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Blog selling trend : sell your blog!
December 9th, 2008OK, sarcastic title here, but just to express how I am so not surprised. This week, three Internet Marketing blogs went on sale: The University Kid, LinkersBlog and Slyvisions. To be fully honest with you guys, it’s not true that I wasn’t surprised: I was a little bit surprised. I am expecting major shifts in this business in the coming months and that shift starts to happen as more and more bloggers will realize that blogging about Making Money Online is a freackin’ dead end. The shift is just happening a little faster than I expected.
Whatever their reasons, it’s not the point
OK, I am about to talk about the Make Money Online niche and how well “the dream” is being kept alive by a couple of selected bloggers. The fact that three good bloggers decided to sell their blog is just what I needed to post and write about the MMO niche and it is in no way related to the bloggers themselves. They all have different reasons to sell and that is perfectly fine with me. In fact, I spoke with Cooper from Linkers Blog and his reasons for selling are more than valid.
The dream
There is a dream out there my friends. The frickin’ dream that by blogging about making money online you will make money online. There is a CRUCIAL step that a lot of people tend to forget: successful “Make Money Online” bloggers were ALREADY making money when they started their blog. “The dream” keeps a lot of people going while the big guys are making the money.
The shift
The shift is about to happen guys. There are gazillions of MMO blogs out there and you know the funny part? Most people think that the only way to make money online is by running a MMO blog! Wrong. That’s just the dream and that dream is branded very well.
I see a lot of MMO blogs shutting down in the near future as the niche will get even more saturated and hard to monetize. Three big blogs are shutting down and I’m telling you this is only the beginning.
Internet Marketing is the next saturated niche
Unfortunately for me, I feel like the Internet Marketing niche will be extremely saturated as well. It’s important not to confuse Internet Marketing with MMO as IM is a lot larger and while it includes monetization, it also includes Internet strategies, social medias strategies, blogging, branding, etc. It will eventually become a much bigger niche as more and more people become “experts” and that the dream is kept alive. But you know, standing out of the crowd will be fun and challenging. At the same time, it is a nice reminder that it is important to focus on what’s outside the Internet Marketing niche because this is where the real potential is.
The winners will be the creative people
You know who will be the real winners in this industry my friends? The person who blog about cars, food, beer, tennis, chess or whatever, but with enough creativity, manages to be successful. These will be the next big Internet Marketers.
What are you waiting for?
OK, I actually know that most of you blogging about MMO/IM run a lot of other stuff in parallel and that is the way to go. I just want to say that if a MMO blog is the only thing you run, what are you waiting for? The MMO niche is not the real world, it’s important to know what’s out there and make a difference for the average Joe!
By the way…Just before you ask, I run other stuff 
34 Responses to “Blog selling trend : sell your blog!”
What do you think?
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I don’t think any niche will ever get saturated enough. As long as great blogs come (and go), then I don’t think there will be any problems in the near future.
the Blogoholics last blog post..How to Cloak Your Affiliate Links and Make More Money
I think making profit is not about how saturated niche is. It’s about having a clue what are you writing about. And most bloggers in MMO niche don’t.
I subscribed to bulk of MMO blogs when I started my blog, just to see whole picture. Now I dropped almost all of them because it’s became obvious fast how useless they are. Posting generic affiliate network reviews with own affiliate link is not MMO.
My opinion may be bit harsh… It was greatly influenced by one example. MMO blog posted real working advice on how to improve search traffic and make money from AdSense. Next day post was gone and he was apologizing to MMO bloggers for sharing secrets. Strangely he was not apologizing to his readers for treating them like crap.
Rarsts last blog post..Constructing ultimate antispam solution
I’m with Rarst. I think most of the time, they are running out of ideas and losing the passion to carry on so selling it would be a better option. While it doesn’t as a surprise to see Linkersblog or Slyvision selling their sites, I admit I was pretty shocked by the fact that Jason was pulling the plug on the brand he has built upon successfully.
I guess it’s about time I make similar move……(just a joke!)
Yan
Blog for Beginnerss last blog post..Duplicate Content: Penalty or Policy?
I am pretty sure that every MMO blogger has alternative in back-end. It is simply not possible to write about MMO and IM if you are not successful and don’t have experience. So you have right, when this area soon becomes very competitive, only big guys that are really successful will remain alive.
Judits last blog post..Creating an Aromatherapy Retail Store Online
WTF, I didn’t know that LinkersBlog is for sale too. What the hell is happening in the blogosphere!
Husseins last blog post..How To Get Old Commentators Back To Your Blog
@TheBloholic: I partially agree. It is true that no matter what the niche is, it’ll be possible to stand out one way or another by having good content and enough creativity. BUT, I think some niches reach a point where it is extremely hard to get in and monetize…
@Rarst: Yep, I hear you with that one. A lot of MMO bloggers really love themselves and are in this business for shameless self-promotion
You know, this blogging world is more and more about sharing and a lot more than it was like 5 years ago. A big shift will kill a lot of selfish bloggers and a lot of them are in the MMO niche.
@Yan: Yep, a lot are loosing passion and I must admit I would be loosing passion as well at some point. Blogging strictly about MMO for a period of over like 3 months is not easy and that’s why if you analyze what the big guys like ShoeMoney or JohnChow blog about, they rarely blog about making money online.
Don’t sell your blog!
@Judit: Yep, I can imagine most have and I hope most have!
@Hussein: I’m telling you man, big changes are about to happen!
@Rarst, hehe, I know who you’re talking about!
the Blogoholics last blog post..How to Cloak Your Affiliate Links and Make More Money
Passion , dream , power to visualise and knowledge on the subject are critical before you decide to start a blog…I dont see any saturation in the internet marketing niche while content, approach and marketing and credibility of the blog owner and his experiences in the donmain will be key to success.
However micro niches like PPC , SEM , SEO will work better provide you can blog about them.
While i was very suprised that TUK and SlyV were up for sale. I did not know that LinkersBlog is also up for sale…. TheMelvinBlog.com is also up for sale…
Internet Marketings last blog post..Is free blogging platform recommended?
Hey Hey Hey Ben, don’t Jump into the conclusion too fast, I guess you have the idea how big this blogsphere is – How vulnerable this whole MMO stuff.
It just one University kid, one linker and one sly is running out from their blogs.
Shanker Bakshis last blog post..The End of New Beginnings
Its Melvinblog.com up for sale not themelvinblog.com as mentioned in my comment above
Internet Marketings last blog post..Is free blogging platform recommended?
Well all I can say is that this has to happen to let the real people become the winners. You gotta have guts & you have to be driven to make it in any niche. You are always going to have a voice in your head telling you that you can’t make it. I guess they will move to the side and let the big dogs win.
Franklin Bishops last blog post..How to Add Video in Your Sidebar
Change is in the air (to the tune of “Love is in the air”).
Do you think its going to cause any kind of panic?
Survival of the fittest blogs I guess.
Leilas last blog post..SEO obsession number 1: rank checking
In my opinion as long as you are creative in your niche and you have that salesmanship quality. You will make hay all the way whether sun shines or not ! Nice post by the way.
Riturajs last blog post..Veritas – The Story Behind
Great post here Ben!
I’m looking to be one of those next “creative people” to start something new. Watch out, the Sly Guy will be back!
The Sly Guys last blog post..It’s Official: SlyVisions Is Now For Sale!
Interesting conclusion. I don’t think I agree. The net is only getting incrementally bigger and the only real bottle neck is the decimination of information and opinions. Of course seems to me people ought to blog because they have something relevant to say not to cash in.
Joel Ms last blog post..Real Estate Crisis hits Dallas
It is interesting how fast things move in the world of internet. I think you are right on the money with your predictions.
Just another reason I am pleased I blog about pets
Deans last blog post..Unfair! Dogs Want Equal Pay
I think this has to do with the study of economics isn’t it? Demand and supply plays a part in the world of blogosphere as well. It will all come back to the origin after a while. Great thoughts Ben
Wei Liang
Wei Liang | ABloggerBlogs last blog post..Lesson 20: Blog Contest
Blogging market crash? Blog foreclosure crisis? Ha!
Michael Henrys last blog post..Where I’m at: Free Flu Shot Clinic
I am little bit surprise. These are the blogs that I visit frequently to read their ideas out.
Norhafidzs last blog post..Linkbaiting a Bad Thing?
It’s not like those guys aren’t going to restart new blogs elsewhere. That’s actually something I would be worried about if I was buying those blogs – the old owners could easily duplicate everything they already did and take all the original readers with them.
It is so true that you need to be creative. The information for any one niche will get recycled. It makes sense that although content is essential, the delivery of the content will eventually be the deal breaker.
eric tans last blog post..$500 Cash Money Prizes at FtC
Very timely article for me. I’m in the learning curve for blogging – and my blogs are not about MMO, although I would like to Make Money On line. So I’m encouraged by this article.
Awesome post man. Staying up with current events is ideal. I feel that there are two sides to blogging. One side is the human and the other content blog. There is also two sides to the blogosphere; one side is the humans/community and the other is informational/formal content blogs.
When you see look at it that way, you can begin to break down how these two are effecting eachother. Like right now, many people are commenting about Jason selling, and comments are where people get to be people. The same is probably true for other two blogs.
Those blogs have a strong community, and strong content to back that up. And the content can be sold, as well as the community, but the community is around a person. It’s like switching your best friend for another person and them carrying on the conversation like nothing ever happened. haha
In conclusion, it is my opinion that its a battle in the buyers eyes over which is more valuable, because to me it looks like the universitykid has better community than he does content. So this actually will work against him when he selling.
Although it is a complete brand, i.e. The University Kid but people really seem to know him by his name. But anyways! This comment is getting too long! Btw the people at siteflipu.com have yet to reinvent themselves, we’ll see how that transition works to get an idea about these other blogs.
Take care!
Wynter Joness last blog post..SiteFlipRockstar Beginner Checklist
You really have to be a big time blogger to get the money because google slashes your pr if you are just a small fry!
The Garden Gossips last blog post..Poinsettias
@Judit
It’s not about the experience alone. I’ve seen many bloggers who didn’t have any experience in MMO/IM and who started blogging from scratch. Today indeed,they are very successful bloggers !
I can’t agree more with Ben that it is the creativity that makes a blogger successful. For some it is their writing style and for others it may be the way they influence their readers. You sell USB drive, nobody will bother much about it. You sell USB drives in strawberry shape, people will atleast wow if not buy that.
Thanks for write up Ben…it is really surprising that the MMO niche is advancing into saturation…well i love maney online using the creative way…
Recently, i just launched a niche blog called Cupid Blogger Dot Com with love tips and relationship. I like love and relationship topic and blogging is my passion and only money….
Cupid Bloggers last blog post..How To Present Yourself On The First Date For Men – Part 1
This post seems backwards to me. I’ve been online in one for or another for wuite a while, and it seems to me at least that the MMO craze really started getting nuts AFTER IM was already saturating.
Dennis Edells last blog post..Only 5 Days Left To Sponsor The *Best Blog Review* Blog Contest!
Its true, the whole thing is getting a bit saturated, and that people are creating the blogs to make money – it seems the simpliest way. I started mine out as a way of tracking how I will make money online, I for that reason I dont monetise my site. I don’t plan on selling it, or making money from it – rather from the things I talk about.
Dans last blog post..The Best Laid Plans of Mice And Bloggers
@ZK Internet Marketing: It is true that if you bring something very new and refreshing, saturation will affect you a lot less because people will turn to you before other blogs. Passion will keep driving this!
@Shaker: I’m not really jumping to any conclusions, I just think people will get really sick of seeing the same blog concepts all over the place. Let’s face it, the content on MMO blogs is more or less the same.
@Franklin: I love that: it has to happen to let the real people win.
You always have to believe that you can make it and always think of how you can do things in a different way!
@Leila: haha, maybe some panic…;) Seriously I think things will change and only for the best…
@Rituraj: Exactly mate! Being creative and always driving innovation will eventually make things happen. Thanks for the comment
@Sly Guy: Looking forward to seeing new projects from the Sly Guy! Congrats on the sale btw
@Joel M: That’s the thing, a lot of people start blogging to cash in and it is mostly a guaranteed failure!
@Dean: haha glad you are blogging about something else than MMO
You are right, things move extremely fast in this business hehe
@Michael Henry: Are you scared? hehe
@Norhafidz: I was reading linkers blog and the other ones occasionally so I’ll get over it, but still…
@John: Yep, they will definitely start new websites/projects, but I don’t think they would duplicate the content. But anyway, I don’t think buying a MMO blog is a good idea…
@eric: Yep, so true, there is the same content all over the place! Driving innovation and being creative enough is the key to success! I think…
)
@Adele: Glad you liked it! Trust me, it’s much more easier to make money with a blog outside the MMO niche, as surprising as it might seem!
@Wynter Jones: You are so right! I think it is not a good idea to buy a blog built around a person. Buying an informative blog getting like 80% traffic from Google can be a good idea as the community won’t say: Aright, Jason isn’t running that anymore, I’m leaving. In fact you can even sell the website without even telling your readers!
I like the analogy of switching your best friend
And yeah, people at siteflipu.com have to do something with that 32K website!
@The Garden Gossip: I don’t think it has anything to do with PR but these are all things that comes together.
@Himanshu: You are so right with your USB keys example! Always think about how you can do things in a different way, just don’t repeat what everyone’s doing!
@Cupid blogger: Thanks for your comment and welcome to the blog, I don’t remember seeing you around! Good luck with the new blog you just launched, looks like a good idea…As long as you write about your passions!
@Dennis: Maybe, but I think it depends on how you see this situation. I believe it’s a lot easier to bring new creative ideas and stand out in the Internet Marketing niche. That makes it possible for everyone with refreshing content/ideas to rise faster. I haven’t seen a lot of creativity in the MMO niche in the past year which makes it a very saturated niche hard to dominate.
As usual, depends on how you look at it.
@Dan: Good stuff buddy, blogs about “journeys to make money online” are OK as you don’t pretend you are a big guy doing million online. If you accept this idea, some good things can come out of such project
I really don’t think that they are selling cause of the MMO niche is drying up, I personally think they were just really big flips.
They have pretty big price tags on them, any way it could just be that they lost the passion for it.
Great post, and it says a lot of things I’ve said, though in a different way.
I’ll admit that I read a bunch of MMO blogs. However, I’ve noticed that many times they’re tripping over each other because they end up saying the same thing. I mean, how many times do I have to read “write good content, comment on other people’s blogs”, etc?
Sure, I’ve written on these topics also, but I came at it with a different spin. I’ve also broken the sacred mold of niche blogging by talking about other things, including sometimes just posting a video that I liked. To me, making one’s blog interesting takes more than just always talking about the same thing everyone else is talking about.
I follow two of the three you wrote about, and I hope that whoever takes them over does them justice.
Mitchs last blog post..Is Social Media Hurting Your Online Business?
[...] product through our affiliate links, selling direct ads (banner, text link ads), and we can even sell our blog. Once you get loyal readers and increasing traffic, you can display PPC ad like Google AdSense and [...]
Hi, Ben:
Sorry i’ve not come by recently. I am really digging the new look. Nice! I like that the videos (which you seem to do regularly) fit better now in posts.
As for the MMO/IM niche, it a blog is good. It’s good and comp wont be a problem. But i also agree with you that money is found in other niches as well, it is NOT all about the MMO/IM niche exclusively.
Good stuff. I’ll try and swing by more often.
Peace,
Missy.
Missys last blog post..New Flip, Twilight Movie News Blog
It's a nice idea. How do we tap to the people who wants to buy blogs?