Below is the article featuring me on SiteProNews.com from Nov 26, 2012
Building a Web Property Empire
Flippa, the world’s largest marketplace for buying and selling websites is set to reach $100,000,000 in website sales soon. We recently sat down with one of our most prolific sellers, Tony Hosea of http://SmartSiteDeals.com/, to exclusively bring the Sitepronews.com audience his best tips and strategies for creating digital properties to sell. Tony has successfully sold 140 sites on Flippa.com to date and has a long established reputation as an analyst in the global financial markets.
How can I get started building sites to sell?
“Begin With The End In Mind – This is a quote from Dr. Stephen Covey from, “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People“, which has always been one of my favorite books. “Begin with the end in mind” is actually Habit #2. When I build a website I like to “begin with the end in mind”. The “end” is all about delivering exceptional value to the buyer. The objective is to create a website with good profit potential that is easy for anyone to maintain. It is important to create a website that the new owner can be proud of. In fact, I would not build a website that I would not be proud to own. For this reason I build websites that I would be proud to include in my own online portfolio. Because of this I am able to devote more time and energy than I would be able to devote if I were just building websites to sell.
What kind of sites do you recommend building?
“It makes perfect sense to choose a niche which is currently profitable and has excellent prospects for future profitability. It is also important to create quality websites in a variety of niches that appeal not only to those looking to make money online, but to hobbyists as well. For this reason I create websites in over 200 carefully -researched niches.”
Content is said to be the most aspect of a site, what are your thoughts on that?
Content is and will always be king for any website. High-quality content keeps both your visitors and the search engines happy. By creating websites with quality content your buyer is less likely to have to jump through numerous hoops every single time Google decides to have an algorithm change.
You’ve received 100% positive feedback from the buyers of your digital properties. How did you achieve that?
It should go without saying that we should all do business with integrity. It’s really pretty simple. When you create your Flippa listing ask yourself this simple question, “Is everything I wrote in my listing true?” You always want to be able to answer that question with a, “yes”. If you wrote anything that you can’t answer “yes” to then simply remove it. If you are uncertain that something is true, then please don’t include it in your listing. Providing your customers with outstanding customer service is one of the smartest things you can do. Naturally, this has obvious benefits for your customers. It also helps you build your reputation and enhances your long-term credibility. It’s also important to have patience. Even if you build a quality website it may not sell immediately. There is no need to panic and relist your website for 10% of your original asking price. In most cases, if you have done a good job, it’s just a matter of waiting for the right buyer to come along.
Should I target a specific buyer when selling my web properties?
I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many wonderful people around the globe. There are those who may advise you that you should target everyone as a customer. My personal preference is to target a certain type of customer. I target customers with whom I can establish a long-term working relationship. Some may target buyers who ask questions like, “Will you take $ (some ridiculously low price) for your site?”. I prefer dealing with those customers who have an appreciation for the quality and potential of the site they are buying. These types of buyers hit the BIN (Buy-It-Now) button and send you messages like, “I can’t believe you are able to sell at this low price” or “I’m glad I grabbed this site before someone else did!”
What about sites for sale that seem too good to be true or encourage taking shortcuts?
It is easy for new sellers to get caught in the trap of creating listings that sound like get-rich-quick schemes. It is understandable that sellers want to make the purchase of their sites seem as appealing as possible. I don’t encourage Flippa buyers to take shortcuts or use the “tactic” or SEO trick-of-the-day. For this reason I don’t list sites and use phrases like, “No Work Involved” or “100% Automated” in my title or description. In my humble opinion encouraging buyers to use shortcuts ultimately sets them up for failure. It sets the unrealistic expectation that someone can buy a startup website and simply wait for the money to roll in.
Launched in 2009, Flippa is the #1 marketplace for buying and selling websites. Each month, over $2 million in websites and domains are traded on Flippa. Over 26,000 sites, valued at over $31 million, were sold on Flippa in 2011 alone. To learn more about us and learn about buying and selling web properties, visit us at http://blog.flippa.com/ or drop us a line at support@flippa.com.
This article was originally published on SiteProNews.com on Nov 26, 2012.
