It is a guest post by Andrei. If you should guest post on this blog, take a look at the rules here.
Look, the Web itself continues to be in its infancy and out of all online industries, the domain name industry is unquestionably the one which resembles the wild west probably the most. You see a site being sold for a whole bunch of hundreds of dollars today, and the following day an analogous domain is being sold for 4 figures.
iReport.com, keep in mind that one? You realize, the domain CNN.com uses? Should you don’t remember the domain name deal, let me ask you this: how much do you’re thinking that the domain sold for? Perhaps it sold for $15,000? Perhaps even for something like $30k?
Nope, It Sold for $750,000!
Yes, 750 grand. And you already know what’s funny? Most people who put money into domains have a minimum of a handful of domains that are obviously rather a lot higher than iReport.com. And again, it’s not Report.com that sold for $750,000, it’s iReport.com (it’s not a typo, “Report” followed by dot com and with an “i” in front of it sold for $750,000).
Evidently the Web has been around for ages but, the truth is, it’s only about 20 years old! There are practically no rules yet, most domain name owners would have taken $15,000 and even lower than that for iReport.com without even blinking. On this case, nonetheless, the domain was owned by an investor who was sitting on numerous money (Rick Schwartz) and who was in an amazing position to barter with CNN. Rick Schwartz is one among the individuals who has managed to retire early because of his domain name investments. Do you should follow in his footsteps? Listed below are 7 golden rules which could just help:
1. Quality over Quantity
Domains are low-cost so if you should, you may hand register over 1,000 domains for lower than $10,000. Would that make you completely satisfied? Would you concentrate on yourself a “big shot domainer” for those who were to own 1,000 domains? Get up!
Most people who are only starting out as domain name investors make the error of hand registering worthless domains. For instance, numerous people thought they’d make it big by hand registering as many five letter domains as they might afford. Pointless to say, practically all of them ended up learning a reasonably expensive lesson. If you should invest $10,000, buy a handful of domains which are literally value it for two easy reasons:
a) A website with inherent value will at all times be in demand
b) Should you own about 1,000 domains, you’ll find yourself having to pay around $10,000 yearly in registration fees. Should you own 10, you’ll only should pay roughly 100 bucks per yr with the intention to keep all of them.
2. Stay Away from Over-Hyped Extensions
Do a little bit of research and also you’ll understand why. Dot mobi domains are probably the greatest examples: people have initially paid numerous money for them but as time went by, these domains began losing increasingly more value for one reason: the basics just aren’t there, dot mobi is an extension which has been over-hyped and nothing more.
The rule of thumb? .com is king.
3. Avoid 4 Letter Dot Coms, 5 Letter Dot Coms etc.
At a certain point, 4 letter dot coms were available for registration and initially, numerous people began to register domains live mego.com, tevo.com and so forth. In other words, domains which were extremely easily pronounceable. Personally, I’m not an enormous fan of domains like those even when the proven fact that they’re easily pronounceable does give them a minimum of some inherent value, no person can deny that.
After a certain point, a lot of the 4 letter dot coms which are literally value it have been registered but there have been numerous individuals who wanted in on the motion. Because the good domains were all taken, they began to register the remaining 4 letter dot coms, domains that are anything but pronounceable. Seriously, try it yourself: pronounce FYQV.com, now say it ten times and faster. Pointless to say, as soon as renewal dates got closer and closer, individuals who owned awful 4 letter dot coms began becoming desperate. A few of the sold them in bulk for like a dollar or two per domain, some have simply allow them to expire and the identical principle is valid relating to five letter domains.
4. At all times Go along with Reputable Registrars
Remember what happened with registerfly? If you should avoid situations resembling those, follow firms which have proven themselves and understand that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Personally, since I own numerous extremely beneficial domains, I prefer to follow Moniker (the safest domain name registration company for my part). Even when I even have to pay a bit more, I do know that my beneficial domains are in good hands and it’s definitely greater than value it.
5. Sell to End Users
You’ll be able to buy numerous amazing domains on the low-cost through domain name auctions and sell them for 10-20 times more to finish users. Buy domains through auctions, sell them to finish users: that is a method which works for quite just a few people.
Numerous times, you should have to clarify why domains are beneficial in the primary place, so it is advisable understand that being patient is amazingly necessary. Even when it appears that evidently a few of the questions end users normally ask are ridiculous, don’t lose your temper and calmly guide them through the method. Numerous times, an end users who does initially not understand why you ask for thus much will find yourself reaching for his wallet after understanding why the domain name is beneficial.
6. Take Advantage of Type-In Traffic
Most decent domains have a minimum of some type-in traffic, so don’t just allow them to stand there and do nothing. Park your domains and if possible, be certain to also include a “this domain name is on the market” message on the parking page.
Most parking firms offer something like this and it’s definitely value it. Some domains will generate greater than others via parking but why not squeeze as much money out of them as possible?
7. Develop A Strong Position to Negotiate
Should you depend on domain sales with the intention to put food on the table, you’ll never be in an amazing position to barter. Remember the iReport.com deal (the domain Rick Schwartz sold to CNN for $750,000) I told you about initially of this text?
Well, he managed to acquire $750,000 for the domain because he was in an amazing position to barter (he already had numerous money, so putting food on the table was definitely not something he needed to worry about) and as I’ve mentioned previously, most domainers would have accepted $15,000 or less for that domain with a smile on their face.
Develop some web sites initially, offer some services online initially or if you’ve got a day job whenever you’re just starting out, don’t quit it just yet. A one who has to fret about paying off the mortgage and things like that’s NOT in an excellent position to barter, make sure you keep that in mind.
Andrei owns dozens of top notch domains, and he’s organizing a site name auction which can end on Tuesday (tomorrow), along with Moniker and SnapNames.
