Is it possible to sell a Website that doesn't have traffic nor make money?

Here's the story : I bought a custom design, coded 100% of the website by hand (it's a forum with social network features). It took me 1 year to code it (weekends, over night, etc.). I think it's a good idea and a lot of people that reviewed my Website thought so too. But I suck at marketing and honestly, I figured out that I don't like doing it. All in all, the custom design and some other services I bought cost me 3k$, maybe more.

What would you do to minimize the lost? Any suggestions / ideas?

 

I think its not a good idea to sell after all your efforts Really you would feel bad! Why not you hire some good skilled marketing person and try your luck?

 

I already feel a little sad

Well, I don't know anything about Web marketing, that's not my sphere and I learned that I don't like that either (after spending time and money). So, well... I'm afraid I could lose even more money hiring somebody since I know nothing about what that person should do to help me. I can't evaluate how it should cost, I have 0 contact in Web marketing and I don't know what the person should do to help me. That's why I'm afraid of that option. But still, that's not a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion

 

Hire afew people to start the forum chats pay them per quality post or somthing, that might help.

 

I agree with @kingofking, you don't want to walk away from what you've invested (time, effort, money). If you hire the right person you might be able to recoup what you've put into it, *and* maybe make a little also. Perhaps it's better to not throw in the towel and see the thing through.

 

Depends solely on the idea. Find websites where you can sell/show off your website and see if anyone has interest.

However, you probably won't be getting anywhere near $3K for it.

 

It sounds like you've lost all interest in this project, so maybe it would be wise to just sell it. In order to make a website successful you're going to need a different attitude about it, and stop being afraid of failure. I understand you have 0 web marketing contacts and it can be difficult to make the right moves when you're not sure what to do. But come on, you put a lot of time into this website! Its is highly unlikely that you will just sell it now and make up for your losses.. I would almost say there's no way.. but I don't know what the website is and how original/profitable the idea is.

If you're still interested in it then continue to build it and promote it so you can make something out of it. However if you're simply not interested in trying to make it work, be prepared to for a loss because websites with no traffic don't sell for much at all.

 

Yeah, these guys are right. I would not walk away either after investing 3k into a business. Have a little faith, put more effort, buy some traffic or whatever it takes to make it successful. Unfortunately success doesn't come overnight, it takes a long time. But if you started to go on the "yellow road", than just follow it! Usually when we give up things, it turns out that a few more steps and it would have been success! Just my 2 cent....

 

You can still sell it, you're just gonna have to focus on the existing benefits of the site. Let people know what's good about the site, don't make it seem like it's worthless. One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

 

Even if you go for selling, you would definitely not get the price you are looking for. People don't buy websites with no traffic/revenue at a very high price. If you are not looking for a high price, and just looking to get rid of it, than you can go and list it on flippa, personally I wouldn't buy anything like this for over 500$, no matter how much time you put into it, or how unique the product is. And if you are looking to get a higher price, invest 6 more months into it, hire a social media guy who can bring in traffic to the website, and than you will have a chance to get better price for the site. You may even not want to sell it 6 months later, so give it a shot by outsourcing your marketing work is the best option in my mind.

 

Instead of selling the website itself, why don't you sell the software behind the website in a similar way vBulletin sell their forum software?

 

If your site is good and really coded well you can surely find buyer to pay for it.

Following things are considered for this kind of sites

# Idea or concept of your site
# The way it is developed and designed
# Potential it holds

If you think your site is unique and well developed then you can place it for sale. Just put in as much information as possible with all ideas and methods you recommend to promote and make money out of it and also list down how good it is and yeah last but not the least dont forget to list down features of the site so that buyer knows the features of the site and might consider paying you good amount.

 

This might require further investment like encrypting your codes, licensing your codes and building strong license system so that it gets difficult for anyone to resale or issue it for free or rebrand and resale it. There are several scripts which are redesigned and sold again and again by different sellers and companies.

 

Look for people who are willing to take care of your project and implement it in life. If the script is well thought out then you can think about selling licenses.

 

Anything can be sold, if the right buyer is found. Especially if it has a good domain. My brother used to have a saying in the car sales biz. "There's a seat for every saddle." Webmasters are all looking for forums to link from.

 

Yeah, I think you could. Because someone can take it and turn it into a money making site.

 

You could definitely sell it but I haven't seen it so I couldn't tell you what I think it's worth...

Also, you say you suck at marketing. Why not JV with someone who is good at marketing and share the profits? You built the site for a reason.. you must think it's a good idea that can be profitable.

Good Luck!

 

It depends on its quality, but I think that if you can make the forum engine adaptable for people's needs, you can sell it with success. You can also visit some sites for freelancers, find some interesting projects which need to be done, and use your work as your portfolio. If it's good, it will be easier to find a job and it will be a reason to want more money for it, as you can show that you are experienced.

 

Even the best marketers in the world won't be able to get traffic if there isn't any demand for the product or service the site is selling.

You need a niche an inch wide and a mile deep, by that I mean the narrower the niche the better, so long as there are heaps of people searching for that niche.

If you haven't already done so, do your keyword research and see what potential traffic you could get, then if you do choose to sell, you may be able to use that as an "opportunity" for potential buyers.

Steve

 

After putting in so much time, effort and money it would be a real shame to sell at a loss. Try something like postloop where the members get paid for postsing, it works really well to get threads going, and a crowd tends to follow a crowd. For the marketing side, you can get a really good VA on odesk for around $4 an hour, just be sure to check their feedback and work history so you are sure they know what they are doing.
I agree with AKraly - a JV with someone who has time and passion, but no money to get started could be a real boost for your business.
Give it six months or so and then make a decision, it could be something you regret if you give up too soon..Imagine checking the site a year from now and seeing it booming under someone else's ownership?