Have you considered going to a larger company/brand like Dove and getting them to buy it? Your audience seems right in line with their audience and they probably already have a budget for "social media marketing". A good way to reach them might be a big-brand social media consultant like VaynerMedia.com. They could facilitate the sale and make a commission on the amount. I know someone who knows Gary over at Vayner so if you're interested, I could try to make the connection.
Alternatively, I can connect you with an investment banker who specializes in selling internet based businesses, though I'm not sure if he'll be interested since he typically deals in the 7-figures range... but I could run it by him if you want.
I just think having a simple private auction without attracting the right parties to the table might not get you the maximum the site could get. Just my thought.
Anyway, congrats on the success so far and good luck with things. My email is in my profile.
Hey Melvin — thanks for the suggestions! The only thing I'm not sure about is why a general brand would want a threewords.me-like property under them. What's a brand's motive for acquiring properties such as mine?
Good question. The motives for various brands will likely be different.
I had Dove in mind specific because it seemed like a good fit. Take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U. It summarizes Doves message in a nutshell I think. They might be interested in your thing because it helps position their brand in front of their key audience (which I suspect are young women and your quantcast data shows a major of your audience were also young women) in a way that supports their message without the repulsiveness of commercials or banner ads.
In addition, the social media managers of these brands would love the opportunity to increase engagement with their audience. On a personal level for the managers, it would give them specific metrics they could reference when talking about how their social media efforts are going. On a company-wide level, the more deeply they connect with their customers, the more products they'll sell.
If you did go down the road of talking to brands, I'd position your product as similar to the OldSpice man campaign but a different tact.
I just think having a simple private auction without attracting the right parties to the table might not get you the maximum the site could get. Just my thought.
Obviously this is true, but it's arguably the quickest.
If Mark wants to flip it quickly to focus on other projects, getting drawn into a negotiation with commission-earning middlemen and lawyers who probably need to respect some formalized DD process, is probably counter-productive.
Comments
Have you considered going to a larger company/brand like Dove and getting them to buy it? Your audience seems right in line with their audience and they probably already have a budget for "social media marketing". A good way to reach them might be a big-brand social media consultant like VaynerMedia.com. They could facilitate the sale and make a commission on the amount. I know someone who knows Gary over at Vayner so if you're interested, I could try to make the connection.
Alternatively, I can connect you with an investment banker who specializes in selling internet based businesses, though I'm not sure if he'll be interested since he typically deals in the 7-figures range... but I could run it by him if you want.
I just think having a simple private auction without attracting the right parties to the table might not get you the maximum the site could get. Just my thought.
Anyway, congrats on the success so far and good luck with things. My email is in my profile.
Hey Melvin — thanks for the suggestions! The only thing I'm not sure about is why a general brand would want a threewords.me-like property under them. What's a brand's motive for acquiring properties such as mine?
Yeah, probably true that it's not the best exposure. TechCrunch just picked it up (http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/17/weeks-after-going-viral-thr...) but selling in a simple private auction is only one step up from Flippa. And maybe one sideways.
Thanks for your help, man - will shoot you an email.
It proves to someone's bosses that they get this whole social media thing.
Good question. The motives for various brands will likely be different.
I had Dove in mind specific because it seemed like a good fit. Take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U. It summarizes Doves message in a nutshell I think. They might be interested in your thing because it helps position their brand in front of their key audience (which I suspect are young women and your quantcast data shows a major of your audience were also young women) in a way that supports their message without the repulsiveness of commercials or banner ads.
In addition, the social media managers of these brands would love the opportunity to increase engagement with their audience. On a personal level for the managers, it would give them specific metrics they could reference when talking about how their social media efforts are going. On a company-wide level, the more deeply they connect with their customers, the more products they'll sell.
If you did go down the road of talking to brands, I'd position your product as similar to the OldSpice man campaign but a different tact.
I just think having a simple private auction without attracting the right parties to the table might not get you the maximum the site could get. Just my thought.
Obviously this is true, but it's arguably the quickest.
If Mark wants to flip it quickly to focus on other projects, getting drawn into a negotiation with commission-earning middlemen and lawyers who probably need to respect some formalized DD process, is probably counter-productive.
Well, here is a thought for you: How sure are you that the next project will be just as big a hit as this one already is?
It may very well be worth milking this one for what it is worth because in my experience one hit does not guarantee a sequel.