5 things I learned when I sold my website for $180,000
I recently stumbled upon a story from a blogger that lit a fire under me, and I just had to share it with you. In just two years, she went from a struggling travel blog to selling it for $180,000! This isn’t just a success story — it’s proof that with passion, resilience, and a bold pivot, you can turn any challenge into an opportunity. I’m beyond excited to dive into what I learned from her journey, and I know it’ll get you fired up to start your own venture. Let’s jump in and see how you can do the same!
Here is her story：
Let me take you back in time for a moment,
To the start of lockdown in 2020.
I had a 9-month-old travel blog,
It had recently been accepted to Mediavine,
But then with the news, the traffic dropped by 95%.
Eek!
I had a five-year-old and a two-year-old,
School and nursery both closed,
And my job at a travel agency gave me a 20% paycut.
This was not okay.
Baking banana bread and bingeing Netflix wasn’t going to help me get out of this one…
Immediately, I did a pivot away from travel.
Since we couldn’t even travel to the next town,
I started a new site in a lifestyle niche.
I had no idea what would happen,
And I certainly didn’t expect to be selling the site for $180,000 in 2022.
But, here we are.
I worked my ass off.
And my life got a lot better.
This is the first website I’ve ever sold,
And as most people reading this will also sell a site in the future,
I thought it would be helpful to share the 5 most important things I learned…
1. Niche websites sell for a lot!:
I had no idea that websites sold for so much, but they do.
And when you think about it, it makes sense.
Investors need somewhere to put their money.
The income from a niche website can be much better than real estate or the stock market.
So there are a lot of very wealthy people wanting to buy up these assets.
When I did the maths,
I figured that I’d been making $250/hour from working on the site.
Even though I’d only made $130 in total after the first 12 months.
2. Multiples you hear are exaggerated:
If, like me, you watch niche website YouTube channels, you’ll have probably heard income reports where people work out the value of their website based on a multiple of monthly earnings.
They might say, ‘this website earned $1,000 last month, we can multiply that by 40, so it’s worth $40,000’.
It’s not though.
For two reasons.
- Websites are priced on profit, not on income. So you need to subtract your expenses before multiplying.
- Buyers like to go off the last 12 months, not the last 6, or 3. This will bring down the average a lot.
I sold my site for 37.5x the average profit from the last 12 months.
During that period, the income increased from under $1k to over $10k.
But we used the average.
3. You have to account for fees and taxes:
The fees I paid to the broker (Empire Flippers) were 15%.
So I paid them $27k to handle the sale.
Then I’ll have to pay taxes on top of that.
Although the fees are high, I feel that the broker did a lot of work and they certainly earned it.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.
4. Selling a website is complicated:
Some website sales are much more complicated than others.
When I bought a small site recently,
It was done and dusted in a couple of hours and a few emails.
But this site, with lots of different affiliate programs, an email list and social media accounts, was a different beast altogether!
If you’re organised from the start, this transfer will be easier.
5. It can take a long time:
I first listed my site for sale in February.
So it took over 6 months from start to finish.
I think that took a while to find a suitable buyer, because the site had a UK focus.
That immediately narrowed the pool of buyers.
Most people that I spoke to were overseas with large media companies.
They weren’t an ideal match for testing products that only ship in the UK.
A site monetised with ads and a US audience will have a much larger pool of buyers.
I’m bearing that in mind for my next ones.
I hope that this has given you some insight into what it was like for me to sell my first website.
I’m pretty thrilled that I managed it,
And I can’t wait to spend the money on a house,
Once I can eventually get approved for a mortgage
(Or I’ve saved enough to pay cash, which might just be faster!)
Until next time
– NSL
To really show you how impressive her journey is, last month she made $35,309 from her blog. Here’s the breakdown: $13,000 from affiliate commissions, $12,500 from display ads, and $9,809 from sponsored content. This isn’t a fluke — it’s the result of smart strategies and hard work. Imagine what you could achieve with the same approach!
In October , my travel blog made $35,309.
That’s 27% less than in September.
Seasonality is huge in the travel niche, so I expected that.
I also paused most of my Facebook ads.
When I’m doing ad arbitrage I like to check on performance daily so I avoid doing it when I know I won’t be at my computer for long periods.
It’s easy to burn money with FB ads if you don’t watch them!
After reading this story, I’m sure you’re as fired up as I am! Going from zero to $180,000 wasn’t just about selling a website — it was a game-changing entrepreneurial journey. If she can do it, so can you! I know when you’re just starting out, there’s often a lot of uncertainty and doubt, but that’s exactly where every successful entrepreneur begins. Just think — what if you could turn your blog into a profitable venture, and a few years down the line, see the kind of rewards she did? That’s the kind of exciting milestone we’re talking about!
In the next sections, I’m going to walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to create your very own content-driven blog. Whether you’re just starting out or already working on your own projects, what’s coming up will unleash your full potential and make you eager to dive in. Let’s get started on this journey that could change your life!
Now, let’s dive into the real fun part — building your very own blog!
Ready to start?
- Pick the Right Blog Niche
- Pick the Right Blogging Platform
- Choose a Domain Name
- Buy a Hosting Plan
- Set Up Your Blog
- Plan and Write Content
- Work on Your SEO
- Promote Your Blog
Now that you know the steps, I’m going to share some of the best articles on building websites. These insights will give you the confidence to create a standout blog. Let’s dive in — you’ll be ready to build something amazing in no time!
Disclaimer: This post has affiliate links at no cost to you. I may earn a small commission if you use the services I recommend in this pot.
1. Pick the Right Blog Niche
Pick a Niche: Choose something you’re genuinely excited about or have solid knowledge in — whether it’s programming, parenting, tech, or lifestyle. The more passionate you are, the easier it’ll be to create content people love!
Define Your Audience: Think about who you want to write for. Are you aiming for beginners looking for guidance? Experts wanting in-depth analysis? Or maybe hobbyists seeking tips and tricks? Knowing your audience will help shape your content and make it resonate with the right people.
To help you choose the right niche, I highly recommend checking out this article. It offers a detailed analysis of how to select a blog niche, and I’m confident you’ll gain some valuable insights from it.
2. Pick the Right Blogging Platform
Once you’ve settled on a niche, it’s time to start preparing a website for your blog. Blogging platforms are divided into two categories — hosted and self-hosted.
Hosted platforms like website builders are all-inclusive. They generally come with all the tools needed to build a blog. Plus, there’s no need to purchase hosting and a blog domain name from a third party.
On the other hand, self-hosted platforms require you to buy hosting solutions separately. These platforms are typically content management systems (CMSs) that offer extensive customization options for your blogging website.
To help you choose the right platform, check out this article. It provides a great analysis: How to Start a Blog.
3. Choose a Domain Name
No matter what purpose or niche you want to create a blog for, you need to choose a name that will make your blog recognizable and searchable on Google.
Technically, these names are called domains, and they represent the URL of your blog, which allows people to find it.
It’s difficult to remember the ordinary IP address (numerical strings) for a blog, which is why we use a humanly memorable and appealing name for blogs and websites.
Luckily, domains are very easy to get (and very cheap too.)
Start by heading over to NameCheap.
Domain names always end with an extension suchas .com, .in, .us, .net, .org, .info, and others. It’s highly advisable to choose .com, but if it’s not available, you can consider .net or other options.
4. Buy a Hosting Plan
If you’re not familiar with the term, a “web host” is kind of like a warehouse for websites on the Internet.
You pay a small fee to keep your website on the Internet, handle all your visitors, back up your website, provide customer support, manage the security of your website, and so on.
In short:
Website hosting costs money, but you usually get a good bit for your money.
There is a gazillion different WordPress hosts out there, but the hosting provider we use and recommend to our students is Cloudways(affiliate link).
5. Set Up Your Blog
If using WordPress, install WordPress on your hosting. Select a blog theme that aligns with your style. WordPress has both free and premium themes. Customize the layout, colors, fonts, and other elements to make the blog look appealing.
To help you set up your blog theme, you can check out this article for detailed guidance.
The end steps
For the final steps — Plan and Write Content, Work on Your SEO, and Promote Your Blog — you can dive deeper into the following two articles. They’ll give you a better understanding of how to execute these steps and create a stronger website:
These resources will help you refine your approach and take your blog to the next level!
Just like the success story I shared, your journey will be full of challenges, but with passion and persistence, you can absolutely make your blog a success.
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