Comments on: Selling Your Readership

By: Matt Jones

Matt Jones — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:05:56 +0000

Very compelling post David, I’ve written my response here:

http://bloggingfingers.com/creative-blogging/the-great-selling-blogs-debate-my-response/

By: Selling Blogs - Readership Feels Betrayed? | Blogging Fingers

Selling Blogs - Readership Feels Betrayed? | Blogging Fingers — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:59:59 +0000

[...] selling blogs that started a bit a debate in the comments and combined with the related post from Xfep and a few on other blogs I felt compelled to [...]

By: Shylock Blogging Not For Sale — eXtra For Every Publisher

Shylock Blogging Not For Sale — eXtra For Every Publisher — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:27:20 +0000

[...] recent post, entitled Selling Your Readership, was salt in his wound, and also part of the process that changed his mind and has led to him [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:52:33 +0000

I’m in agreement here. I always think it’s a shame when I subscribe to a site and then they go and sell up after only a couple of months. I’m sure these sites would earn them more in the long term if only they would stick around – an inevitably the subscriber counts drop – I know I’ve unsubscribed from most sites that have done this.

By: Terry Didcott

Terry Didcott — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:54:14 +0000

Hi David,

I found this place via Karen Zara’s blog and found this post interesting – I’ve seen quite a few bloggers selling out and it does leave you wondering what their blogs will turn out like with new owners.

Some may improve when the new owner is a great writer and highly knowledgeable in their field, but this is rare as people like that already have their own great blog.

Most will degrade as the new owner may think they are buying a money-spinner only to find the readership dwindling as their own writing style is less than acceptable to the readers. That often happens when a native english speaker wells to a non-native english speaker (no disrespect meant, but readers get used to a certain style and some non-native english speakers have a very different writing style). Then the reader numbers can drop quite alarmingly, leaving the new owner scratching their head as to whether they’ve bought a lemon.

On the flip side, I can’t knock anyone having a cheque for $10,000 (or more) dangled in front of their faces and snatching it quick! I would have to think long and hard for a few nanoseconds before I bit that hand off!

I guess it would depend on the blog and if you had other up-and-coming blogs to fill the void. And how highly you rate your own blog…

Terry

By: Alexandru

Alexandru — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:26:16 +0000

I don’t really get it when people say things like this. You’re in the make money online business just like anyone else. Why wouldn’t a blog owner be allowed to sell? Would you rather see that blog go down slowly with less updates every week? When you’ll reach the point where you’ll want to sell a blog, will you enjoy people coming over and tell you that they feel betrayed?

Your blog, your work, your call. If you’re subscribed to a blog is because you enjoy the content or you find it useful. You’re not the only one providing value by honoring that blog with your subscription.

Why wouldn’t a blog owner feel betrayed if after a few months of hard work and providing content to his readers, they suddenly decide to jump ship, just because he wants to cash in on the time he invested?

By: 45n5

45n5 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:48:07 +0000

I for sure would recommend people NOT sell if they plan on staying in the same industry as your credibility and trust takes a hit when you sell out. (unless of course you really need the money)

However it could be a fun experiment to try and build a site with the purpose of flipping it as long as you are transparent

The numbers are rather tempting.