We’ve all been there, toiling away at a job to provide for our families. It’s a time-tested way to bring in a steady income!
But jobs also come with a serious drawback: your income doesn’t scale. There are only so many hours you can work in a day, and only so many raises you can get. If you really want to get ahead, you need another approach.
So, what can you do instead to generate income?
Websites are a great option, but how many times have you heard that you should start a money-making blog? Probably more than you can count! If you haven’t succeeded at it yet, that’s probably because it’s totally overwhelming to start a website from scratch with no clarity on when – or even if – you’ll get a payoff.
That’s why, rather than starting an income generating website, we recommend that you buy one!
There’s a lot to like about an income generating website. The business model is to find a niche (ie a narrow topic) where you’re solving a problem that people will pay a solution for, such as losing weight with a paleo diet, finding penny stock investments, or buying the right tennis racquet.
Then, you can monetize incoming traffic through revenue opportunities like display ads, product sales, and affiliate commissions. With this approach, it’s possible to build an asset that generates cash for you passively, month in and month out.
So, why buy rather than starting your own? Well, even though you can absolutely grow your one affiliate website from scratch, there are a few issues with this:
On the other hand, when you purchase an income generating website, you’re buying yourself a “shortcut” to a money making business.
How? Because the website is already an asset! It has a track record of ranking in Google, it has an established brand, and most importantly, it’s generating an income. Because all of the groundwork has been done first, you can focus all of your attention on how to make money with the website.
When you purchase an existing income website, be sure you evaluate the ways it’s already making money. As soon as you take possession, you’ll want to have a long-term growth plan for the website, as well as a handful of “quick wins” to boost revenue right away.
Here are some pointers to get you started on building a more profitable income website.
No matter the website or the business, content is king. Quality content ranks on Google and brings you organic traffic, and it also provides value to your customers.
By conducting keyword research, you can also figure out which of your new website’s existing content pieces could be improved for an immediate boost in the rankings. The rest of the keywords should be used in new content pieces, each of which represents an opportunity for new website visitors to find your site.
Getting traffic is the hard part. If you buy a website with an existing steady stream of traffic, there are many ways to monetize it:
The options are only limited by your imagination, but a great thing about starting with an existing website is seeing what’s already working!
Even as you’re finalizing an income website purchase, you should set a goal for it. Is this website something you want to build into an asset to produce income year after year, or do you want to grow it and sell it for a quick profit?
Like with real estate, cars, or other businesses, it’s certainly possible to implement some improvements to a website and flip it. Whether this makes sense for your business depends on the marketplace and your goals.
Now that we’ve seen how to make money with it, the next question probably is, where do you buy an income generating website? There are several different ways to do it.
If you’re active on forums or Facebook groups where people own affiliate sites, it may be possible to connect directly with someone who’s looking to sell. This helps both parties save on the total cost of the transaction, but you still run the risk of finding a seller who doesn’t deliver what they promise.
Instead of trying to find a seller on your own, there are many marketplaces out there for buying and selling income websites and other online businesses. These websites connect sellers with buyers, and they often help facilitate the transaction in exchange for a listing fee and/or a commission on the sale.
One prominent website marketplace is Flippa, which helps sellers post listings of their online businesses. There are a lot of great sites for sale on Flippa – but sites like this often have a lot of junk to sift through, along with predatory sellers who may scam unsuspecting buyers.
If you have a lot of capital at your disposal, you can seek out a high-end broker that works with buyers of six-figure businesses. FE International is one of the biggest players as a website broker.
It’s possible to find some amazing businesses through a broker, but you have to be prepared for selling prices as high as several million dollars – and you may still need to do your own research to verify what you’re purchasing.
If you want to find that sweet spot where you don’t have to start from scratch, but you aren’t draining your retirement account to fund the business either, consider purchasing a small niche website through a seller like Motion Invest.
Motion Invest is a unique take on the website marketplace model – rather than helping buyers and sellers connect with each other directly, Motion Invest independently vets and buys quality websites from sellers, then lists the website for buyers to purchase from Motion Invest directly.
This process aligns Motion Invest’s interests with yours as a buyer. After all, if Motion Invest buys a high-risk site, they may be unable to sell it. This means the team does its due diligence, passing the information along so buyers know exactly what they’re getting. Plus, the income sites sold on Motion Invest are generally priced in the four or five figures, which allows you to buy a proven site that still has plenty of room for growth.
If you’re interested, you can learn more about Motion Invest here.
There are countless ways to make money with an income generating website. If you want the benefits of owning an income website without the risks and challenges of starting one on your own, buying an income generating website just might be the best way to go!
Motion Invest has helped thousands of entrepreneurs just like you to sell and buy websites.
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