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Deal Forensics: This $950K content site makes more profit than most $5M SaaS companies

Most people think content businesses are dead.

"Google killed them." "AI is taking over." "Those businesses were a 2019 thing."

Meanwhile, smart operators are buying profitable content sites at 1.4x EBITDA while everyone else chases SaaS deals at 6x.

The difference? Most buyers can't tell the difference between a content site and a content business.

Let me show you a deal that looks like a blog, but is actually a full-stack media company throwing off 92% margins.

The Deal Nobody Took Seriously

Business: Personal finance content site + newsletter + affiliate partnerships
Asking Price: $950K
Annual Revenue: $740K
EBITDA: $680K (92% margin)
Multiple: 1.4x EBITDA
Monthly Pageviews: 890K
Email Subscribers: 127,000
Open Rate: 42% (industry average: 18%)
Content: 340 articles + 520 newsletter editions
Team: Founder + 2 contract writers

Why Nobody Bought This:

• "Content businesses are dying" (they're not)

• "Google will kill the traffic" (hasn't happened in 4 years)

• "AI will replace this in 6 months" (wrong understanding of the business)

• "This is just affiliate marketing" (missing the entire model)

• Listed on Flippa (serious buyers don't look there)

The founder listed this for 8 weeks, got 3 lowball offers ($400K-$600K), and almost pulled it off the market.

I would have paid asking price same day.

Here's what everyone else missed.

Part 1: The Margin Structure That Breaks Traditional Models

92% EBITDA margin.

Read that again. Ninety-two percent.

Monthly Breakdown:

• Revenue: $61,666

• Writer costs: $3,200 (2 contract writers, 8 articles/month)

• Software/tools: $480 (hosting, email, analytics, SEO tools)

• Miscellaneous: $1,320 (accounting, legal, misc)

• EBITDA: $56,666 (92%)

Compare this to:

• SaaS business: 15-40% EBITDA margin

• E-commerce: 15-25% EBITDA margin

• Service business: 25-40% EBITDA margin

• This content business: 92% EBITDA margin

Why This Matters:

Every dollar of new revenue is 92 cents of profit.

That means:

• Scale is insanely profitable (no COGS, no inventory, minimal labor)

• You can outspend competitors on acquisition

• Cash flow funds growth without outside capital

• Mistakes are cheap (low fixed costs)

The Operating Leverage:

If you grow revenue 35% to $1M annually:

• Added revenue: $260K

• Added costs: $21K (just more content)

• Added EBITDA: $239K

You just added $1.2M in enterprise value (at 5x) by growing 35%.

Most businesses need to hire people, buy inventory, lease space to grow. This business? Just publish more content.

Part 2: The Revenue Mix Nobody Understood

The broker listed this as "affiliate site."

That's like calling Amazon a "bookstore."

Actual Revenue Breakdown:

• Credit card affiliate commissions: $340K (46%)

• Bank account affiliate commissions: $180K (24%)

• Display ads (Mediavine): $95K (13%)

• Sponsored content: $85K (11.5%)

• Email newsletter sponsorships: $40K (5.5%)

This isn't an affiliate site. It's a diversified media company with five revenue streams.

Here's Why That's Critical:

Most affiliate sites live or die by one partnership. Amazon changes commission structure? You're dead. Google changes algorithm? You're finished.

This business has five independent revenue streams. You'd need all five to collapse simultaneously to kill the business.

The Revenue Quality Test:

Let's stress test each stream:

Credit Card Affiliates ($340K):

• 8 different card issuers (no single partner over 18% of revenue)

• Average commission: $180 per approval

• Approval rate: 31% (industry average: 22%)

• Commission structure unchanged for 3+ years

Risk level: Low. Card issuers need affiliates. Competition is fierce. They won't cut commissions.

Bank Account Affiliates ($180K):

• 12 different banks

• Average commission: $150-$300 per account opened

• Conversion rate: 8.4% (industry average: 4-6%)

Risk level: Low. Banks are desperate for deposits. Online banks especially need this channel.

Display Ads ($95K):

• Mediavine partnership (premium ad network)

• RPM: $35 (revenue per thousand pageviews)

• Industry average RPM: $15-25

Risk level: Medium. Ad rates fluctuate with economy. But Mediavine is stable and high-quality.

Sponsored Content ($85K):

• 18 sponsors in past 12 months

• Average deal: $4,700

• Repeat rate: 61%

Risk level: Medium-Low. Requires active management, but demand is steady.

Newsletter Sponsorships ($40K):

• 24 sponsors in past 12 months

• $1,666 per newsletter sponsor spot

• Currently only monetizing 50% of newsletters

Risk level: Low. Newsletter is undermonetized. Room to grow here.

Total Portfolio Risk: Very low. Would need multiple catastrophic failures simultaneously.

Part 3: The Traffic Everyone Dismissed

890K monthly pageviews.

Every broker said: "That's not that much traffic."

They're looking at the wrong metric.

Traffic Quality Analysis:

Average session duration: 4:12 (industry average: 1:30)
Bounce rate: 48% (industry average: 70%)
Pages per session: 3.2 (industry average: 1.8)

This isn't random traffic. These are people actually reading the content.

Traffic Sources:

• Organic search (Google): 520K visits (58%)

• Direct: 190K visits (21%)

• Email newsletter: 140K visits (16%)

• Social: 28K visits (3%)

• Referral: 12K visits (2%)

The Google Dependency Question:

Everyone asks: "What if Google kills your traffic?"

Wrong question. Right question: "Has Google killed your traffic yet?"

Traffic History:

• 2020: 380K monthly pageviews

• 2021: 510K monthly pageviews (34% growth)

• 2022: 690K monthly pageviews (35% growth)

• 2023: 820K monthly pageviews (19% growth)

• 2024: 890K monthly pageviews (8.5% growth)

Google has updated their algorithm 47 times since 2020. This site has grown through every single update.

Why?

The content is genuinely helpful. Not SEO spam. Not AI-generated garbage. Real advice from someone who knows personal finance.

Google rewards that. Always has. Always will.

The Traffic Diversification Play:

Current reality: 58% Google, 21% direct, 16% newsletter

12-month goal: 45% Google, 25% direct, 25% newsletter, 5% other

How? Stop publishing for Google. Start publishing for readers. The traffic will follow.

Part 4: The Email List Worth More Than the Website

127,000 email subscribers.

42% open rate.

Let me explain why this is absurd:

Industry Benchmarks:

• Average finance newsletter: 18% open rate

• Good finance newsletter: 25% open rate

• Great finance newsletter: 30% open rate

• This newsletter: 42% open rate

What does 42% open rate mean?

It means 53,340 people open every email you send.

That's a small TV audience. That's a sold-out Madison Square Garden. That's a direct line to 53,000 people interested in personal finance.

The Email Revenue Math:

Current: $40K annually from newsletter sponsorships
That's $0.31 per subscriber per year.

Industry standard: $2-5 per subscriber per year for monetized newsletters

Conservative target: $1.50 per subscriber per year

127,000 subscribers × $1.50 = $190,500 annually

How to get there:

• Monetize 100% of newsletters (currently only 50%)

• Increase sponsor rates from $1,666 to $2,500 (still cheap for 53K reach)

• Add affiliate promotions in newsletter (tastefully)

• Launch paid newsletter tier at $99/year (even 2% conversion = $250K)

The email list alone could throw off $300K+ annually.

At 5x revenue (typical newsletter multiple), that's a $1.5M asset.

You're buying it for $950K total.

Part 5: The Content Moat Nobody Valued

340 published articles.

The broker saw this as a liability. "Old content needs updating."

I saw it as a $2M asset sitting there.

Content Asset Valuation:

Average cost to produce equivalent content today:

• Research: 4 hours at $75/hour = $300

• Writing: 8 hours at $100/hour = $800

• Editing: 2 hours at $75/hour = $150

• SEO optimization: 2 hours at $100/hour = $200

• Total: $1,450 per article

340 articles × $1,450 = $493,000 in content assets

But that's just replacement cost. What about traffic value?

Content Performance Analysis:

Top 20 articles (6% of content):

• Generate 420K monthly pageviews (47% of traffic)

• Drive 68% of affiliate conversions

• Bring in $480K annually (65% of revenue)

These 20 articles are worth $2.4M at a 5x revenue multiple.

You're buying $2.4M in revenue-generating assets for $950K.

The Content Update Strategy:

The founder hasn't updated content in 18 months (he's burned out).

Opportunity:

• Audit all 340 articles

• Update top 50 performers (will take 3 months at $400/article = $20K)

• Republish with current data

• Re-promote through newsletter

Expected impact: 25-40% traffic increase from freshness and improved rankings

Added revenue: $185K-$296K annually
Cost: $20K
ROI: 925-1,480%

Part 6: The Competitive Position (Why This Wins)

Personal finance is a crowded space. NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, dozens of huge players.

So why does this small site work?

The Founder's Unfair Advantage:

He's a former financial advisor. Series 65 licensed. Worked at Merrill Lynch for 8 years.

The content isn't regurgitated SEO garbage. It's actual advice from someone who knows finance.

Example Article: "How to Choose Between a Traditional and Roth 401(k)"

Typical SEO content site:

• 800 words

• Generic advice

• Ranks position #18

• Written by $0.05/word outsourcer

This site:

• 2,400 words

• Specific scenarios with real math

• Ranks position #3

• Written by licensed financial advisor

The Trust Factor:

Every article has author bio: "John spent 8 years as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch..."

Readers trust him. They don't trust "Content Team at FinanceBlog.com"

The Competitive Moat:

This isn't defensible through technology or patents. It's defensible through trust and expertise.

To compete, you'd need:

1. Someone with real financial credentials

2. Years of content production

3. Established email list

4. Existing search rankings

5. Existing affiliate relationships

That's a 3-5 year head start. And costs $500K+ to replicate.

You're buying the moat for $950K.

Part 7: The Growth Opportunities Sitting There

The founder is burned out and coasting. He publishes 8 articles per month and sends 2 newsletters per week.

That's maintenance mode, not growth mode.

Opportunity 1: Content Expansion ($200K Added Revenue)

Current: 8 articles/month (96/year)
Proposed: 20 articles/month (240/year)

Cost: Hire 2 more contract writers at $400/article = $4,800/month added cost

Expected traffic increase: 55-70% (based on similar expansions in the space)

Added revenue: $407K-$518K
Added costs: $58K
Added EBITDA: $349K-$460K

Let's be conservative: $200K added EBITDA.

Opportunity 2: YouTube Channel ($150K Added Revenue)

The content is already written. Turn top articles into 10-minute YouTube videos.

Current: Zero YouTube presence
Proposed: 3 videos per week (156/year)

Cost:

• Video editor: $150/video = $23,400/year

• Simple filming setup: $3,000 one-time

• Founder appears on camera: 3 hours/week

Expected outcome (based on similar channels):

• Year 1: 15K subscribers, 300K annual views

• YouTube AdSense: $50K

• Sponsored videos: $80K

• Affiliate link clicks: $20K

Added EBITDA: $127K (85% margin after video editing costs)

Let's be conservative: $150K added revenue, $120K EBITDA.

Opportunity 3: Paid Newsletter Tier ($180K Added Revenue)

127,000 free subscribers. Newsletter is exceptional quality (42% open rate).

Launch paid tier at $99/year with:

• Weekly deep-dive analysis

• Exclusive personal finance templates

• Private community access

• Monthly Q&A sessions

Target: 2% conversion (2,540 paid subscribers)

Revenue: $251,460/year
Added costs: $36K (community management, bonus content creation)
Added EBITDA: $215K

Let's be conservative: $180K added EBITDA.

Opportunity 4: Financial Product ($120K Added Revenue)

Create a premium guide/course: "The Complete Financial Independence Roadmap"

Price: $197
Promotion: Monthly to email list Expected sales: 60/month (720/year) - 0.47% of list

Revenue: $142K/year
Costs: $15K to create, $7K/year to maintain
Added EBITDA: $120K ongoing

Total Conservative New Revenue: $650K
Total Added EBITDA: $620K (95% margins on new revenue)

Current EBITDA: $680K
New EBITDA: $1.3M

At 5x EBITDA, you just built a $6.5M business from a $950K acquisition.

Part 8: The AI Question Everyone Gets Wrong

Every buyer asks: "Won't AI kill this business?"

No. Here's why:

What AI Can Do:

• Generate generic content fast

• Answer basic questions

• Summarize information

• Create SEO filler

What AI Cannot Do (Yet):

• Build trust with readers

• Have real credentials

• Create genuinely novel insights

• Build email relationships

• Navigate complex financial situations

The Real Risk from AI:

AI will flood Google with garbage content. That's true.

But Google's response will be to prioritize content from trusted, credible sources.

This site has:

• Author with real credentials (Series 65 license)

• 4+ years of consistent, high-quality content

• Engaged audience (4+ minute sessions, 42% email opens)

• Real human voice and perspective

AI actually strengthens this business's competitive position.

The spammy affiliate sites will die. The sites with real expertise and trust will win bigger.

How to Use AI:

Don't fight it. Use it.

• Use AI to outline articles (founder still writes them)

• Use AI to update old content (human reviews)

• Use AI for content repurposing (turn articles into social posts)

• Use AI for research (faster content production)

AI is a tool, not a replacement.

Part 9: The Deal Structure (How to Actually Buy This)

Seller wants $950K. He's exhausted and wants out.

But he's also nervous. "What if the buyer destroys what I built?"

This is leverage.

My Offer:

Structure A: Earnout with Upside

• $750K at close (79% of asking)

• $200K earnout over 12 months (based on revenue retention)

• If revenue grows, earnout increases (50% of growth over baseline)

This protects you (if he's hiding problems, you pay less) and incentivizes him (if you grow it, he makes more).

Structure B: Seller Financing

• $300K cash at close (32%)

• $650K seller note at 4% over 4 years ($14,800/month)

Monthly economics:

• EBITDA: $56,666

• Seller note payment: $14,800

• Your take-home: $41,866/month = $502K annually

Your $300K pays back in 7.2 months.

Structure C: Partnership Model

• $650K cash at close (68% of asking)

• Seller keeps 10% equity

• Seller creates 2 hours of content per month (keeps his voice in the business)

• You handle everything else

This keeps his expertise attached while you run operations.

Financing Strategy:

Seller financing is key. Why?

1. Banks don't understand content businesses (good luck getting SBA loan)

2. Seller wants to see his creation survive

3. Lower monthly payments = more cash for growth investments

4. Seller earns 4% return (better than savings account)

The seller wants certainty more than maximum price. Use that.

Part 10: The 18-Month Scale Plan

Here's how you turn $950K into $4M+ in 18 months:

Months 1-3: Foundation

• Keep everything running smoothly (don't break what works)

• Audit all content for update opportunities

• Interview founder extensively (capture all his knowledge)

• Update top 50 articles

• Increase newsletter frequency from 2x to 3x per week

Target: Maintain $740K annual revenue, increase to $780K

Months 4-6: Email Monetization

• Launch paid newsletter tier at $99/year

• Increase free newsletter sponsor rates to $2,500

• Monetize 100% of newsletters (currently 50%)

• Add affiliate promotions (tastefully) in newsletter

Target: Email revenue goes from $40K to $120K annually

Months 7-12: Content Expansion

• Hire 2 additional contract writers

• Increase from 8 to 20 articles/month

• Launch YouTube channel (3 videos/week)

• Film founder for first 20 videos (build channel credibility)

Target: Traffic increases 60%, revenue hits $1.15M annually

Months 13-18: Product Launch & Scale

• Launch premium course at $197

• Continue YouTube growth (now 1,000+ new subscribers/month)

• Scale what's working, cut what isn't

• Optimize conversion funnels across all revenue streams

Target: Revenue hits $1.4M annually, EBITDA hits $1.27M (91% margins)

Exit Multiple: 5-6x EBITDA (premium for diversified revenue, email asset, growth trajectory)

Exit Value: $6.35M - $7.6M

Your Return:

• Purchase price: $950K

• Cash invested: $300-750K (depending on structure)

• Exit proceeds: $6.35-7.6M

• Distributions taken during ownership: $800K+

• Total return: $6.2M - $7.5M on $300-750K invested

That's 827-2,500% ROI in 18 months.

Part 11: The Risks (What Could Blow This Up)

Risk 1: Google Algorithm Update (35% Probability)

Google changes algo, traffic drops 40%, revenue drops 25%.

Mitigation:

• Diversify traffic immediately (email, YouTube, social)

• Focus on quality content (survives algo changes)

• Build brand (direct traffic) so you're not Google-dependent

• 58% from Google is actually pretty diversified already

Risk 2: Affiliate Partnerships Change (25% Probability)

Credit card companies cut commissions 20-30% (has happened in the industry).

Mitigation:

• Diversify affiliate partners (already done - 8 card issuers)

• Grow other revenue streams (ads, sponsorships, products)

• Build email list (own the audience, not dependent on any platform)

Risk 3: Content Quality Drops (40% Probability)

You hire bad writers. Content quality drops. Trust erodes. Traffic and conversions decline.

Mitigation:

• Hire slow, fire fast

• Implement rigorous editing process

• Keep founder involved for 6-12 months (consulting basis)

• Have him review all content initially

Risk 4: You Can't Replace the Founder's Voice (30% Probability)

The audience loves him. They don't love you. Email open rates drop. Revenue declines.

Mitigation:

• Don't try to replace him immediately

• Keep his author bio on all content

• Slowly introduce other credentialed experts

• Focus on expanding the team, not replacing him

Risk 5: Market Saturation (20% Probability)

Everyone launches a personal finance content site. Competition explodes. Rankings drop.

Mitigation:

• Competition has been intense for 10 years, still growing

• Quality beats quantity (focus on expertise, not scale)

• Email list is defensible (competitors can't steal it)

• First-mover advantage in YouTube and paid newsletter

The Verdict: Why This Is an Asymmetric Bet

Here's how I think about every deal:

The Three-Part Test:

1. What's the downside if everything goes wrong?

Worst case: Traffic drops 30%, revenue drops to $520K, EBITDA drops to $470K.

At $950K purchase price with $650K seller financing:

• Monthly payment: $14,800

• Monthly EBITDA: $39,166

• You still clear $24,366/month = $292K annually

Even in the worst case, you're making $292K per year on $300K invested. That's a 97% annual return.

You cannot lose unless the business completely dies (which is nearly impossible with 5 revenue streams).

2. What's the upside if things go right?

Best case: Execute the 18-month plan, hit $1.4M revenue, $1.27M EBITDA, sell for 6x = $7.6M.

Your return: $6.85M on $300-750K invested in 18 months.

That's a 913-2,283% return.

3. What's the realistic case?

Realistic: You execute 70% of the plan. Revenue grows to $1.1M, EBITDA hits $980K.

Sell at 4.5x = $4.4M.

Your return: $3.45M on $300-750K invested in 24 months = 460-1,150% return.

This is what asymmetric bets look like:

• Downside: Still make 97% annual return

• Upside: 913-2,283% return

• Realistic: 460-1,150% return

You almost cannot lose. And the upside is massive.

Stop Competing for Overpriced SaaS Deals

Here's what nobody tells you about deal flow:

Everyone wants SaaS. Everyone wants tech. Everyone wants "scalable."

So SaaS deals trade at 5-8x EBITDA. E-commerce trades at 3-5x. Tech-enabled services at 4-6x.

Content businesses trade at 1.5-3x EBITDA.

Why? Because buyers don't understand them. They think "blog" and assume it's dying.

They're wrong.

The best content businesses are:

• Higher margin than SaaS (90%+ vs 30-40%)

• More defensible than e-commerce (trust + expertise vs product)

• Easier to operate than service businesses (no employees vs managing teams)

• More scalable than people think (limited by distribution, not production)

But everyone still chases SaaS deals at 6x while content businesses sit at 1.5x.

That's where we focus at The Continental.

We find profitable, misunderstood businesses that trade at discounts because other buyers don't understand them:

• Content businesses with real expertise and diversified revenue

• "Boring" service businesses throwing off cash

• E-commerce brands with actual moat

• SaaS companies that are profitable (not just growing)

What You Get:

• 2-3 pre-screened deals monthly matching your criteria

• Deep financial analysis showing the real opportunity

• Direct seller intros (often before public listings)

• Support through diligence, structuring, and close

We focus on one thing: Finding deals where the math is absurdly in your favor.

Not hype. Not sexy. Not venture-scale.

Just profitable businesses, trading at reasonable prices, with clear paths to 3-5x returns.

The kind of deals that actually build wealth.

Ready to see deals before everyone else?

Upgrade to The Continental or schedule a call with our team to find out what we can source for you.

While everyone else overpays for SaaS companies, we'll show you the profitable businesses they're ignoring.

Acquire Weekly | Finding asymmetric opportunities in a crowded market