How to Buy Affiliate Websites with Confidence

When looking for affiliate marketing websites for sale, it’s important to know how to effectively navigate the acquisition process. By establishing clear criteria and following the right strategies, you’ll be in a great position to purchase an online business that you can continue growing for many years to come.

In this article, we address several key topics related to acquiring affiliate marketing websites, including:

• The benefits of buying affiliate marketing websites
• Where to find great deals
• How to navigate the acquisition process
• How to succeed following acquisition

Reasons to Buy an Affiliate Marketing Website

There are many key benefits to acquiring a profitable affiliate marketing website. Whether you’re seeking growth, stability, passive income potential, or all three, the right affiliate marketing business model can satisfy your criteria.

Some of the primary reasons to buy an affiliate business include:

• Skip the start-up grind
• Reduce risk
• Strong growth potential
• Passive income potential

Skipping the Startup Grind

If you’ve ever started a business from scratch, you know that it’s hard work! Anxiety, uncertainty, and sleepless nights are par for the course when it comes to building a business from the ground up. 

For entrepreneurs who are time-rich and cash-poor, starting a business may be the best option. However, if you’re in a position in which buying a business is a real possibility, doing so could save you significant time, sweat, and tears.

When you acquire an established affiliate website, you have a much clearer understanding of what you’re getting yourself into. With a proven track record and consistent revenue, there’s no wondering about whether or not the business is viable.

“If you’re in a position in which buying a business is a real possibility, doing so could save you significant time, sweat, and tears.”

Additionally, when you buy an existing affiliate marketing website, much of the legwork is done for you. Instead of laboring over what affiliate program or affiliate network to join, how to start a social media presence, or how to establish search engine optimization strategies, you can simply take over a business that already has the core components in place.

Reducing Risk

Risk is a key element to consider in any investment decision. 

Affiliate marketing websites often have lower risks compared to many other business models. This is especially true if the site has been around for a long time or sells products with a recurring commission.

When compared to starting a business from scratch, buying a business provides you with a significantly higher probability of winding up with a profitable asset. If you consider your time to be highly valuable, then purchasing a site can make a lot of sense.

Of course, acquiring a business requires capital, so one can certainly argue that purchasing creates more financial risk. However, starting a business isn’t free either, especially when you consider the opportunity cost associated with investing your time. Therefore, for many, purchasing a business is seen as less risky than starting one from scratch.

Strong Growth Potential

Many affiliate marketing websites, including Amazon affiliate sites, have significant growth potential. Not only can this make them exciting projects to take on, but can also enable you to experience a strong ROI.

Often, growth can come from expanding the business’s content marketing strategies. Additionally, there are often opportunities to continue growing affiliate partner relationships in order to create additional revenue streams. 

Of course, every business is different, so it’s important to evaluate each on an individual basis. 

Passive Income Potential

One quality that makes affiliate marketing websites desirable is their potential for automation. If a website has strategy affiliate partnerships in place, is effectively optimized, and ranks well for many different search terms, then there’s often not a lot that needs to be done from a management standpoint.

The passive income associated with certain affiliate sites comes with a downside: They’re often difficult to find. After all, an affiliate who owns a stable business that requires minimal management is often not going to be interested in selling their blog. 

“One quality that makes affiliate marketing websites desirable is their potential for automation.”

For this reason, keep your eyes open for a site that isn’t yet fully automated, but has automation potential. If you can find a profitable website with optimization opportunities, you can always seek to automate it after the acquisition, assuming that’s your goal.

Where to Find the Best Affiliate Marketing Websites for Sale

You’re convinced that buying an affiliate marketing website is a smart choice, but where should you find one? Here are three places to look when seeking to acquire online businesses:

• Platforms
• Your network
• Brokers and Advisors

Shopping for Businesses on Online Platforms

Today, there are online platforms where sellers list their businesses for sale. As a potential buyer, you can look through listings, communicate with sellers, and even make bids.

While online marketplace platforms appear to be simple and straightforward, there are some serious downsides to going this route. 

When buying an online business, it’s essential that you understand how to structure a deal. Unless you’re a seasoned investor with several acquisitions under you’re belt, it can be difficult to identify what a good deal looks like. Therefore, it’s easy to get confused or overwhelmed when trying to verify affiliate income and navigate the online marketplace all on your own.

“When buying an online business, it’s essential that you understand how to structure a deal.”

Additionally, it’s important to know who you’re dealing with when buying an online business. Unfortunately, on online platforms, it can be difficult to determine the legitimacy of a given business or seller.

Having said all that, it can still make sense to purchase an affiliate business through an online platform if you’re seeking to acquire a relatively small business (<$100K). However, if you’re trying to find a more established and profitable asset, you might want to try one of the other methods. 

Leveraging Your Network

Another place to look for deals is within your own social network. If you’re friends with a lot of experienced digital marketing experts, it might be worth it to look around for deals that match your criteria. 

Of course, unless you have a huge following, you may not have access to a wide pool of sellers at your fingertips. Therefore, although it’s possible that some deals will emerge through your network, you should count on this approach.

Business Brokers and Advisors

One of the best ways to find great deals is by turning to established business brokerage companies. 

When you buy a business that is represented by a reputable Advisor, you know that the business has already been ‘pre-vetted.’ In other words, an expert has already examined the business and found it to be a worthwhile and legitimate business. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be listed for sale.

Of course, as a buyer, you should always do your own due diligence. However, a broker’s ‘stamp of approval’ can still go a long way when it comes to instilling confidence. 

“When you buy a business that is represented by a reputable Advisor, you know that the business has already been ‘pre-vetted.’”

How to Buy Affiliate Marketing Websites

Once you’ve established your investment criteria, it’s time to find the right business and close the deal. In most cases, there are several predictable steps that you must follow in order to purchase an affiliate marketing website. These include:

• Establish your criteria
• Look at business listings
• Sign a non-disclosure agreement
• Find the business that’s right for you
• Make an offer
• Negotiate and agree to deal terms
• Due diligence
• Close the deal 
• Transition and training

Establish Your Criteria

When buying a business, the first step is always to establish your investment criteria. 

There are many different kinds of businesses, and each implies a different set of expectations and goals. For example, some businesses are steady and predictable, but with less growth potential. Others, have greater volatility but also face enormous growth opportunities. And of course, some businesses require significantly more time and expertise than others.

To help identify your criteria, it can help to ask yourself a few key questions:

• What is your risk tolerance?
• What is your skill set?
• Are you planning to manage the business yourself or have someone else handle the operations for you?
• What is your budget?
• Do you plan on reinvesting your profits or using them for other purposes?
• How quickly do you need to recoup your investment?

Questions such as these can inform your purchasing criteria.

“To help identify your criteria, it can help to ask yourself a few key questions”

Looking at Affiliate Marketing Websites for Sale

Once you’ve established your purchasing criteria, it’s time for the fun part: Looking at businesses.

As mentioned, there are a few different places to find businesses for sale, including Amazon affiliate websites. At Quiet Light, we have many different online businesses for sale in several different categories.

Once you’ve found businesses that match your criteria, you can inquire with a broker to get more information. At Quiet Light, we require that buyers sign a non-disclosure agreement before receiving sensitive information.

Find the Business that’s Right for You

As you look through business listings, pay attention to those that meet your criteria. 

If you’re an experienced content marketer, you may want to find a business with untapped opportunities within content marketing. On the other hand, if you’re knowledgeable about a particular topic, such as digital marketing, it might be a good idea to find a niche site that allows you to leverage your expertise.

“If a particular business looks good on paper, the next step is to arrange a phone call with the seller.”

Of course, variables like budget, skill set, and expected workload should all factor into the equation. If a particular business looks good on paper, the next step is to arrange a phone call with the seller. 

When you speak with the business owner, try to gain as much information as possible. This is where you learn about things such as:

• Search engine optimization opportunities
• Affiliate revenue sources
• Affiliate product selection processes
• Amazon associate metrics
• Display ad metrics
• Affiliate platform details
• The various affiliate offers the business promotes
• Affiliate commission structures
• Keyword research processes
• Email marketing strategies
• Affiliate marketing statistics
• Anything else that’s relevant for your purchasing decision.

It’s important to remember that during calls with sellers, they’ll be sizing you up. Be sure to carry yourself with respect and show that you care about the business you’re inquiring about.

Making an Offer

You’ve established your criteria and found the right business to buy. Now, it’s time to pull the trigger and make an offer. 

Typically, an offer is delivered in the form of a Letter of Intent (LOI). Your LOI should include all relevant details about your offer include the purchase price, assets included in the sale, and other deal terms. Once the LOI is signed, you move on to the due diligence phase.

Due Diligence

During this period, you (the seller) seek to verify all business information through third-party sources. 

Negotiation and Asset Purchase Agreement

Depending on the due diligence phase, the seller may choose to negotiate the terms you’ve proposed. In such a situation, there may be a back-and-forth exchange until both parties are satisfied with the deal. 

Once you and the seller agree to specific terms, both parties sign the Asset Purchase Agreement, which establishes the full and complete terms of the sale. 

Closing the Deal

Once you’ve adequately verified all the seller’s claims are accurate in due diligence, it’s time to transfer the assets and complete payment.

Most online business assets can be transferred by transferring account ownership. Some assets, such as trademarks, must go through the proper legal process for transferring ownership. 

Training and Transition

In most cases, there is a training period that follows the sale of an online business. During this period, the seller provides the buyer with support and guidance as they step into their new role as owners. 

For buyers who are experienced affiliate marketers, this process may be relatively straightforward. However, for those who are less knowledgeable, this step may be more extensive. Of course, the training process should be clearly defined and agreed to in the APA. 

What to Do When Buying Existing Affiliate Marketing Websites

Once you’ve completed the purchase of the business, you’re officially in control. Now, you can dive in and grow your new asset into something great. 

There are many ways to get started, but here are a few key steps that can help maximize your success as an affiliate marketer and owner:

• Learn the business
• Get organized
• Grow and optimize

“Once you’ve completed the purchase of the business, you’re officially in control. Now, you can dive in and grow your new asset into something great.”

As a proud business owner and digital marketer, your success will be closely linked to your business awareness. Therefore, stay hungry for knowledge and never stop learning.

Whether you’re seeking to buy an Amazon associate website or online course review site, this framework will help you maximize your business acquisition success.