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4. Selling Websites Made Easy – How to Sell Your Site

Selling Websites Made Easy – How to Sell Your Site

Are you looking into selling your websites?

You’ve come to the right place! We sell websites day in, day out and we love it.

This post will explain some of the benefits of selling websites with us and the exact step-by-step process used to take you from listing to actual sale.

Some website sellers are a bit fearful about the process, but it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. We’ve sold hundreds of sites since we’ve started and can make your first (second, third, etc.) sale as painless as possible. Blogging sites, e-commerce websites, and many other online businesses have been a great way to make money online for some time now. But they’re also increasingly a desirable asset that buyers are looking to acquire and pay a surprising amount of money for.

Here are a few of the benefits our sellers have mentioned:

• 20X to 60X+ Monthly Profit Multiples – Our buyers come to us because they’re looking for quality listings and they’re willing to pay a premium for them.
• Private Listings = Private Niches – Our buyers understand the value here…there won’t be dozens of copycats that come with publicly listed sites.

The reasons are simple – our buyers have come to expect high-quality online businesses for sale. All of our sellers and sites listed go through an extensive vetting process where not all sites can be listed. In fact, we reject around ⅓ of the sites that are submitted.

We do this to protect the buyers and the sellers that continually bring quality sites to us to sell.

This post is to help you better understand the types of sites we’re looking for and the requirements we use to vet the sites.

Click here to list your website for sale with us today

Alright, so let’s get you started selling sites with us.

What Sites Are You Looking For?

We have a diverse group of buyers looking to add to their portfolio.

Types Of Websites & Online Businesses

If you’re unfamiliar with what one of these are below, feel free to click on the link to a little “primer” article we’ve written on each type of online business model that we sell on our marketplace. We are interested in websites with the following monetization methods:

We Need:

• Google AdSense/Display Advertising Sites (Individual sites or packages)
• Amazon Affiliate Sites
• Affiliate Sites
• Dropshipping Sites
• eCommerce Stores
• SaaS Businesses
• Lead Generation Sites
• Amazon FBA
• Mobile Apps
• Productized Services

We Don’t Need:

• Non-monetized Sites or Blogs
• SEO/Linkbuilding Service Sites
• Social Media Like/Fan Sites
• Adult Related Sites
• Gambling Related Sites
• Payday Loan Related Sites
• Any sites promising cures through herbal remedies or other dubious claims
• Any sites related to hacking or other criminal activities
• Any site that sells physical products that are CBD or hemp oil related

We reserve the right to reject your business if it leans too closely with any of the above.

Website & Online Business Revenue

We Need:

• Online businesses (FBA, eComm, Dropship, Info Products, KDP, Subscription, Service, SaaS, Affiliate, AdSense, Amazon Associates, Lead Gen, Amazon Merch, and Apps) – $2K/month profit avg. last 12 months (business needs to be 12-months old)
• $2,000 – $5,000 Per Month Businesses
• $5K – $20K Per Month Businesses
• $20k-$40k Per Month Businesses
• 50K+ Per Month Businesses
• All businesses will have a 2-month exclusivity period. One of the lowest in the industry

We Don’t Need:

• Sites Without Revenue
• Sites with Less than $2,000 Per Month in Net Profit over a 12-Month Average

What’s The Process For Selling Websites With You?

The first step is to head over to our Sell Your Site page and submit your site with us.

Here’s the information you’ll want to have ready:

• Personal information (Name, email, skype, social media profiles, etc.)
• Site/Business details (domain name, date purchased/created, site history, backlinking efforts, etc.)
• Last 6+ months of revenue details (gross monthly revenue, net monthly profit)
• Last 6+ months expenses (COGS, Virtual Assistants, content, advertising, etc.)

We’ll also ask you for screenshots of:

• 3 months+ worth of revenue proof
• Google Analytics / Clicky screenshot to verify website traffic

Once the order form has been submitted a ticket is automatically submitted to Zendesk and our team will take anywhere from 3-5 days to get back to you. Sometimes they need more information about the site/seller which may include:

• Additional or corrected screenshots
• Google Analytics access
• Clarification on revenue or expenses
• A quick Skype chat/call

Once our team has gone through all of their checks and verified the information, the information is sent to our team for final checks and approval of the listing (2-4 days.)

Listings go live on our marketplace on Monday mornings at 10 AM EST.

Average time from initial submission to listing takes approximately 2-3 weeks.

What Do I Do After My Site Is Listed?

Sit back and leave the heavy lifting to us!

We’ll promote your listing to our audience and buyers through our 90K+ strong email list, social media profiles, and blog posts. Our goal is to find your business a good home – someone that’s looking to add your exact site to their portfolio.

If your business qualifies, we’ll record a seller interview with you (audio only). Our buyers find these extremely helpful and they help us attract more interested buyers to your listing. Examples here.

We’ll help with buyer vetting, communication, and negotiations. Ultimately, the decision to sell is up to you, but our job is to make that process as smooth and as painless as possible.

This is part of the reason we ask so many questions upfront – so you’re not stuck answering them over and over again from interested buyers! Our buyers have to submit ID and proof of funds before making an offer on your business. We take great care to perform the necessary due diligence in finding you serious buyers only.

The only thing you need is update your screenshots and revenue details every month so that we can publish those changes for interested buyers. Our team will remind you each month your site is listed to update your information.

What If My Site Doesn’t Sell?

As we mentioned before, more than 95% of the sites listed on our marketplace have sold.

In fact, we’re so confident that we can sell your business, we only ask for a two-month exclusivity from the date of listing your site (unless otherwise agreed) to complete the sale. That’s one of the shortest exclusivity periods in the industry.

In the rare instance your listing goes past that, we’ll continue to promote your listing to our 90K+ potential buyers that visit our site every month.

What Happens After The Sale?

Once the buyer has made payment and the funds have cleared, we’ll begin the process of transferring the site to the new owner. This is a service we offer that’s included with the sale, although some of our sellers would rather handle this portion directly.

Migration is an important part of the selling process which requires experience. Our migrations team has vast experience whether you’ve got a WordPress site, Shopify store, or anything else.

Once the site transfer has been verified by the buyer, we’ll release the funds to you – this usually takes just a couple of days once the site transfer is complete. Most deals will involve receiving the full asking price, but it’s common for larger deals to include an upfront lump sum followed by an earnout period.

You will be responsible for any bonuses like Skype calls, email support, or content that has been offered in the listing. Setting up the new business owner to succeed will crucial to ensuring the deal goes through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you guarantee my website or business will sell?

No. Although we’ve had a great track record to date, past performance is not an indicator of future performance and we cannot guarantee your particular business will sell.

Can I list my website or business concurrently elsewhere?

No. All business listings on Empire Flippers are exclusive. On very rare occasions we may help another broker get exposure for his or her listing, but this isn’t the case for 99% of businesses listed.

What are the fees?

We have no listing fees, if we can’t sell your business then it doesn’t cost you anything.

If we sell your business then we make a commission. Our commission is blended, meaning the commission rates are stacked on one another based on the value of the business.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Under $700,000 – Commission will be a flat 15% on the sale price.

The value of the business between $700,000 and $5M – Commission will be reduced to 8% on the amount above $700,000 and below $5,000,000.

The value of a business above $5 million – Commission will further be reduced to 2.5% on the amount above $5,000,000.

For example, if a business is listed for $1 million:
$700,000 of the value will have a commission of 15% = $105,000
Plus 8% commission on the remaining $300,000 value = $24,000
Total = $105,000 + $24,000 = $129,000

If a business is listed at $5 million:
$700,000 of the value will have a commission of 15% = $105,000
Plus 8% commission on the remaining $4,300,000 value = $344,000
Total = $105,000 + $344,000 = $449,000

Remember, the same rule applies as you move above $5M, the remaining value would have a low commission rate of 2.5%.

To find out how much commission you could be paying based on your estimated listing price, check out our commission calculator.

How do you determine the listing price?

Our process for determining the sale price uses the following formula:

Sales Price = Monthly Net Profit X 20x to 60x+ (depending on Valuation Tool estimates) + Discounted Assets (if any) + Wholesale Inventory (if any)

Monthly net profit is determined by averaging the last 6-12 months worth of revenue and subtracting any costs (COGS, marketing/advertising, hosting, Virtual Assistants, etc.) In situations where the niche is seasonal or the business has been running for years, we’ll take an average of the last 12 months. (Clearly mentioned in each listing)

We’ve sold hundreds of sites in this range and have tested through this to arrive at this valuation method.

Use our Free Valuation Tool to get an estimate of your website’s value.

Want to learn how to increase your online business sales value? Here’s our free Seller’s Checklist on how you can raise the value of your website.

Where do I get started?

Click here to list your website for sale with us today

If you want some expert advice on how to get your business ready for sale, set up a free 30-minute call with our exit planning team. They’ll be able to tailor an exit plan to your specific business that maximizes your valuation.