Interested in learning how to sell a blog? In this guest post, Sarah Nuttycombe explains how a blog was sold for $66,000 in eight days. She covers how blogs make money, practical tips for selling websites, and actionable steps to prepare your blog for sale.
Most people know you can earn income by learning how to start a blog, but far fewer realize you can often multiply your earnings by selling the blog when it reaches steady profitability.
My name is Sarah Nuttycombe. I’m a Content Specialist at Empire Flippers, a large curated marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. I want to introduce you to the world of selling blogs and show how a well-run blog can translate into a life-changing payout.
More women are entering this space and selling blogs for tens of thousands — and sometimes millions — of dollars on our marketplace. Their success stories provide useful lessons for anyone building an online business.
Here’s the success story of a mother and her three daughters who sold their natural-living blog for $66,000 in just eight days. I’ll explain how they did it, what made their blog attractive to buyers, and give you a step-by-step look at the selling process so you can start preparing your own site for sale.
Related content on selling and growing blogs:
- How I’ve Turned Buying Websites Into My Full-Time Career
- How To Earn Money Blogging: Your Top Questions Answered
- 12 Free Resources To Grow Your Blog Fast
- How To Quit Your Job And Become A Full-Time Blogger
- How I Successfully Built A $1,000,000+ Blog
- How To Monetize A Blog
The Backstory: How the Blog Became Sellable
Throughout this article I refer to the blog as a business. That’s intentional: when a blog earns money consistently, it’s an asset and a business.
This particular business began as a passion project from a mother and her three daughters who shared a commitment to natural living. They created content focused on healthy, non-toxic household products and lifestyle tips. Within two weeks of launching, the blog started making money, and over the years it grew far beyond their expectations.
The family built a social following of over 45,000 on Pinterest and an email list of about 5,000 highly engaged subscribers. They published a free and later a paid ebook, secured steady affiliate income, and generated reliable monthly revenue while each family member only worked about five hours per week.
What made the blog particularly valuable was its diversified revenue model. The business earned from six distinct streams: Amazon Associates, other affiliate networks, sponsored content, a monetized email list, display advertising, and info products. Below is a brief overview of how those streams worked together.
- Amazon Associates: Approximately 93% of the blog’s affiliate income came from Amazon, primarily recommending natural household products.
- Other Affiliates: The remainder of affiliate revenue came from networks like ShareASale and niche-specific affiliate programs in the healthy-living space.
- Sponsored Content: As the niche grew, brands sought sponsored posts and social shoutouts. The family priced spotlight posts and social promotions to match audience value.
- Advertising: Instead of manual banner sales, they used a managed ad network (Mediavine) and optimized in-content ads, which boosted ad revenue significantly.
- Email List: Their MailerLite newsletter engaged 5,000 subscribers weekly with content updates and affiliate offers. A free ebook helped grow the list.
- Info Products: A paid ebook complemented the free giveaway as an evergreen product and an upsell opportunity for email subscribers.
Diversifying income not only increases revenue but also creates resilience. If one source slows or changes terms, other streams help stabilize overall earnings — a factor buyers pay close attention to when valuing a blog.
How the Blog Built an Engaged Following
Beyond income streams, the family succeeded by building a genuine community. Their readers were enthusiastic about natural living and trusted the blog’s recommendations.
Pinterest was central to their growth strategy. With over 45,000 followers and participation in multiple Tailwind Tribes, Pinterest consistently drove the most traffic to their site. For many niche blogs, Pinterest can outperform organic search when used well, especially for affiliate-focused sites.
The key lesson: identify the social platform that aligns with your niche and lean into it deeply. Instead of spreading effort across many platforms, invest time where you see the best return in traffic and engagement.
Why Selling the Blog Was the Right Choice
Even a profitable blog can become something you want to hand off. Life priorities change: new projects demand attention, family needs shift, or you simply want to pursue different work. For this family, a separate local business required more focus, so selling the blog let them realize the value of their years of effort while freeing time to pursue other opportunities.
When you sell a profitable blog, you typically receive a lump sum that represents multiple years of profit upfront — often in the range of 2.5 to 4 years of net profit, depending on the niche, traffic stability, and revenue diversity. On the Empire Flippers marketplace, content businesses often sell fast; a healthy blog usually finds a buyer within about a month, and smaller, well-structured blogs can sell even faster.
Demand for established content businesses is strong, and prices can range from modest five-figure sales to seven-figure deals for larger brands. For this family, listing the site introduced competitive buyer interest and ultimately led to a successful sale that reflected their hard work.
The Sale: Fast Interest and a Smooth Close
When the blog went live on the marketplace, interest was immediate. By the end of day one, 15 buyers had paid to unlock the listing and inspect financials. One prospective buyer arranged a buyer-seller call to begin due diligence, and more buyers asked questions over the following days.
In total, about 20 buyers showed interest. The buyer who initiated the call submitted an offer, the family negotiated terms, and both sides reached agreement. Eight days after the listing went live, the deal closed — the sellers received $66,000 in addition to the income they had already earned from the blog. The buyers, a brother-and-sister team, planned to grow the existing business into a broader health-focused content brand.
Step-by-Step: Submitting Your Blog for Sale
Selling a blog is more straightforward than many expect, especially when working with a broker who handles vetting, buyer sourcing, negotiation, and migration. At Empire Flippers, the process typically follows these steps:
- Vetting: Submit the business for a thorough verification process. The vetting team reviews traffic, revenue history, and operations to ensure accuracy and to help determine a fair valuation.
- Marketing to Buyers: Once verified, your listing is promoted to thousands of potential buyers via the marketplace, email, and social channels.
- Deal Negotiation: Interested buyers submit offers and conduct due diligence. The broker facilitates communication and helps negotiate terms that work for both sides.
- Migration: After an offer is accepted, the broker assists with transferring accounts, assets, and relationships. A post-sale inspection period allows the buyer to confirm performance before final payment is released, ensuring a secure handoff.
Actionable Advice to Grow and Prepare Your Blog for Sale
Below are practical tips inspired by this family’s success to help you increase your blog’s value and position it well for a future sale.
1. Use Advertising Strategically
Display ads can add meaningful, recurring revenue when implemented properly. A steady ad income stream improves valuation by diversifying revenue and demonstrating multiple monetization methods.
2. Minimize Personality Dependence
Blogs closely tied to an individual’s personality can be harder to sell because audiences may be loyal to the person rather than the brand. If possible, create content that’s solution-focused and less reliant on personal narratives. If the blog is personality-driven, consider transition plans — for example, having the original creator contribute for a short period post-sale to smooth the handover.
3. Ensure Income Streams Are Transferable
Some relationships or deals might not transfer to a new owner. Wherever possible, structure monetization so a buyer can continue earning from the same sources. Transferable revenue streams increase buyer confidence and therefore the price you can command.
4. Communicate Growth Opportunities Clearly
Buyers pay more when they can see clear paths for growth. Outline realistic expansion ideas you haven’t had the time to execute — such as hiring contributors, launching new info products, or producing video content — so buyers can envision scaling the business.
5. Choose a Trusted Marketplace and Buyer
Do your due diligence about where and to whom you sell. Reputable brokers provide verification, buyer screening, and legal protections that reduce the risk of fraud and ensure you receive payment. Protecting your asset during the sale process is crucial.
Women and the Growing Opportunity in Online Business
Early in 2020 I set a goal to highlight more stories about women succeeding in online business. This family’s journey is one of many examples demonstrating how women are building profitable, sellable online brands and creating financial freedom.
Whether you’re starting a blog or managing a high-earning site, there’s room to grow and monetize. Women are increasingly active as creators, buyers, and sellers in the online marketplace — and those success stories can inspire others to pursue similar paths.
Author Bio: Sarah joined the marketing team at Empire Flippers as a content specialist in August 2019. Before that, she spent five years as an editor and producer for documentary films, working on shoots across the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. She has lived in her native Richmond, VA, and traveled to 30+ countries. Sarah is passionate about the digital nomad lifestyle and rarely stays in one place for long.
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