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Autoblog Sales, Psychology of an auction?

by kschmandt
9 replies
I found a WSO not long ago about creating autoblogs and selling them for some quick cash. I have done several now and some seem to sell better than others. I can't really put my finger on what the difference is.

Obviously I want to build something that people want and will sell for a higher price. Here is an overview of what I am doing.

First I do some keyword research to find a good domain name and niche to target.

Second, build a Wordpress site that autoposts content, auto bookmarks and pings. This includes a professionally designed header that I do not reuse, each is unique.

Third, I create income streams for the site by setting up adsense, ebay, clickbank, and amazon affiliate links banners and widgets.

Lastly I include some bonuses with the sale (I have been listing on www.flippa.com)such as hosting, support, ebooks for list building and so on.

Everything I am doing is what I am seeing others do. Some of these other listings are selling for bins of as much as $197. I have seen some with no bin go for over $300.

My current listing is:

online-golf-instruction.com - Website for Sale: 3 Days only, online-golf-instruction.com Free ebook automated professional site — Flippa

Does anyone have any tips on what I could do to improve my chances of selling for a higher price? BIN or no BIN, higher or lower bin? Better bonuses? Shorter or longer auction, higher or lower reserve?

So far I have sold 3 sites one for a bin of $127 and the others for $60 ea. Any ideas?
#auction #autoblog #psychology #sales #site for sale
  • Profile picture of the author InternetSuccess001
    If you want to sell for a higher price, get the site generating a higher amount of income, or hold the site for say 90 days (so it starts say making $3-$5/day in adsense).

    The perceived value of the site will increase when you can honestly say that it automatically makes $100/month on auto-pilot, (and in which case, you may even decide to keep a few of the domains yourself).

    So instead of going for the 'quick kill' to make a 'fast buck', be a little patient and you'll see a better return on your investment.
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    • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
      That makes good sense and I thought of doing that but at a cost to set them up of $20 a piece (domain registration and header design) I cant afford to build them unless I sell them. Sounds pitiful I know but I like so many these day am totally strapped, kids to feed, bills to pay. I may be able to hold on to a few for a while but building 20 or 30 and letting them ripen for 3 months gets pricey. So while I agree that this is probably a better long term method any quick flip tips would be most appreciated.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    If you want to sell brand new websites and make any money at it, then you need to get yourself a website (to sell your websites from) and start collecting emails. You will eventually build a list of clients that buy from you over and over again provided that you give them good customer service.

    Selling only on Flippa is good for a bit of extra money here and there and to get new clients for your list, but IMHO, it is a bit too unpredictable to base your business on (that's for brand new sites earning no money - sites that are earning is a totally different story).

    I have been selling sites for several years and I can have 3 straight weeks of over the top sales and then 2 months in the dumper. You never know over there because when you are selling new sites your target audience is mostly newbies and they are usually buying the site on an impulse (i.e. they like the colors, they like the niche etc... ) so it really just depends on who logs in that day.

    Of course, the one sure way to get more money is to get the site earning. I don't sell too many of mine that are earning though so I don't have a ton of experience there.

    Lee
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    • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
      What are you usually able to get for your $0 income sites, if you don't mind my asking? Also do you include anything other that what I mentioned (adsense, clickbank, etc.) as part of the site?
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    • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
      Originally Posted by cashcow View Post

      If you want to sell brand new websites and make any money at it, then you need to get yourself a website (to sell your websites from) and start collecting emails. You will eventually build a list of clients that buy from you over and over again provided that you give them good customer service.

      Selling only on Flippa is good for a bit of extra money here and there and to get new clients for your list, but IMHO, it is a bit too unpredictable to base your business on (that's for brand new sites earning no money - sites that are earning is a totally different story).

      I have been selling sites for several years and I can have 3 straight weeks of over the top sales and then 2 months in the dumper. You never know over there because when you are selling new sites your target audience is mostly newbies and they are usually buying the site on an impulse (i.e. they like the colors, they like the niche etc... ) so it really just depends on who logs in that day.

      Of course, the one sure way to get more money is to get the site earning. I don't sell too many of mine that are earning though so I don't have a ton of experience there.

      Lee
      I just looked through some of your wso's. What is your experience selling PLR blogs as apposed to unique individual blogs? Also when you sell them do you just send a zip file with the Wordpress files and database?
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    PLR blogs have the potential to be more profitable but you need to figure in a LOT more customer support.

    Again, I think you need a list of buyers before you are going to be making a lot of money. I know most of my sales go to my list and the traffic that comes to my PLR site that I have been growing for quite some time.

    If you can't afford to build them unless you can sell them (not sure how much you have to sell them for) then you might not like PLR because instead of getting all the money that week, it will dribble in for months or maybe even years.

    If you don't have a list of buyers, then all your money can get eaten up with advertising at $20 a pop pretty fast. I have plenty of sites that have only sold a couple of the sets.

    Yes, for PLR just send a zip file with the appropriate files as well as detailed instructions on how to install it. Most of your buyers will not know how to install so you have to be explicit and very detailed for them so that they can get up and running without becoming frustrated.

    Lee

    Again, it is all about providing excellent customer service and earning repeat buyers.
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    • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
      I don't think I would have near the cost building plr blogs. I have to buy a domain name have a header designed and pay listing fees for each single site I sell (basically my cost per site is $50, so selling for $60 means I earned $10 for several hours of work). If its plr I can build it and not even register a domain name my cost would only be the header design then doing a wso at least to start. Maybe a free WSO for an opt in would be a good way to start a list. This seems like a really good model to me.

      Would you be interested in selling your "how to set up your new blog" instruction ebook?

      Thanks for all the ideas and help.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    Yes, but with a PLR blog you need to have unique articles exclusive to the blog plus the header, so that seems more costly to me.

    Well, I guess, you don't HAVE to have the unique articles, but if you look at all the PLR blogs for sale here you will see they all have them so that is your competition. I tried selling a few that didn't have exclusive articles and they did not do that well.

    You could try blogs with no fancy header and no unique articles at a reduced price from what everyone else has. Maybe that could be your Unique Selling Proposition?

    Sorry, but I do not want to sell my setup guide .. It is branded for my business!

    Lee
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    • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
      I have a designer that creates great headers for me. One thing I was thinking was selling the plr blog but with autoblogging software installed and maybe include some plr articles/posts and a plr ebook for link building or whatever. Then as an upsell have the option of having a completely unique header done that would reflect the buyers individual domain name.

      Thanks, for the info. I understand about your setup guide. If you have any generic info that would save me any time completely writing a "how to install your wordpress blog" I would be interested in buying just that. If not that's fine. I do really appreciate all the good advice you have given me.

      Thanks again
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