When you want to take your HGTV house flipping show addiction online, then this guide to flipping websites for beginners is for you.
Hands up – who has ever watched an entire day of flipping shows on HGTV without even blinking one eye of regret?
Maybe my lack of regret has something to do with the wine that I drink while watching said shows…
I’m learning valuable information for my future life, right?
Even though I really like the idea of buying a stinker of a hoarder house, making it gorgeous and then reselling it for huge bank, the reality is that it usually takes a mound of money to do this.
Yes, of course, there are the crazy “no money down” and “seller financing” things that you can work, but that is not likely, nor is coming up with that kind of money.
Oh, and I am not all that handy, nor do I want to be.
So, how can you get your flipping fix, but do it online and make money?
Flipping websites.
Yep, it’s a thing and it’s a lucrative thing.
After all, who wouldn’t want to become a virtual real estate tycoon with just a few clicks and keystrokes?
In this post, I’m going to try to demystify the art of flipping websites for beginners.
It is not nearly as terrifying as buying your first house, I promise.
This post may contain affiliate links. This means I could earn a commission if you purchase through my links, however, there is no cost to you. Rest assured, I only promote products that I use or think are great. Thanks for reading!!
Flipping Websites for Beginners
What Exactly is Website Flipping?
Website flipping, in a nutshell, is the art of buying, improving, and selling websites—think of it as the digital equivalent of flipping houses. Just like in the world of bricks and mortar, you’re on the hunt for hidden gems in the virtual landscape that you can polish and sell for a pretty penny. But don’t worry, there’s no heavy lifting or sledgehammer-swinging involved—just your trusty computer and some basic online skills.
Other Side Hustle Comparisons
Sure, you could walk dogs, sell handmade crafts, or become the neighborhood’s go-to babysitter, but flipping websites offers a unique allure. It’s a side hustle where you can work online from anywhere, set your own hours, and potentially make a lot more dough than a plate of cookies at the local bake sale. Plus, you won’t have to deal with drool, dirty diapers, or disgruntled customers (well, most of the time).
The Three Main Strategies: Build and Sell, Buy and Improve, and Buy and Hold
Just like a master chef, a website flipper has a few different recipes for success up their sleeve:
- Build and sell: This is the “from scratch” approach, where you create a website, grow its traffic and revenue, and then sell it to the highest bidder. Think of it as baking a cake, adding some irresistible icing, and then auctioning it off to hungry partygoers.
*A caveat to this is the new concept of building starter websites with little to no content and flipping them without growing traffic or revenue. Think about it for people like a real-estate agent who needs a quick website already set up and ready to go, but doesn’t want to have to build it themselves. These types of websites will sell for less, but they also have a quicker turn around time. - Buy and improve: In this strategy, you buy an existing website that needs a little TLC, give it a digital makeover, and then sell it for a profit. It’s like finding a tarnished old lamp at a garage sale, polishing it up, and revealing a gleaming, valuable antique underneath.
- Buy and hold: This one is for the long-term thinkers. You buy a website, improve it, and then hold onto it as it generates income. It’s like adopting a goose that lays golden eggs—you keep it well-fed, and it keeps rewarding you with riches.
Finding the Right Websites to Flip
Sourcing Websites: Online Marketplaces, Auctions, and Direct Outreach
Finding the perfect website to flip can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack—or, in this case, a pixel in a screen full of them. But fear not, digital treasure hunters! There are online marketplaces, auctions, and direct outreach methods to help you find your next flip-worthy gem. It’s like speed dating for website flippers, where you browse through multiple options until you find “the one” that makes your heart (and wallet) flutter.
To start your search, check out Empire Flippers and Flippa. These two sites are the ones I always recommend. They have a huge inventory and have been around a long time.
What Could it Be? Niche Selection, Traffic, and Monetization Potential
When you’re thinking about flipping a website, you want to think about the potential. You’ll want to consider things like niche or category selection (is it a topic people care about?), traffic (are there enough visitors to make it worthwhile?), and monetization potential (can you make it rain with this website?). It’s like finding a fixer-upper house in a great neighborhood—there might be some foundation issues and walls that need to be painted, but the potential payoff is worth the effort.
Due Diligence: Analyzing Website Data, Assessing Risks, and Verifying Claims
As a savvy website flipper, you know that looks can be deceiving. That’s why due diligence is crucial. You’ll need to dig into the data, assess risks, and verify any claims made by the seller to ensure you’re not being bamboozled. Think of it as doing a thorough background check on your potential new digital partner—after all, nobody wants to be catfished by a website.
Increasing Website Value: Tips and Tricks
Content Optimization: Quality, Quantity, and Keyword Research
If content is king, then consider yourself a digital monarch in the making! To boost your website’s value, you’ll want to focus on content optimization—think quality, quantity, and keyword research. It’s like writing love letters to search engines, ensuring they swoon over your site and elevate it to prime positions in their rankings. But don’t just stuff your pages with keywords; weave them in naturally, and always prioritize delivering value to your human readers.
SEO: What the Googleverse Wants to See
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the behind-the-scenes stuff that turns a website from ugh to wowza – in the eyes of search engines like Google anyway. By applying on-page (e.g., title tags, meta descriptions) and off-page (e.g., backlinks, social signals) tactics, you’ll give your website a much-needed kick in the pants that Google types want to see.
Money, Money, Money: Ads, Affiliates, and Digital Products O’ My!
If we’re all being honest, the money is what we’re all in the side hustle business for, so when it comes to monetizing your website, there’s a bunch of different things you can choose from: ads, affiliates, and digital products, etc.. Just remember to strike the right balance—nobody likes it when they’re bombarded with sales pitches every step of the way.
Check out my post Not A Pyramid: How To Make Passive Income With Affiliate Marketing and Master The Magical World of Passive Income: eBook Writing for Beginners for more info.
The Delicate Dance of Selling: It’s Closing Time
(And you can’t stay here…song lyrics inserted here)
Getting That Baby Ready Sale: Get All Your Ducks in a Row
People make assumptions about other people as soon as they meet them – first impressions. So, when it’s time to sell your website, you’ll want to make sure it’s spiffed up as much as it can be. Just like you’d stage a house for sale, your website needs a virtual spruce-up: polish the design, tighten up the content, and gather all the necessary documentation.
Pricing Strategy: Valuation Methods and Setting the Right Price
Pricing your website is a delicate dance of art and science. You want to find the sweet spot between not leaving money on the table and not scaring away potential buyers with an overly ambitious asking price. It’s like hosting a digital yard sale—you don’t want to undersell your prized possessions, but you also don’t want to be that person with the outrageously overpriced lawn ornaments.
Listing Your Website: Platforms, Crafting Compelling Descriptions, and Visual Appeal
Now that your website is looking spiffy and priced just right, it’s time to put it on the market. Choosing the right platform, crafting a compelling description, and ensuring visual appeal are essential to catching the eye of your ideal buyer. Think of it as creating an irresistible online dating profile for your website—one that highlights its best features, showcases its personality, and leaves potential suitors eager to swipe right.
The two sites I always recommend are Flippa and Empire Flippers. Both are equally good and offer lots of support for sellers.
Negotiation and Closing: Make it a Smooothe Transition
When you’re almost done, you want everything to be cool, man. Be prepared to negotiate, but always keep your bottom line in mind. And just like any successful relationship, communication is key—be responsive, open, and honest with potential buyers. After all, the goal is to create a win-win situation where both parties walk away feeling like they’ve found the pot of colorful marshmallows at the end of the Lucky Charms rainbow.
Final Tips for Flipping Websites for Beginners
Networking: Connecting with Other Flippers and Industry Experts
You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, in the world of website flipping, it’s actually both. So, don’t be a digital hermit—get out there and network, online of course. Connect with fellow flippers, industry experts, and the digital-savvy crowd to share tips, tricks, and success stories. It’s like attending a never-ending virtual cocktail party where the drinks are bytes of wisdom, and the hors d’oeuvres are tasty tidbits of insight.
Keep Your Ears to the Ground
The digital website flipping neighborhood is always morphing, so staying in the know is an absolute must. It’s just good practice to be looking at trends and news in your new website flipping world. Check out social media, podcasts, blogs, etc…
Diversify, Diversify, Diversify: Play Like the Easter Bunny
As the new age Easter bunny likes to say, “Don’t put all your website flipping eggs in one digital pixel basket.” You want to spread your Easter grass somewhat farther and try to mix it up if you can. Try different monetization strategies or a different niche(s). This way, if one thing doesn’t work that well, you still have other areas you can try.
Resources to Check Out:
The nice thing about flipping websites, especially if you are a beginner is that there are two main sites that you will want to explore for buying and selling websites:
Both of these sites are equally good and have been around for a long time. There are resources there for you to use if you are on either side of a transaction. Customer service is also great.
The Flipping Websites for Beginners Side Hustle
The flipping websites for beginners side hustle is not like sifting through the fine print on real estate closing papers.
You can set up a simple WordPress website and flip it right away, or you can buy one already done for you and grow it and flip it later.
It really depends on how hard you want to work, and on what aspect, for how long.
In the end, you are building an asset that can generate an income for you.
If you are scared to start a website, it’s just like setting up a blog, which is NOT complicated.
(Check out my post Believe the Hype: How to Start a Blog and Make Money for more info on that.)
I wholeheartedly recommend you give website flipping a try. It really can become addictive – just like searching through real estate listings for houses or properties that you and I both know you’re never going to buy.
This way, you can get your real estate flipping fix, only digitally.
No huge investment needed.
