I’m a nice guy, and I hate to say this publicly, but website owners need to stop messing up their websites before trying to sell them.

Many website and business owners wait too long to decide to sell their websites. Frequently, it becomes an afterthought once they’ve moved onto the next project — “oh yeah, I guess I should sell that website I don’t care about anymore that used to make a lot of money.” In a world of break-neck content scrolling, the sale price of a website is greatly determined by the revenue it generates over the content it contains. If neglected, the better way to handle it is to treat it like a depreciable asset.

Already “checked out” or onto the next project, some webmasters entirely bail on their websites, neglect them, or put them on autopilot and hope for a quick sale despite revenues plunging into the abyss. Buyers aren’t stupid (and neither is your friendly Broker) so keeping your websites well-maintained and operating, as usual, is the most important thing when trying to get that big exit.

Did you know that realtors keep their houses on the market longer than the average home seller? Just like selling a house, some take longer to sell than others. Realtors keep their houses on the market longer because they price accordingly, preserve their assets, and aren’t looking to make a quick buck. With the housing market red-hot at the moment, it can take longer to sell your websites than your house, and the higher the value and price, generally the longer it will take to sell (due to fewer buyers as the price point increases). Therefore, you need to keep maintaining and operating your website until the transition is completed to the new owner. [Continue Reading in XBIZ Magazine]