From Realtor Jim Lee on Twitter This Morning:
Happy 74th birthday Elvis! 74 years old, dead almost 30 years, and still making money. Hmmmm, maybe Elvis is on to something.
This little 140 character snippet got me thinking. Elvis is still making money 30 years after he died.
It is because he built a strong foundation of products and services that people still want and have value even after his death.
And then I thought about my websites. Many of the sites have some value and do provide income for me and my family. And as I approach my 44th birthday this year, the same as Elvis before he met his maker, I wonder how my family can profit from my work if I pass on.
There is value in the sites I have built either through the sale of the site or continued income. A great deal of residual income is possible as websites that are built well have great potential shelf lives.
I am sure that you are in the same boat.
But here is the issue, if you die will your family be able to unlock any of that money? Or will the sites just expire and those weird checks that arrived just fade away?
Here are some things to think about and have ready to help your family if something were to happen to you.
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A list of all of your sites and passwords.
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Instructions to renew domains and hosting packages. If they expire all value is lost.
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An estimate of how income is derived from the sites. If they are real estate sites and generate referrals it may make sense for your significant other to get their license so they can forward the referrals to others and profit from them.
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A list of people who may be willing to buy or broker the site for you. Your family members most likely do not share your love of all things internet and have no interest in running the site. Give them an opportunity to sell it and take the stress of keeping it going off the table.
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A basic understanding of what the site is worth. This will make it easier to sell and the family member will not be taken advantage of.
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And someone trustworthy to maintain them during a period before a sale can be made.
By no means is this a complete list but I think it is a great place to start in protecting this asset that you have created on the internet.
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An excellent post on understanding the value of digital assets.
Digital output is real work product – and should be protected. The willy-nilly use of subscriber-based services make your advice particularly pertinent.