Over the past few months, I have become a blog flipper. The concept is simple; you start a blog, gain some traffic and revenue, and then sell it for a profit. I have done this a handful of times and earned anywhere from $200-$1,000 each time. Once you get beyond a few thousand dollars, the number of interested buyers decreases dramatically. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Start a blog

You need to start a blog that is something you know something about, that enough people are interested in, and that will earn at least some decent advertising revenue. In terms of writing content find similar blogs and see what they write about. You can link back to their posts and add your own comments. You can also use articles from free article websites. Use search engines (like Technorati) to find similar blogs and read them regularly.

Step 2: Get Traffic

The best way to gain organic traffic is through commenting on other blogs/forums as well as submitting your site to blog directories. You can also facilitate search engine traffic by submitting your site to the major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Technorati) and by using ping services.

Step 3: Earn Revenue

The easiest way to instantly earn revenue from your blog is through advertising. Your three best bets are: Yahoo! Publisher Network, Google Adwords, and Chitika. You will need to play around with color, targeting, and location to find out what works best for your blog.

Step 4: Flip it!

List your site for sale on forums dedicated to web developers. The best one to sell a small website (under $5,000) is Sitepoint Forums. It costs $10 to list a site for sale but it is worth it. Before you list your site look at a handful of previous sales to get an idea for the proper format. The more you disclose from the beginning the better. Have links to screenshots for traffic and revenue (be sure to blur out CTR, Impressions, CPC), be sure to make clear the bid price, bid increment, buy it now (BIN) price, ending date, and acceptable payment method(s).