Flipping Easy

“I just broke up with this girl and the last thing she said to me was “You’ll never find anyone like me again!” I’m thinking, “I should hope not!“

The first website that a person sells is almost always a site they’ve developed from scratch. And, while there are a ton of resources out there to help you sell your site, I haven’t come across one yet that walks you through the process of detaching yourself from a site you’ve worked so long and hard on.

Well, it just so happens I’m an expert on ending relationships (admittedly usually on the receiving end) and I’ve put together a iron clad 4 step guide on how to break up with your blog.

Be Sure

“You’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon and for the rest of your life.”

Before actually putting your site up for sale, pause for a moment and make sure that you really want to sell. Go over the reasons you decided to sell and make sure that they still apply and aren’t likely to change any time soon. While selling a website and finally cashing out on all your hard work can be thrilling, it can be just as humbling to realize that you’ve parted with a site you shouldn’t have.

Contrary to what you might expect from a site flipper, if you have any doubt about whether or not to sell, I’d suggest holding off. A delay of a couple of days or even a week isn’t likely to affect your final sale price drastically, so take the time to be sure. Otherwise, as Bogey said, “You’ll regret it”.

Be Honest

“You can’t handle the truth!”

With so many parties potentially involved in the break up (yourself, your readers, the buyer) honesty really is the best policy. It might seem like a good idea to improve on the truth a little, but trying to keep track of even the smallest lies will drastically complicate the entire process. Believe it or not, the first person you need to be honest with is yourself. If you’ve carefully considered your options and still decided to sell, it’s more than likely the right choice.

Don’t try to fool yourself into think you’ll start posting again when you’ve let the blog sit dormant for 6 months. Don’t downplay the amount of work it requires from you or over estimate your willingness to actually spend that time. Also, be honest with yourself when determining the value of your blog. Just because you’ve put in hundreds of hours of work on the site, that doesn’t automatically make it worth thousands of dollars to a buyer. By being honest (or realistic) with your expectations, you’re much less likely to be disappointed with your final sale price.

If you announce the sale to your readers (perhaps hoping to find a private party buyer amongst them), be honest with them about your reasons for selling. If you’ve lost your passion, tell them, besides they probably already picked up on that fact from your writing style. They might not be happy to see you go, but if they enjoy your blog chances are they’ll wish you only the best.

And last, but certainly not least, be honest at all times with the buyer (or potential buyers). Don’t fudge the subscriber or traffic numbers, don’t lie about the site’s income, and don’t conveniently downplay the amount of work it takes to maintain the site. Not only is it immoral, there’s a decent chance you’ll get caught. Most buyers and sellers prefer to use an escrow service to protect everyone’s interests and make sure no one gets ripped off. Included in the process is an examination period when the buyer has a chance to look over what he or she just purchased.

If you’ve lied about the stats, the income, or anything else, it will be easy to spot when the buyer has full access to the site and stats. Even if they don’t notice it until after the deal is closed, they’ll likely let their displeasure be known making it more difficult for you to sell sites in the future. Much like an ex, angry customers can be vindictive and embody the saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”.

Be Firm

“You’re nothing to me now. Not a brother, not a friend, nothing”

If you’re selling a blog that you’ve invested a lot of time in, it’s only natural for a bit of regret or seller’s remorse to creep in at some point. Maybe the new owner of the site is getting recognition or having success that you feel should have been yours, or perhaps they are taking the site in a direction that you don’t agree with. Whatever the case may be, it’s important that once the sale is final and you’ve completed your end of the deal, you realize the site is no longer yours.

While everyone has their own way of dealing with breakups, my best advice is to make a clean break. Take some time off, don’t visit the site, don’t keep tabs on the RSS feed, don’t comment on posts, and avoid reading articles about the site. Not only will it be easier for you to make the transition away from thinking of it as your site, it will also allow the new owner to make the site their own without your influence or interference.

Be Happy

“Show me the money!”

While breaking up with your site can be a surprisingly difficult thing, it can also be exhilarating. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the quickest and easiest way to get over any seller’s remorse is to look at what you’ve gained instead of what you lost. Now that you don’t have to worry about creating content for your blog or promoting your site, you’ll have more time on your hands for other activities. Once the sale is over you won’t have the weight and stress of finding a buyer, coming to an agreement, transferring the site, and all the other things required when selling a site.

And best of all, if you’ve played your cards right you’ll have a nice lump sum sitting in your bank account. Whether you pay off debts, reinvest the money into other projects, go out to dinner, or buy yourself a new car, I’ve found no better cure for a case of seller’s remorse than spending the money.

Even if all else fails, the barrier of entry for blogging is so low that you can always create another fish in the sea!

While these 4 steps work for me, there are certainly more ways than one to dump a guy blog. For you experienced dumpers and fellow dumpees out there, what are some of the ways I missed?

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