Flipping Your Blogs

Purpose:

In this lesson we are going to talk about flipping your blog. We will cover the following:

Definition of 'flipping'
Where to flip
Best practices for flipping
Transferring your blog to the new owner

What Is 'Flipping'?

Most of you recognize the term "flipping" in context of real estate. In that context, it is the process of purchasing a home that can be improved upon, fixing it up or "making it better", then attempting to sell the home for a premium price, always with the goal of achieving a profit or decent return on investment.
'Flipping your blog' is exactly the same deal but in this context we're flipping virtual real estate rather than physical real estate.

Where to 'Flip'?

Where you flip your blog depends on the type and age of the blog. There are a number of resources available. Here are three simple ones you can consider:

Flippa (https://flippa.com/) - this service site is great for buying or selling blogs that are established and have a proven track record. In fact, this service is not restricted to just blogs - any type of website, such as a blog, forum, etc., can be purchased or sold here. The key point is that the site is established with a proven track record, which means that new auto-blogs are not really a good fit here. While that has been done, the return on investment does not make it a worthwhile endeavor.
Warrior Forum (http://www.warriorforum.com/) - this site can be a viable alternative to Flippa, especially when dealing with newer auto-blogs. For the price of $20 (and a short wait time for approval on the posted thread) you can post multiple sites to the thread. This works well with auto-blogs that are quickly put together and being flipped for a fast buck. To utilize this site, it's necessary to go to the "Complete Websites for Sale!" section. Simply go to the site (linked above), scroll down to the forum thread entitled "Warrior Products & Services" and click the "Complete Websites for Sale!" link.
Digital Point (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/) - this is another HUGE internet marketing forum where, going to its marketplace, you'll find it another great place to sell auto-blogs.

NOTE: While you can experiment with using all three, we recommend you only use the one for the auto-blog you are selling. This means you could be selling one or a grouping of auto-blogs on one site, another auto-blog or grouping at another site.
A brief demo and explanation is given in the video about these sites, starting at timeframe 10:30.

Best Practices

Flipping auto-blogs is a good way to make a quick buck but for long term profit, it's a poor business model. At risk of discouraging you from flipping your auto-blogs, a reason this makes for a poor business model is because it requires the auto-blogs to have a long track record and to be making money. If this is the status of the auto-blog, why are you selling it?
To press home the point - on average, you can sell an auto-blog for 5 to 10 times its monthly revenue. However, as already stated, it needs to have a good track record, e.g. a minimum of three months. Again, if this is the status of the auto-blog, why sell it?
Let's make this more concrete by checking out some figures. Let's say you are only making $20 a month with your auto-blog. Let's also say you might be able to turn around and sell that auto-blog for $100 to $200 (we're talking about an auto-blog with history). Now let's consider a timeframe of 1 year or even beyond that. By keeping your auto-blog, you can guarantee a return on investment of $200.
Now having said all that, there are some reasons to flip your auto-blogs. One semi-popular business model is to quickly put together a few auto-blogs and sell them as a package. Blogs without history will typically sell for between $30 and $50 each. If you were to create 4 or 5 of them, you might try offering a deal of $50 each or the whole package for $150. If your domain cost was about $50 for the 5 blogs and you used PLR or EzineArticles to get content, then you stand a chance of a reasonable return on investment using this model.
Using Blog Blueprint with Auto Blog Installer, you can quickly create these blogs and simply create spun content you find on directories such as EzineArticles.
Be aware, though, that there are restrictions to transferring ownership of auto-blogs built using Blog Blueprint. For example, if you, being a Blog Blueprint Platinum member, are using AutoBlogBuddy PRO (ABB PRO), you cannot transfer the ownership of ABB PRO as it is registered to your username and password which you would not want to give away to others.
However, if you are using ABB Regular, then all that is required is for the new owner to register for a free account at SyndicateKahuna.com which will give the necessary access to the ABB plugin.
As well, selling the blogs that also include the Frugal theme will make the blogs quite attractive to people looking to buy blogs, considering all of the great components and features the theme offers and would go along with the purchase.
So as you can see, it is possible for flipping auto-blogs to be a lucrative endeavor. By just spending a couple of hours a day, you have a quick way to generate revenue. Though this won't result in long term benefit, it can easily suit the goal of quick revenue generation.
If you do decide to go this route, keep these things in mind:

Highlight and pinpoint every feature and benefit. For example, tell them what theme is used, what plugins come with it, whether or not the content is unique, and so on.
For Platinum members, it is recommended you do a blast to the SyndicateKahuna network for the blogs to get them good incoming links, which helps increase their value. Don't spend too much time on this, though. Remember, you need to balance time and money with what you get in return.

Be careful! If you have any other third party premium plugins installed, be sure to check the license agreement as many will not allow you to include them in the sale and transfer of the blog. With Blog Blueprint, the only plugin where this applies is ABB PRO.

How to Transfer

Having listed your auto-blogs for sale (e.g. remember Digital Point Marketplace and Warrior Forum?), you find yourself in a position to transfer your newly sold auto-blogs. The following are the main steps on how to go about transferring the ownership:

Download all the Wordpress files from your server via FTP. Be sure to include only the following:
1. 'WP-' files/folders - within the root folder (e.g. public_html) there will be a number of files. You only want to download the files/folders that have a 'wp-' prefix.
2. index.php and xmlrpc.php.
3. robots.txt - this is optional, depending on whether the new owner wants it or not.
4. sitemap.xml and sitemap.xml.gz.
Export your database - don't be frightened .... this is easier than it might sound:
1. Log into your cPanel.
2. Go to "Databases" >> "phpMyAdmin".
3. Select the database associated with your downloaded files. To simplify things, make a note of the name you used and give that to the buyer so when they create the database for themselves they can use the same name. You can verify the name of it by:
  1. In the left-hand navigation, click on the database you think is the one you want to export.
  2. In the left-hand navigation, click on "wp_options".
  3. In the main area, view the value for "siteurl".
4. Once verified, go back to the database main level (e.g. localhost > database_to_download).
5. Click "Export". In the "Export" options box, be sure to select "SQL".
6. Click "Save as file".
7. Click "Go". This will create the export file.
Perform the domain transfer - each host is a little different so if it's not intuitive enough for you to figure it out on your own, we highly recommend you contact your domain provider for information on how this is done. As part of this, you will oftentimes find it includes having the buyer register an account at the domain registrar, which actually results in making the domain transfer easier.
Have the buyer upload the Wordpress files to their domain server via FTP.
Have the buyer create a new MYSQL database followed by importing the one you exported (see step 2):
1. Have buyer log into their cPanel.
2. Have buyer go to "Databases" >> "MySQL Databases " (or "MySQL Database Wizard").
3. Have buyer give the database a name. It can be whatever they want but its simpler to just use the same name as the one you did (see step 2c).
4. In the next step, have buyer enter username and password. It's recommended the buyer use the same as you did but again, that is optional.
5. In the next step, have buyer select "All Privileges".
6. Once completed, now have buyer import the database. Go back to cPanel Home. Once there, go to "Databases" >> "phpMyAdmin". Select the newly created database in the left navigation followed by clicking "Import".
Have the buyer update the wp-config file with the new database name, username and password if different from the original:
1. Using FTP, download the "wp-config".
2. Using any text editor, locate and update the following variables (marked in red):
  1. define('DB_NAME', 'YourDatabaseName');
  2. define('DB_USER', 'YourUsername');
  3. define('DB_PASSWORD', 'YourPassword');
  4. define('DB_HOST', 'localhost') (may not require change ... see below)
3. Using FTP, upload the modified wp-config file back to your server.

Once all of these steps are done, you have completed the transfer process. The buyer should now have full use of their newly purchased blog. If, however, after modifying the 'wp-config' file, there appears to be a problem, it may be related to the MySQL hostname value. Where it says "localhost", you may need to put an IP address instead. This can be resolved by having the buyer contact their hosting provider and asking what the hostname value should be.
A demonstration of these steps can be viewed in the video, starting at timeframe 12:55.

Transfer Complete!

As you can see, there are a number of steps involved in selling an auto-blog. While to some degree we might discourage you from implementing this business model, many of you requested assistance on how to go about 'flipping your blog' and so these steps should help you simply and successfully complete the process involved.
If you do decide to follow this business model, one thing we highly recommend you do is create a checklist with the above steps that you can provide to the buyer as a way of ensuring a smooth transition.

Step 1: Choose and register with a marketplace site
Step 2: Advertise your auto-blog / auto-blog package
Step 3: Download WP files/folders and export the database
Step 4: Transfer WP files/folders and database to buyer
Step 5: Verify transfer complete (may need to update wp-config)

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