Scott DeLong Net Worth

What Is Scott DeLong's Net Worth?

Scott DeLong is an American internet entrepreneur who has a net worth of $16.5 million.

Scott DeLong is best known as the creator of ViralNova, a viral-content website that became one of the biggest Facebook-driven publishers of the early 2010s. He launched ViralNova in 2013 as an extremely lean operation, initially working largely by himself with freelance help, and used his understanding of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook platform to attract tens of millions of monthly visitors. At its peak, DeLong has said the site was generating more than $400,000 per month.

ViralNova was not DeLong's first major online success. He previously created GodVine, a Christian-oriented inspirational video and content site that he sold to Salem Communications for $4.2 million in 2012. He later sold a majority stake in ViralNova for $3.6 million while retaining a minority interest. In 2015, ViralNova was acquired by Zealot Networks in a cash-and-stock transaction that was widely described as valuing the company at up to $100 million. DeLong did not personally receive $100 million from the deal because he had already sold most of his ownership.

DeLong continued building online businesses after ViralNova, including the travel publisher OnlyInYourState.com, which he sold in 2019 for $2 million. He has also operated the pet-focused website PawMyGosh and several other publishing properties. In 2022, Scott began writing about how to build a profitable business online on his personal site. He also completed a "building in public" challenge that he documented thoroughly on his website.

According to his About Me page, he has also sold an undisclosed company for $2 million. Most recently, he launched The Million Dollar Newsletter Playbook.

Early Life and Education

Scott DeLong was born on May 11, 1982, in Dennison, Ohio. He grew up in a blue-collar household and developed an interest in computers and the internet as a teenager. After getting his first computer, he taught himself basic HTML and began creating websites devoted to subjects he was interested in, including the Nintendo 64 game "GoldenEye" and professional wrestling.

DeLong attended Kent State University and graduated in 2004. Around the same time, he took a job with a web development company earning about $17,000 per year. He was simultaneously building websites in his spare time and experimenting with online advertising.

Early Internet Businesses

One of DeLong's early projects was Halo2Source.com, a website devoted to the video game "Halo 2." After learning how to optimize Google AdSense, the advertising platform created by the company co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, he turned what had initially been negligible advertising revenue into hundreds of dollars per month.

He subsequently created a video-curation website that became his first major online business. DeLong has said the site generated $336,000 during one particularly successful year. He initially sold an 80% stake for $380,000 and later received another $160,000 when the entire site was sold, giving him total proceeds of $540,000.

Over the following years, DeLong experimented with numerous niche websites, search-engine optimization, advertising arbitrage, and social-media traffic. These experiences eventually led him to focus heavily on Facebook as a distribution platform.

GodVine

In October 2010, DeLong launched GodVine, a website featuring inspirational videos, emotional stories, pets, military reunions, and other highly shareable content. His strategy combined large Facebook audiences with carefully selected headlines and images designed to encourage users to click and share.

GodVine grew quite rapidly. DeLong has said the site was earning around $180,000 per month by 2011 and amassed millions of Facebook followers and hundreds of thousands of email subscribers. Exactly two years after launching the site, DeLong sold GodVine to Salem Communications, the owner of competing Christian video property GodTube, for $4.2 million.

ViralNova

DeLong launched ViralNova in May 2013 as a broader, nonreligious version of the social-content strategy he had developed with GodVine. It arrived during the same Facebook-driven publishing boom that turned sites such as Jonah Peretti's BuzzFeed into enormous internet properties. ViralNova focused on unusual photos, videos, human-interest stories, animals, inspirational material, and other content with strong potential to spread through social media.

Growth was exceptionally fast. DeLong has said ViralNova earned $69,000 in September 2013, $132,000 in October, and $367,000 in November. At various points, the site attracted tens of millions of visits per month while operating with only DeLong and a small number of freelancers.

The workload eventually became overwhelming. In 2014, DeLong sold a 75% stake in ViralNova to entrepreneur Sean Beckner in a deal worth $3.6 million. Beckner became CEO and expanded the company with a larger editorial, technology, and advertising staff.

In July 2015, Zealot Networks acquired ViralNova. Contemporary reports described the cash, stock, and earn-out package as potentially valuing ViralNova at approximately $100 million. Because DeLong had already sold most of his ownership, however, the transaction should not be confused with a $100 million personal payday for him.

Later Ventures

DeLong continued creating and investing in online publishing businesses after ViralNova. He later identified one of his most successful projects as OnlyInYourState, a travel and local-interest site that developed substantial audiences through Google, Facebook, and email. He sold his interest in the business in 2019 for $2 million.

DeLong has also continued to own PawMyGosh, a pet-content website that he has said generated more than $5 million over its lifetime, along with minority interests in other online properties. He subsequently began using ScottDeLong.com to publish guides and commentary about building websites, growing email newsletters, generating traffic, and monetizing online audiences. He has also offered consulting and his "Million Dollar Newsletter Playbook" based on the strategies he developed during his career.

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