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Miami Dolphins Not Using Dolphins.com

Elliot Silver
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14

MiamiDolphins.comA few weeks ago, I reported on the Miami Dolphins UDRP filing for the domain name Dolphins.com. After a short period of time, the UDRP was suspended, and the Whois information changed, showing the National Football League as the new owner of the domain name. I assumed that the team wanted to use the domain name for their website, rather than their current MiamiDolphins.com domain name.

With the football season set to kick off this coming week, and the Miami Dolphins scheduled to play the Atlanta Falcons on September 13, one would anticipate that now would be a time that Dolphins.com gets considerable type-in traffic. People are looking for rosters, stats, team schedule, tickets, collectibles…etc. Rather than forwarding the domain name to the current website to capture the traffic, the domain name is not resolving – a big mistake. I don’t believe they would have anything to lose whatsoever by forwarding the domain name to the current website.

At the moment, there is a splash page on MiamiDolphins.com that says “the all new Miami Dolphins.com Coming September 8.” Because of the graphic, I can’t tell if they are planning to change the primary url to Dolphins.com or to keep it the same, but I sure hope they decide to use Dolphins.com instead of having it not resolve.

Lighting the Fire Under My…

Elliot Silver
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15

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.

Seven Mile: Gift That Keeps on Giving

Elliot Silver
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6

I kid around with the title of this post, but in all seriousness, I want to make sure that the people reading my blog know that I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today without Frank Schilling and his Seven Mile domain blog.

Not only was Frank one of the first people to really go “all in” with domain names, but he was also one of the first domain bloggers who shared news, insight, and opinion with all of us – and he was happy to talk domains with anyone who commented. Looking back, it’s pretty cool that Frank was willing to take the time to share with all of us.

Not only that, but Frank was kind enough to link to newer bloggers that he didn’t even know, myself included, and every time he did that, my traffic went through the roof. It was such a trip when Frank linked to my blog, and it was an even cooler experience when Frank added me to his blog roll without my having to ask for the link.

Although Frank hasn’t blogged in quite some time, I urge you to look through his past posts   – even if you’ve read them all before. The passing of time changes perspectives, and you might be in a different place now than you were in when you first read Frank’s blog. I still haven’t met Frank in person, but I appreciate all he has done for our industry, and my blog still receives traffic from his blog (The #6 referring site in August). It really is the gift that keeps on giving!

3 Insurance Domain Names for Sale

Elliot Silver
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4

I listed two insurance-related domain names that sold yesterday, and I am listing a few more today:

SanFranciscoDentalInsurance.com – BIN: $1,850
ChandlerDentalInsurance.com – BIN: $650

TempeMedicalInsurance.com – BIN: $650

Buy all 3 together for $2,300. Domain names are registered at Moniker for a quick push. Buyer pays escrow fees if payment is made via Paypal.

Lowell.com Sponsors the Lowell Spinners

Elliot Silver
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10

Last weekend my wife, some friends, some family and I went to the Lowell Spinners (Boston Red Sox minor league team) baseball game, as Lowell.com sponsored the Spinners vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones (NY Mets minor league team). I wanted to share this experience (at Chef Patrick’s suggestion) to illustrate how online Internet marketing can lead to offline marketing opportunities.

During the summer, the Lowell Spinners are one of the most popular activities in Lowell. For the past 10 years, the Spinners have sold out every single home game. Lowell.com provides advertising for the Spinners on site, and we also write news articles, such as the one that was written when the Spinners streak was in jeopardy earlier this season.

I was given tickets to last Sunday’s game, and I was able to invite a number of friends and family to watch the game. Additionally, I offered some of the tickets on Facebook and Twiiter, as well as to a local elementary school principal. The objective was to make people aware of Lowell.com at the game, just as Lowell.com helps make people more aware of the Spinners, their games, and their special promotions. During the game, the public address announcer mentioned that the media sponsor was Lowell.com, and it was a fun experience (I love baseball and the Red Sox).

There is much more to geodomain names than simply building a website and hoping advertisers want to buy space on the site. Owners need to become a part of the community and support local events and organizations. To some, a geodomain name is just a domain name, but to the people who type-in that geodomain name, it is a valuable resource.

Keep Your Friends on the Ball

Elliot Silver
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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.

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