What Is Your Blog Worth?

Seriously.   If I opened my wallet right now how much money would I need to hand over to own your blog’s persona.   I’m talking your URL…all the past written and pictorial content…basically everything about your blog site.   So, again, how much money would it take from my pocket to basically purchase outright your blogging rights completely?

Any idea?

First off, if you’re not a blogger and just a reader…bear with me here.   As you will eventually see, this blog posting is also about you the reader…but for the time being indulge me a bit as I get into the specifics of valuating a blog.

Now in the business world it’s a common rule of thumb to valuate a business’ goodwill and profit potential for a pending sale by using a rather simple calculation.   Figure out a business’s net profits for the year and then multiply that by a factor ranging usually anywhere from 3 to 10.   For instance, a business that made $50,000 last year could be offered up by the owner for that amount times a factor of, let’s say…5.   The resulting calculation would be simple.   $50,000 x 5 = $250,000 as a potential valuation to carry out the purchase deal.

But in the blogging world nothing is quite that simple.   Oh, sure, some bloggers do make money from their sites…but most do it for the fun or for the “perks,” as I will nicely call them.   So, how then do you value a blog?

Many have tried to answer this all important question.   Here’s one idea of someone posting their thoughts on the topic.   But the truth of the matter is putting a $ sign on a blog can be a very elusive task.

A good friend of mine who runs a very popular blog told me last January he wasn’t quite sure what he would sell his blog for, but knew the price tag would be in excess of $50,000.   Why?   Because that is what someone has already offered him and he turned them down.

Of course, this got me thinking about what my blog would be worth.   Now, rest assured, I AM NOT LOOKING TO SELL MY BLOG…rather, I’m just playing the speculating game.   If someone offered me 50 grand for SportsmansBlog.com would I take it and run.   Gosh, I might be tempted.   I know for sure at half that price I wouldn’t even consider it.

And this finally gets me to the crux of this blog posting.   There are a lot of bloggers out there that if you offered them $1,000 to own their complete blogging effort they would likely jump at the chance to turn a quick buck.   Are those the kind of bloggers you find yourself reading on a regular basis?

My blogging philosophy starts by putting a high value on one’s blogging effort.   After all, if the blogger doesn’t take a great deal of personal pride and sense of ownership in the effort…why then should others be wasting their time reading it.   I hate to be so brutal, but the blogosphere is a fluid thing and the bloggers who outlast the competition are the ones who generally place great value and professionalism into their communication efforts.

So in reality…this blog posting is not about how much money a blog might sell for on the open market.   Quite the contrary, blog readers need to be asking themselves how much a certain blog’s content is really worth to the loyal visitor.

Remember this.   I had an actor friend once tell me you can never outperform your own self-image.   Let’s paraphrase that just a bit relating it to the blogging community.   As a blogger, your blog’s value will never outperform the effort and worth you place into producing it.   Perhaps it’s time both readers and bloggers alike elevate our expectations for what we derive from our favored blogs.   It all starts by considering a blog’s value.

©2011 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.  No Reproduction without Prior Permission.