Digital Real Estate refers to the ownership and contribution to any online platform that can be monetized and turned into a digital asset. A few examples of digital real estate would include Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, a website, or a blog.
I personally invest in multiple digital real estate properties including this blog that you are reading right now and this is part of my digital real estate portfolio. For the past 10 years, I have been building internet businesses and also have watched other online entrepreneurs successfully invest in digital assets.
I am going to share with you 3 successful digital real estate investing examples of some of my own personal digital assets along with some incredible online entrepreneurs that have shaken things up in their markets and are now taking a piece of the revenue pie.
This concept is pure disruptive innovation. We live in a digital world with everyone connected to technology browsing, using apps, and searching the internet.
Start Investing In Online Real Estate
Huge online platforms like Amazon and even the popular digital app Uber have created a massive shakedown in the markets and have completely changed the way things work in their markets.
I bet a few of you reading this right now either used an Uber in the last week or bought something on Amazon in the past few days. Amazon digital real estate changed the retail business game.
So many consumers are buying online and not just online but on Amazon. Amazon did an incredible job cornering this market and making this digital asset more and more superior and unique.
You can now own a digital piece of real estate yourself. It can be a Youtube channel on gardening just like Epic Gardening has done successfully with almost 1 million subscribers and millions of views on their content.
They took massive action in starting up a Youtube Channel and started putting out interesting and educational content around a topic that they know. Everyone starts at 0 subscribers and as long as you are invested in the platform it can grow and turn into an asset.
If you follow me on youtube you may have seen me mention a local digital real estate platform that we developed and invested in called Lubbock Roofing Contractors dot come.
We used our rank and rent method to build this website up and rank it along with a Google My Business on page 1 of the search engine for important local roofing terms in Lubbock Texas.
This website started to generate inbound leads from people who were looking for a trusted roofing company to give an estimate. Some needed roof repairs, full shingle roof installations, and even commercial roofing.
We then turned around and monetized this digital property by finding a roofing company that agreed to pay $50 per estimate that we generate for them. This website was ranked using SEO and organic marketing techniques and is now generating revenue.
This is exactly how we invest in digital real estate leveraging a local lead generation strategy and concept.
This is a disruptive innovation in the local market. Paper advertisements, TV advertisements, and many outdated methods will become almost obsolete for local service-based businesses when they can just pay for exclusive estimates with this type of digital method.
Remember, the population is connected to their phones and the younger generation is even more connected. When they need an answer to a question or a product or service where do you think they will go?
Popular search engines like Google and Youtube.
Heck, you are reading this blog post right now because you landed here in search of an answer. This is how digital real estate can be powerful when positioned with quality content in the right places at the right time.
Further down in this post, I go over places to buy and sell digital real estate.
How Do You Get Into Digital Real Estate?
To get started with digital real estate you need to:
- Pick a digital platform you will be committed to. (Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Blog, or Website)
- Start putting together a content strategy.
- Continue to invest in putting out optimized content to attract a target audience
- Once you have traffic and a stable audience you can now monetize that platform
I always tell people not to overthink too much and just get started. It is definitely a plus to get educated on the platform you decide to use. There are plenty of great tutorials and free information online that you can browse through.
Investing also in training can definitely be a benefit especially if you can learn from someone who is already successful with investing in that platform of your choice. There is also a skill that is involved and I do not want you to overlook this.
For example, growing a Youtube channel will take not only consistent video uploads but you want to understand how to do keyword research, analyze similar success channels and content within your niche, and understand how to completely fully optimize your videos for better rankings and exposure.
Another huge thing with a platform like Youtube is including a call to action. You will notice in my Youtube video I always mention in the beginning what my channel is about and I ask if you like that type of content click subscribe so you don’t miss any of my weekly videos.
It is just a small tactic that goes a long way. I also ask my audience to like the video if they found it helpful or interesting and if they know anyone who might have interest please share it.
Now, I know to implement this because I have been posting on Youtube for a while now and have even been through some Youtube courses and learned a ton of valuable tips and tricks from Youtubers who have large subscriber counts and a lot of experience when it comes to investing in this digital real estate platform.
I have been collecting a few hundred dollars per month for over the last year from Youtube monetization. This is considered passive income. I have videos that are making me money that are over two years old.
This is because valuable optimized ever green content is the ultimate passive income producer. However, you must still stay consistent with producing optimized and monetized content on a monthly basis.
I have not uploaded content until recently to my youtube channel and I experienced a drop in my monthly Youtube payments. I also received a warning from Youtube about being active to keep my channel monetized.
How Do You Make Money From Digital Real Estate Investments?
Making money from your digital real estate investment all comes down to the elements of monetization. Depending on which avenue you take will determine what type of monetization strategy you will be able to take advantage of.
For example, a niche blog that is generating targeted traffic from Google I would implement banner ADs, affiliate mentions and maybe my own $47-$300 product. These revenue sources will start to add up as your blog generates more and more traffic.
I would also do a free giveaway in exchange for a name and email. This is a call to action like I had mentioned earlier that is now helping me grow my email subscriber list.
No matter what digital platform you decide to invest in these are the 5 key ways to monetize and make money:
- AD Revenue (Get Paid To Show Display Ads On Your Content)
- Sponsored Post And Sponsors (Get Paid To Share Someone Else’s Content or Product With Your Audience)
- Affiliate Marketing (Get Paid With A Commission For Every Sale You Drive Through Your Affiliate Links To Someone Else’s Product Or Service)
- Services, Products And Merchandise (You Can Create And Sell Your Own Service and Products)
- Partnership (Find Someone Who You Can Help Generate More Business For With Your Platform)
As you read this blog post you might realize that this blog is monetized with banner ads, we also do recommend products, tools and training that we get small affiliate commissions from. On top of that we do have services and training that we offer as well such as our local digital real estate secrets course.
We invest in this property and have turned it into a real asset by putting out what we believe is quality educational content around a topic that we have years of experience in and continue to grow.
Buy Digital Real Estate
You can also purchase digital real estate that someone else already created. There are plenty of blogs that are already monetized, making money, and receiving valuable traffic.
The same thing goes for established Youtube channels, Amazon seller accounts, Shopify stores, and social media accounts.
You can buy digital real estate off of trusted sites like Flippa, Motion Invest, Empire Flippers, and even directly from sellers in Facebook groups. These sites specialize in helping buy and sell blogs and websites.
Digital Real Estate VS Physical Real Estate Assets?
It is a common mistake made when people hear digital real estate they right away think of investing in physical property like a home, building, or an apartment complex.
The truth is that digital real estate lives on the internet but does follow a similar concept of traditional real estate on how the property makes a profit.
A major difference is the cost to get started. You will quickly learn why we can invest in digital real estate at a fraction of the cost. If you were to buy a rental home you would be spending 6 figures to get started.
You also need to spend money on yearly taxes and any maintenance or fixes that come about.
With a website or social platform you can literally get started on building your digital real estate for free or under $100.
A blog or website just needs hosting and a good domain name which we usually spend under $50 per year on with the way we set it all up.
Once you choose a social platform or get your blog started you now need to invest in optimized content being built out. This content is what is going to build your traffic and audience to your property over time.
You can look at it like this. Phase one of starting a digital property is equivalent to buying a physical property.
Phase two of adding optimized content is equivalent to when someone fixes up and renovates a physical property.
And phase three is attracting the right audience in the right neighborhood so that you can monetize that digital real estate property with the monetization methods mentioned above. This phase is equivalent to either renting or flipping a physical property.
Now, again the major difference is the cost of upfront investment and the overall cost of long-term maintenance of each type of property. Digital real estate can be a significantly lower investment to get started.
Here is a perfect example. I own a local digital website that brings in around $25,000 to $35,000 per year in commissions for my business. This site cost under 10k to fully set up and get to where it is today.
If you do the math it averages out to profit anywhere from 2k-3k per month. I still invest a percentage every year into this digital real estate because my goal is to get it to bring in $100,000 in commissions every year.
Now, if you were trying to make 2k-3k per month off of a physical real estate property you would need to spend thousands of dollars upfront and you wouldn’t be in profit until you make all the money you laid out back.
Let me paint this picture for you clearly. Let’s say you find a 3 bedroom home in Florida for $125,000. Let’s be conservative and say the taxes are $1,500 per year and that the average rental income in that area for a 3 bedroom is $1,300 per month.
If you bought this house cash for $125,000 and rented it for $1,300 per month plus paid the taxes which would come out to $125 per month which leaves you with $1,175 per month coming in it would take you over 8 years to recoup all of your investment back before you are in the green.
This also does not include any maintenance, updates, or fixes that may be needed over those 8 years to the home. Now, with that said real estate is still a great wealth builder and an incredible opportunity and place to put your money but if you look at the numbers compared to my $10,000 website that is already bringing in profits it paints the bigger picture for you on why digital real estate is also a great investment.
Digital Real Estate Courses
When you are ready to invest in digital real estate whether it be starting a youtube channel or a niche blog I would recommend finding the proper training and start absorbing and familiarizing yourself with how it all works.
One of the key things that we focus on is bringing organic traffic over time to our digital asset by using search engine optimization.
Most platforms have a search engine and the more you can pop up for important keywords the more traffic and awareness you bring.
We do have a local SEO course that teaches local search engine optimization along with the concept of selling local leads to businesses for a profit. This training can be found here.
If you are interested in building a niche blog I suggest you read this article on Authority Hackers and review that training course. It is filled with a lot of valuable information and step by step videos and techniques to help you build your first niche blog.
Youtube and Instagram are two more of my favorite digital properties right now that I think are great to invest in. Youtube is filled with tips and tutorials on how to build, grow and monetize these platforms but I definitely suggest investing in a good program with a good experienced mentor.
Investing in courses and learning from experts who are successful in that space is always my first choice. It cuts down the learning curve and organizes everything in a system.
No matter what you choose to do, investing in any digital real estate platform will take effort and some time but can be well worth it especially when you start to get momentum.
A List Of The 5 Popular Digital Real Estate Properties To Invest In
- Youtube
- Niche Blogs
- Local Websites And GMB’s
- Facebook Group
These platforms above are all great potential digital real estate assets. There are thousands and thousands of people taking advantage of the opportunity to turn one of these properties above into a revenue stream.
If you are serious about this opportunity figure out which platform suits you and your niche best and take massive action. There are also many influencers who have built one of these properties up to a substantial following and then also started working on a different platform to help create multiple assets around their brand and niche.
Investing In The Metaverse Platform
If you searched for digital real estate you most likely came across content on NFTs, digital currency, and the metaverse. Even though these are forms of digital real estate these are not the specific popular type of digital real estate that I explained about from years of experience.
The metaverse is a virtual real estate investment. You purchase land in the metaverse and other things that are developed and live in the metaverse and you hope in return that the value goes up from appreciation.
You do not have much control over these investments. I prefer to invest in a real online business such as a blog where I can control the input and workflow.
Digital Real Estate Investing Common FAQs
Can I Start With No Money? Yes, Absolutely, you can start with no money if you choose a platform like Youtube or Instagram or any other free signup platform to get started. You will also have to invest your time in producing and optimizing the content consistently on those platforms in order to get good results over time.
Blogs and websites will cost you a small upfront investment because you need to buy a domain name and hosting.
How Long Will It Take Before I Can Monetize My Digital Real Estate? This all depends on which platform you decide to invest in and how active you are consistently and what niche you choose to build content around.
I would say a great mindset to have is that you are willing to be consistent weekly and give yourself 12 months to start really seeing some type of potential and momentum
Do I Need A Course Or Training On This? You do not need any training on this and you can go down the road of trying to figure it all out on your own but in my personal opinion if you are really serious and dedicated it is worth the investment and structure.
