As I quickly scanned my email, I saw something from Network Solutions that caught my eye. The subject was “HORSESTABLE.ORG is Available – Register it Now!” Since I own HorseStable.com (I sold HorseSupply.com earlier this year), I thought it would be smart to register the .org, to give a potential buyer some added value.
Since I don’t generally register domain names at NetSol, I emailed my Godaddy representative and asked him to buy this domain name on my behalf. He replied that the domain name has been registered for a while to Protopixel Pty Ltd, one of Dark Blue Sea’s entities.
I looked back at the email I received and I noticed that it was imploring me to buy this premium domain name in the aftermarket, which I believe is part of the Domain Distribution Network. I’ve seen plenty of upsell efforts at registrars like Godaddy working with the DDN, but this is the first time I was emailed directly instead of a point of sale attempt.
Although I felt the subject was a bit misleading with them suggesting I “register” it now, it’s still a smart direct marketing tactic. Had I been an end user client (most of their clients are), I may have opted to buy it.
This is a great example of a well-targeted direct marketing effort.
Curious… why email your Go Daddy rep rather than just going to godaddy.com and buying it yourself?
@ Kevin
Easier to do, faster, and I was on the road.
Elliot,
I liked your post and thought it a good idea to call Network Solutions to set up some of my names for distribution in this manner, given their logo appears on the DDN site as a partner.
Network Solutions stated to me “We don’t know who they are and don’t even deal with them.”
Hence, I’m looking to see if my other registrars do.
Doug Haan
Thanks for the props Elliot ๐
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Hi Doug,
I can confirm we (DDN) do have a partnership with NSI, however we work in a transparent fashion ensuring NSI always retains visitors/customers.
Nevertheless, I’ve passed this feedback onto NSI.
If you have any questions about DDN and you wish to list your names, feel free to email me at jen@fabulous.com for more info.
Jen,
Many thanks for the post … I will follow up with you next week.
Doug Haan
Maybe well-targeted, but why do they have to be misleading like that? Surely they know the difference between “buy” and “register”. But considering the source (NS) I am not surprised.
They are lucky they sent you that email and not me. If I get unsolicted offers like that I report it as SPAM.
“They are lucky they sent you that email and not me. If I get unsolicted offers like that I report it as SPAM.”
@ Chris
They have a EBR (existing business relationship) with me, so it wouldn’t be considered spam.