Ask before you offer, not after
An offer built on answers is stronger than an offer built on the listing. The seller takes it more seriously, the counter has less room to move, and nothing in diligence comes as a surprise. On the marketplace, an unlocked listing opens the seller conversation and the offer panel, and the listing's public questions show what other buyers already asked and what the seller answered.
The questions below are grouped by what they prove. Ask them in this order, because revenue decides whether the rest is worth your time. Keep the answers in one thread, in writing, so the record is there when you draft the offer and again when you draft the agreement.
Proof of revenue
A screenshot is a starting point. A live screen share of the payout tools is the standard. Read access to the account is the best evidence there is. Ask for the level above whatever the seller offers first.
- Can you show me the payout history live on screen for the last twelve months
- Can I see the monthly figures rather than a total or an average
- Which program or network pays, and is any part of the revenue from a second source
- Do the bank deposits match the payout statements, and can I see both
- What were the highest and lowest months, and what happened in each
Violation history and account standing
Platform history is invisible from the outside and it is the thing most likely to end the income after you own it. Ask for it directly and ask for it in writing.
- Has this asset ever had monetization removed, paused, or reduced
- Is there any strike, restriction, or appeal open right now
- Can you show me the account status and violation history live in the platform tools
- Will you put the answer in the purchase agreement as a written representation
Audience: where they are and who they are
Advertising rates vary by country, so the same follower count produces very different revenue depending on where the audience sits. The geography has to explain the payout. If it does not, one of the two numbers is wrong.
- What percentage of the audience is in the US, and can I see the insights export
- What is reach as a share of followers over the last ten posts
- What language and age is the audience, and does it match the content
- Has any part of the audience come from paid growth, and when
Workload: what it takes to run
You are buying the profit after the cost of running the asset, and the seller's own hours are part of that cost. The honest answer here decides whether you are buying a business or a job.
- How many hours a week does it take, and who does them today
- Which tools and subscriptions does the workflow depend on, and what do they cost
- Is the workflow written down, and can I read it before I offer
- What breaks the week after you leave
- Will you stay available for thirty days after close, and at what response time
The entity and what is included
The transaction transfers the company, so the company is part of the question. Everything the entity owns comes with it, and so does everything it owes.
- Which entity holds the asset, and is it in good standing
- What exactly is in the inventory: pages, domains, accounts, lists, archives, tools
- Who wrote the content and who holds the rights to the images
- Are there debts, open contracts, or claims against the entity
- Does the entity carry any agreement, lien, or option that survives the transfer
Reading the answers
The content of an answer matters. So does its shape. Documents that arrive quickly and complete tell you the seller has run the asset as a business. Answers that arrive slowly, partially, or differently from one message to the next tell you something the documents will confirm later.
Get the four big answers into the purchase agreement as representations: revenue, violation history, content rights, and liabilities. A representation is a question the seller has answered with a signature.
General education about publishing asset transactions. Not legal, tax, or investment advice. Multiples and ranges are observed across transactions in this category, not quotes or guarantees, and every asset is priced on its own numbers.