Buying a Blog Like Buying A Mail Order Bride?

There has been a recent trend that has emerged in the Make Money Online niche that has really generated a lot of discussion, traffic and even some good old fashioned white trash feuding. The trend I am referring to is how popular it has become to “sell” your blog.

This subject has generated a number of posts and thousands of comments and has really generated some “buzz.” To date I notice that most of the posts have focused on the seller but what about the buyer? Who are these people and what do they stand to gain?

Lead or Follow

I have a theory that there are only two kinds of bloggers out there, leaders or followers. Leaders set the standard for all others to follow. They are unique and provide refreshing and though provoking content that is a joy to read.

Followers, as you might guess, are the opposite. They provide rehashed content that has already been published somewhere else. They rarely provide a unique perspective or an original thought but rather simply rewrite what they read somewhere else.

Which kind of blogger do you think someone who buys a blog might be?

Window Shopping

I am wondering what would motivate them to part with that much money in order to acquire a blog? What’s the thought process, especially at the 10k and up price point. What chance do they stand of ultimately being successful?

The obvious thought that comes to mind is that they are buying it to get a head start. An established blog will have traffic, subscribers and authority already built and by purchasing it they instantly transform from an anonymous nobody, to a branded somebody.

I don’t know if they fully understand what it takes to be the “somebody” behind that blog? I would argue that they stand a very good chance of turning a 10k dollar blog into a 500 dollar blog within a year. Simply because it was worth 10k dollars today, does not mean that it will be worth anything if they ruin it.

Successful Relationship

A successful marriage will involve some or all of the following: attraction, courting, conversation, trust, cooperation, friendship, lust, love, caring, companionship and a host of other “little things” that combine to keep each other happy.

Many of these are not skills that are inherent in people but rather are learned through trial and error and usually some painful lessons and broken hearts along the way to maturity. All of the mistakes you make in your early relationships, teach you how to eventually be successful in a marriage.

If for whatever reason you are the kind of person that needs instant gratification and would even consider something nuts like a mail order bride, then chances are that you are ill equipped for the rigors of a long term relationship.

Without acquiring the necessary skills to keep a relationship working correctly, you are likely doomed to fail, sooner or later.

Blogging Relationship

One could argue that in order to have a successful blog, you will need to have some or all of the following: content writing skill,ordpress knowledge, social media skills, html familiarity and a whole host of other ingredients.

Much like the marriage example, you acquire these skills as you progress from a blogging rookie to a seasoned veteran. If you skip this learning curve, you will be ill prepared for the trials and tribulations that successful blogging will bring.

Blogging requires a lot of skill and talent if you expect to be successful at it and when buying a blog the existing readership is going to expect you to at least be as good as the former writer and in all likelihood you will need to be better.

People are naturally resistant to change, so they will be watching you with a suspicious eye.

Conclusion

I think it’s too early to tell on a lot of the blogs sold recently as to whether they will be any better or worse than they were. If you want to look on the bright side, the new writer might very well take the blog to an entirely new level of popularity.

That has definitely not been the trend from what I have seen. Two examples come to mind, Cashquests and OneMansGoal. They were both sold several months ago and the new writers quickly destroyed what was a decent blog in my opinion.

In fact, the guy who originally bought OneMansGoal sold it back to the original owner within just a few months. The price was never disclosed but I am sure it was at a strong discount because traffic had plummeted and it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

I must confess that I was about an inch from buying Blogtrepreneur when it was up for sale. I am really happy today that I didn’t because the last 4 months of blogging have taught me a lot and I don’t think learning to blog in front of a widespread audience is conducive to keeping readers. Call me crazy.

Time will tell but how about you, what do you think about some of the blogs that have sold? Downhill, even or gotten better since the sale?