Why focus on niches? Easy: a niche is essentially a market. All website trades are contingent on the success of a particular market, and the more markets are seen as valuable, the more websites there will be to buy and sell. So without any further fanfare, let’s take a look at what we believe may just be five stellar website niches to buy and sell in 2012.

1. Learning a musical instrument. Music is a major industry in the modern world. You can’t turn on your TV without being influenced by it somehow or search through Twitter trends without seeing some kind of musical fad making it big. Learning a musical instrument has always been a top priority for a great many people; in 2012, we think it’s set to truly explode as a niche. Whether your site is about learning how to play piano, drums, or guitar, there’s a real market to make the world of music more accessible to those newbies who haven’t so much as picked up an instrument in their past.

2. Education. Okay, say the word “education” online and you’ll probably think the topic’s going to be a little bit boring. But with the recent news that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is going to offer some courses online for free, we figure it’s time that education got the recognition it deserves. Sure, the concept of “education” is a little big to be considered a niche, but don’t forget that any niche can be combined with “education” and learning in order to create something new and original. People want to be taught!

3. Weight Loss. We know, we know – weight loss is always a niche, 2012 or otherwise. But that’s no reason it won’t be big this current year, and that’s as good a reason as any to make sure that you’re somewhere within the niche. It is a large niche, however, so you’ll want to guard against trying to conquer the market yourself. But don’t ignore the weight loss niche in 2012 – or any other year.

4. Dating. Between Dr. Phil’s ever-present advice and new, popular books on the subject of dating and male/female relationships, there’s no better time than now to get involved in the dating niche and offer some poor souls out there some useful advice – or whatever it is that your website can do to help them.

5. Gardening. Rising food prices means people are looking for new ways to eat and save money, and growing one’s own produce is one of the best ways to do just that. Many people are suspicious of the food they find in the supermarket anyway – it’s better to grow your own food at home. And we’re sure you’ll have a website soon that tells people exactly that.

Of course, the greatest frustration isn’t when you try to buy a website and aren’t able to land it; it’s when you miss the simple bargains that you’ll most want to kick yourself. In order to prevent that unfortunate turn of events, we have a solution: keep reading about these simple website bargains so that you’re able to spot them at our marketplace.

The “Highly-Scalable” Bargain: A lot of websites out there will have low overhead – just paying for hosting fees, for example. That might run you only $5-10 per month. In fact, this is so common that you’ll probably start tuning every site with low overhead out. Well, you figure, it’s going to take some investment if you’re going to ramp up this site’s earning potential anyway.

But that’s not true for all sites. Some sites are highly scalable, which means you can ramp up the amount of money they make without requiring a heavy investment of time, money, or effort. For example, a website with a “community” presence can have low overhead costs and even low traffic – but its involved community makes it a potential goldmine. Don’t miss out on the sites that have a lot of potential just waiting to be tapped.

The “High-Barrier-of-Entry” Bargain: Yes, there are a lot of websites out there that generate a lot of money. The problem is that investing in them can be difficult; the high barrier-of-entry precludes you from making that investment. But just because a website is difficult to afford doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not a bargain. Be on the lookout for the big-time websites that are asking for low prices simply because of a slow economy. The high barrier of entry might be a barrier, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one that can’t be circumvented.

The “Consistent-Performer” Bargain: Of course, some websites don’t make a lot of money. But they do have one advantage: the money they do make comes in consistently. This is a great way to start building up your own portfolio of websites, because the consistent income will help you to have the money for more ambitious and high-risk projects. Many people overlook the smaller sites simply because they’re just that – small sites. But there’s a lot of value in consistency, and it’s often overlooked.

The “Low-Maintenance” Bargain: Along the same vein as the bargain listed above, don’t forget that low-maintenance bargains can be a refreshing change from the typical work you do with website purchases. Simply make the purchase and start cashing the checks from the site; it may not always be consistent, but as long as you don’t have to touch it, you’re not losing out on your most valuable asset: time.

Here at WebsiteBroker.com, we like to watch out for both website buyers and website sellers. But in this article, we’d like to focus on the website buyer’s point of view: is a site worth more because of certain assets, and if this is the case, why? Let’s break down the question into greater detail to give you a full context for what’s exactly going on here.

Defining the “Asset”

A website’s asset is not going to be the same as an asset that an individual owns. An individual might own a rental property in Florida as an asset; a website might have a unique content management system built right in. Defining the asset first and foremost will be key to understanding the true value of that asset.

It’s important that you beware of letting the website sellers always define the assets. They might tell you that they have a great content management system, for example, that makes posting to the site a cinch. But what they might not tell you is that the thing really never works the way it’s supposed to, or there’s an error in it that forbids you from having true flexibility with the site.

Whatever the asset, be clear not only of its value, but of its quality – and whether or not you’ll even have use for it. It’s not worth it to buy a site with a CMS, for example, if you’re bent on providing one of your own.

Tossing Assets Aside

Sometimes, you’ll realize that a website’s sole “asset” is the domain name it’s listed on. Whatever the owner has to say about their shopping cart, their blog readership, you’ll have to trust one person in this interaction: yourself. So be willing to toss assets aside and outright tell the website owner if they’re not worth much to you. Oftentimes, the website owner will be smart enough to realize you’re right and can lower the price accordingly.

Of course, that doesn’t always mean you want to toss aside a website’s selling points willy-nilly. Be willing to explore them, to ask the owner about them, and, if possible, to check them out yourself.

Ponying Up for Better Assets

A website might have a lot going for it, but its true value will be in whether or not you are interested in a site’s assets. Does a website already come with a fully-functional shopping cart? Is a content management system already installed, or will you have to do that yourself? These little “assets” can go a long way in making a site more valuable, so ask yourself what you’re willing to pay for and change your bid accordingly.

In fact, we see it so often that we believe we can describe that successful website buying attitude in a single sentence: “you’re not just buying a site; you’re buying a business.”

There’s a much heavier connotation to the word business than there is website. Many people think of websites as easily-disposable properties; not truly worthwhile pursuits. But successful website buyers know better. They know that if they put in the time and effort, a website can turn into a full-grown income-generating business that should not only generate profit like a business, but run like a business.

Here are some ways you can cultivate this attitude within yourself and make yourself a much more successful buyer of websites.

Run a Business Analysis on Potential Sites

Don’t just think about websites as paychecks; think about them as revenue-generators. They aren’t just ways to cash checks online, but instead should be considered fluid parts of all your income-generating endeavors. You should subsequently analyze each purchase’s earning potential before you finalize the purchase. Try to verify the reported numbers if you can. Ask for proof about those numbers, and look for numbers that have been there consistently. The more you treat the website like a business, the more you’ll understand how to go about approaching each purchase.

Be Willing to Create, Not Just Buy

Many businesses succeed not only by acquiring other businesses, but by using those businesses to create new endeavors. It’s not enough to simply buy a website and take over unless that site is already a smashing success – why fix what isn’t broken? But if there is potential to be exploited, be willing to contribute to that potential by being the “manager” of the new site you’ve purchased. This is the key to making sure that you understand that each site’s success is not static.

Build Relationships; Network

Sure, it’s easy to buy a website from someone for the first time; online escrow services help ensure a safe transaction. But that doesn’t mean you should solely rely on new relationships. Be willing to forge relationships with people you frequently buy websites from. Once you start to trust them, you’ll recognize when they have a deal to offer you and you’ll often be able to capitalize on it quickly because of the relationship you’ve already established. Keeping the lines of communication open is important in business – and it’s just as important in the website buying business.

Remember that what drives your attitude isn’t about the sites you find; it’s about you. So put in the work, keep your thoughts positive, and you can start to see good results from your burgeoning businesses!

We here at WebsiteBroker.com sympathize. It’s not always a comfortable situation when you want to get a website out of your hands but aren’t willing to settle for a low price, either. You have to wait, and wait, and…well, wait. And you never know when that one magical buyer might be lurking around the corner.

So if you feel stuck, this article will help steer you in the right direction and determine what is truly the longest amount of time you should wait before you lower your website’s asking price.

Set a Time Limit and Stick to It

The first thing you should do is realize that the question of lowering your website’s price is often a question of self-discipline. You see, it’s very tempting to set an asking price for your site and check WebsiteBroker.com each day to learn if there are new bids for your site. It can even be downright exciting. The problem is that not every  website will generate that kind of interest.

If your site isn’t generating that kind of interest, it’s important that you don’t get antsy and start lowering the asking price ever lower simply because no one submitted a bid after three days. So give yourself a time limit with your current asking price and stick to it. Heck, mark it in your calendar: “Lower asking price if no one has bid on my site yet.”

Sticking to your own time limit will help you gain control over your own behavior and help broaden your view of the entire process. The more you can view your success from a long-term perspective, the better.

But Don’t Wait Forever, Either

Of course, your time limit should be reasonable; don’t tell yourself that you’ll wait for three months, because that’s simply too long of a time to wait and see if there’s real interest for your site. Instead, you should give yourself a week or two before you lower your asking price the first time – and hopefully the last time. The “time limit” concept is more about self-discipline than it is about any particular increment of time. Don’t make yourself wait too long, because you could also be missing out on potential bids because your prices are too high.

Yes, it can be a guessing game. You’ll never really be sure who’s viewing your website’s listing here at WebsiteBroker.com. But if you have any experience in selling your property online, you’ll know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Have the patience to stick to your own schedule as well as the flexibility to lower your price before too much time has passed. You’ll be glad you went about things in a methodical way rather than succumbing to the whims of buyers.

After all, it’s your property – you should be in charge of its price.

At WebsiteBroker.com, we know and understand these potential problems. But we also know that there’s a great reward to buying websites: finding that one spectacular “diamond in the rough” that completely outperforms even your wildest expectations. If you want to find more of these bargains on a consistent basis, it’s time to look for these five can’t-miss signs and never skip over another diamond again.

Sign #1: Under-monetization. Sure, that site seems to have a lot of good, tangible variables: they have a lot of traffic, they have low operating expenses, and the asking price is perfectly reasonable considering everything else the site has going for it. But if you can spot an under-monetized site – or a site that isn’t reaching its full sales or advertising potential – you might be able to score a bargain and enact a few changes to the site that will soon have it bringing in a lot more money.

Sign #2: Too many expenses. On the flip side of the coin, what if a site has too many operating expenses that you – and only you – know how to bring down? That might be the sign that a diamond in the rough is available to you. A website owner will ask for a lot less money when their profit margins are slim, and expanding those margins isn’t always about getting more sales; it may simply be a matter of decreasing expenses.

Sign #3: Great domain, terrible website. Along the same “unmet potential” vein, consider the domain that is valuable that doesn’t host a website that capitalizes on that value. Maybe the site receives a lot of type-in traffic, but that’s it. If this is the case, you might be able to spot the sites with unmet potential that simply need a fresh design and some more inviting copy.

Sign #4: No social media presence. Verifying a site’s value should include a range of variables, of course, but don’t forget about social media; if a site hasn’t been exposed to the viral-exploding potential of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, there may be a chance that the site could qualify as a diamond in the rough – and therefore as a worthy investment of both your time and your money.

Sign #5: All niche, no substance. If you know about a niche that is set to explode but aren’t sure how to crack into it, this might be the type of site you need to buy. This kind of site would be optimally located in the niche of your heart’s desire, but doesn’t have the substance to back up that position and earn any real money. If you can bring substance to that site and increase its value, you’ve got a diamond in the rough on your hands.

Some of that information which you’ll end up needing for website purchases include the knowledge of a website’s hosting services. There are a number of questions you’ll want answered in this case: for example, are you talking to the real owner of the website? How much can you expect to pay in hosting fees if you take over the hosting as it currently stands? Will you want to make a change in hosting services?

To answer all of these questions, keep reading this quick guide to double-checking a website’s hosting services.

Why Check?

First things first: why run a web hosting check? What does it matter what a website owner is using for their hosting service? After all, once you make a purchase, won’t you be able to change that yourself?

Sure – as a website buyer, you will have a number of options available to you once you’ve purchased a website. But if you want to verify that all the information you’re getting from the website’s current owner is true, it can’t hurt to verify that they’re being accurate about their hosting information, as well. And once you see just how easy it can be to run a hosting check on a website, you’ll be convinced that it should be part of your standard practice.

Running the Check, Part I

The first thing to do to run a check on the validity of a website owner’s claims is to review those claims in detail. Is there something you might have missed on your initial review? Is there not enough information there? If not, be sure to contact that website owner directly so that you can get their (more detailed) side of the story. This context will be invaluable to you as you run the check on their website hosting services.

Running the Check, Part II

Once you have the owner’s claims ready to go, use a site like www.whoishostingthis.com to get an idea of which website hosting provider is hosting the site you’re thinking of buying. But don’t stop there. You can then use this information to look up the information about the individual host – including their pricing plans, their features, and anything else they might have to offer. Once you review this hosting plan, you can get a better idea of what kind of “overhead” the site you’re thinking about buying might consume.

Putting it All Together

Once you know how to check a website’s hosting services, you’ll be ready to go. Simply use this information in conjunction with all of your other domain research and you’ll have a better overall picture of what life is like for the website’s current owner – and what life might be like for you once you’ve made the purchase.