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Build Sites for Clients or Build & Then sell on Flippa?

by unlimitedmarketing
12 replies
Hi Fellow Warriors,

I have been doing web design / seo services for a couple of months. I'm finding that maybe this isn't the smartest thing to do. There has been times when I spend hours working on mock-ups and in the end the customer changes their mind after I have all the mock-ups done. Sometimes I feel frustrated because my customers ask me to do things that I KNOW look bad, or are not 2.0 material, or just plain out bad ideas. I try to keep an open mind but man, some customers just ask for the weirdest things, and sometimes I have to do research on how to do them, since I am kinda new to all of this.

My question is should I continue to do build sites for clients, and just deal with it and keep going, or is it more profitable to build my own sites and then sell them on Flippa? That way I have complete control, I get paid for working, I go at my own pace, and also there is a huge market online.

I am sure there are some of you who have done both work for clients and sites to sell on flippa, is one more profitable than the other, and what is your advice on which way to go? Drawbacks? Advantages ? Would love the feedback, thanks!
#build #clients #flippa #sell #sites
  • Profile picture of the author unlimitedmarketing
    Anyone have feedback on this please?
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  • Profile picture of the author TheKeys
    It's harder than you think to sell sites on Flippa. You really get the big bucks if you have an established domain.. established backlinks.. established traffic with proof of traffic and income (if any). Anyone Bob Joe can make a website. The hardest part is making a sale or getting consistent traffic. So if your trying to sell a website I would say it would maybe be worth $50 compared to the $500+ you could spend if you SEO'ed it out correctly.
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  • Profile picture of the author blillard
    Try building turnkey site and then flip them on flippa. A lot of time the buyers are new to IM and will buy a turnkey site. You could make a few of them with ease. Make sure they are of good quality and are centered around some kind of service. If you look at the sites being sold there now is a clear indication. One hours work could make you any where from $100-300. Just my take.
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    • Profile picture of the author grisbyenterprise
      Everyone is trying to build sites then turn around and sell them on flippa. You can make some good money doing this. I would think its a lot less stressful and there will always be someone out there that is willing to purchase. Okay I gave you the good, but now I will fill you in on reality. Yes you can make good money doing this, but you have to invest some equity into it.

      When I say equity, I am referring to some of your time. If you want to be successful at this, you have to be unique. Take a look at flippa and you see everyone trying to push off their cookie cutter sites they built in one evening. Let's say you take that same approach. Why should someone choose your site over person B? What makes you site so special? Be different and stand out from the others. Okay so I guess you are wondering how do I do that?

      For starters only use unique content. DO NOT use rehashed plr material that is plastered all over the internet. Try finding a nice premium them that stands out from all the other free themes (that's if you are using wordpress) Get the site listed in most major search engines. Have a nice portfolio of backlinks. Start generating traffic to the site. If you can, try to get the site making some money. If you can, try holding on to the site for a couple of months while you continue with a linkbuilding campaign.

      Doing these things alone will set you apart from the 1000's of other sites listed on flippa. Yes you can make money, but use your imagination, put in true honest work, and stay dedicated to achieving the end goal of selling the site for a profit. If you do these things, im pretty sure you will be satisfied with your outcome. Here's to your success. Let me know how things turn out.
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    • Profile picture of the author Abby Haukongo
      Hi

      I have been on Flippa and listed one of my sites for sale. Although I did get around 3 offers, the bid price was too low. There is an art to Flippa. If you want to make a living out of Flippa, you have to show proof of income and traffic. Traffic is easy, it's the income bit you have to work on. Even $3 proof of income could make a huge difference. I'd suggest you continue with site building and then when you get the hang of it at Flippa, you could go fullforce.

      There is a WSO right now by a guy called Shawn Anderson. It is quite popular. Around 1900 copies sold. It is called the Wicked Simple Cash method. You might want to try it out.
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  • Profile picture of the author unlimitedmarketing
    Thanks for your help guys. I am just trying to find an alternative to chasing after customers to build seo sites and fanpages, and then they change their mind, and I'm left hanging. Sounds like Flippa is a good way to go, and there is a learning curve and I am willing to accept that.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    I know exactly what you mean as I have done both myself.

    If you build sites for clients, you get the money ahead of time (well, at least I do) but you also have the headaches you have mentioned above.

    If you build to sell on Flippa, you run the risk of the site not selling and you just did all the work for free BUT, you have less headaches with clients that monopolize your time with too many changes.

    I think that probably your best bet is to make sure you get the money ahead of time and make sure that you and the client agree on the exact things that will be on the site as well as how many modifications are included in the job.

    Lee
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    • Profile picture of the author VinceGray
      I have read the Flippa FAQ but I'm still unclear how exactly do you sell a "site". Does that include transfering the domain to the buyer as well? What about the actual site files? Do you transfer the whole hosting account or only the html files? What if the site was built with a CMS or Wordpress? Do you include the MySQL database in that case? There aren't answers to any of these questions on Flippa...
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  • Profile picture of the author EconomicalDomains
    Why not try a mix of both? Keep making some side projects for clients you like and have dealt with before, and then spend some spare time building a few sites to list on Flippa. That way if they do not sell on Flippa like you expected, then you have a backup income still coming in.
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    • Profile picture of the author arthursaxon
      If you want to REALLY succeed selling sites on Flippa, hold the site for thirty days and be able to provide some proof of income. This makes all the difference in the world.
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  • Profile picture of the author chrisyates
    I'm not sure what you're charging, but to actually make a decent hourly rate selling sites on Flippa you need to add more value than just a quick wordpress site with a nice design. I'd suggest to try selling about 5 sites on Flippa. Keep track of your time and calculate your hourly rate after listing fees, etc. I would guess you're making more by working with clients.

    Now if you can get traffic to a site and monetize it or buy undervalued sites to sell, then things change quickly for the better.
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  • Profile picture of the author techsavy
    salespider.com is pretty good at helping clients achieve the build up they need to get their company branded.

    Just food for thought.
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