Need investment to grow site

[Lookit]

I have a website covering health which has made around £40k in the last six years (should have been a lot more if not for my neglect), most of it profit, and I am looking for an investor to come in to take it to the next level. I honestly believe I can grow this site to be one of the largest health sites on the web.

What do you get for investing?

For the deal, I am willing to give away 20% for £15,000 in investment. In return, you will earn 20% of the site's monthly income. Each and every month. You will earn this passively. Over several years, you will earn a lot more than the £15,000 investment. Your investment will be legally documented (i.e. legal documentation to prove that you own 20% of the site). This is important since you will earn 20% of the site's income each and every month. You will also make 20% of the sale proceeds if we ever come to sell it (this won't be for a few years yet, if at all)

What will I use the money for?

To get a lot more content written. I have a very good writer with a medical background who I will use a lot more often. I plan on updating the site with new content every other day (later on, every day). We have loads of "evergreen" content and loads of genuine user comments and plan on having a lot more. I also have a couple of really good ideas for two new sections to the site which I can use to increase the level of uniqueness of the site (i.e. stand out from the competition even more) and increase the site traffic.

Prospects

Although I can grow the site myself, it will take time to do. The investment will speed things up much faster, to grow the site to a stage where it can easily sustain itself with the revenue it generates, with the rest of the money as profit to be shared between the stakeholders (myself, and the investor coming in).

We used to top $100 a day with only 4000 unique visitors a day at one point. My goal is to take the site to 20,000 to 30,000 visitors a day within the next three to five years.

Most of the site traffic is from the US. The bulk of the remainder is from other developed countries e.g. UK, Australia, Canada. It makes it more appealing to advertisers who generally pay much more if visitors are from these countries.

We will make money mostly with Google ads and secondarily, affiliate programs, particularly the Amazon Associates program. Online advertising is increasing all the time.

At the very least, you will have your investment paid back from the earnings if for some reason the site doesn't become as big as I plan. However, I am so determined that I am almost certain that I will reach my objectives. I have over 10 years of making money online, so it's not as if you are dealing with a novice.

I will provide more specific information to anyone interested in partnering with me. I will need to be certain you are genuinely interested.

 

[Mr D]

Net income or gross income?

£15k for 20% means you are valuing the site at £75k while only having sales of £40k in 6 years. I can see a conflict there.
What if the next 6 years are like the last 6?

 

[MartinCivil]

Scam possibly?

10 years of making money online? Perhaps you could have saved some of this up?

Your site has only made £6k a year, I think you will struggle to find someone to put up £15k when at the current rate this will take over 12 years to return their investment.

Perhaps you could offer the 20% to your writer rather than paying them a fee for their content

 

[Clinton]

I have a website covering health which has made around £40k in the last six years...I am willing to give away 20% for £15,000 in investment. In return, you will earn 20% of the site's monthly income.

I have a site that has earned over £100K but, like you, I've neglected it. Evergreen, unique, high quality content ...blah, blah.

I'll give you 100% of the site for £15K and throw in a couple of other sites as well. Hit me by PM.

PS: This site also has a premium domain name and, yes, this is a genuine offer. Proof of earnings (all Adsense) available for serious buyers.

 

[Lookit]

I should have made nearly £100,000 from this site by now but for the awful neglect, it suffered for over two years (2013 to mid-2015). During this time, not only the site traffic dropped but the CPC was also badly restricted. However, the site is starting to regain its traffic and the RPM is pretty much back to where it was. To be honest, I am very reluctantly offering this deal because of the need to grow the site quickly. I would much rather keep 100%.

As for money not saved up, I have used most of it. Investing in other areas and of course there also regular living costs.

The idea of giving away the stake to the writer was actually one I had in my mind as well (one I will most likely put in place if no one takes up the offer), but I would rather have the investment to pay him with. It would also give the resources to use other writers. There are sections on the site that doesn't require medical knowledge, just thorough research and good writing for these areas are fine. Using the cash, I could bring someone in for that role and expand the content to those sections.

 

[MartinCivil]

£15k isn't too difficult to come by, if you want to keep 100% presumably you have spoken to a lender and explored a loan? You should be able to get your hands on that sort of cash for about 3.0% in a couple of days

 

[ethical PR]

If you are reluctant to offer the deal then don't. You don't need 15K straight away to pay for writer content.

Just pay the writers as you need them and keep the increased profits yourself.

 

[MartinCivil]

I should have made nearly £100,000 from this site by now but for the awful neglect, it suffered for over two years (2013 to mid-2015).

Perhaps not the greatest statement to make when looking for an investor. "we could have made another 60k if I could have been bothered with it"

 

[Mr D]

You are offering a poor track record and wanting a hefty sum for a small stake.
Good luck selling the idea to an investor. You would be much better putting the idea to a bank for a loan.

 

[Lookit]

"£15k for 20% means you are valuing the site at £75k while only having sales of £40k in 6 years. I can see a conflict there.
What if the next 6 years are like the last 6?"

Within three years the site will be making to £8,000 to £10,000 a month. I am going all out here. I have seen the potential of big websites across various industries and how much they can make. Even at £5k, sustained over several months, you could sell a site in excess of £100k. But I won't be interested in selling, as I have no doubt I will take this site to an absolute minimum £10k.

We have around 12 to 15% regular returning traffic, 80% search, and the rest social. Social is one area which I have badly neglected.

 

[Lookit]

Just to give you an idea of some valuations, Hot Courses, a site founded by Jeremy Hunt, currently in the government cabinet, sold for £30 to £40 million, which is three year's revenue.

"You are offering a poor track record and wanting a hefty sum for a small stake.
Good luck selling the idea to an investor. You would be much better putting the idea to a bank for a loan."

Not that I've tried but I have a feeling banks just don't take websites seriously. 20% is a decent stake for £15,000. £15,000 could be relatively modest if the investor is patient. They could earn back several times the investment over the next few years.

 

[MartinCivil]

Not that I've tried but I have a feeling banks just don't take websites seriously.

A personal loan to you wont be affected by your website.

 

[Lookit]

^ Alright, thanks. I will explore a personal loan from a bank. It might be the ideal way to go.

 

[Mr D]

"£15k for 20% means you are valuing the site at £75k while only having sales of £40k in 6 years. I can see a conflict there.
What if the next 6 years are like the last 6?"

Within three years the site will be making to £8,000 to £10,000 a month. I am going all out here. I have seen the potential of big websites across various industries and how much they can make. Even at £5k, sustained over several months, you could sell a site in excess of £100k. But I won't be interested in selling, as I have no doubt I will take this site to an absolute minimum £10k.

We have around 12 to 15% regular returning traffic, 80% search, and the rest social. Social is one area which I have badly neglected.

Will be making?

It's an estimate at best, a wild guess at worst.

Just because a site can do something does not mean it will do something.
Sorry, I cannot reconcile the value of your site the same way you can. Maybe someone else can be interested with those figures.

 

[Clinton]

Just to give you an idea of some valuations, Hot Courses, a site founded by Jeremy Hunt, currently in the government cabinet, sold for £30 to £40 million, which is three year's revenue.

Lookit, you've got no idea about valuations!

A site that is currently trending upwards and showing steep growth in turnover and profits is valued differently to one that has flatlined or, worse, taken a dive.

Large sites with millions in revenue are far less risky and are valued differently to small sites highly reliant on one or two individuals.

Sites with millions in assets are valued differently to sites where the main asset is intangible - perhaps copy (which is easily nicked) and/or some historical backlinks.

Just the small business discount in your case will wipe out 75% or more of the value. So if Hunt's site sold for a 36x monthly income, a small site will sell for 25% of 36 months ie. 9 months' income. And that's just one of the discounts applied to your site. Apply further discounts and your site is worth even less than that!

Sorry to not have better news for you, but the site as it is now is close to worthless.

Not that I've tried but I have a feeling banks just don't take websites seriously...

Nobody will take you seriously if you have that kind of valuation for a highly risky proposition that is on the decline and is reliant on your own opinion and work to get restored to previous earnings!

It always amazes me that people who have such inflated opinions of the value of their own website don't jump at the opportunity to buy a similar business at a tenth or less of the price/value proposition (as per the offer in my previous post). If you negotiate that loan with the bank, think about my offer instead of spending that money on your site

 

[Lookit]

Its not worthless. Heck, I can go on Flippa now, submit a listing, and someone will pay good money for it, and going through website brokers will accrue even more. If anything, Hunt's site is even more risky because those type of sites (listings) can easily be replicated, than ones that hav traffic from hundreds or even thousands of long tail terms. Everything is risky in life. That's what business is about. Isn't the staitistic that some 90% to 95% of businesses fail some 1 or 2 years after startup?

 

[Clinton]

Everything is risky in life. That's what business is about.

You don't understand valuations, but it seems you don't understand risk either. You seem to believe that all businesses are equally risky. That's not true, not by a long shot. Your business is a lot more risky than probably 90% (or more) of other businesses out there.

Risk is a direct component in valuation and, yes, you can put a quantitative value to risk. The higher the risk, the lower the valuation (other things being the same).

If anything, Hunt's site is even more risky because those type of sites (listings) can easily be replicated, than ones that hav traffic from hundreds or even thousands of long tail terms.

So your website is reliant on SEO traffic?! That makes it even more risky; reduce my previous valuation by 50%.

 

[Lookit]

As I said in one of the earlier posts, the site gets around 80 to 85% search, rest mostly returning (via bookmarks and links on other sites), and tiny percentage from social, so it's not entirely reliant on search. What's more, I rank for a diverse range of keywords (mix of some focused and lots of long tail) and the site is now pretty well established, so it's being dishonest to say it's risky.

That said, I am not entirely reliant on this site alone. I have few other sites and intend to build a few more so I have a portfolio of around 10 to 12 sites (including two dropshipping sites for both of which I have already found suppliers). 10 to 12 will be the tops, as having too many can cause degrading of performance. I also trade forex successfully (but have put this on the backburner to focus on the sites for the next 6 to 8 months). This is my life. I hate the idea of working for others so I will be all the more determined to make this a massive success.

 

[Mr D]

So no need to ask any pesky investors to provide money for this site.
And you will not be focusing on this site with so many others to manage.
Glad we have cleared all this up.

 

[arnydnxluk]

For the deal, I am willing to give away 20% for £15,000 in investment.

Agree with others - bank loan is the easiest route.

We used to top $100 a day with only 4000 unique visitors a day at one point. My goal is to take the site to 20,000 to 30,000 visitors a day within the next three to five years.

The web moves at a rapid pace so make sure you're concentrating on where the traffic will be 6-12 months from now rather than thinking too long term.

 

[Mark T Jones]

@Lookit reading through your posts I seriously wonder if you actually want investments, there are so many caveats and get outs

Investors don’t want to be told what ‘could’ or ‘should’ hapoen, they want to know what will happen, and how you are going to make it happen.

They don’t want to be told that they have to take risks (they know that), they want to know how you are minimising or mitigating risk.

Above all, they don’t want to be told to be patient, they want to know, with some certainty when the results will happen

If you get to the point of talkng to an investor, their questions will make this forum look like light entertainment.

 

[Lookit]

"The web moves at a rapid pace so make sure you're concentrating on where the traffic will be 6-12 months from now rather than thinking too long term"

I agree. This is one of the reasons why I have never been too enthused about the social promotion of my sites (other than to stick the share buttons). They come and go (witness the decline of sites like MySpace, and others), I have been more focussed on search and trying to gain natural backlinks from people - because these will likely provide a stable future. Search isn't going anywhere for many years yet and traffic from other sites always provides some nice extra traffic (if you can get it). I would rather focus on paid advertising than social.

 

[Lookit]

I am leaving. There are too many people here with a really negative attitude. The fact of the matter is the internet today is absolutely vital, even essential, so I am like any other business since, without it, I am not going to make a much of headway in the modern world of ours (even more important for me since mine is 100% based online). I could say the same about any business. What if their traffic drops? What if they stop converting at the same rate as before?

 

[ADW]

I do think it is best if you take a step back and understand the relationship you are looking to create. To allow investment in what you are doing you need to at least attempt a decent level of confidence in the offer. No one is going to say 'Yes please!' to what information you have provided. It might actually be a great opportunity now missed but you have failed to harness any confidence.

 

[fisicx]

Reading the whole thread again and I’m not sure you need any investment. You plans are misguided as the proposed changes are far less effective than they used to be. Adding content daily is mostly pointless unless the core is optimised.

 

[Mr D]

I am leaving. There are too many people here with a really negative attitude. The fact of the matter is the internet today is absolutely vital, even essential, so I am like any other business since, without it, I am not going to make a much of headway in the modern world of ours (even more important for me since mine is 100% based online). I could say the same about any business. What if their traffic drops? What if they stop converting at the same rate as before?

Realistic attitude we have here.
Rather more so than the owner of one of a number of sites that wants investment without being able to show anything more than vague promises and a poor track record to date, then adds in additional information that makes any investment a lot worse.
Not a very good recipe for investment.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I am leaving. There are too many people here with a really negative attitude. The fact of the matter is the internet today is absolutely vital, even essential, so I am like any other business since, without it, I am not going to make a much of headway in the modern world of ours (even more important for me since mine is 100% based online). I could say the same about any business. What if their traffic drops? What if they stop converting at the same rate as before?

Out of interest, what does that actually mean 8n investment terms ?

 

[Lookit]

I hope to come back to this forum in two years time and prove you guys wrong.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I hope to come back to this forum in two years time and prove you guys wrong.

If you actually listen to what is being said that could happen.

 

[Clinton]

I hope to come back to this forum in two years time and prove you guys wrong.

Er, no, that's not what will prove us wrong.

Now if you raise £15K for 20% of the business, and do so in the next few days / weeks, then that will prove us wrong (because what we're saying is that you're nuts if you think you'll get £15K for 20% of what you have now).

 

[Mr D]

I hope to come back to this forum in two years time and prove you guys wrong.

You will come back and prove us wrong by working to get the money you want. Nothing to do with us investing or not.

 

[tony84]

Your website has averaged £6,500 a year for the last 6 years.
You want more than 2 years worth of income as investment and in turn the lucky person gets 20%.

If the income stays the same, it will take 12 years to get that money back. And that is assuming no expenditure for hosting, advertising, IT etc etc.

Does that help you to see why everyone is saying your "opportunity" is laughable?

Why not get one years accounts with a better level of income and then offer up the opportunity? Or maybe offer up a bigger share? At the minute it is like you want your cake and to eat it.

 

[martin_copify]

@Lookit - have helped several sites in this sector to build out content, working with a site in the States at the minute with some impressive results. Message me if you want to find out more.

 

[Lookit]

I am still looking for investment. My writer wants to keep the typical arrangement of being paid per article/set of articles. I have reassessed the value of the site. I am now willing to give up 30% stake for £2000 in investment. This will entitle you to 30% of the site's overall monthly income, to be paid each and every month.

It will also entitle you to 30% of any sale proceeds if I were to sell it at some point. I am not likely to sell it for many years anyway but if at some point I do then it is likely to be when the revenue is at least £2000 to £3000 a month, at which point the sale value will be £25K to over £50K based on a typical 12 to 24 monthly earnings expectations.

This is a golden opportunity for someone to come in and earn a nice passive income. It’s your choice how much of an active role you wish to take in the site. You can either choose to have some strategic role or do nothing but sit and simply get a return on your investment.

The reason I need this investment is that I want to give the site a much-needed boost. It will pay for a few months of content. I also need to get some affiliate review pages done. This is primarily a content site but I want to focus on bringing in affiliate income as well. Although affiliate reviews will constitute a fraction of overall content on the site, I have a great idea that will help to bring in consistent affiliate revenue through some product reviews. These reviews will be of products that are very specialized and offer revenue on sales of anywhere between around $50 to $200 (sometimes even more) a time. They are relatively high-priced items. I know someone who is excellent at running affiliate review sites. He has excellent reviews, product comparison tables, and whatnot. He also writes reviews for people.

I will rely on both search traffic to these product review pages but also do some PPC. Since these products are very specialized and having experience of playing the PPC game quite well, I am very certain I will be able to drive traffic and convert at a rate that will produce significant profits on the campaigns. However, I will do any advertising with my share of the site revenue. Your share of the revenue will be untouched. You will make 30% of what the site makes from AdSense, affiliate revenue, banner advertising, etc. Any advertising spend will come from my share of the site income. Even though you will benefit from revenue generated from affiliate sales, it is me who will be me who will come up with any advertising budget.

The value of the site for the purpose of this investment pitch is based on historical income, primarily through AdSense, site age, site quality, etc. I still expect AdSense to provide the primary earnings going forward. But like I say, I also want to focus on increasing/bringing in revenue from affiliate sales, private banner sales, maybe occasional sponsored content and in the future, even a section on premium content. Premium content is where sites provide content worthy of charging a one-time (or a recurring) fee to access. Again, this will be a small portion of the site.

I think this offer is a very good one. You are likely to make your investment back in the first year. The first few months the earnings might not be great but it will suddenly take off as we keep updating the site with high-quality content. Projecting forward 8 to 10 years, one thing for sure is that you will have earned many times your initial stake. My objective is to earn at least £300,000 over the next 8 to 10 years. This is not as far-fetched as you may think. The site deals with content that has a high CPC from AdSense and affiliates alike.

Based on a projection of £300,000, your share of 30% will be £90,000 over the same period, which is an amazing return on investment. Even if you go with a very conservative estimate of say £100k, your share is still £30k, so again, many times the initial investment, but my expectations are an absolute minimum £200k earned over 8 to 10-year period.

I will, of course, provide the site details to interested parties through PM.

Do not miss out. This is an investment like few other. You will not only get a monthly income you are guaranteed to make anywhere between few times to many times your investment. Even if I sell it at some point down the line when the income is high enough it will ensure your share of sale proceeds are at least several times your investment. But my goal is to keep the site for the long-term and earn income from it for years to come.

Summary:

• Investment of £2000 in return for 30% stake in the site

• Projections are site will earn at least £200,000 over an 8 to 10-year period

• Sale of site will earn you 30% of sale proceeds

• Quality site

• Completely safe investment

• Likely to earn your investment back in about a year. It's all profit after that. You will potentially earn £500 to £1000 (possibly much more) a month over the coming years. You will need a little patience. The first few months will be a little slow.

• I have never taken social media seriously until now. May put some focus on that side as well if it will help bring in traffic quicker.

• Your investment will pay for content for the first few months. I will pay for the content from my share of income from the site from that point, leaving you to earn your share of revenue before costs are deducted

• Your investment can be legally documented

 

[Mark T Jones]

Shame you don’t seem to have talken a blind bit of notice to previous advice

 

[Lookit]

I have. I have revalued the site altogether. I have now offered a much more realistic valuation after taking into consideration what people suggested.

I thought about Flippa, a site I have actually dealt on before, but people are looking to buy entire sites rather than co-ownership.

 

[Mitch3473]

You do realise you've just devalued your sites value by 90% in exactly 3 months. Are you really that desperate for investors at that price.

 

[Mr D]

The narrative so far reads as a bad investment.
For that level of investment there are multiple sources of finance available including family and friends. If its worth a stranger investing in then its worth sharing with family and friends. After all its a safe and valuable investment isn't it?
Or save up some money from the income of the site and save yourself 30% of your profits over time.

 

[Clinton]

Investment of £2000 in return for 30% stake in the site

It'll cost more than £2,000 for proper legal documentation to cover this investment.

Just when we think you can't possibly know any less about how all this works, you get back to prove us wrong!

I am leaving. There are too many people here with a really negative attitude.?

May I ask what made you change your mind?

 

[Mark T Jones]

TBH I can’t be bothered with this, but instead of just dropping your price, why not read through the thread and think about what has been said?