outs of selling platforms, including Motion Invest.
• A detailed walkthrough of the successful website selling process.
• Crucial do’s and don’ts of website flipping.

LINKS AND NAMES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Hostinger: Mentioned as a web hosting provider that offers fast, secure, and affordable services (Use my link to get personel help from me for free).
• Facebook groups:
  • Buy & Sell Website and Domain Flippa
  • Flipping Community buy & sell Websites™
  • NNM Flipping – Buy & Sell Websites Marketplace
  • Upniche – Buy & Sell Websites- Niche Website Buyers & Sellers
  • Buy & Sell Website and Domain Flipping Community
  • Website Flipping Community – Buy & Sell Websites
  • Website Flipping – Buy & Sell Websites
  • Website And Domain Buy & Sell ( Admin Deal )
  • Website and Domain Marketplace (Buy/Sell)
  • Buy and Sell Online Website, Businesses, Flippa Websites, Apps
• Website flipping marketplaces:
  • https://flippa.com/
  • https://empireflippers.com/
  • https://www.motioninvest.com/
  • https://investors.club/
• Motion Invest: Mentioned as a website marketplace, especially suitable for starter sites.
  • MotionInvest.com
• Veem: Mentioned as the payment service for transferring funds to your local bank account.
• Escrow.com: Mentioned as a middleman service that collects, holds and disburses funds according to buyer and seller agreement.
• PandaDoc.com: Mentioned as a digital contract management platform.

THIS EPISODE SPONSOR:

Today’s episode is brought to you by Hostinger, your go-to solution for fast and affordable web hosting. If you’re a small website owner seeking great site loading speeds, top-notch support, and budget-friendly options, Hostinger is your answer. Use my link bensexperience.com/goto/hostinger and get my help for free.

A QUESTION FOR ME?

Have burning questions about online business, web marketing, affiliate, SEO, or the entrepreneurial lifestyle? I want to hear from you! Reach out via the contact page on BensExperience.com/contact. Your questions could be featured in an upcoming episode, and I will provide insights to help you out.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Ben: Hello everyone and welcome to AskBen, the podcast where I answer your burning questions about online business, blogging, affiliate marketing, web marketing, and the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I'm your host, Ben, and today we have an interesting question from Ali. But before we dive into that, I'd like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, Hostinger.com. If you're a small website owner looking for fast and affordable web hosting, Hostinger is the way to go. Visit www.bensexperience.com/goto/hostinger, and if you sign up using my personal link, I'll help you choose a profitable niche for your new site, find easier keywords, and show you how to build valuable backlinks. Check it out in the show notes below.

Ben: Alright, let's get to today's question from Ali:

"Hey Ben,

Yesterday I discovered your channel, and in one of your videos, you mentioned that you sold a brand new site with 0 traffic for $800. I also have a website in the home niche with 80 or so articles and get 5 - 10 traffic every day. Due to a lack of future goals, that site isn't my focus anymore. So I was thinking to sell my site, until I found you. Can you please guide me on how you sold your site with 0 traffic? Looking forward to hearing from ya.

Thanks.
Ali."

Thank you, Ali, for giving me this opportunity to discuss this subject. But just to clarify, in my video and on my website, I didn't say that I sold a site with zero traffic for $800. What I mentioned was that I sold one of my failed websites with just 16 articles for $850. The difference here is that this failed website was getting around 10 visits per day and was making some affiliate commissions from Amazon Associates, around $25 per month.

Now, let's dive into the topic of this episode: "How to get the best out of a website in the home niche with 5 to 10 visits per day." There are several factors to consider here, and I'll cover various scenarios, including yours.

Starting with your website's age, if it's less than 6 months old, especially if it's built on a brand new domain, I recommend waiting a bit to allow Google to trust your website and start sending more visitors. If your site is built on an expired domain with a clean history and good backlinks, a website age of 6 months might be sufficient to make a decision.

Now, regarding your content, if your website primarily features informational content (like how to make the air cleaner in your home), consider adding 10 to 20 commercial articles. For example, articles like "best home monitoring systems" or "best home water testing kits" are both easy-to-rank keywords with decent search volumes.

Adding these commercial articles not only has the potential to attract more visitors and affiliate commissions but also adds value to your site in the eyes of potential buyers.

With the assistance of ChatGPT, creating twenty quality round-up review articles won't be too time-consuming. You can complete these articles in just four days if you know how to do it efficiently.

Now, when preparing your website for sale, avoid making last-minute significant changes like altering the website theme, permalink structure, or category names. These kinds of modifications can have a negative impact or make potential buyers suspicious.

Instead, write a compelling listing for your website on website flipping groups on Facebook. In the listing, share details about how you built the website, the number of articles, visitor statistics, your SEO efforts, whether it's on an expired domain, and more. You can find inspiration from other listings in the same groups. To find these Facebook groups, search for keywords like "website flipping" or "buy sell website." Currently, there are several active groups to choose from.

The advantage of starting with Facebook groups is that it reduces the cost of middlemen. Many people use Escrow.com as a middleman, and transferring the domain for a $1,000 sale might cost you around $300.

Escrow.com simplifies the process: You agree on the terms, the buyer pays Escrow the full price, you transfer the domain, and once the buyer confirms receipt, Escrow releases your money after taking their fee.

If Facebook groups don't yield results, you can consider using online marketplaces like Flippa, Empire Flippers, and Investors Club. However, given your site's limited traffic and no revenue, the only marketplace that might accept your website is Motion Invest, which categorizes sites like yours as "Starter sites."

Please note that my experience with them involved sites that were not initially considered "Starter sites." However, I've observed them accepting more of these lately.

To submit your site to Motion Invest, visit MotionInvest.com and click on "Submit a website." They will guide you through a quiz to gather basic information about you and your website, including traffic data, stability, and monetization methods. This process typically takes 7 to 10 days.

Once your site is accepted, they'll request proof of revenues and access to Google Analytics and Google Search Console. This usually takes an additional 7 to 10 days.

After approval, you'll receive a list of questions to create your listing page. Once you've provided your answers, ask them when your listing will go public through the Motion Invest newsletter.

In my experience, it took around three weeks to a month to find a serious potential buyer once the listing was live. When the buyer pays a $1,000 deposit, they will ask you to sign a digital contract, which is straightforward. You simply input your full name after reading the contract details and hit send. Once the buyer also signs the contract, you wait for Motion Invest to receive the full payment, and they will assign someone from their team to handle the website transfer.

The transfer process starts with providing them the domain transfer key. Once the domain transfer is complete, you'll need to send them a copy of your website files and database. From there, all you have to do is wait for an email from the payment service Veem, where you'll input your bank details.

The entire process, from submitting your website to receiving the money in your bank account, typically takes between 6 to 8 weeks if everything goes smoothly. Selling a website with Motion Invest is not complicated; they streamline the process and provide you with just enough information to understand what's happening.

Ben: That's all for this episode. Thank you for sticking with me until the end. You can find links and names mentioned in this episode in the show notes. If you have a question related to online business, marketing, affiliate marketing, SEO, or the entrepreneurial lifestyle, don't hesitate to contact me through the contact page on BensExperience.com, and I might answer your question in a future episode. Don't forget to subscribe, and I'll see you in the next episode.