The largest websites brokers or marketplaces typically charge a large commission of between 15% to 20% for the service of finding a buyer and transferring ownership of the site.
If your site is earning less than five figures per month, it may be a better option to try to find a private buyer on your own and save thousands of dollars on broker fees.
After selling over 100 sites to private buyers since 2008, here are my top methods for finding a private buyer for your site.
1. Facebook Communities (Groups)
Facebook has several private communities dedicated to listing sites for sale. These are usually free to join and can be an excellent way to get the word out about your site for sale without paying a dime.
Website Flipping – Buy & Sell Websites (11K members)
The Website Flipping Facebook Group is managed by The Website Flip and focused on postings by members selling their website. There are a few new site listings each week. I also share sites that I am selling from my own portfolio or for The Website Flip Brokerage.
I do not vet sites that are posted in this Facebook group so please make sure to conduct your own due diligence.
Flipping Websites (21K members)
The Flipping Websites group is managed by Investors Club and allows members to post sites earning less than $500 per month. With good moderation and frequent listings, this is a group I check regularly.
Raptive Community (2.8K members)
Site owners approved by Raptive have access to the Raptive Community Facebook group where members can post about selling their site. There are a handful of posts per month about selling a site, typically earning a few thousand dollars per month.
Unlike Raptive, Mediavine does not allow posts about selling sites in their Facebook group.
2. Niche Website Forum Communities
Several paid courses in the niche website space include a community forum with thousands of members interested in building or buying niche sites. Several of these forums allow members to share their websites for sale.
Course communities are a great place to advertise your site for sale because there are many like-minded individuals who are interested in buying a site built with good practices. It is an inexpensive or free method for connecting with potential buyers if you already have access to the forum.
Fat Stacks Forum
Students of any course by Jon Dykstra gain access to the private forum with thousands of members. Members can make a post in the “Website for Sale” category after submitting a $100 payment. Jon must approve the site listing but he doesn’t vet sites.
Income School Forum
Income School offers the popular Project 24 course that is aimed at beginner bloggers and includes a large private forum with many members. They allow their members to share their site for sale in the Promotions/Networking/Services category of the forum. According to one current member we talked to, someone lists a site for sale about once per week in the forum.
Income School occasionally buys sites from their students as they did with FishTankSetups.com after it was hit by an algorithm update.
Authority Site System Mastermind / Authority Hacker Pro
Students of Authority Hacker Pro courses gain lifetime access to one of their private Facebook groups (Authority Site System Mastermind or Authority Hacker Pro). Authority Hacker allows its members to advertise their sites for sale in their private Facebook group.
These sites are not vetted by Authority Hacker and require a disclaimer that they will not assist in any disputes.
3. Twitter
I often share my own sites for sale on Twitter where I am active daily and have a growing number of followers (currently around 9,000).
Twitter has an active community of niche site owners and investors that often share their experiences with their sites.
Interested buyers can direct message you on Twitter to start a conversation about the deal or to make an offer. I acquired Stream SEO by reaching out to the owner on Twitter to ask if he was interested in selling.
If you do not have a Twitter following you could offer to pay individuals with a following to share your site. Another option is to DM people on Twitter who are known to buy sites for their portfolio or are looking to buy sites.
4. The Website Flip Brokerage
The Website Flip Brokerage helps sellers connect with potential buyers from our quality pool of investors for a 3% finder fee.
This can save a seller thousands of dollars compared to typical broker commissions of 15-20%.
We do not provide site transfer, contracts, or escrow services like some brokers.
However, we do provide a detailed write-up, calculate a fair valuation, collect data on traffic and earnings, and feature the site on our email newsletter and social channels.
5. Email Outreach to Competitors
Competitors to your site may be interested in acquiring your site to improve their own traffic and SEO.
There are strong SEO benefits to acquiring smaller sites in the same niche that they can merge into their own site to increase link authority. This is much faster and can be less expensive than increasing link authority through other link-building methods.
It can also increase topical relevance for a certain topic as it did for me with my acquisition of DNGeek. I was able to add a relevant category of content about buying and selling of brandable domains by acquiring this site.
Some publishers like to own multiple sites in the same niche so they can occupy multiple positions on the first page of Google for important keywords. They can replicate what it is already working for them with unique articles targeting the same keywords on a second site.
You can reach out to larger or similar-sized players in your niche to let them know you are looking for a buyer. It can be difficult and time-consuming for larger sites to find a relevant site that is willing to sell, so they may be interested in discussing a sale.
6. Email Outreach to Brands
I have been able to increase revenues on my affiliate sites by reaching out to brands that sell on Amazon and negotiating private affiliate deals for an additional commission for each product sold through Amazon Associates.
Brands like this arrangement because they only pay for sales that are made and you are driving traffic and sales to their Amazon listings, which can boost their rankings in Amazon’s search results.
Some brands look for strategic acquisitions of content sites so they have full control of promoting their own products. If the site ranks well for important keywords, it can help them increase their traffic from Google at a lower cost than paying per click with Google Ads.
7. For Sale Message on Site
Adding a text message or sidebar banner that states “This site is available for sale” can attract potential buyers to inquire about making an offer.
The downside of this method is that there may be a low chance that potential buyers will find out about your site unless they stumble across it. The other downside is that readers may not be as loyal if they see that the original owner is planning to leave.
8. Advertise in an Email Newsletter
Some popular email newsletters in the niche site building space offer advertising on a per email basis.
The Fat Stacks newsletter is one example of a newsletter that sells advertising and would reach a targeted audience of website builders and investors. The Fat Stacks newsletter has 13,000 email subscribers and charges $1,000 per email.
The downside of this approach is that there is no guarantee that the advertisement will lead to a sale.
9. Networking with Niche Site Owners and Website Flippers
Building up a network of people you know and trust in the niche website industry can be a valuable asset when you are ready to sell your site.
You can let your network know about your plans to sell a site to receive feedback or advice. They may even be interested in purchasing your site or can introduce you to someone they know that would be interested.
I have met several talented and successful niche website builders and investors through my Facebook group Website Flip Club and through the niche website community on Twitter.
Wrap Up
Finding a private buyer requires more time and effort than listing your site on a broker marketplace, but is often worth thousands of dollars in savings.
It can also be beneficial for the buyer because fewer potential competitors can view the URL and financial details compared to a marketplace like Empire Flippers. You can always list with one of the top website brokers if you are unable to find a private buyer.
If you are interested in selling your site with The Website Flip Brokerage and pay just 3% only if the site sells to one of our buyers, then you can learn more here.
