Have you ever given any thought to selling your blog? I for one never like to sell any of the websites that I personally start. After putting so much time into a blog, selling it would feel like eliminating part of my business life. Sure, you may be able to make some money on a deal, but is it worth it?
Over the past couple of months I have kept an eye on the marketplace at SitePoint. If you are not familiar with SitePoint, they have probably the largest marketplace for selling blogs, websites, and much more. If you are going to sell your blog, or are interested in buying one, this is probably the place for you. Anyway, there have been quite a few blogs for sale, and many of them have fetched a pretty penny. But the one thing that really gets me is the people who sell their personal blog. Does this make sense to you?
If I sold this blog, what would somebody else do with it? After all, it is about my experiences and thoughts on a wide variety of subjects. To me, selling a personal blog is like selling a part of yourself.
I suppose there are some reasons for both selling and buying a personal blog. On the selling side of things, if your blog is popular in your niche, you may be able to attract a good price. And of course, if you already have revenue streams in place this is only going to help your cause.
On the other side of things, buying somebody’s personal blog also has some benefits. First off, as mentioned above, it may be an authority site. And along with this comes name recognition, direct traffic, incoming links, an established readership, and some revenue. The only problem is, are all of these benefits going to stick around when the person running the blog changes? This is a question that you will want to answer before you decide to buy a personal blog.
Â
One last note: if you are going to sell your personal blog, make sure that the new owner will state this in their first post. In other words, you want them to tell readers that the blog is under new ownership. You may also want to make a post before you go telling your readers why you sold, etc. And of course, make sure that the new owner is aware that they must keep this post on the blog. If you do not do this, the new owner will be more or less acting as you; and this is never a good thing.
Buying and selling a blog can be tricky business. Before you do either one, make sure that you take the pros and cons into consideration.Â
There is no denying that managing more than one blog can be a difficult task. And if you are going to do this without the help of others, you are most definitely in for a rough time; at least during the beginning stages. But with that being said, there are many people out there who are successfully managing multiple blogs. If you want to be next, it is going to take a high level of efficiency and dedication. And that is only the beginning.
Are you thinking about starting another blog? Do you already have more than one that you are trying to keep track of? If so, the following four tips will help you to successfully manage all of your blogs.
1. As you probably know, managing one blog can be time consuming. You need to find time to make regular posts, while also marketing with gusto. This alone can take up several hours each day if you want to do things right. On this blog alone, I spend at least 1.5 hours per day making sure that everything is running smoothly. And even then, I find myself answering emails late at night in order to stay in touch with readers.
If you are going to manage more than one blog, you can pretty much multiply your work by that number. Since I have a bit of help, I do not struggle too much with keeping my other sites up to date. But with that being said, I still like to do most of my work without too much assistance. To succeed with this, it is essential for me to outline daily goals. Example: for this blog, I strive to write at least one post per day. Along with this, I always make anywhere between 20 and 40 comments on other blogs that are similar to mine. Finally, I add in other time consuming measures such as guest blogging and other marketing techniques. And this is all in addition to my day to day freelance writing projects.
2. As mentioned above, I do have a little bit of help from time to time; and there is nothing wrong with this. Even though it would be nice to do everything on my own, there are simply not enough hours in a day. If you are going to run multiple blogs, in particular more than two, you are probably going to have to hire some help. Find out the area where you need the most assistance, and then seek out somebody who is reliable enough to get the job done.
3. If all of your blogs are somehow interrelated you will have a much easier time keeping them current. For instance, if you have a blog on basketball, start another on a particular player within the game. This will allow you to do all of your research in one area. Not to mention the fact that it is probably something that you will enjoy!
4. Never start a new blog until you are 100 percent comfortable with where your current ones stand. Why put more on your plate if you are having a hard time working with the blogs that you already have? You should not be in a huge hurry to jump into another venture. Take your time so that as you move forward it is easier for you to sustain your current workload.
Managing multiple blogs may not be easy, but it can be rewarding on both a personal and financial level.
If you are a freelance writer, one of your jobs is to make sure that you get paid the amount you are owed on time. Of course, things do not always work out this way, but it should be your goal. But when it comes to collecting money, what method do you prefer?
Generally speaking, freelance writers have two options when it comes to getting paid. This is not to say that there are no other options, but these are definitely the most popular.
First off, you could opt to be paid by check. The main benefit of this is that you do not have to rely on an online payment system in order to facilitate the transaction. Additionally, unlike PayPal, when you receive your funds via check you never have to pay a fee. For some people, this is reason enough to collect all their money this way.
In my case, the magazines and other print publications that I write for always pay via check. This is fine with me, and I usually cash checks within a couple days of finding them in my mailbox.
The only real drawback of a check, when compared to PayPal, is that you have to rely on the mail to deliver your money. Even if things go as planned, you are going to have to wait for a couple of days at the least. For some freelance writers, getting paid quickly is the most important factor. After all, bills need to get paid, and waiting is never a good thing.
This brings us to why PayPal is beneficial to freelance writers. As soon as you complete and turn in your assignment, your client can send you funds via your PayPal account. This means that you could have your money in your account within five minutes of completing a job. Talk about quick service!
As mentioned above, the main downfall of PayPal is the transaction fees that are taken out of your payment. To give you an idea of how bad these can get, I paid nearly $2,000 in these fees last year. Now can you see why PayPal makes so much money?
Since I have several jobs that pay out on a regular basis, some of them as often as three to four times per week, being paid by check is not an option. Sure, I could have them tally everything up at the end of the month, but I prefer to receive payment as soon as possible. This ensures me that I will get what is coming to me; even if I have to give PayPal a small percentage of it.
Although check and PayPal are the two best payment options for freelance writers, you may want to consider others. For instance, I have one client that pays each month with a wire transfer. All they needed was my checking account number, routing number, and bank name. While this is a great way to get paid because of the quick service, keep in mind that you may be charged a service fee. I give up $13 on each payment from this client so that I can get the money wired to my account. Why do I do this, you may ask? Well, since the check is usually for a couple thousand dollars, it seems to be the best option. I would rather get that amount of money as quick as possible as opposed to waiting for it in the mail.
As a freelance writer, consider receiving payments via check and/or PayPal. You should be able to find a happy medium that suits the needs of most your clients.
