If you ever do stop blogging, I'd be grateful if you let me make an offer first. | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

Crystal,

I have bought a bunch of sites (I think I currently own 7 with a partner) and will let you know right up front most active bloggers will overvalue their site just like I did when I went into negotiations to sell mine 18 months ago.  People put so much time and energy into it its hard to value it practically.

Good Luck building your empire, I have complete faith that TFB and MoneyCrashers are  going to have to watch their backs one day lol

Evan

Post edited 1:31 pm – March 24, 2011 by JT_McGee

@ Jeff (WSCB)

I share the same view.  I own a few sites, but I'd much rather own these few than beat to hell a network of 100 blogs.  They're all in generally the same space, but differentiated.  In that regard, they're also very broad, so broad that breaking them up only makes sense.  

It's personal preference, really.  You and I value working on one or a few things and trying to make it exceptional whereas others may see value in making many very good websites, each with differentiated revenue sources.  You can quickly see the logic in both sides: Diversification allows for security, but maybe at the cost of slower-growth, whereas all-in-one provides for high growth, but also high risk in losing everything in one fell swoop.

The important thing to remember, and something I wish I had learned well before I did as learning it cost me a ton of money: pay yourself first.  Growth shouldn't be secondary, but it is not the end-all, universal solvent for growing a competitive organization.  A high-growth focused company with 1 interest can have just as much of a safety net if the owner is committed to maximizing liquid assets as a company with several interests with numerous revenue streams.  

We'll let the mathematicians sort out which model works best, and why, but really, it all comes down to personal preference.  There is no wrong way to do something right.    I'm just happy to be part of a group that wants more for themselves, and more for the group all at the same time.  There are some great people here, but we all have different goals, and even then, we all have our own favorite paths for getting there.  That diversity is what makes Yakezie so great, IMO.

thanks JT. I love writing about the economy and finance, thats why I write about it. My second love is The New York Mets. This where I reach a dilemma. I'd rather just write about the Mets on The Wall Street Chalkboard,so I don't have to go about building an entire new website. Do you think this would be wrong or stupid to do?

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't put a Mets site together with a finance site.  You'd definitely be better positioned to put that on a separate site, as sports content is 1) likely to make Google go "WTF!?" 2) result in lower advertising earnings for your finance site.

The sports niche isn't worth a hoot.  If you do consider it, realize that traffic will come easy, but also realize that selling someone a $100 collectible, or a $10 mlb baseball isn't nearly as profitable as selling…say, a mutual fund with a 4.5% sales load.  

At a very minimum, should you decide to keep it all on one site, absolutely make the mets content a subdomain (mets.wscb.com) so as to tell Google, "hey, totally different content over here!"  That's at a minimum; best case scenario is that you put them on two different domains, and two different adsense accounts, IMO.

Frugal Confessions said:

Got a question: if you buy another's site, do you then write all of the posts for it to keep it going, or do you hire someone to run the site?

 

Just curious how this works!

I'd hire at least one staff writer for the second site.  Probably 2-3 to keep content fresh and constant.  :-)

Post edited 11:13 pm – March 24, 2011 by Sandy @ yesiamcheap

I have three blogs.  I'd say that Yes, I Am Cheap & My Tenant From Hell could be rolled into one.  But, I wanted to give other people the ability to enter their stories as well on the second site.  I have one user submitted story in queue that's a doozy.  :)  The first blog I hold close to the chest and takes up 99.99% of my time.

The third blog is a completely different topic that would NOT fit at all with the others.  It's about bed bugs and bed bug season is about to begin again so I'm rubbing my palms together.  :)  That one is PURELY an experiment and since it only cost me the $6.99 for the domain and literally THREE DAYS that it took to put together, I'm fine with it.  In another week I'll hire a writer to add content to publish weekly and then a VA for some SEO work.  Shouldn't cost me more than $250 altogether.  That particular topic is a one visit niche and I don't expect repeats which is fine.  :)

@brokeprofessionals.  I live in Queens, so I can't have you messing with my Mets?  How's that fine Jersey baseball tea–.  Oh wait, you don't have one huh?  How 'bout those Nets?

i've got a bunch of sites that I run, but two main sites that i update on a 4-5 day a week basis. How is it possible?  Staff writers, lots of late nights, and knowing how to do things more efficiently after running a site for 3+ years. :)

@InvestitWisely

Don't quit! You've got a great investment blog.  On the topic of post frequency, I'm almost regretting two posts a week, as I think I have like…oh, a three or four month backlog.  That said, I guess I'll never burn out.

@WSCB – You could probably write a book about how the Mets are affected by the Madoff case.  You get your Mets (whom I will be heartbroken by again this season) and you get Wall Street.

But as was mentioned, it may do better to create a separate site if you want to talk about sports. Go with your passion and it will make it easier for you to blog.