What is a Blog Exit Strategy and Do You Need One?

Right now, you love blogging. One day, that might no longer be true, or you’ll have some other opportunity or interest to pursue. What then? Today, freelance writer Beth Bauer (@JourneyofBethB) answers that question.

Many times, I have visited a blog only to find their content is outdated. They have stopped blogging. People change careers all the time, and blogging is no different. Therefore, it’s possible that you need an exit strategy.

I tried to research the average amount of time a typical blogger spends in their career, and I couldn’t find any definitive answers. However, according to a 2008 survey by Technorati, of the 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracked at that time, 95 percent had been abandoned.

That raises the question of how long you will blog, and, when you decide your blogging career is over, what will you do?

Why Would You Ever Stop Blogging?

Bloggers stop blogging for lots of reason. A dating expert I knew stopped blogging when she got married. A year later she had a baby and started a parenting blog. Sometimes travel bloggers need a break from traveling, or their interests change entirely. One travel blogger I know got a job offer to write for a major publication in India, and she jumped at the opportunity.

Chances are, at some point in your blogging career, your needs and desires may change as well.

What Exactly is an Exit Strategy?

Many businesses have exit stragies. These involve an entrepreneur’s strategic plan to sell ownership in a company to investors or another company.

A blog exit strategy is a plan for what you will do when you lose interest in your blog or just need to make a life change and stop blogging. It’s prudent to think about it beforehand, that way it will be a much smoother transition of you and your followers.

What Are Your Exit Strategy Options?

You have several options when it comes to a blog exit strategy. You might choose to discontinue your website, sell it (or gift it) to someone else, or turn your blog into a book. All of these are reasonable options. Your decision just depends on your specific situation and desires.

Discontinue Your Website

You may choose to discontinue your website altogether, especially if you have a small following of under 10,000 people or have been blogging for only a few years. Typically, you might want to wait until your website provider subscription is coming up for renewal, publish one final post of gratitude, and then turn the metaphorical page.

Sell it to Someone Else

Sometimes a blogger decides to sell a blog, its content, and her database of followers to another blogger. It is similar to when two companies merge, or one buys out another. The arrangement works best when the target audience and topic are complimentary. For example, maybe your blog is focused on dogs, and the other blogger’s audience is cat lovers. Perhaps you could sell your blog to this blogger and create a broader audience of dog and cat lovers. For it to work, you should have a large following and spend some time researching other bloggers that may have similar, or complementary interests.

Write a Book

Writing a book is probably the best exit strategy of all. Take your most popular posts and turn them into a non-fiction book. You already have the audience, so why not go for it? It’s the perfect way to get your story out there and end your blogging career in style.

Of course, with this last strategy, you might discover readers have a renewed interest in your topic. A blog is always a great way to promote a book as well. That said, the book can become your final hurrah as you shut down your site.

An exit strategy doesn’t have to be difficult. A little forethought can make the transition relatively painless, and possibly somewhat lucrative. It just takes some careful planning.

What’s your blog exit strategy? Tell me in a comment below.

About the Author

Beth Bauer is a freelance writer, travel blogger, yoga instructor, and entrepreneur currently working on her third novel. She has traveled to over 20 countries in just the last two years and enjoys life as a digital nomad. She is originally from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.A., and when she’s home lives on the Long Beach Peninsula with her dog, Ozzie.

Photo courtesy of Maksym Kaharlytskyi / Unsplash