The buy to let business

Editor Note: we know that buying online businesses can be a tricky business. As Mark suggests below, make sure you educate yourself and only choose an option that will work for you. While there are a lot of great reasons to buy an online business rather than starting from scratch, there’s always one major objection: buying an established website takes money. And the more established a website is, the more it will cost you. Of course, you can sift through an auction marketplace looking for a bargain deal, but these marketplaces are fraught with fraud and snake-oil salesmen. Plus, many of the websites for sale through marketplaces simply don’t make enough money to justify the time you’ll spend building them. With smaller sites, you’re often better off starting from nothing. So how can you afford to buy an established website? This article will cover 8 of the most common options we see buyers exercise to fund an acquisition. I’ll also review the benefits and … [Read more...] about How to Buy an Online Business: 8 Funding Options

Buying a website rather than building one can be a great shortcut to an established online presence. Not only do you save time and tech headaches, you are also buying an inventory, customer goodwill, and online marketing. Sometimes that is something you can’t put a price on. But buying a website is not without significant risks. I’ve been fortunate to have handled over 600 website sales over the past 8 years. In that time, I’ve seen a lot of successful buyers make the act of buying a website look simple. But for every expert buyer who nimbly works the process and acquires a website, there are a handful of buyers who are obviously learning the process for the first time. They tend to make the same mistakes, and some of them subsequently find themselves in really bad financial situations because of it. I asked my team to identify common mistakes they see buyers making when buying a website. Here’s what they came up with. 1. Failing to Build Rapport with the Seller … [Read more...] about 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Website

If you don’t know it yet, Pokémon GO is freaking huge. According to SimilarWeb, “Over 60% of those who have downloaded the app in the US are using it daily, meaning around 3% of the entire US Android population are users of the app.” Average daily users have already surpassed Tinder and may soon pass Twitter’s app. Part of Pokémon GO’s appeal is it truly crosses age boundaries — people in their 20s and 30s remember Pokémon’s explosive popularity in the 90s and early 2000s, and kids now are beginning to see how awesome and fun playing in the “pocket monster” world can be. Because of the large demographic reach, there are so many potential uses for marketers. While the app doesn’t offer any sponsorship or partnership programs right now, the future is certainly full of possibilities. Here are some of the current and potential ways marketers can get involved in the Pokémon GO hype. How Can You be Part … [Read more...] about How to Market Your Business on Pokémon GO

In July, I shared the lessons I have learned selling websites with Quiet Light Brokerage since 2006, but the seller is not the only important part of the equation. Buying an online business can seem scary, but if you go in knowing how to conduct a deal you’ll improve your success rate immeasurably. I learned these lessons by observing literally thousands of smart buyers over the years, some of whom saw returns of over 1000% in their first year alone. The deals are out there, and these 19 lessons will help you get your footing (and your money’s worth) as a potential buyer: 1. Always Trust Your Gut Sometimes a deal just doesn’t feel right, even though you can’t place your finger on why. While analysis of a business is usually enough to determine if you’re making a good investment, sometimes there are intangibles you can feel in your gut. History tells us that this gut feeling is often correct. Learn to identify it and trust it. However, a smart buyer needs … [Read more...] about 19 Things I’ve Learned About Buying Websites

When you think about the search buying cycle, you often start with a user’s keyword search. However, that’s not the entire buying cycle funnel. The first steps in the buying cycle are awareness and interest. It’s difficult to generate awareness in search as someone has to first know about a product or service before they can search for it. Traditionally, the awareness cycle has taken place through CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) buys on the traditional ad networks, or via ad buys on a specific site. However, it is possible to accomplish many of these buys through Google’s AdWords program. If you use content network best practices, you can optimize these buys based upon campaign metrics once you set your goals. With the launch of AdWords new keywords plus placements targeting, you have better control in buying both CPC and CPM ads via Google than in the previous days of the content network. CPM targeting often works best with image or video ads. This will create … [Read more...] about Save Time & Money Buying Your Targeted CPM From Google