According to a TechCrunch article published yesterday, a startup called Dosh announced it had raised a $40 million round of funding. CrunchBase reports that the company has raised $97 million in funding since it was founded in 2016. After the most recent funding round, the company is now valued at $300 million. Notably, Dosh uses a .Cash domain name: Dosh.Cash.
Almost a year ago, I shared a video from GoDaddy that explains what a premium domain name is. The video is shown as a pop-up when a searched domain name is listed for sale via Afternic and available to purchase during the standard registration sale process. In the sales box at the top of a page, there is a link that says “What are premium domains?” and clicking the link generates a pop up with the video.
When I receive an offer to buy a domain name through one of my landing page inquiry forms, I reply to the offer with a stock email that changes depending on the specific domain name. Shortly after I send this email, I follow up with a text message to the prospective buyer. I have found this effective, and it looks like Efty co-founder Doron Vermaat does the same:
I recently started to get on the phone and communicate with buyers via calls and text. It has significantly increased my closing rate. Not having access to buyers this way is a major disadvantage of using marketplaces vs your own landing pages.
— Doron Vermaat (@doronvermaat) January 22, 2019
There are a few reasons for why I send a text message after sending an email:
If you bought your ticket to NamesCon last year, the ticket prices were quite economical. If you waited until the last minute to try and buy a ticket, the price has gone up quite a bit. NamesCon will be held next week in Las Vegas, and the .ICU Registry announced a giveaway opportunity for two VIP NamesCon tickets:
Are you interested in #domains? Are you heading to @NamesCon next week? We have two #VIP tickets to give away! Visit https://t.co/Fk0T9uGtJb to play a game and try to win a FREE #NamesCon ticket! #domainname #domainer #nowiseeyou #icu #NamesConTicket #NamesConVIPTicket pic.twitter.com/f1tNQnCQYb
— doticu (@doticu) January 21, 2019
Amazon posted a job opening that looks like it could be a good fit for someone with experience in the domain name industry. The company is looking to hire a Marketing Manager for its Amazon Registry Services line of business. The job will be based in the company’s Seattle, Washington office.
I will be at NamesCon in a week, but I am not really going for the panels or keynotes, with one exception. I am looking forward to hearing from GoDaddy VP and GM of the Aftermarket, Paul Nicks. You can watch Paul’s keynote from last year’s conference to understand why this is the one keynote speech I am planning in advance to attend.
