I also previously mentioned that I wasn’t going to post the domains up front, but I changed my mind. You can find the sites through the links below. As of now here’s what I’ve done:

• I registered 11 .info domains that were keyword-rich and based on keyword phrases with decent search volume and advertiser competition.
• I manually installed the latest WordPress version on each domain.
• I got rid of the default first WP post and put a quick intro on each site – those intros will either be expanded or deleted before I actually sell the sites.

I haven’t yet chosen themes / designs for them, so they’re all using the default. I’ll be working on that over the holidays. I’m also planning to get the content ready for at least two sites over the holidays, so they’ll be ready to flip first thing in the new year.

The sites I’m flipping don’t fall within the primary area I write in for clients. Instead, this time around I chose to focus on niches that would be particularly interesting to readers early in the year (such as things based on new year’s resolutions).

The niches cover dieting, walking for weight loss, home fitness equipment, green living, free online courses, online master’s degree programs, how to get organized, tips on saving money, recipes, making money online, and various things people might want to learn.

Week 2 Summary

What was planned / completed:

• I posted two new articles to the blog, including 100+ Blog Posts and Resources for Writers.
• I upgraded my WordPress installation there.
• I updated the main meta tags.
• I added some Indeed job ads to the site to add another revenue stream.
• I added two new articles to ezinearticles with links back to the blog, and they’re waiting for approval (the two from the previous week were approved and are now live).
• I setup a simple writing jobs Squidoo lens for the blog.
• I contributed more than 5 comments with links to the blog on related blogs (no spammy garbage either – only participating in the actual discussions).

In addition to those things, which were already planned, I also:

• Added a resume section to the job board.

And here’s the plan for this week:

On-Site

• I’d like to get two more new unique articles added.
• I want to put up the job board TOS / instructions for posting.
• I plan to get the feed setup with feedburner and add an email subscription option.

Marketing

• I’d like to get another two articles posted to ezinearticles for the sake of getting some relevant traffic.
• I plan to add a few links to related blog posts on other blogs near the end of each post on the blog (beneficial to the readers, but also adds trackback links that can drive more related traffic to the blog).
• I’m going to offer a special deal / freebie for the first few people to post their resume / portfolio there after I post the instructions (so don’t post yours yet if you want to be eligible).
• I’ll comment on 5 – 10 more niche-related blog posts with links back to the site (with useful comments of course).

That’s it for this week. Check back same time next week to see if I reached these goals or not, and to find out what my next steps are in getting this blog ready for sale.

Week 1 Summary

• I took a while to get around to my week 1 edits. Actually, I technically did them during week 2 (this morning). Last week I was preoccupied with a lot of client work, having to go out-of-state early in the week (so I lost a day), and preparing for my yearly holiday dinner party (which was yesterday).
• I did get the intro on the homepage updated.
• I also added one unique article to the blog. I plan to make my content value one of the bigger selling points when I sell this site, so I’m aiming for at least 500 words per unique post (since I charge a flat $200 for articles of that length, and it’ll make the “actual value” easier to calculate).
• I put two articles on ezinearticles, and they’re waiting for approval. Those will not transfer in any way to the site buyer (but I’ll keep the links in them). They’re pulled from info on some of my other related writing niche sites (including one being a post I put here earlier today), and include links both to eWritingJobs.com and my writing-related e-book.

And here’s the plan for this week:

On-Site

• I’d like to get two new unique articles added.
• I want to run the update to get that WordPress installation upgraded to 2.7.
• I want to update the main site meta tags – they’re outdated, and based on when the main feature of the site was a job board.
• I plan to incorporate some job ads into the site as an additional revenue stream.

Marketing

• I’d like to get two more articles posted to ezinearticles for the sake of getting some relevant traffic.
• I want to setup a Squidoo lens tied to the site.
• I’ll comment on 5 – 10 niche-related blogs with links back to the site (with useful comments of course – I’m a completely white hat type).

And I think that’s plenty for the week.  Check back same time next week to see if I reached these goals or not, and to find out what my next steps are in getting this blog ready for sale.

I also have a goal for 2009 of flipping a few sites, as a means of monetizing some domain names I have sitting around.

This weekend I’ve started preparing the first of those sites, and I thought I’d do a series of posts here along the way for those interested in trying it themselves.

The Site

The first site I’ll be working with is eWritingJobs.com. I’ve had this domain for a while, and a barebones WordPress blog was there for about a year. There just wasn’t time to build it further, especially considering that I already run several other sites in the niche covering similar topics.

The Plan

Because eWritingJobs.com has an aged domain (not something I just registered to flip right away), I’m not going to do a quick flip on this one. In fact, there’s a chance it won’t get flipped at all. Let me explain:

When I build a “quiet site” (something I don’t necessarily tie my name to or promote heavily), it’s setup to earn some ad revenue. If it earns a few hundred per month after a couple of months, I’ll keep it to continue earning that income somewhat passively. If it earns less (let’s say if it’s earning less than $100 per month), I’ll sell it / flip it.

The idea is to create multiple small sites (I usually use a blog format), and either earn income through ads that make them worth keeping or sell them to earn a profit on what’s there. The best case is to have them earning for you continuously. When I flip a site it’s usually because it’s not worth the time anymore, and I’d rather take back some of my time or resources to devote to newer projects.

So you may follow the process and learn how to flip a quick and simple site for a few hundred dollars or so, or you’ll learn how to setup that same simple site or blog to earn residual income. Either way, it’s another income stream you may find worthwhile.

What’s Been Done So Far?

• This weekend I changed the theme on the blog from a drab blue-gray theme to something warmer (which I felt fit the niche better).
• I previously decided to use the posts there elsewhere, so I added bylines and links – if the site is sold, there will be a condition that those resource boxes have to remain on the old articles if they keep them published. Any new content on the site will be unique and for that buyer only.
• I also added a free job board to give me something specific to promote to attract initial visitors (the blog only brought in a little under 3000 pageviews last month, so I need to majorly improve that now that it’s not just sitting around). In related news, if testing of this job board system works well, I’ll also be incorporating one here at AFW.
• I setup ads in what I believe will be a relatively well-optimized manner. I also made sure every single ad could be tracked. In other words, when I earn from one of them, I’ll know the ad clicked on was from this site and not another site of mine where I’m promoting the same product. You should be doing this any time you place ads on your site, but it’s especially important if you may sell in the future – you’ll have to prove income directly from the site or blog.

Still to Come

• I need to change the intro text near the top of the site (it’s still the default from the theme).
• I want to set up email subscriptions so visitors have some options.
• I want to write 5 – 10 unique articles.
• I want to have at least 25 job postings added.
• I want to add a resume section to the job board, where writers can advertise their own services.
• I need to add the job board TOS.
• I need to add instructions on using the job board.
• I need to build links (article marketing, press releases, worthwhile comments on related blogs, etc.) – not all links will contribute to something like pagerank, but the primary goal is really to build visibility and direct traffic from a variety of related sites.
• I also need to make sure the site is generally well-optimized (or easy for the potential new owner to optimize further).

Determining Value

There are a lot of folks out there that are happy to throw a few rewritten PLR articles on a new domain and sell it off for $50 or so. I prefer using mostly unique content, because it’s a big part of what I’m able to charge.

What you can charge for a flipped site will depend on several things, including:

• The income of the site over the last few months (the longer you’ve had a steady income, the better).
• The traffic (and also its stability and where it’s coming from).
• The PR of the domain (although you can still easily flip them with no PR, so don’t obsess over something like this).
• The number of backlinks to the site (and where they’re coming from).
• The value of your content (if you charge $50 per article normally for custom work, you’ll likely be able to flip a site with 10 unique articles for much more than someone who usually charges $5 per article) – in fact, this has been the primary selling point of other sites I’ve flipped (in the $350-450 range, generally assuming little to no traffic and income).

In the past, I’ve mostly focused on the content. That’s still going to be a big part of what I determine to be a minimum selling price (if I don’t get that price, I’ll simply hold onto it for a while longer and keep building traffic and income). However, I do want to put more emphasis on the other areas as well.

As of now, I’d like to give myself three months to prepare it for a flip (or decide to keep it). That means I’ll be noting here what I’m doing with that site in regards to increasing its traffic, building links, getting activity to the job board, and building income to show to potential buyers (maybe with weekly updates). If the site hits over $100 per month before then, I’ll keep promoting it to grow that a bit, and I’ll keep it for a while. If it earns less than that every month for the next three months, I’ll auction it off with a minimum reserve price set.

While I imagine there’s more interest here in learning how to do the quick flip for fast cash, I strongly believe there’s more value in going this route, and I hope others here will benefit from a “behind the scenes” look at my process.

If you are more interested in the quick flip, don’t hesitate to comment and let me know. If it looks like enough folks are interested, I’m happy to take one of my other “spare” domains and do a quick flip in the next week or so. Here are some of the niches I have domains available for that could be quick-flipped:

• PR writing
• Business writing
• Copywriting
• Indie Music

I’m also willing to register a new one if needs be, and have a few ideas to take advantage of the New Year timing. So let me know.

Different Ways to Flip a Website

There’s more than one way to flip a website. In some cases, the website is a long-term investment – you build an authority site or high-income site to sell at a high price. In other cases you’ll cultivate a website for a few months (long enough to build a bit of traffic and have income stats to show potential buyers). In a third type of website flipping, you build and then sell the website almost immediately on completion.

It’s the third way of flipping a website that is most relevant to freelance writers looking to build another revenue stream from their writing.

Benefits and Drawbacks of the Quick Flip

Some people look at quick flips as a bad thing. They assume a new site (with no real traffic or income to use as selling points) simply can’t make much money, so it’s always better to hold onto it for a while first.

That may be true for a typical webmaster, but it’s not true for you – a freelance writer. You have an added value in the sites you flip. You have your content.

That said, one of the biggest drawbacks of a quick flip is that, even if you can get a decent amount for the site quickly, you could probably get even more by holding onto it for a little while. Another downside of flipping sites (specifically for freelance writers) is that you’ll often get less overall than you would if you sold the content on that site separately (through unique and custom sales to clients).

Despite those two negative aspects, flipping websites can still be a great extra income source. Why?

• A quick flip can put money in your hands fast (often in a few hours to a few days).
• A quick flip doesn’t require much of a time investment in marketing (link-building, traffic generation, etc.) or monetization.
• You can create and flip website on your own time and in any niche that you want. While you can get more for a site where you’re offering expert content, they can be a good way to dabble in new niches as well. You don’t have client deadlines, or have clients deciding on the specific content – they buy it as-is.

Whether you have a slow day or two without much client work, or an extra half hour a day you’d like to start monetizing, you can flip a site and earn some extra income.

The Site-Flipping Process

We already mentioned that there are different ways to flip a website. Now let’s look at the easiest process when your primary value is your content (then we’ll talk about things you can do to increase the value to potential buyers if you want to).

1. Choose a niche. - Ideally, you’ll want a niche you’re an expert in to some degree as well as one with a solid potential demand from buyers (like a typically high-paying niche).
2. Register a Domain Name. - When building a site for authority value in the long run, I consider it vital to look for a brandable domain name. However, for quick flips I’ve had the most luck going with search engine friendly / keyword-rich domains. This tool may help you find one (use the word search tool).
3. Get Web Hosting. - You’ll need to host your website(s) before flipping anything. In some cases, you’ll transfer the hosting account to the site buyer. Personally, I don’t operate that way (just an added headache). I use one shared hosting account when setting up sites to flip (or new sites of my own being developed), and I transfer the files and database to the buyer for them to host on their own account. I find this easier and more cost-effective when flipping more than one site. But do whatever you’re more comfortable with.
4. Setup the Web Site. - You can set up pretty much any type of content site that you’re comfortable with, from a static site to something on a content management system (CMS). I always set them up on a self-hosted WordPress blog. It makes for a relatively easy transfer (and there are a huge number of templates / themes out there you can use). A blog format also means you don’t have to create a homepage in addition to your content pages – it’s dynamic. I also always use free themes when flipping a site. Why? Because the value is in the content – a custom design would be an up front cost that then also has to be accounted for in your selling price. I find it easier to base the price on the content (and sometimes the domain if it’s a particularly good one), and then let the buyer swap in any theme they want. That said, I try to make sure it’s a decent theme, not overly basic or over-used, and I generally make a few design changes (color changes, add a logo or header image, etc.).
5. Write the content. - Pretty self-explanatory, right? You know the niche, the site’s setup, and now it’s time to create the content. Write your articles. Make them unique. Make them worth buying. Make them on par with (or better than) your work for clients. It’s also a good idea to incorporate advertising into the site or blog when you add the content – even if it’s not earning money yet, you want buyers to see how it could.
6. Sell the site. - You can sell your sites anywhere you can find potential buyers. Personally, I sell them at a webmaster forum. You can set a price, or run an auction – I suggest running an auction (you choose the starting bid, bid increment amounts, and set a buy-it-now / BIN price for an instant close to the auction). Going this route, I’ve sold sites in anything from a few hours to a few days. It helps if you sell them in a place where you’ve already built a reputation.
7. Transfer things to the new owner. - When your sale or auction ends, you can choose to transfer files first or have the payment sent first. My usual policy is this – I’ll send them a copy of the files and database up front, but they don’t get the domain name transfered (and I don’t pull my site down) until they pay in full. This way, even if they don’t pay and try to essentially steal the content for their own site, it’s just duplicate content for them and there are things you can do to have that stolen content pulled down (I’ve never had this happen fortunately). The last thing to do is to transfer the domain name to the new owner (you’ll need to check with your domain registrar on the process – it’s a bit different with each one – know though that you generally can’t transfer to a new registrar if it was registered within 60 days, so you can only “push” it to an owner who has an account with the same registrar).

How Much Can You Make?

I mentioned that one of the drawbacks of flipping websites as an income stream for freelance writers is the fact that you’ll likely earn less per article than you would if you had spent the same amount of time on client projects.

However, quick-flips can be an excellent source of “filler” income – when you need to kill some time, just want to try something new, or simply want a break from your typical routine.

It’s tough to give you an exact estimate, but with the half dozen or so sites that I’ve flipped, I’ve sold them for anywhere from $75 to $450 (sites I spend no more than a day putting together between the site setup and content creation). I’ve seen many sell for less than $75 (generally from people who don’t have the luxury of putting added value on their content). The exact price you can get will depend on a few things, including:

• How much unique content is included.
• How old the site and domain are (traffic, revenue, etc. will play a role on the higher end sometimes if you’ve chosen to hold onto it for a while).
• How much you normally charge to write unique content.
• Whether or not you’re a niche expert / specialist.
• Your reputation in the community where you’re holding your auction or sale.
• Whether or not your domain name is good enough to add extra value.

Why would your normal freelance writing rates matter?

Easy – because people are looking for bargains. For example, when I was flipping a few previously, I charged a starting rate of about $.35 per word for most unique content in that niche. Many webmasters in that community couldn’t afford to hire me to write custom content for them. But because I offered a price on the site being flipped that would be a big discount on my normal rate, it became affordable. I didn’t earn as much, but they didn’t have the luxury of choosing the content, asking for edits, etc. – at the same time, I earned some money for sites I didn’t feel like keeping and maintaining on my own, and they got affordable professional content from an expert in a decent niche (which they couldn’t have otherwise afforded). That value completely outweighed the fact that the sites were relatively new, had pretty much no traffic, and no declared earnings during the auctions.

That said, if you normally charge $100 per article, you’re going to be able to get more for your flipped sites than someone who normally charges $10 per article. Let’s say in both cases, the writer is offering a site with ten unique articles. The asking price is $300. Buyers aren’t going to be attracted to the site by the lower-price writer here. Why? Because it’s still three times cheaper to hire the writer to put together exactly what they want instead. However, it’s a 70% discount over unique content from the first writer – that’s a more attractive proposition for the buyer (and relatively quick money for the writer – again, I suggest this as “filler” income and not a replacement for client work if you have a full schedule – do it during some free time or slow periods).

Adding Value

You can better your chances of getting a decent price for your quick-flipped sites if you do a few things:

• Choose a niche that’s in-demand.
• Choose a niche with high-paying keywords.
• Use those high-paying keywords in your articles (especially in the titles).
• Include on-site SEO (add meta descriptions and keywords, cross-link related content, etc.).
• Build some incoming links (you could do something simple like setup a Squidoo lens even – and include that lens with the article price).
• Don’t sell until it’s indexed by search engines (my sites are usually indexed in 2 – 3 days – if you want it to happen quickly, get links to it).
• Spend some time in a community with buyers before trying to sell something to them – the more they already know about the value of your content, the more likely it is they’ll be interested.
• Age the domain. While the site can be quick-flipped in the end, it can be a good idea to register the domain name earlier, and let it sit before building and flipping the site (better yet, let it sit with a page of content, and it may pick up natural backlinks, search engine traffic, and Google PageRank before you complete it for sale).

Have you ever flipped websites to earn some extra money as a writer? If so, share some tips of your own for those new to flipping websites and blogs.