@ Steven - But what if you never intended to sell, yet ran out of steam due to one circumstance or another? If the blog was doing any good, yet you cannot continue to maintain it, why not sell? Might be good business. :)

@ Z - Hard to duplicate but not entirely impossible I guess. And if you’re good at squeezing every last ounce out of a personal brand, why not. Jessica and Audrey also made some good points here which I was kinda waiting for - personal brands like Disney but have a worldwide global appeal. So it is still possible but you really have to be a marketing genius or broad appeal in terms of your product branding.

@ Sean - Yup I think most people would also look at those as benchmarks whether to buy a blog, especially a personally branded one.

@ Monika - I had the same notions that my personal blog will be personal and a record of my journey as well as my portfolio. That is hard to sell or takeover. BUT if it was used to showcase products - I think these become the focal point of the blog. Then again, I would have branded the blog in the product’s image from the start. Hmmm

@ Audrey - That’s a great point but what if the personal name was a brand/product in itself? Heh!

@ Nick - I think that is a good way and will help in establishing your selling point later, if you ever consider to go in that direction.

@ Jason - Good way - but what if you wanted to brand your name product-wise?

@ Teejay - As above - what if you wanted your name to be a global brand - and then if you managed to establish it - simply sell the maintenance rights off while you retire with royalties? Ah!

@ Jessica - Great points - I think the issue could be that most bloggers do not start out with a personal blog hoping to brand it globally. If that is achieved, and you’re done maintaining it, I think it is good business to sell it, get others to maintain, and negotiate royalties for using your brand. :)

Having said that, I believe mine could be sold in the future and I would consider it. Maybe because I am new and feel unattached, or maybe because it is not personal like many others are.

Back to the point, I am curiouse why everyone seems to feel a that the brand that is created with a blog is different than other brands in the larger marketplace.

Disney. Very true to the founder’s vision. That is one example of a brand outliving a person, but still being successful run by people who were not even born when Walt died.

Other Martha Stewart are still influenced by their founders, but are public companies - so it is not purely a represntation of their brand.

And then there are modern day brand flips like Jay-Z flipping his Roca-Wear line for millions. People either don’t know or don’t care - either way the brand continues.

So if it can be done in the public spotlight, why not here in the dark shadows, where no one really knows who is typing?

Nick

Great post. Worthy of thought.

How much is a blog with a personally branded domain really worth? Even if it is already established with authority and monetized well with advertising revenue and other income streams, would you ever buy one and hope to continue its success? In the are…

Good question which I only discussed today with my husband a few hours ago. He asked me whether I would ever sell any of my blogs and I replied that my self branded blog will never be for sale as well as my Manifesto Blog, because it is stating my online journey to financial independence which I believe is very personal.

My branded blog is to showcase my freelance work and ability to potential clients so either I would never sell it.

In return I would also never buy a blog from a branded entity. Why would somebody do this anyway? I can’t imagine that if John Chow would ever sell his blog that the person who would buy it could keep the readership, especially since the name of John is attached to the blog?

Monika

If that blog is making money, then I would think
about it considering where it made it money from.

IF from adsense or review me, then sure I consider it.

If the blog was high ranked and isn’t making much,
then I wouldn’t buy it.