How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
February 23, 2008
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Many businesses don’t make a huge amount of money for the owner until they come to sell them. And with millions of blogs online, I wonder if it’s possible to build a blog then sell it for a decent amount of money. After all, AOL are rumoured to have paid somewhere in the region of $40 million for Weblogs Inc. And many people already buy and sell blogs on Digital Point.
I found this neat blog valuer on Steve Pavlina’s site: How Much Is Your Blog Worth.
The valuer is based on research by Tristan Louis. And I don’t know how accurate it is but it claims that this blog is worth: $108,956.22. Not bad - but chickenfeed in comparison to some of the top blogs on the Internet. I typed in a few domains at random from my feedreader and here’s what it came up with:
Itty Biz is worth $126,456.96
Skelliewag is worth $606,880.50
Shoemoney is worth $2,349,615.48
Steve Pavlina is worth: $1,674,990.18
Entrepreneurs Journey is worth $509,215.08
Vegan Momma is worth $177,265.56
Successful Blog is worth: $735,595.62
Bloggrrl is worth: $167,103.84
Mrs Micah is worth $153,554.88
Chance Favors is worth: $37,259.64
Dosh Dosh is worth $2,377,842.48
E-Moms At Home Blog is worth: $97,665.42
Terence Chang’s Entrepreneur Diary is worth: $98,229.96
Problogger is worth worth $5,368,210.86
How much is your blog worth? Would you sell it for the valuation price? And as big businesses begin to recognise the power of blogs, do you think many of them will be bought up as a result?
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27 Responses to “How Much Is Your Blog Worth?”
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$2.3 Million for Dosh Dosh…… wow. Tough but I think I’ll definitely consider selling it at that price.
Maki’s last blog post..It’s Not Just Words: The Importance of Empowering Your Audience
Hi Catherine,
I do think we will see more blogs being sold, but I wonder if they make the blogger sign a “non compete” clause.
In some cases, it probably wouldn’t matter if a blog changed hands, but some, like yours, would probably lose that personal touch, and that, I wouldn’t like to see happen.
Barbara’s last blog post..And You Say You Are Not A Gambler
Hi Barbara - That is a good point. I guess it would depend on the blog. I used to think it would harm Problogger if it was sold. But, he has had a lot of guest posts recently and it is still doing well.
I wouldn’t sell this blog right now - but I could definitely understand people selling if they were offered millions.
If only! I could sell it and pay off our debt.
But it’s probably not buyable. I mean, I don’t think a person other than me could really make money off it…it’d be too weird. Most blogs are that way.
plus there’s the whole “non-compete” thing. Maybe I could still blog if I wrote about shoes or something.
I’ve come across these things before and its mostly hogwash (did I actually use that word?). I personally know of one site that earns a good quarter million per year in revenue, is solidly placed in the SERPS, and could not be sold for even $750,000.00
Why? Because few buyers in that niche are willing to pony up the cash for a website in a volatile google world where any significant algorithmic change could reshuffle the entire deck. Mind you, this regards a site that does not simply have good rankings and is “projected” to have the capability to earn well—it actually DOES EARN a quarter million in annual revenue. That’s a far far far far cry from a blog that “maybe” does a hundred bucks a week in adsense.
Tools like this are no more valuable than things like Alexa rankings or the Google toolbar. In the end, they mean nothing.
Jason Calcanis sold Weblogs inc to AOL for (I think) 25 million. But AOL did that for branding and audience. When Calcanis sold out, his 80 blogs in that network were only earning about a million a year in gross revenue. A questionable investment for AOL. Will it turn out be an investment that AOL can profit from? You have to wonder. Google paid 1.6 billion for Youtube. Youtube is the definitive video site, but they’re learning, as everyone predicted, that Youtube doesn’t convert clicks very well. Why? Because people don’t go there to buy things or shop. They go there to watch goofy videos (I go there every other day, have never clicked one ad).
Hi Tim - This is so true. Any calculations are very much pie in the sky. A blog, or any other business will only sell for as much as a buyer is willing to pay. And that will depend upon what profits the buyer things they can make from it in the future.
cathlawson’s last blog post..How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
Hi Mrs M - I guess it is very different when you’re using your name, as opposed to a blog name. Really, you’re building a brand. And I suppose it would be odd without you.
cathlawson’s last blog post..How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
Hi Cath
Great blog! Nice to find another UK one.
My blogs worth $15k if only I could sell…
Mine’s worth $20K. One of the lowest values here.
I am so disgusted that it’s worth that much for the utter tripe I write, that I may have to make it my mission to devalue it even more.
Oops. I’ve already done that. Managing to alienate 93% of the world’s population, I estimate it’s now only worth $1,400.
Which by my reckoning is exactly 1,400 times it’s real value.
And even then I’m over-valuing it to retain some self-respect.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..The Best Bloggers Are Left handed
Hi there person from the UK. I see you’re another one of those frugal people. Thanks for dropping by.
Ian - I think it will soon be worth a lot more. It’s probably only coming up as less cos it’s hosted on blogspot. And I heard the valuer automatically penalises left handed bloggers anyway.
cathlawson’s last blog post..How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
I’m completely w/Tim & Catherine — hogwash (nice term btw).
Mine is ‘worth’ $14k — I wouldn’t sell it for that price as I feel i’m just getting started and i have bigger plans than just blogging my own tripe (again nice term Ian).
Still it’s a fun toy and certainly is working as far as getting someone to engage with the tool here. What I wonder is what’s the real business opportunity behind it?
Sure we’re all talking about it and it’s driving traffic and hopefully ad revenue for Steve Pavlina. But if it’s me I’d probably start looking at some of the moderately priced blogs — find a number that are excellent in quality in my own niche — and then work to build some network of content to build a bigger site with a collection of really great content….ala Huffington Post or whatever.
Whatever the case — it’s fun to dream ain’t i?
Kelly @ Small Business Guru’s last blog post..How I Wasted $6843 on Adwords
Splutter…what!!!!
I think he’s got his alorithm wrong! You should ADD 15% to the value of a blog if it’s authored by a leftie.
Research confirms that. I saw it on wikipedia. And scrawled in a railway station toilet cublicle in orange crayon.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..The Best Bloggers Are Left handed
Oh man, I wish! My blog would be on the market in a heartbeat, and I’d have some sweet digs.
Bloggrrl’s last blog post..5 Ways to Stop Squandering Money
Ian - well you know what they say. People who write in orange are always right.
Hi Michelle - I just knew you would say you would sell. Bloggrrl wouldn’t be the same without you.
cathlawson’s last blog post..How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
I like using these tools to lift my spirits up.
Giun Sun’s last blog post..“Good Repetitiveness”? Being Repetitive to Your Advantage
$47K…for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money - Not bad for less than 90 days!
If you want a real evaluation here is how I do it in my real-life job.
Take all of your costs (hosting, etc..)
Subtract
Your profit from sales (ads, eBay, Amazon…whatever)
amortorize it over the period around (or use latest years if older)
This is your profit
A real valuation would take this times some multiple say 3-12x depending on your niche.
Then weigh the possibilitiy of maintaining or growing that over x period (say I’ll maintain=100%, it will drop=50%, I will grow it by half=150%)
That is near what a real company would pay if you found a buyer.
Based on this I would be around $3600
RacerX’s last blog post..Our First Winner and Best of the Week
But, I don’t see blogs being valued in this way in the future. I can see larger companies buying up well branded blogs that would be of value to them as a vehicle to promote themselves commercially.
And I definitely think branding would be a more important factor than earnings from adsense and affiliate programs etc.
Now, i could be totally wrong. Some of these blogs may not sell at all, but if they do, i think branding and traffic will be the main reasons.
But, I didn’t add blogspot blogs for a reason. I don’t think they would have any resale value at all, because they’re not owned.
They’re just sort of rented on a free rent basis from Google. To me, they’re just like the old freehost websites from years ago. I had one of those and I learned from my mistake.
I really think that anyone who is serious about blogging should switch from the free blogs sooner rather than later.
Mine is worth $0.00. Guess I won’t be proudly displaying that button on my blog. But it says that Google is also worth $0.00 (OK, that’s not a blog).
Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Want To Dodge Bullets? Maybe You Don’t Have To!
@Cathlawson
I appreciate your compliment, thank you!
Giun Sun’s last blog post..“Good Repetitiveness”? Being Repetitive to Your Advantage
Guin - you are welcome. I’m so glad I discovered your blog because your posts rock.
Ran some of my sites through this and found some pleasant surprises. If I could actually get those numbers, would definitely sell a couple.
More ironic though was one site I’d started a while back, but haven’t focused on. It had a much healthier price than another I’d been working.
Go figure, huh
j2watches’s last blog post..Citizen Calibre 3100 Perpetual Calendar Mens Watch
“And I definitely think branding would be a more important factor than earnings from adsense and affiliate programs etc.”
That is why the valuation difference betwwen 3-12x. Of course you would add in any physical assets as well.
Just trying to illistrate a point of difference between traditional and this sort of valuation.
Really no one knows until there is a track record of tese selling. But people try to sell out to us all day at very high valuation due to these sort of “value calculators”
Basically…until they knock on the door..don’t put it into you Net worth
RacerX’s last blog post..Personal Finance QuickTake: Visa IPO
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