Speculating on .CO Domain Names

Elliot Silver
-
98

I’ve covered the .CO launch pretty extensively, but I continue to field emails and some phone calls asking for advice, so I want to share a little bit of additional insight from a personal standpoint to answer any lingering questions.

As you’re aware, I was awarded a .CO domain name, which I hope to reveal this week. It didn’t cost me anything, but I have to build a website on it and market it, which will be expensive. It’s a geographic area I like to visit, so while the goal is to make money, I may also be able to write off some research. That will be up to the accountant to ultimately determine once the time comes.

In addition to this, I bought 5 domain names .CO domain names via NameJet. I wasn’t planning to back order many, but at the last moment I backordered 39 of them and they secured 5 I think.   None of them are significant nor were intended to play on trademarks. For example, I got Elliot.CO and Torah.CO.

You can look around and see that .CO has paid for advertising on my blog (small banner from the registry going back up tomorrow and a banner from Register.com below my posts), so keep in mind that I can’t be completely unbiased despite the fact that I feel like I am offering my unbiased opinion. I do make money from blogging, but I am first and foremost a domain investor/speculator and hope that this is conveyed below.

That said, I do think this is going to be a widely used extension because .CO makes sense to me and will resonate with others who could not afford a 6 figure .COM. Names that would cost 6 or 7 figures in .COM should be considerably less in .CO, unless speculators keep them off the development market, which could ultimately hamper its usage. However, with so many names bought by domain investors, I am sure there will be plenty who can’t afford to hold out too long.

In my opinion, the widespread usage by big brands is what will make it a valuable investment. Whether this happens is unknown for now though. Despite the fact that many brands did secure .CO domain names, it remains to be seen whether they will be used and promoted or simply used for defensive purposes. I don’t know. You don’t know. We don’t know.

Yes, I think the Founder’s Program was very smart because it guarantees that there will be many sites that use .CO and actively promote it. This is good for investors. The primary reason .CO domain names could become valuable is because regular people and companies want them as an alternative to .COM.   Will this happen? I don’t know. You don’t know. We don’t know. I think it might and others think it might not, but at the end of the day, it’s not us who will determine whether they will have significant aftermarket value.

This is pure speculation. Invest cautiously and invest smartly. Some people who invest heavily may be rewarded very handsomely if .CO becomes more popular than .NET and other extensions. If this doesn’t happen, some people may lose a lot of money.

As I’ve told the people who have emailed me, “I am holding off on a bigger investment until I see what companies do with their .co names and how the aftermarket shapes up.”   I am going to build my Founders Program .CO domain name soon and will do my best to earn my investment back.   It’s pure speculation at this point, but my business model was built on speculation.

Beware of “Free Account” Offers

Elliot Silver
-
17

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from the founder of a small domain company I’ve never heard of with a seemingly great offer – a free account at the newly established company. This domain company has what seems to be a number of interesting offerings, some of which sound like they could be useful. I am going to turn it down.

It’s hard enough to maintain any privacy when blogging, but I don’t want to give away private information about my Whois searches, drop search habits…etc. The company was started by someone I don’t know nor have heard of, and it’s a service I’ve never heard of before.

I wrote about this a while back, but think it’s important enough to reiterate. Although a free account at a website with an interesting service may sound appealing, remember that the company may either be observing your individual habits or may be looking to sell data for all users.

I still remember when someone who will remain nameless (from a large company) emailed me a couple of years ago to ask me if I intentionally let a domain name drop. The name was below average, so I knew he was watching my portfolio rather than the specific name. It made me realize that there are plenty of companies who are happy to provide tools for domain investors, and I am sure that some of them are using the data, both on a personal level and aggregated, for their own enrichment.

The Flaw in My Business Model

Elliot Silver
-
34

People often comment that domain investors live the easy life. There is a stereotype that we make a lot of money for doing just about nothing but owning good domain names and making money via pay per click advertising. While some businesses may essentially be on auto-pilot, mine is not.

It’s no secret that I make a living primarily by selling domain names in the aftermarket. A very quick look at my records shows just under 77% of my overall revenue comes from the sale of domain names. Another decent chunk is from selling advertising on my websites, which includes this Blog.

Therein lies the problem. If I am not selling domain names, writing content, or selling advertising, I make very little money. I don’t live the stereotypical domain investor lifestyle. This is the primary reason for my development activities.

Websites like DogWalker.com, CatSitter.com, and (hopefully Burbank.com) need very little day-to-day management. They generate revenue just about every day because they were built on solid foundations. Some of my mini sites are the same way, while others aren’t. Those are basically crapshoots, but they would have made nothing and not been indexed in Google had I simply parked them.

The point of this post is to encourage domain investors to come up with other ways to generate revenue and to help dispel the myth that domain investors do nothing but sit on their asses and get rich. I work more now than I did at AIG. I can set my own hours, work from wherever I want, and I can basically do whatever I want, but it’s not as easy as some people make it out to be.

If you have a solid strategy, some decent financial backing, and you are willing to put in some time and effort, you can certainly get rich if you become a domain investor – even today. You just can’t really expect to make a lot of money quickly.

Sunday Update – July 4th Edition

Elliot Silver
-
17

Hope my American friends are having a nice Fourth of July holiday weekend and that if you live elsewhere you are also enjoying your weekend. Stay safe and enjoy the weekend!   Here are a few updates from the domain business as well as my company.

  • Does anyone else find it amusing when someone inquires about a domain name you own and then proceeds to tell you how “bad” the analytics are when you start discussing price? Just had it happen again, so I told the lady she should find a better name. Does anyone have a good reply to inquiries like this?
  • I am very excited that Burbank.com has been relaunched with the help of the Scottsdale.com team, using the City in the Box platform. The team (led by company Executive Director, Becky Kelley) took the articles and content I had previously created, added many more articles and events, and also added many more features to their platform. Not only does it look great (in my opinion) but there have been over 50 registrations on site so far in the last few days. In fact, about 5 minutes ago another company added a listing and asked for a paid upgrade.
  • The sales staff has already begun closing local deals, one of which is directly with the city to help promote their summer concert series. Not only is this something I couldn’t do before, but the signed deals are for greater revenue than what I was able to previously do with the site.   This is just the tip of the iceberg, as they are soon going to start contacting the 100+/- companies who asked for advertising information in the past year. To say Burbank.com is off to a strong start is an understatement.
  • One more Burbank-related bit, but also something that can be helpful to you, is that in the last year, over 5,600 have become fans of Burbank on Facebook. This has been a great tool in getting people to help with the site, including photos for the headers, articles, events…etc. It was nice to get a lot “Likes” after asking people what they think of the site, and we also received some suggestions. Having an engaged and interactive audience is important to me, and I think it’s one reason why this blog is so enjoyable to me.
  • I am excited to announce the relaunch of Newburyport.com this past week, a domain name I bought a couple of years ago, which now resembles Lowell.com. If I can get this new site to earn as much as Lowell.com, the ROI will be less than 2 years. My team will be managing the sales, and I will be spending next weekend in Newburyport, a great summer vacation spot on the Massachusetts North Shore.
  • One quick update that you’ve probably seen but is important to say nonetheless. Frank Schilling is blogging again.
  • Finally, Alan Dunn has an article you should read on his blog when you have an opportunity. You don’t hear a whole lot from Alan, but he’s the real deal and offers some sound advice.

Use Facebook to Buy Domain Names

Elliot Silver
-
16

Facebook.I send out a lot of domain inquiries for domain names I’d like to purchase. Unfortunately, my inquires don’t always yield responses, despite the fact that I try to make fair value offers for these domain names. I am certain that I it’s not always because the owner doesn’t want to sell that I don’t receive a reply though.

There are many reasons why you may never hear from a domain owner when you make a genuine inquiry:

  • Email gets marked as spam/junk
  • Owner gets too many emails
  • Email address not active
  • Domain owner is out of town for an extended period

With social networking sites becoming popular for people of all ages, it’s much easier to get in touch with a domain owner on Facebook, and I have almost completed my first acquisition using the site.

When sending an inquiry via Facebook, I recommend a brief introduction, since sending a message on Facebook is more personal than a simple blind email. In the first message, after you introduce yourself, you should confirm that the person is the owner of the domain name. It helps to know where the Whois registrant lives and match it up with the Facebook profile.   Let the person know you’re interested in buying the domain name and would like to discuss a potential sale.

I’ve received a number of replies using Facebook to connect, and it’s a really good way to get in touch with someone, as many people rely on Facebook for their connections.

Just One Question for You…

Elliot Silver
-
0

I receive anywhere from 5-10 emails a day (and usually one phone call) that start out with a sentence like “I have just one question for you” or “I just need a minute of your time.” Before I know it, there’s an email string of 5 follow-up questions, and I’ve spent an hour answering additional questions and follow-ups. Without sugar coating things, I just don’t have the time to answer everyone.

If you’ve read my blog for more than a couple days you know a couple of things about me at the very least; Blogging isn’t my main business and neither is earning pay per click revenue from my domain names. I am constantly working on making deals to buy and sell domain names, writing articles for my websites (Lowell.com, Newburyport.com, DogWalker.com…etc), and speaking with advertisers and potential advertisers for my websites.

Today has been a fairly typical day for me. This morning I was working at 6:30 and probably won’t be finished for the day until midnight, although I do take generous breaks during the day when I need them. It’s not great for personal time, but I am building my business here. I don’t want or need any sympathy but am just being straight up.

As mentioned in the past, I no longer offer domain consulting services because I don’t have the time. There are quite a few competent (and certainly more than competent) domain consultants out there who are happy to answer your questions. I am still happy to provide advice, insight, and news analysis on my blog, but I don’t do individual consulting anymore.

Comments are closed.

1...147148149...214Page 148 of 214