I know I am jumping ahead in the sequence of how we find a website to buy, fix it up and then sell it but there is information in the middle that we are not ready to share just yet.

People often ask us how we find buyers for the websites we sell. The simple answer to that question is we don’t.

In fact, when we first got started in internet marketing, flipping websites never even entered our brains as a possible business model. It all sort of happened by accident as many new business ideas do.

Our goal was to have 12 websites that all made $300 a day by the end of 2009. That would have been about $1.3 million a year. As we were building up the websites we owned we had people inquire about buying our biggest websites within a two month time span.

We weren’t looking to sell but they really wanted to buy the sites. So after selling the first one and seeing how much we made ($250k) we realized that we were on the right track with the type of websites we were running.

Then as mentioned we received offers for two more of our sites. One buyer wanted both sites. One of these sites was our biggest money maker and we were hesitant at first and then finally conceded to sell. (Keep in mind that at this point flipping websites was not our business model)

Two days before the sale of the websites our big site lost most of its rankings. The buyer backed out with the agreement that if we got the rankings back he would still buy.

That is when we realized that flipping websites was the right business model for us. We saw how quickly the rug could be pulled out from underneath us and realized that selling a website at its peak is the best method. Take a website, fix it up, the site makes money, then you sell for a hearty profit. Repeat.

Why did these people want to buy our sites so bad? Because these sites receive all of their traffic through search engines so we didn’t have to spend money to make money.

Also the sites run themselves (see Prosperly Way). You really can buy one of these and make money without adding much time at all to your work schedule.

You build a good site like this and you will have people asking you to buy. It has happened to us over and over again. We have never put one of our sites on the market and yet we flip websites for a living. Build Prosperly style websites and you will be able to dictate when you sell your websites.

All right I have finally decided to post this. I apologize for making you all wait this long but we had very good reasons which I will not go into here. Considering how much you are paying for the info I knew you would understand. :-)

Now that you have chosen your industry and found out that there is real potential to see if you could make money in that industry, the next step is to go out and find a website that will work for you.

This is when you need to make the decision on whether to buy a website or build one from scratch. In my estimation it is always better to buy an established website rather that build a new one. You let someone else do all of the grunt work and then you step in a make the necessary changes and increase the value of the site quickly.

The only time I would say that it makes sense to build a website from scratch is when you are entering an industry where nobody really knows SEO that well and you are confident that you can quickly enter and move up in the rankings quickly.

The only other reason would be if you look and look and just can’t find a suitable website to buy in that industry and still want to get started.

I have created a video that explains one of the ways we actually go about looking for websites to buy. There are other ways than the one I talk about here but it will give you a good start.

Before I show you the video I need to tell you that we have been contemplating long and hard on whether or not to even continue with this series. We know that some people have begun to abuse the information we have given out and that has disappointed and demotivated us in our efforts to teach others.

The information on internet marketing and website flipping is valid and valuable. We really do want to help others succeed online but there are always those few who ruin it for everyone else.

We have decided to create a Prosperly membership and allow only members to access the video for step 3. The membership is free but we need to be in complete control of who gets access to this free information.

If you still wish to proceed and don’t mind becoming a member at Prosperly then click on the link below:

Watch step 3 video

This morning I received a forwarded email from my Dad (a common occurrence even though I hate getting forwarded email) but he had personalized it a little asking me if he should look into the “business opportunity” a relative sent him.

I was immediately intrigued because he doesn’t ever come to me with emails like this. He has worked as an mechanical engineer for close to 40 years and does not typically look to branch out into biz ops.

So I started reading the forwarded email message. It was apparently from an older cousin of mine and started out with the disclaimer that she was sorry if she offended anyone with the email but if they were interested in making money to read on.

Sounded like classic MLM (multi-level-marketing, which I like less than half as much as forwarded emails). I read on: “You and I have both seen the amazing growth of Microsoft, Google and Facebook. We also know that we have contributed to their value as we use their products and add to their revenues. Now, I want to introduce you to a truly unique company called ClicketySplit.”

I love how people love to throw themselves and their own companies in with the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Yeah, I would say that when I think of the most successful internet companies ever, Clickety Split is at the top of the list. (please note my sarcasm)

It is another classic MLM tactic to give general information about the success of a certain industry and exploit it, helping ignorant people by drawing the “obvious” conclusion that since Google made money with the internet you clearly will too.

ClicketySplit’s main offering is a software program that “bridges the gap” between the internet and your computer applications. When you run their software they show you “relevant targeted ads” for your convenience. First of all I didn’t realize there was a gap between the internet and my computer applications.

Why don’t you just call it what it really is, a software program that you have to install on your computer so they can serve ads to you all day. There is nothing “revolutionary” about it. Splitting revenue is a practice that has been done thousands of times over. Only in this case you are the one that has to engage the ad in order to get revenue from it. One word that does come to mind is “adware”, “spyware” or “malware”.

Here is the kicker, in order to join this once in a lifetime opportunity you have to sign up and pay an enrollment fee of up to $500 and then pay $200 a year to stay enrolled. In essence you are paying Clickety Split to be forced to watch online commercials.

They tell you that to make money all you have to do is “view an ad, click an ad or shop online” and when you do they split the ad revenue with you. So you have to go to one of the advertisers and buy their product and then ClickeySplit will share the ad revenue they get with you. Where I come from paying $50 to get $1.50 doesn’t seem like a good way to make money.

The real way you make money is by getting “you to share the software for free with others so that they can get their split also!” In other words, add to your downline and you will make a commission each time. That is where the real money is at.

Then in the email it said: “I believe this is a revolutionary concept that will expand exponentially as people learn about it.”

Let me be the bearer of bad news. There is nothing revolutionary about this concept. In fact, they are probably 10-20 years behind the times. All this is, is another multi-level marketing scheme that will most likely make you absolutely no money but will do a great job of alienating all of your family and friends so they will screen all of your calls and stop inviting you over for dinner.

Let me reiterate, there are so many other, better ways to make money online that I definitely would not recommend that you waste any time on this one. Save yourself the trouble, the heartache, the lost money, the lost friends, and make money online the real way.

Update 5/27/09:

In light of some of the comments I’ve received, I decided to do write more specifically about what led me to the conclusion that Clickety Split is simply a re-spun MLM company.

Clickety-split.com is registered to the following contacts:

Administrative Contact:
      Halladay, Hal  e1sPYz@privacypost.com
      Palace Partners
      3910 Prospect Ave
      Unit L
      Yorba Linda, CA  92886
      US
      714-223-1701
      714-223-1717

   Technical Contact:
      Johnson, Daron  98BOVW@privacypost.com
      Clickety Split
      65 Enterprise
      Aliso Viejo, CA  92656
      US
      949-677-9864

Hal Halladay from Palace Partners?  I tried to do some digging and found that he’s also the administrative contact for quiltthreads.com (the domain is parked) and pearpieces.com (a site about quilt pieces).

A quick google search for “Hal Halladay” did get me to his LinkedIn profile (see it here).  He has quite a burdgeoning resume and has obviously been very successful building and selling companies.  You can read his blog here (though it hasn’t been updated for about a year at the time of this writing).

All I could find on Palace Partners was that it’s the affiliate program for Giant Palace Casino (a very large online gambling site, from what I could gather).

I almost missed this, but the clickety-split.com domain that ranks is actually redirecting to clicketysplit.com (no hyphen).  I checked out that domain and got the following:

Administrative Contact:
      Sewell, Russell  [removed ]
      [ removed ]
      Mesa, Arizona 85207
      United States
      [ removed ]      Fax -- 

   Technical Contact:
      Johnson, Daron  [removed ]
      Clickety Split
      65 Enterprise
      Aliso Viejo, California 92656
      United States
      9496779864      Fax --

So a new person has appeared (Daron Johnson’s the technical contact on both):  Rusell Sewell (view his LinkedIn profile here).  Russell hails form my great state of Arizona.  It looks like he was previously in real estate.

Why Did I Call Clickety Split an MLM?

If it walks like a duck…

They have a “Platinum Membership” where you can recruit other members.  Each platinum member can be on varying tiers:  Premium, Elite, and Select.  You need to pay $495 to become a premium member and then renew annually at $195.  If you recruit a “free” member (someone that just uses the software to earn revenue based on their sharing program) then you get 4x their payout.  Elite members get 3x their payout and Select gets 2x the payout.

Here’s a screenshot:

“Simply invite a friend to join…your earning potential is based on the number of clickthroughs…from the people in your circle of influence…”

“Get in on the ground floor…”

“Exclusive…”

“The time to act is now…”

“As each tier fills its membership, the next tier will open until it’s filled.”

“Expected to be evangelists and very active in their use and promotion of Clickety Split.”

“Qualify and invite others to join you as a platinum member that would naturally promote Clickety Split.”

“Limited time opportunity…available only for early adopter members…”

Perhaps that’s all just nice marketing copy (hey, I’m a marketer too and can definitely understand that).

But let’s examine closer — is Clickety Split really an MLM?

I’ll reiterate what I wrote originally — absolutely.

Go ahead and click the sign up button on their site.  Here’s what you see:

Hrm, let’s see…what other type of business model has “sponsors” when you sign up?

Also, In the bottom-right corner of the sign up page I saw a logo for OrbSix Software (they’re a supplier member of the Direct Selling Association).  I checked it out.

So…if OrbSix Softare is a supplier member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA)…then what types of members would it be supplying?  I dug through their list.  Here are a few you may have heard of:

• Amway
• Agel Enterprises
• Avon
• EcoQuest
• Mary Kay, Inc.
• Nu Skin
• Primerica

So Clickety Split isn’t a member of the DSA, but they’re using OrbSix Software…for what exactly?

Well, OrbSix offers a whole host of tools, mainly for paying commissions, order management, downline management, autoship profiles…

Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but straight from the horse’s mouth at OrbSix’ about page:

OrbSix Software is a software service provider for the direct sales and network marketing industries.

Here’s a choice quote from the IT manager at Agel (an MLM company):

I would recommend OrbSix to any mlm company.

Update 5/28/09:

I should clarify a few things.

I’m not saying Clickety Split is a bad company.  All I’m saying is that it’s an MLM where you make money by referring friends AND clicking ads.  I feel like I’ve made a very solid case for that.

Just because the software will be free doesn’t mean they’re not an MLM.  Instead of having people purchase some autoshipped products each month, they’re having people click.  The advertiser is buying the advertising (product) from Clickety Split, who is then paying a commission on the advertising (product) to the software user.  I DO want to see the software in action to actually see how it works, so in the Fall when it’s released, I’m certain I’ll take it for a spin.

I don’t want to get into war of semantics over whether or not Clickety Split is an MLM or not — heck, MLMs are not evil (they just carry an extremely negative connotation with me and apparently a few other people).  However, when I received that email that I originally referenced, it sure seemed like an MLM, and doing further digging, I’ve concluded that it is.

I’ve removed the personal emails of the managers — not trying to be clever, just trying to see who’s behind it.  Very standard due diligence before investing money, time, and reputation in something.

A message to commenters associated with Clickety Split:  Instead of spending your time disputing whether or not Clickety Split is an MLM (it is), why not just try and promote it as a legitimate way to make money?  Why are you so worried that one guy (well, and Greg) is convinced Clickety Split is an MLM and has written about it?

Conclusion

Listen, you can run off lickety split and join Clickety Split for $500, recruit all of your friends and make your millions, or you could NOT, and save yourself some time, disappointment, and perhaps a few awkward Thanksgiving dinners.

Many of you have emailed me wondering where step 3 in flipping websites is…well I can tell you it is coming. We have been busy selling another site. Now that the website has sold we can get back to business.

I will have step 3 for you in the next day or two.

P.S. The site we just sold we bought for $500 and in less than a year sold it for $150k.

All right, you should have your list completed from Step 1. Now that you have decided the areas you want pursue we need to find out if there is any money to be made in those industries. For example if collecting donkey socks made your list, there may not be a market for that online right now.

So in order to make sure that all of your internet marketing efforts don’t go to waste we have created a video that explains some of the things we do to evaluate whether there is demand in a certain niche and if it is worth our time to pursue it.

Check out the video below and leave a comment and let us know what you think.