Sell a Domain Name via Trade Organization Email Blast

Elliot Silver
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10

If you own a “category killer” domain name, chances are good that there’s one or more trade organizations that represent companies and people that “do” what your domain name means or sell the product that is your domain name. Many of these organizations offer email blasts for advertisers, and this could be a good way to sell a domain name.

I exchanged emails with one trade organization yesterday, which has somewhere around 25,000 member email addresses. The group is willing to do an advertising email blast to its membership for $3,000, and it also offers to feature the advertiser in its monthly bulletin at no additional cost.

While spending $3,000 to sell a domain name is a LOT of money and something I wouldn’t do unless absolutely confident in selling it, putting the name in front of 25,000 prospects is a huge opportunity, especially if the name encompasses an entire industry. I don’t know if each email address is associated with separate companies or if some companies have many members in the organization, but that’s a lot of potential buyers.

There are a few things you might want to ask before moving forward with something like this:

  • Email open rates
  • # of individual companies represented in the email list
  • References from previous advertisers to request feedback
  • Discount off the rack rate

You might want to ask about is whether the organization would do the email blast for free in exchange for a percentage of the sale if you sell the domain name. If you sell a $50,000 domain name, they could make $5,000 with a 10% commission vs. $3,000 for the email blast cost. Of course, it costs you more in the end if you sell the name, but you don’t have to pay the money up front. You can also factor the commission into your asking price.

One other thing you might want to do is ask the trade group if they will write the email to its members so it has more authority than if you were to write the pitch yourself. Having a trade organization’s CEO telling its members that your domain name is a great deal will be more  authoritative  than your doing it yourself.

Read About Sales Before They’re Reported

Elliot Silver
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8

The domain name industry is an imperfect market, but I believe approximate values can be determined based on comparable sales (comps). That’s how it’s done with physical real estate, and while it may be more difficult with domain names, one can get an idea of valuation based on comps.

Every week, Ron Jackson at DNJournal reports weekly sales information from a variety of sources like Sedo, Afternic, Snapnames, NameJet, and other independently verified sources. Likewise, NameBio and DNSalePrice record historical domain sales, and both sites have databases full of domain sales.

When DNJournal posts its weekly sales chart, I quickly scour the list to see what sold and for how much. While scanning the sales, I think about domain names I’ve seen for sale that could be considered comps, and I also think about alternative domain names (ie singular or plural names) that might have a similar valuation. I search sites like Sedo and Afternic for simular names, and I also privately inquire about names of interest.

I know that other domain investors are doing the exact same thing, so time is of the essence with this, and it always feels like a race to read Ron’s DNJ report so I can start searching for names of interest.

There are a couple of faster ways that you can learn about domain sales before they’re reported and I want to share them with you.

  • Sedo has its RSS feed with recent sales. You can learn what sold at Sedo days before the sales are publicly reported. On occasion, they will report a sale and a buyer or seller will request that it not be reported, so if you catch it early, you may be one of the few people to take notice.
  • You can search NameJet and Snapnames for auctions that have bids. If you aren’t the first bidder and don’t bid as high as the leading bidder, you likely won’t win the auction (can’t be entirely sure in case someone drops out). If you are participating in the auction and don’t win, it will show up under your auction history, giving you the sales price before it’s public.

From my perspective, the second method is more accurate because that’s more of a market value than a private sale price may be as there may not have been competitive bidding for the name. However, the first value may be more indicative of end user value.

Another Tip to Find a Domain Buyer

Elliot Silver
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12

I’ve probably mentioned this tip before, but even if I did, I think it’s value is well worth another post.

When you acquire or own a category defining keyword domain name that you want to sell, you should do a Google search for that domain name and have a look at all of the companies that use your domain name as a part of their url. Many of those companies may wish to either shorten their url or “own the keyword” domain name for the authority that it brings.

I’ll give you an example to show you precisely what I mean.

Let’s say you own BikeTours.com and want to sell it. I’d visit Google and do a search for the term “BikeTours.com.” Notice that I added quotes around the domain name to make sure the results are most accurate. After performing that search, I see that the following companies use BikeTours.com in their domain names:

  • Bike-Tours.com
  • BikeTours.com.au
  • Tuscany-BikeTours.com
  • FatTireBikeTours.com
  • CTBikeTours.com
  • BikeTours.com.ar
  • BogotaBikeTours.com
  • PedalBikeTours.com

There seems to be dozens of companies and websites that use the term in their url, and I would bet most would want to own the descriptive BikeTours.com domain name if they could. I’ve used this method to sell domain names before, and it could help you, too.

Personalized Emails Go a Long Way

Elliot Silver
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25

One thing I’ve noticed over the last couple of years is that I seem to get a much better response rate when I individually address an email. Not only does this mean I send individual emails instead of a group email using BCC (or CC), but I also address the person at the beginning of the email, either using “Dear” or more casually, “Hi.”

I generally use “Hi” when addressing potential buyers because it’s more casual and it may make the person more comfortable. In some instances, I will use “Dear,” although that is generally saved for emails to more senior executives at large companies and also lawyers.

When replying to the replies I receive, I always respond in the same manner as the person who replied to me. Sometimes this means just the person’s name and a comma, no name at all, or whatever greeting they used. It’s a very minor detail, but I believe that by using the same language as the person on the other end, I am making them a bit uncomfortable.

When I don’t have the contact name, I almost always start an email with the generic greeting “Good morning” or “Hi there.” I don’t like to really mix it up, because it makes me cringe when I receive emails that are weirdly addressed to me with unconventional greetings like “Dear Domain Buyer” or something that appears more spammy.

I know it’s just a greeting, but I’d rather have the person make it through the first few words rather than just hit delete upon receipt.

Ask for References

Elliot Silver
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2

Many of my end user acquisitions and sales are the result of unsolicited inquiries. I don’t know about you, but when I receive an interesting email from someone I don’t know and never heard of before, I have my guard up more than I would when dealing with people I know.

For many end user domain buyers, dealing with domain investors can be a disconcerting experience. Many domain investors keep a low profile, aren’t backed by a corporate entity, and some may use “interesting” negotiating tactics. There ia a bit of blind trust involved in securing a deal, and offering testimonials or references from business associates may help reassure a buyer or seller.

I’ve never actually needed to provide a business reference to a domain buyer or seller before, but there have been times where I’ve offered to provide one as a means to reassure someone that my business practices are sound and that I operate above board. I think my prominent web presence with this blog and other mentions online helps give assurance to buyers, but without it, I would certainly want to have references readily available.

That being said, I am going to reach out to a few buyers and colleagues with whom I’ve done business to ask for brief references to post on my (new)  corporate website. If needed, I will send a potential buyer or seller to the page on my site so they can be assured that my business practices are sound and that I am going to follow through on a deal.

I recommend that you consider doing the same. If you don’t have a website to post these references, you may simply ask past buyers or sellers if they can be used as a reference contact if necessary. You may never need to ask that person for a reference, but if you do, it’s good to know you’ll get it.

Ask For a Deal and You May Receive It

Elliot Silver
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7

One gripe I seem to read quite a bit is that more successful (and generally the wealthy) domain investors get all the breaks and special deals from companies with whom they do business.  If you look at this objectively, it makes sense, because these people are bringing more business and spending more money, so special deals are expected to ensure the business stays and grows.  Some people get frustrated seeing the rich get richer with special offers and deals though.

That being said, I think deals can be made by everyone if you ask for them (and do it in a nice way). It may take some time to find the right person to offer a concession, and they will not likely be given all (or maybe most) of the time, but if you work out one or two deals, you can save a lot of money.

Here are some things you might be able to get concessions/deals on in the domain space, depending on the company, length of time you’ve been a customer, and the amount of business you do:

  • Domain registrations
  • Domain renewals
  • Sales commissions
  • Exclusivity periods on sales
  • Account representation or VIP service phone number
  • Hosting

When it comes to special rates, coupons, or offers, many companies don’t openly offer them, and some companies don’t even offer them at all. However, in almost all cases, you need to be your own advocate to make an unadvertised deal happen.

There are a couple of tips I recommend when seeking a special / unadvertised deal. Try to speak with a company decision maker. It doesn’t have to be Bob Parsons when dealing with Go Daddy, but some of the account management supervisors may be able to put you in touch with the right person/people. In addition, when seeking concessions, make your own concession to the company to try and work something out.

Here are a couple of examples to illustrate how you might get a concession.

  • Let’s say you own 500 domain names at three domain registrars, and you pay $11.00/year for .com domain names. Contact the smallest registrar with whom you do business and ask to speak with an account manager. Let the person know you own 500 domain names and would be willing to transfer them all if you can get a discount rate of $8.25/name for renewals and registrations from now until the next Verisign price increase. If this company says no, call another company.
  • Let’s say you own a valuable domain name that you and an auction company agree is worth $100,000. Instead of agreeing to pay 15% sales commission and giving exclusivity for 6 months, you might offer 12.5% commission and exclusivity for 4 months. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but if the name sells, that’s $2,500 more in your pocket. Always negotiate before you sign any deals.

Getting good deals isn’t entirely related to how much business you do with the company. If you can find the appropriate person at the company and advocate on your behalf, you can make better deals for yourself and save some money, while building a relationship. Be nice when you ask and don’t expect to get everything you want. Some companies have flexibility and others don’t.

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