Advice Archives - Page 168 of 211

Re-Purchase Your Sold Domain Names

Elliot Silver

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September 10, 2009

There have been a few times where I sold domain names for less than I wanted to sell them. The majority were sold as parts of bulk deals that wouldn’t happen without those specific domain names, and I wanted to close the deals at the time, so I included them. I can’t say that I’ve regretted any deals done in the past, but there are a few domain names I’d love to have back in my portfolio.

With the economy performing poorly and many domain owners looking to raise capital (who isn’t?), now might be a good time to repurchase some of these domain names, perhaps at an even better price than you sold them.

The first thing to do is to check to see if the owner has spent time or money on developing a website on the domain name. If not, you may be in luck, especially since the domain name probably isn’t earning as much revenue as it once was. Send the domain owner an email asking if he would consider re-selling it, and make him an offer.

There will be a fine line between lowballing and trying to get your domain name back for its adjusted market value. Just be cautious, as you don’t want to lowball one of your former clients, as this might lead to future lowballing on his part. I’ve recently bought back a few names that I had sold within the last few years, and now might be a good time for you to do the same.

Reach Out & Ask a Domain Investor

Advice

Elliot Silver

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September 10, 2009

5

As the saying goes, “ask and you shall receive,” can be applied towards speaking with entrepreneurs, including domain investors. Have you ever wondered how Richard Douglas was building some of the features on Oakville.com? Have you seen Adam Strong’s name in the DNN masthead and wondered, what the heck does Adam do other than write news articles for Domain Name News? Want to know how Warren Royal became the king of bobblehead dolls?

Fortunately, these questions can easily be emailed directly to the source of your answers.

One of the greatest things about the domain industry is that just about every person is accessible, and most are happy to share information with others. There are obviously questions that would be off limits, but you wouldn’t go asking these questions of someone at a private party either. If you tell the person who you are, what you are up to, and ask nicely, you will probably receive a thoughtful response.

The Whois directory is good for more than just domain look ups. It can also be used to find out the company name and contact information for people in the domain business. Check out their corporate websites (if applicable) and send an email if you have questions. Don’t expect to receive an answer, and don’t be rude if you don’t get one either. Although many people like to remain private or are too busy to give a thoughtful response, there are others who will happily answer questions.

Just one piece of advice – from someone who has made the mistake of doing this and someone who is frequently on the receiving end of this – don’t start off a conversation by trying to sell something.

Why I Like Supplies.com Domain Names

Elliot Silver

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September 8, 2009

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I like Supplies.com domain names because nearly every business or industry has supplies, and where there are supplies, there are usually companies that sell supplies online. Likewise, people search for different types of supplies online, and as we all know, a developed website on a keyword domain name can rank well in Google and Bing.

So how do you know what type of Supplies.com domain name to buy? I generally do two types of searches before making an acquisition – a Google keyword search and a general Google search. With the former, you are able to see a very rough estimate of how many people are searching for that particular keyword/phrase per month (I do an exact match search). With the later, you are able to see the number of results and get an idea of the amount of advertisers. Obviously the more advertisers, the greater the potential to earn with Adsense/PPC, as well as seeing who your potential buyer could be if you opt to sell.

If you plan to develop a Supplies.com domain name, there is one important thing to keep in mind. People who visit aren’t generally looking for information – they are looking to buy supplies. Most of my developed domain names are informational websites, and I don’t need to have a product. With a Supplies.com domain name, it would behoove you to sell supplies.

One way to sell supplies without having to worry about inventory management and fulfillment is to work with a company that does drop shipping. Many companies offer this option regardless of who you are (as long as you open an account and possibly subject to a minimum opening order). Additionally, if you own the category-defining Supplies.com domain name, other companies who don’t regularly offer drop shipping might offer it to you, because they recognize your brand, even though it might not be developed. It’s one of the benefits of a great domain name.

I don’t own any Supplies.com domain names, but I would buy a good one to develop in the future.

Melanie Oudin .com: Protecting a Brand

Elliot Silver

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September 7, 2009

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I frequently see cybersquatters quickly grab the .com domain names of up and coming athletes, musicians, and entertainers. Oftentimes, it happens when sports magazines announce a new class of top recruits or after a great public performance when people buy these names like lotto tickets hoping the athlete/celebrity hits it big and the name presumably becomes valuable.

Melanie Oudin is a 17 year old woman from Marietta, Georgia currently competing in the US Open tennis tournament in Flushing Queens, New York. This afternoon, Oudin won over the pro-American crowd by defeating 13th ranked Nadia Petrova from Russing in three sets, and is now one of the final 8 women competing in the tournament.

I wanted to see when someone tried to capitalize on Oudin’s success by registering the MelanieOudin.com, and I found that her father had registered it back in 2007 – a very smart move! A professional athlete is a brand, and it’s important to protect the brand as early as possible.

With Melanie Oudin’s great performance in the US Open so far, now might be a smart time to add privacy guard to prevent unwanted emails, although DomainTools has already archived the email address by now.

Lighting the Fire Under My…

Elliot Silver

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September 5, 2009

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For the past few years, my primary source of revenue has been domain sales. Lately, with domain sales lower for me in the last 10 months or so, I have turned to development to generate revenue. I’ve been building out websites, testing ways to monetize websites and domain names, and selling advertising space on my blog and my developed websites.

Although the “easy money” (if you could call it that) is no longer coming in via domain sales, I think this will turn out to be my most successful year. Sure, it was fun working less and enjoying life more last year and the prior year. However, it wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as doing what I am doing right now. I’ve used this past year as an opportunity to learn about web development, marketing, sales, social media, and a whole bunch of other things I hadn’t paid much attention to without a true need to do so.

Just about anyone can sell a good domain name if the price is right. The challenge is to be able to increase the value of your domain assets during difficult times. The most obvious way to do that is to increase revenue and traffic, and that is done with development (unless a big company names a product/service after your domain name and decides to pay you a bundle – much like winning the lottery, this happens infrequently).

If you are just getting involved with domain names, I hate to say it, but the easy money isn’t here right now. I do think we are still in the very early stage of this business and domain values haven’t peaked, but I caution anyone who is coming in here to make a quick buck. You need to have a longer term strategy carved out before you spend money aimlessly. Back in April of 2008, I posted my 5 year plan, which is always evolving depending on what deals come up, but I always do what I can to stay on track.

If you are just coming in to the domain industry, I recommend that you create some goals and write down how you will achieve them. The low hanging fruit isn’t really there to be picked any more, but there are plenty of ways to become financially independent from this business, but you need to stay focused.

Keep Your Friends on the Ball

Advice

Elliot Silver

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September 2, 2009

5

If you know about a new technology or some other tool that can help a friend or colleague, don’t hesitate to tell them. If your friend resists, but you KNOW it can help them, do whatever it takes to make sure they get the picture – especially if it’s free! I sometimes think people are all as knowledgeable about social media as I am, but my world is much different than the average person in that I am connected online 24/7.

I was a late Twitter adopter, but I have embraced it with for my blog and my developed websites. I believe it’s a great way to communicate, although I am guilty of primarily using it as an outlet to dispense news and links rather than to have a conversation. I have constantly told friends and colleagues they need to get a Twitter account before someone else gets “theirs.”

I saw a tweet from my alma mater today, and I was very proud. Rewind several months to a conversation I had with a member of the College’s administration, who has become a good friend. In fact, he’s the only person I want to meet with when it comes to donations/development, even though its not his role!

Me: You need to secure a twitter account for Muhlenberg – http://www.twitter.com/muhlenberg
It’s available to secure right now, which you should do… you’ll thank me later.
Check Gettysburg: http://twitter.com/gettysburg
Get on it!!!

Friend: Thanks. We are re-designing the web site and looking at lots of social media……Twitter is one we are looking at. Hard to tell which ones will stick and which will fade, but….

Me: The account is free….at least reserve /muhlenberg so when you do decide it’s worthwhile, you won’t have to get muhlenberg_college or something confusing.

Friend: Yes, we are doing it. Thanks for the heads up. Social networking and integrating it into pr and admissions is one of the things in our strategic plan. Your wish is our command! THANKS.

So now my alma mater is communicating on Twitter to people who may be more receptive to online communications rather than mail. My school may have been a bit old school, but it’s great to see them embrace Twitter… and they really are rocking it now – lots of tweets and conversations.

Moral of the story is if you know someone who is a bit reluctant to embrace something you think they need to embrace… don’t take no for an answer – especially if they are important to you. My only regret is not reserving the handle myself and offering it to them in exchange for a case of Yuengling and some Sweet & Sweaty wings from O’Malleys.