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Investing in Websites?

by Justin Finkelstein
20 replies
I came to the realization over the last few weeks and realized that I wanted to reposition myself as an Internet Marketing Investor as opposed to a marketer. My path to creating financial freedom started when I read Rich Dad/Poor Dad around 2003.

Right after that, I began to aggressively invest in Real Estate. I bought my first property in 2004 and proceeded to purchase 7 more over the next 3 years. In 2007, I decided that financial freedom was going to come from investing in low income real estate. It seemed like a no brainer. I could buy a house for $20,000 and earn $1,100 a month in rent.

All I would have to do is hire a property manager, repeat this process 10 or 15 times and financial freedom would be mine. Well, I started with 3 properties. One was successful (I still own it today). However, the other two wound up costing me in excess of $100,000 over the next three years. I won't bore you with the details, but I learned there were risks to this simple plan.

I turned to Internet Marketing because the same benefits were available with a lot less financial risk. I could build a site or hire somebody to build a site, ramp the revenue up to a few hundred a month and rinse and repeat. This has worked to some extent but the process takes a while and I am not a huge fan of managing and definitely not a huge fan of managing the process myself. I have a pretty busy day job and prefer to spend the majority of my free time with my family.

I joined a program a few months ago (through the Warrior Forum) that seemed to meet my needs. The coach would build the site and also teach me what he was doing so I could hire somebody to replicate or even hire his team to replicate. Well, the coach bailed on the program and I am more motivated than ever to make this work. I joined a coaching program with a much more reputable marketer.

However, I still would rather invest in other people who build sites and would like to collaborate with other Warriors on ideas and resources for investing.

I don't have any particular agenda with this post except to open the dialogue with those who have similar interests.
#investing #websites
  • Profile picture of the author webapex
    Typically investors buy a profitable site being sold by the owner on some auction site, for something like the amount of 1 year's revenues.

    You may want to develop the skills to identify and locate the equivalent of fixer-upper sites wit big potential, perhaps circumstances have prevented the owner from properly maintaining and promoting a site. Sounds like you may already have experience doing person to person negotiation that many nerdy types would rather avoid.

    It would be worth getting some guides on flipping sites to educate you on some of the tricks used in auctions and to inflate the value of sites for sale.

    I compiled quite a list of sites listed in the expensive Yahoo directory that were not currently functioning for various reasons, suggesting some sort of neglect by the owner, grabbing a domain that's old enough to be "grandfathered in" maintaining it's listing without the usual $299/yr fee is a find in it's self. I was thinking at one time of putting these prospects into some sort of WSO.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Finkelstein
      Originally Posted by webapex View Post


      I compiled quite a list of sites listed in the expensive Yahoo directory that were not currently functioning for various reasons, suggesting some sort of neglect by the owner, grabbing a domain that's old enough to be "grandfathered in" maintaining it's listing without the usual $299/yr fee is a find in it's self. I was thinking at one time of putting these prospects into some sort of WSO.

      This is interesting. Have you executed this strategy?
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  • Profile picture of the author fated82
    Depending on what your skills sets are. If you do not like the process of building the sites and then wait for it to grow (this process could take months) then my advice is buy an income generating site and either get someone to grow it or just sit on the existing revenue.

    I flip sites and I realize that understanding SEO and how a site make money would help you in the long run when investing a site.

    Like you, I also like the idea of investing in a site and get passive income from there. Good luck with your venture.
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    • Profile picture of the author Christine2011
      Originally Posted by fated82 View Post

      Depending on what your skills sets are. If you do not like the process of building the sites and then wait for it to grow (this process could take months) then my advice is buy an income generating site and either get someone to grow it or just sit on the existing revenue.

      I flip sites and I realize that understanding SEO and how a site make money would help you in the long run when investing a site.
      Yeah, you have the point man
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  • Profile picture of the author realtimeprospecting
    Very insightful thread! I think if you have the essential skills, you should leverage on it by investing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay81
    Honestly Justin you're on the right path. And I agree that it's a lot of work to build, rank and maintain a site. I just recently started looking into niche sites and website flipping, and I have built my first niche site. It was a great learning experience for me especially to see where I have taken the site in a short time, even though the niche is competitive. But the work involved is so much that I am still thinking of how much I will sell the site that will be worth all the time put in. I have decided that if I'll continue with niche sites, I'll do so only when I find simpler ways to get majority of the tasks involved done without spending so much time (a colleague told me this is possible, but I'm yet to get the details), or I'll pay others to do the very demanding tasks for me.

    People who are into niche sites or even website flipping usually have a team they work with, because to really maximize profit from buying websites you have to know how to expand on the websites after buying them. So if you'll like to make buying websites a big business I recommend you employ someone who has a fair knowledge of how to take a site to the next level to work for you part-time, or buy the sites then pay someone to review the site and suggest ways you can improve on it. I know there are professionals who do this. I wish you all the best.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Finkelstein
      Originally Posted by Kay81 View Post

      Honestly Justin you're on the right path. And I agree that it's a lot of work to build, rank and maintain a site. .

      Thank you for this message. Positive reinforcement is great. I do have a team that builds about a site a week. I think the real skill that I need to learn is patience.

      This post helped a lot.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Justin Finkelstein View Post

    However, I still would rather invest in other people who build sites and would like to collaborate with other Warriors on ideas and resources for investing.

    I don't have any particular agenda with this post except to open the dialogue with those who have similar interests.
    You could invest in sites that are already performing. Flippa would be a good place to find them. Sites that already have income and revenue and then ramp them up even more.

    Sites that are making money sell well on Flippa. You just have to be very careful when you buy that the seller is not a fraud and that the income screenshots are not fake and that the traffic is not from cheap paid traffic. So, there is still financial risk if you don't do due diligence.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Finkelstein
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      You could invest in sites that are already performing. Flippa would be a good place to find them. Sites that already have income and revenue and then ramp them up even more.

      Sites that are making money sell well on Flippa. You just have to be very careful when you buy that the seller is not a fraud and that the income screenshots are not fake and that the traffic is not from cheap paid traffic. So, there is still financial risk if you don't do due diligence.

      Suzanne -

      Here is the way that I look at investments right now. I ask the following questions.

      1. What is the maximum amount I am willing to lose with no return?
      2. What return on investment is expected from this site?
      3. How much time will I have to spend on achieving the return on investment?
      4. How likely am I to succeed?

      Finding underperforming sites/assets and mastering due diligence could be very lucrative and valuable.

      Your post was very helpful and insightful.

      Thanks so much.
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  • Profile picture of the author BXPS
    I agree with you that Investing in websites would be a good idea, but there is quite a risk involved as well.(In regards to rank drops, etc).
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  • Profile picture of the author mvideo
    Now a days thousands of newbies are entering in this internet marketing therefor it is really very hard to promote any website now . Getting good ranking in search engine is much thougher then it was in the past .
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  • Profile picture of the author ebusinesstutor
    I think there are some real possibilities in finding web sites with a good premise, buying or investing in them and giving them a marketing makeover.

    I found a great product for organizing myself which was far better than the most popular ones I had seen. But the web site had no traffic and the product was languishing. So I am working on getting the marketing in place for the product with a joint venture partnership with the owner of the product.

    Some possibilities but you need a really good eye for the "gems."
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Finkelstein
      Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor View Post

      I think there are some real possibilities in finding web sites with a good premise, buying or investing in them and giving them a marketing makeover.

      I found a great product for organizing myself which was far better than the most popular ones I had seen. But the web site had no traffic and the product was languishing. So I am working on getting the marketing in place for the product with a joint venture partnership with the owner of the product.

      Some possibilities but you need a really good eye for the "gems."
      Huh!! This is the second post about marketing makeovers. I like the idea, especially finding those sites that are under-performing.
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      • Profile picture of the author MandLoys
        Originally Posted by Justin Finkelstein View Post

        Huh!! This is the second post about marketing makeovers. I like the idea, especially finding those sites that are under-performing.
        Yep there's a whole industry for that: website flipping. But it has a steep learning curve and with any other investments: you'll burn yourself a few times. Though you can start with less investment. For example last year I bought a site for $250, revamped the design, worked on it's SEO and sold it for $2,200 in a month. This can be done numerous times however requires work and you obviously won't be able to buy 100x$250 sites a month. So I'd recommend building one-two larger sites that will give you "passive" income instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Finkelstein
    It is about a week after this post has started. Given the advice in the post and some additional conversations, here is what I have done.

    1. Invested a few dollars and committed an hour a day to a coaching program. The purpose of this program is to train myself in following a plan based on a formula and to generate additional cash flow to invest.

    2. Put together a system for managing cash flow. This will allow me to determine what I can and should invest and to find opportunities for generating more income to invest.

    3. Decided to switch a team that is doing work for me on building sites to a team that is building sites made for Adsense. My thinking around this is that Adsense site do not require the best skills in causing conversions so they are much easier to outsource.
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    • Profile picture of the author chrisyates
      Originally Posted by Justin Finkelstein View Post

      Decided to switch a team that is doing work for me on building sites to a team that is building sites made for Adsense. My thinking around this is that Adsense site do not require the best skills in causing conversions so they are much easier to outsource.
      Great insight here. Our main focus is on buying established websites but occasionally we build sites. If you have the capital, we've found the ROI to be better by buying rather than building (assuming you do a good job buying). However, I know of people who build networks of adsense sites with an outsourced team in the PH. I think your biggest key to success with this strategy is to find great content writers.
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  • Profile picture of the author daviddavin
    Hi,

    I'm looking for Affiliates Marketing Investor , I have a valid plan for making money with affiliates sites , I have already set up affiliates sites with high conversion possible, I want to talk to you in details , If you want to make money with me then must contact me at skype. Here is skype ID : daviddavin9

    Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author DBlack12
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    • Profile picture of the author ArranWood
      I am sorry to say your service is NOT the world's first pay per link, they started about 10 years ago and were soon wiped from the internet for good reason. I understand the way you are thinking but PAY PER LINK - is - BLACK HAT and as such you WILL find your own website gets wiped from the engines results sooner or later.

      My way of earning from the internet is laughable for many of you guys I am very sure but it works for me 600 websites each earning $2.00 per day.

      Nothing flash, nothing too competitive just easy money.

      Best regards
      Arran Wood
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  • Profile picture of the author vip-ip
    Over time, I've learned that sketchy "site program" sites exist for one reason only: to make a middleman rich. Even if you're generating income, chances are, someone's skimming some off the top.

    The true way to make money by investing in websites is to work for yourself.

    Best Regards,
    vip-ip ...
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    Without having built a profitable site, I'd be wary of handing cash over to people to build profitable sites.

    If I were you, built 1 profitable site or a group of sites/list forming a single project that earns $30 to $100 per day. Then take that money and carefully start building a team replicating the process.

    This way you know how the system works because you did it and you can carefully monitor it as it grows. Since you have a 9 to 5 job, you can reinvest every online dollar you earn into growing your business until your profits reach the level you'd like.

    Getting to the $30 to $100 per day may take a little while, but if you focus on one model and plug away at it, it shouldn't take too terribly long.
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