Blog Value in the Virtual Real Estate Market
I came across an interesting post yesterday that suggested the value of a blog is based on the number of RSS Subscribers. According to this calculation, the ClickNewz.com blog is currently worth $15,490.00
The analysis originated here, and the author makes his conclusion based on recent blog sales and the number of RSS subscribers each of those blogs had at the time of sale…
Blogging Fingers Sold for $6000 with only 200 subscribers at the time of the sale. That is paying $30 PER SUBSCRIBER
Ryan Shamus sold for $2500 with only 90 subscribers on the day of the sale. That is paying $27.78 PER SUBSCRIBER
One Mans Goal currently has it’s high bid at $6400 and only has 182 subscribers on the day of the last bid. That is paying $35.16 PER SUBSCRIBER
How Much Is Your Make Money Blog Worth Then?
The average that people are paying per subscriber on a blog is $30.98 per subscriber.
The number of RSS Subscribers was calculated using FeedBurner. The analysis is flawed of course, because FeedBurner statistics fluctuate on a daily basis, and only show the actual number of feed readers who viewed your feed within that 24-hour period.
In the image above you see my own Feedburner Stats for the last 7 days. While my statistics hold fairly steady, with a consistent rise, there are obvious fluctuations. On Saturday for example, FeedBurner only counted 335 subscribers.
Was ClickNewz.com only worth $10,378.30 just 5 days ago?
Lesson here: Don’t sell your blog on a Saturday 
The analysis is actually flawed for a number of obvious reasons. I am sure it was meant more for entertainment value than as an actual calculator. The value of a Blog on the Virtual Real Estate Market would depend on far more than just the number of feed readers.
If you are interested in buying a blog, or if you are thinking of putting your blog on the market, the criteria for determining the overall value would have to include:
- The Buyers intentions
- Number of email subscribers
- Number of unique visitors
- Number of inbound links
- Monthly revenue
- Age of domain name
- Current search engine rankings for valuable keyword phrases
- PageRank and other ranking statistics
I listed “the buyers intentions” as the first point, simply because the value of an investment is directly related to what you intend to do with that investment. You might be willing to pay more for a property that will yield a high ROI based on additional investments you intend to put into it.
Would I sell ClickNewz for $15k? Not a chance… 
Interestingly, dnScoop currently calculates that ClickNewz.com is worth $7,360.00. Around 7 months ago, they valued it at over $13k. Has the value of the ClickNewz blog dropped more than $5,000 worth in less than a year?
Of course not. But I did lose a notch on the PageRank belt last month
There is not a tool on the market that can give you an accurate site or blog value for the Virtual Real Estate market. There are entirely too many factors at play for a true calculation.
The only real question for both the buyer and the seller is…
What is it worth to you?
Best,
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I personally think blogs are so personal. I am not sure I would visit ClickNewz if the author was anyone other than Lynn Terry. If someone were to buy it then their style of writing has to be very similar to Lynn’s…So to me the ‘Buyers Intentions’ would be the key thing…They have to write in a similar way to the previous owner or else they will lose subscribers…
Sandy
I’d buy a site based on how much money it is making and what potential I saw on it. Not the number of people who visit AND know how to use an RSS feed (in the real word, not as many as we might like)!.
Nice post. I have a similar one planned for tomorrow.
I had no idea that blogs could be so profitable when sold. Very interesting.
Jason
Personally I’d always taken those calculations with a pinch of salt. Mere academic exercises or entertaiment as you describes it.
To paraphrase a TV commercial:
New computer $1200.00
monthly hosting $24.95
Clicknewz with Lynn Terry at the helm – Priceless
Don’t even think about it!
Duane
LOL, Thank you Duane
All of these value calculators are just tools and guages. Again, the true value is the value perceived by both the seller and the buyer.
Still, its important to have some sort of guage given the fact that sites are bought and sold every single day. And some properties go for astronomical prices!
I always find it interesting to analyze sites that sell for top dollar and try to determine what value the buyer saw in it to make that substantial an investment…
Follow me @lynnterry on Twitter.
What’s a blog worth? Hard to say really… but one factor will always throw a wrench into the pricing formulas – “Commodity.”
Wikipedia defines it as “A commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a given market.”
Follow me @paulshort on Twitter.
Like any business, the value is dependent on the money it brings in or the profit. The number of visitors is not that imporant to me.