Flipping A WordPress Blog – Part 2

Posted in Wordpress How To

Okay, now it’s time to build the site out and flip it :)   This is the final stage …

Well, of course, you need to install WordPress.  The quickest way to do that is via Fantastico if you are using CPanel.  I’m not going to walk you through that here if you need to learn this then you can watch my videos on You Tube.  Then you’ll need to choose a WordPress theme.  Choose a WordPress theme where you can change the header image on it and install it on your new site.   Don’t spend too much time choosing a theme just grab one and get going.  

I like to make some changes to WordPress for my flip sites.   

First of all I’ll delete the dates from the wordpress theme that I am using. If you are making a lot of flip sites I find it handy to have a project folder where I keep themes that I have altered and the plugins that I use.  That way when I build a new site I don’t spend time looking for stuff I just go to my site flip folder and upload everything.    

I also use an autoinstaller which allows me to build these sites quickly and save a profile of my set up.   A profile really is just the theme and plugins you use for certain situations.  This makes installing a WordPress blog simple because I just go to my autoinstaller script and click the Site Flip profile I’ve created previously.  It will go to work and install wordpress together with my chosen theme and plugins :) How’s that for easy!  

The next thing is to make it pretty :)

You want your site to stand out and be attractive to buyers and one way of doing that is to have a snazzy header that is related to your site’s content.   I am hopeless at graphics so I usually get a header made for me for about $10  at Digital Point.  When you have your new header upload it to your site replacing the old header.

CMS 

The other thing that I like to do is use WordPress more as a CMS than a blog for these sites.   To acheive that quick smart I just go to Settings/Reading for a single post to be displayed and I turn off comments in Settings/Discussion.

Of course, you can really make WordPress sing as a CMS but the idea for these sites is to build them quickly and flip them – not spend time fiddling with them.    

Filling It Out

Let’s add some content now. For each keyword you have chosen you will want to add 1 post. Choose your best keyword article as the post that will be displayed on the front of the page.  I outsource the content to my writer for $40.00.  You can find writers at GAF if you are  not keen on writing yourself.   I also like to add some images as well. People love pretty pictures.   You can find images at Google Images or Flickr- check the creative commons listing with a licence to reuse commercially.  Make sure you triple check the licensing for any images you use.

Add some SEO love by using Platinum SEO, Headspace2, Ultimate SEO or All In One SEO.  Before you click "publish" check the box to make the first post a sticky post.   That means it will always display on the front of the site. Upload and publish your remaining articles. 

I know what you are thinking…..where’s the money coming from?

Well this may surprise you, maybe not, but I’ll only be using adsense to monetize the site.   

Here’s why

An adsense account is super easy to obtain.   This means that any buyer should be able to get an adsense account and monetize the site the same way.  If I had chosen Ebay, CJ etc as an affiliate program the buyer may not be able to get an account.   Consequently, the buyer may end up unhappy and disappointed and certainly wouldn’t be a repeat customer.

You are probably thinking well why not add a little bit of Amazon as well then.  Amazon accounts are pretty easy to get so that shouldn’t be a problem.   

Wrong

Having too much stuff can harm your site.  It seems that when  people are confronted with Adsense, Ebay and Amazon the commissions go down.   They are spoilt for choice in that scenario.   Make it easy for visitors to the site they either click an ad or they leave the site.   

To insert the ads in your site you can use the Advertising Manager plugin or use an adsense ready WordPress theme.

To ensure your site is professional you can add a privacy policy, site map and a disclaimer.  

Decision Time

By now your site should look pretty cool.  It’s up to you now, is it time to sell or time to get some traffic?

Personally, if I had time I would make two sites.  One for me to keep and one for me to sell.  I would do some link building and traffic generation for a month and then keep the site that performs better and sell the site that doesn’t do as well.   I like to cull

After a month you should have some adsense earnings and stats that you can show the prospective buyers as well.

If you decide to flip straight away without traffic then you need to make your listing sing.    Your listing should point out the:

*custom graphics
*unqiue articles
*seo domain name
*keyword optimized content

You should also try and do better than the next person.  By this I mean add value to your buyer.   A quick way of adding value is to buy some PLR on traffic generation; for example, re-do the book with your information and give it to your buyers to help them get started with their site.  The beauty of PLR is that you can rebrand the product with your own name and graphics (always check the licence) and use this book with all your flips in the future.

You can also offer additional services to the buyer as well (for a fee) for instance:

*site maintenance
*theme tweaks
*moving the site to another host
*hosting
*traffic generation

I don’t propose that you do all this stuff but you can pay someone else to and keep a cut

Okay, time to list your site at Flippa.   Before you do this I suggest that you set up a site to showcase your flips.  Yes, it may be bare now but who knows what will happen in the future?   On this site you can show sites that you have created, add a page for your services, add a quote form so people can contact you direct to make sites for them and add an optin form so buyers can be contacted when you build a new site.    If you build up a list of buyers you can sell them sites hot off the press as well as sites that you may have generated traffic on.  This means that you can avoid the auction scenario of Flippa and develop your own customers.

Okay, let’s recap what the exercise involves:

*Niche research
*Buy Domain Name
*Add domain to hosting
*Set Up WordPress
*10 articles
*Add adsense
*List site on Flippa

If you were not writing the articles yourself but had them outsourced then this exercise should take you less than 90 minutes if you are experienced with WordPress and have all your plugins and theme ready to go.

Let’s look at the cost involved:

Domain name $10
Hosting (on a shared hosting account it’s not worth mentioning – I use a resellers account for flips and sell hosting to buyers)
Articles $40
Flippa listing fee $20
Header $10

If you sell the site for $270 after expenses you have made $190 which is about $130 per hour.  Not bad :) Plus you can build up a list of buyers for future use when you need some fast cash and if you offer services you have the ability to earn a month recurring income.

Will you make $200?  Who knows  Remember, that sometimes you might sell a site for less than what you want and sometimes more.  Unfortunately, there are no guarantees but it is a great way of earning some fast cash when you need it.

  
 

Have fun with WP :)