Flipping Easy

By the time you read this I should be in the recovery room after some minor back surgery to fix a issue I had with a disc. I tell you this for two reasons. First of all, I’ll be out of commission for a while so posting here is going to be a bit more spread out than I’d like it to be. I have a few posts ready and there might even be a guest post or two but even so, posting frequency is going to slow down slightly.

More importantly though, the thought occurred to me that surgery really is what’s often required for a successful site flip. So, in the spirit of embracing the post slowing annoyance also known as a partial discectomy, I’d like to discuss the 4 stages of Site Surgery.

Diagnosis

More often than not in flipping, you’ll be dealing with a site that has some sort of issue or problem. The first step in a successful flip is going to be diagnose or identify what is wrong. While the problem might be something obvious like a horrible design, it might also be something a bit more subtle like using the wrong types of offers to monetize the traffic.

Prescription

Like any good doctor, once you make the diagnosis you’ll need to figure out what course of action is needed. Does the site need a complete redesign or just a few tweaks? Do you need to have a bunch of brand new content written or would one or two viral posts suffice? Perhaps the site would be improved by moving it to a new domain or just some better sales copy on the auction listing. Once you’ve decided what prescription is needed it’s time to move on to treatment.

Treatment

No practitioner will proclaim to be able to do any and all procedures you might need. That’s precisely why there are brain surgeons, podiatrists, and everything in between. Rather than become a jack of all trades, medicine encourages specialization. The same principle applies to buying and selling websites. Instead of spending time learning Photoshop to improve a site’s design or becoming a prolific copywriter to improve a site’s content, “refer” your site to a specialist. Spend your time on whatever aspect of site flipping you’re best at. You’ll not only be more efficient that way, but you’ll also avoid a lot of frustration and possible burnout.

Follow Up

After treatment, any good doctor will tell you that you absolutely MUST follow up. Once you make the changes, tracking the results will tell you whether or not it was the right course of treatment. Has the new design resulted in a lower bounce rate? Have the new articles attracted the traffic or the links you were hoping for? Are the new product offerings or ads resulting in increased revenue? By following up after treatment you’ll be able to identify whether further work is needed or the site has been “healed” and is ready for sale.

Did I miss any steps in the process? Why type of site “surgeon” are you? Feel free to weigh in with your opinion in the comment section below!

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