Back in 2003 I started reading blogs and became intrigued with the idea of being able to talk to others about my thoughts and opinions and making a name for my so I started my own. A couple months later I started two sites called Whitespace and 9rules. Over time I became fairly popular in the web/design community being a pain in the ass to many and generally just speaking what was on my mind. By no means was I an expert at anything, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t know what I was talking about ;-).
Last year I decided it was time to move Whitespace to its own domain because 9rules had become its own beast. I lost a lot of juice with this move because of that, but the audience stuck around (much love and respect). However, since then things really haven’t been the same and it isn’t because of the move, but my interests in general have changed. Although there are still millions of topics to discuss with regards to Business, Design and Web++ (coined on this site first baby!) I find that I like talking about other stuff even more.
Unfortunately for me and good for the people who love those subjects, that is what this site is about and I respect what I created enough not to try and change it. I know why people come here and stay subscribed and it’s not to hear me talk about the latest fashions in the club. I have always been the type of person that when I am passionate about something it shows and from 2003-2006 I was passionate about the topics on this site. That just isn’t the case anymore and it shows. So with that said (it only took me three paragraphs) I am selling my beloved Whitespace/Wisdump.
This is where it gets difficult because how do I price a site like this? Before I breakdown the numbers let me explain something that I’m sure will confuse a lot of people. The traffic will seem low, I mean really low, for this site and that’s because of two things that happened in the past.
- During a server move in 2005 Movable Type decided it didn’t want to export my content and because of my impatience I figured starting over would be best.
- Moving to WordPress and getting the previous MovableType urls to transfer over all kosher-like just didn’t work out so again it was like starting from scratch.
Here are the numbers that you are looking for when you wish to break things down analytically:
- Avg: 1,000 pageviews daily. With a bit of elbow grease (and consistency in posting) getting back up to 10k pageviews daily shouldn’t be a problem. 1,500 pageviews when new entries are posted. Numbers are higher when using a different stat package, but I am presenting you with the lowest common denominator.
- 7,000+ subscribers. People like to read the site instead of visiting because I design ugly things. However, because of this great discussions happen because there are so many people reading the content.
- PR 6. Used to be 7 and has always been 7, but just realized that Dmoz was still using the Whitespace url for its listing so I just got that changed so should be back up to 7 in no time. Along with the recognition that comes with the site getting links has never been a problem.
- Revenue: $800+/mo. Text Link Ads ($700). ReviewMe ($125/review). Adsense ($70/mo). As goes with traffic getting the site back up to $2k+/mo shouldn’t be a problem with the proper guidance. As for the current sponsors with the Banner Ads they paid for the full year and will receive their money back when the sale is completed so this does not count towards the figures above.
As corny as this sounds those numbers do not reflect the value of the site and I won’t go into Car Salesman mode, but if you know me and you know this site you will understand. I will not necessarily sell to the highest bidder, but the one that I feel most comfortable handing the site over to. Too many sites have gone to others and become worse off because of it and I don’t like that idea and I don’t think the audience will enjoy a site that is being used as a money pit (they are some picky mofos, believe me).
I ask that if you could spread the word on this sale if you have ever enjoyed anything that I have written it would be greatly appreciative. If you have never enjoyed anything that I have written I encourage you to spread the word as well so that I may find someone who will write something that you will enjoy reading. Oh and don’t try to put anything together with this being so close to the sale of Business Logs. I already do 9rules full-time ;-).
In another entry I will talk about how I came to this decision and what you will see from me in the future. This entry has gone on long enough.
Are you looking for web development scripts? Well, you have many available options in the form of CGI and Perl scripts. Mostly webmasters require XML script for their blogs. Nowadays web designers prefer flash for their websites rather than ASP for making dynamic web pages. This way web design looks an attractive one but it does not remain SEO friendly anymore.
Originally posted on April 12, 2007 @ 1:59 pm