The public sale is cancelled. Several folks have inquired on Skype and by email regarding the status of the sale, and unfortunately, public interest has not coalesced. This is disappointing for me, though it does give me some insight that I’ll share.
- The site is not properly monetized. Many were very surprised that the site makes approximately $250 in revenue. Quite a few people make a whole lot more than that for much smaller sites. I recognize that this is an area that needs improvement and I’m taking steps to increase the revenue base.
- Percieved value is in the eye of the beholder. More specifically, no one values any site more than the owner. This is natural as the owner puts “blood, sweat and tears” into a site and sees value that maybe is not there. Do not think that depth of archives necessarily translates to value.
- The emotional roller coaster that goes along with sales of deeply personal properties is not something to ignore. During this process, I have gone from excitement to anger and hit all the emotional scales in between.
- Private is always better than public. Maybe my biggest mistake in this process was posting the auction at SitePoint. I recieved derision and ridicule by onlookers not interested in bidding, but interested in making sure everyone else knew how they felt. This was numerous people and it probably contributed to the anger mentioned in bullet point 3. The private discussions held with two particular parties, however, was quite good and open and honest. Though the sale did not develop as I had hoped, I definitely have a respect for the parties and would be interested in doing business in the future.
- Value is found in the blogger and this was an eye opener to me. I expected to sell Technosailor and be happy, but the interested parties were more interested in me. Though I was flattered, sometimes business gets in the way of business and no one wins.
Of course, this sale is publically off and I don’t anticipate private offers. I do leave the door open for serious parties to offer a deal - whatever it is. I can’t guarantee I’ll sell and I don’t even know what I expect dollar wise. But if you’re interested, please feel free to deal. In the meantime, I’ll continue to blog here and continue to do what I always have done - with an eye to the future to make the blog more desirable going forward. You’ll probably see some changes around here. More revenue stream. More organized, stable flow. Topical shifts and concise conversation. It’s an evolution that has been waiting to happen.
Stumble it!
About the Author: Aaron Brazell is the lead editor of Technosailor.com and a social media expert. His passion is to see companies and individuals use the internet and web technologies wisely and effectively to promote their brands and companies. He served as Director of Technology at b5media from 2005-2008 and is currently an independent consultant.
