15 Ways to Become a Better Domainer

The competition in the domain industry is steadily increasing as more andmore people are becoming aware of it’s global impact in today’s financialmarketplace. Professional investors and huge corporations are staking theirclaim of this internet real estate and have turned this once primitive nameexchange into a booming multi-billion dollar industry.

Today’s domainers are needing take their domain investing to another levelin order to have continued success and profitability. Below are 15 Ways ToBecome A Better Domainer.

Utilize the forums

As I’ve said in previous posts, the importance of domaining forums in thedomain industry are vital and serve as a great resource for beginners andprofessional domainers alike. Whether you are looking for some honest appraisalopinions or asking questions that only another domainer would know the answerto, the domain forums are there to assist. 24 hours a day, 365 days a week,this constant stream of domain information has shaped many beginner domainersinto today’s greatest professional domainers. If you’re not a member of adomain forum you should greatly consider joining one today.

Are you a domainer or a domain developer?

Are you buying domains for quick profit sales? Are you buying domains forthe long-term traffic revenue? Are you buying domains to develop and birth newtraffic? Whether you choose to do one or all three, you must come to terms andclarify a solid game plan when it comes to your domain investments. It’sreasonably okay to have a few domains being developed but your overall strategyneeds to take shape and be narrowed down to a specific objective. Developing adomain name takes time, effort and more time, but the possible payoffs arealways huge. Buying domain names in bulk for quick sales is also profitable butrelies more on a constant sales initiative to be successful. Either way, youneed a tactical approach on how you want to market your domains.

Dissect your portfolio

I once spoke to a guy who boasted a domain portfolio of over 3000 names.After hearing how he was considering selling a few of his “best” domains, Ioffered to peruse the list and maybe assist with finding some end users thatmight be potential buyers. He agreed and the next day he sent me a list ofabout 1000 of his best domains that he was willing to sell. To my surprise over90% of them were, in my humble opinion, not worth much more than the reg fee. Icontacted him back and explained that I was only to find about 75-100 namesthat could possibly be decent sales. He was stunned. He declined and statedthat my appraisal was not correct and thanked me for my time. 3 days laters, Ireceived an email from the exact same guy asking for assistance in selling the75-100 domain names I previously found in his list. Seems that during those 3days, he spoke to a few other domainers and received the same appraisal andevaluation of his so called “best” domains. This guy thought since his domainscontained popular words like gamble, casino, sex and technology that itautomatically made his domains super valuable. What he didn’t consider was themultiple hyphens and terrible combinations of typos and keywords. Don’t be thedomainer with a huge list of terrible domains just to brag about how large yourportfolio is. Trim your “extra” domains and streamline by selling or tradingand use the profit for investing in quality names that are earmarked forimmediate revenue or immediate development. Be proud of the overall quality ofyour portfolio and not just the number of domains it contains.

Know your rep

I amazed on how many people I encounter that in the domain industry thathave no idea who their representatives are for such companies as Sedo, Moniker,Go Daddy and other big domain powerhouses. The representatives of suchcompanies exist to assist their members who utilize their services and arehands-down the quickest and easiest way to get something resolved if you feel amistake has been made. If you have domains either parked or offered for salewith a domain company, I highly suggest sending a quick email to find out whoyour representative is and do you best to maintain a professional and courteousrelationship with them. It’s easier to ask assistance from someone whom youknow and knows you than it is to ask a complete stranger. And don’t forget tovote for your favorite domain rep at next years Domainers Choice Awards.

]]>

Stay clear of Trademark Infringements

This should be a no-brainer. Time and time again I see domainers strugglewith the headaches caused by trademark infringements and bad faith domainregistrations. Not only do most of the trademark claims filed at the WIPOresult in the domain being transferred to the appropriate party, but it alsoindicates that your choice in domains is questionable and therefore provingthat you are still purchasing non-quality domain names. Domains that infringeon trademarks are not quality. Ask any lawyer. Save your registration fee andsteer clear of legal woes.

Auto-renew

Now that your portfolio is streamlined and contains only select domainnames, you definitely don’t want to lose or let any of them drop and take achance of someone else buying you lovely internet real estate. Do yourself afavor and set your domains for auto-renew at your domain register wherepurchased. It’s a terrible feeling to have someone else scoop up one of yourprize domains just because you didn’t or couldn’t find the time to renew theregistration. Visit this great article by the Daily Domainer that explains thelife-cycle of a domain name and don’t let accidental “drops” happen to you.

Limit the hand regs

Hand regs or hand registrations are domains that are purchased from apublicly available source at a regular registration fee and are either brandnew (never been purchased) or have expired and no longer owned by the previousowner. Go Daddy is a domain registrar that is popular with domainers andconsistently used for hand regs. The possibility of stumbling along aunregistered domain is always there and the opportunity for someone to registera new domain name that never existed and create value to it is alsoconceivable, but in essence, most domain names that are hand regged are simplynon-researched, impulse purchases that pad a domain portfolio with non-valuenames. Distinguish yourself as a profitable domainer and limit the amount ofhand regs you add to your portfolio. One good way is to wait 24 hours beforeregistering a hand reg domain and then re-evaluating before buying. You maylose a registration every so often but in the long run you will save onunnecessary registration fees and useless domain name ownership.

Stay current with news and sales

To be successful is to be informed. The pulse of the domain industry isconstantly evolving and therefore it is beneficial to a domainer to knowexactly what is the next potential opportunity or trend being created withinour industry. If you buy domain names, you are an investor. If you are aninvestor, you need to stay current with the news of your investments and otherpeople’s investments. You can do this by monitoring the recent domain sales andnews offered by many websites that are specifically geared towards todaysdomainers. One of my favorite websites is Ron Jackson’s DNJournal. You can findgreat articles, news and the popular Year To Date domain sales. You need toknow what domains are selling, which domains are being bought and how much theyare being bought for. Invest time in your investments and reap the rewards.Predicting the next big trend is priceless.

Blog around

Domaining blogs are sprouting up everywhere with domainers eager to sharetheir experiences, setbacks, lessons learned and tips with anyone who wants tolisten. We all need to take advantage of this free and useful information byvisiting various domain blogs and getting another person’s perspective on ourindustry. And don’t forget to subscribe to their RSS feeds, if it is offered,and have all this new information sent directly to you to read at yourconvenience… for free. Subscribe to this blog here.

Diversify with other TLD extensions

While some domainers swear that .com is the only extension worth beingbought, there are others, like me, who think it’s absolutely insane to dismissall other TLD’s and only buy one flavor of domain name. The popularity of .TVand .Mobi and the ongoing success of ccTLD’s has risen and is playing aprominent part in today’s domain marketplace. Generic domains in any of theseextensions are being recognized as a highly sought after commodity with nosigns of slowing. Familiarize yourself with other TLD’s beside .com, .net and.org and evaluate your domain purchases on a global niche scale the next timeyou go to buy a domain.

Consider fractional domain ownership

Fractional domain ownership is simply a group of people that own a domainname and share in it’s profits, development and use. There is not one soleowner because it is owned by the entire group. Owning a portion of a high valuedomain is a great way for a newcomer to the domain industry to begin andunderstand the ins and outs of professional domaining and share in the profitgrowth associated with that certain domain. It also allows “regular” domainersto group funds together and own a very premier domain name without one personhaving to pay the entire purchase price. Look for this trend to boom in2008.

Optimize your parked pages

Once you buy a domain name, it is up to you whether your domain will containa fully-functional website that you can customize/adsense or whether you will“park” your domain and allow targeted content to automatically be placed andmonetized per visitor. If you choose to park your domains, it’s imperative thatyou understand how domain parking works and how it can be optimized to bringbetter results. Sedo is a popular place for domain parking and allows users tosee detailed stats and account information for each domain parked on the Sedonetwork. Revenue is shared with Sedo each time someone clicks on content on oneof your parked pages and relies on consistent traffic to be a steady stream ofincome. Brush up on your domain parking information here.

Update your WHOIS information

The WHOIS database is sort of like a directory of purchased domain namesthat contains the owner’s contact information, purchase date and expiration ofa certain domain. One use of this information is being able to contact a domainowner and inquire about purchasing the domain. Without the correct informationin the WHOis database, a potential buyer may not be able to contact the currentowner and allow an offer to be placed. Contact your domain registrars and makesure your WHOis information is current and correct. If you opt not to becontacted by potential buyers, you may consider using a service that purchasesdomains for it’s clients and keeps their information private. There is also anoption to pay an additional fee at some domain registrars for private domainregistration.

Contact more end users

So you have a great domain name that is considered gold in a certainindustry. Great job. Now, if you have decided not to develop it and simply wantto profit from a sale, I highly suggest contacting an end user. What’s and enduser? An end user is someone who would use the domain name specifically forcreating brand recognition in a certain industry. Here’s an example: Adam ownsorganicdogfood.com and Bob owns an organic dog food company in Texas but usesthe domain BobsSuperGoodOrganicDogFood.com. Adam contacts Bob and offers ashorter, brandable and easier to remember domain name that can increase Bob’sexposure on the internet for people searching for organic dogfood. Adam hasjust contacted a possible end user. A domain name can usually be sold to an enduser for more since it is valued more by the actual user of the domain insteadof a regular domain buyer.

Change your views on the domain industry

Are there still opportunities to be successful in today’s domain industry?Yes.

Is there still time to take advantage of the booming domain sales? Yes.

Is it still possible for a domain newbie to come in and thrive even with asmall initial investment. Yes.