I was chatting with Adam Strong, and he let me know he has had some success selling domain names through Afternic. He just started listing some of the domain names from his portfolio a couple of months ago, and he has sold five figures worth of names. On one of his sales, he was chatting with the buyer, and she mentioned that she learned about his Afternic listing after receiving an email from GoDaddy.
I had not heard about this outbound sales tactic, and I have not received an email like the one that was described. With Adam’s permission (and encouragement), I emailed Afternic’s Alan Shiflett to learn more about this email campaign. He confirmed that GoDaddy sends out occasional emails to prospective buyers, and he was kind enough to share two examples of the email for me to share with readers. I asked Alan to mock it up using one of my own domain names because I don’t have permission to use someone else’s domain name listed on Afternic, so these two emails are samples:
In order for an email to potentially be triggered, the domain name listed for sale via Afternic must have a buy it now price and must be eligible for its Fast Transfer Network, which now has a $50,000 maximum price. GoDaddy only sends these kinds of emails to its customers who are opted-in to receive marketing solicitations. The customer’s domain name must also be very similar to the listed domain name, perhaps with a different extension or a hyphen. Interestingly, the video about “premium domain names” mentioned in the first email (which I can’t link to, sorry) hypes .com domain names. Good to get GoDaddy’s perspective on that, but it is no surprise.
Alan also shared some thoughts about the email’s utility:
“We are dedicated to helping GoDaddy customers take their brand’s digital identity to the next level- which in many cases means securing a better domain name. These type of emails serve that function of making end users aware of a potential domain that could help them get to that next level.”
I don’t sell via Afternic all that much, but I like seeing this tactic.
I have heard about this before, but never had a sale come from it.
I wonder if they will do this with GoDaddy Premium Listings (listed directly, not through Afternic) as well?
There are currently not any plans to expand this past the Afternic feed, you would need to list your domains on Afternic to be included. (Plus by listing on Afternic you get a much wider exposure,and therefore more sales, than just listing on GoDaddy.) That being said, there are plans to make it easier to list your domains on Afternic through GoDaddy at some point.
Thanks for the reply. It would be great if you could list on Afternic through GoDaddy.
I must say, ever since I’ve started listing on Afternic with Buy It Now prices and Fast Transfer, I’ve sold a half dozen names for well into five digits. Those e-mails of a funded sale are nice. I’ve always done okay there, but lately the activity and sales are definitely up!
I often get emails like this one from others, but never saw one from GoDaddy. While I wonder what the “hit” rate is, I’m happy they’re out there trying to sell my names!