Enjoy…

http://zooknic.com/Domains/counts.html

©2012 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

That’s right – pack up your bags, let your names expire and move in with your parents. Economies are collapsing, ppc is revenue is dropping, domain buyers seem to be in caskets and people still have no idea about the difference between a browser and a url.

To some this would sound like a good idea but in reality we all have to give ourselves a kick and quit domaining as we know it in its current form. The term “Domaining” itself has yet to be really defined.

Is it the business of buying and selling domains? or is it the business of developing domains? flipping domains? or is it every aspect of owning, developing and selling domains?

The word is too broad.

Even Ford, Chevrolet, Wall Street and the rest of the clowns lining up begging for our dollars on Capital Hill have an industry term such as Car Markers, Auto Makers or Banks. When you refer to a company as a “bank” or an “auto maker” people know what you mean. Define yourself as a domainer and 9 times out of 10 you will get the “what do you mean” expression that starts with a clock ticking forcing you to explain the industry before interest is lost.

The problem is not in the word itself per say – Domaining is quite catchy when you think about it – but in how you define it when speaking to others and how we, as an industry, work together to further develop the word as a brand.

Domaining.com is a great start since a top level domain which is clearly used to promote, aggregate and showcase the wealth of knowledge “from” and “about” the “domaining” industry can quickly start building some street credit however how many people outside of the industry actually learn about this word every day, month or year? Additionaly, domaining.com is held by a single private company so (with no disrespect my good friend) its not the be all or end all solution for promoting the industry but rather another great tool the community has to add credibility to an industry still in its infancy stage.

I know some are still hesitant to explain they “domain” for a living for fear of explaining the word domaining itself.

How many times does a football coach want to tell people about his big win Friday night when he has to start explaining the game of football to begin?

We are all ambassadors whether we like it or not but it’s rare that we ever bond together other than to try and sell each other a domain, complain for a moment or share a laugh for a fleeting moment.

I’ve seen products come and go. Books about domaining that get off by selling 200 copies and then quickly fade away since its hard to get people to learn about something so simple and so new. Many examples of products exist that have had such great promise but could never realize their full potential because the makers did not realize how to tap new people to this industry.

Why do I suggest for you to quit domaining?

Easy.

Up until now it’s being done all wrong. Sure, there are lots of success stories but the true growth – the story yet to be told – are the end users, the public love of this industry as much as the late night commercials for buying foreclosures (which ironically are probably more popular than domaining and they only picked up airtime around 2 years ago).

You see, I’m not a “domainer” (at least in my definition) like many of you although I am proud to be part of this community. My story started with development and as the business took off we picked up domains for investment or to complement existing projects but from the get go the plan was to develop and develop we did selling many successfully sites to corporations, publicly traded companies and individuals over the years.

Did you ever tell somebody you want a Porsche and then feel blank inside when somebody responds with – great, how are you going to do it?

Sure, the usual vague answers like “I’m going to work my ass off” or “I’m going to start a business” but if you have the luxury of speaking with someone who respects you enough to actually ask how and not accept the silly vague answers everybody has with a dream it is a compelling experience that leaves you almost speechless.

Only then do you realize … shit, I don’t have a plan. All I have is a dream.

Making a good living is not hard if you have the right tools in any business but doing something great takes more than a dream – it takes a plan.

Where is our plan I ask?

Who is trying to work together and promote this industry in a coordinated effort outside of the existing domain world?

Is anyone talking about the industry on TV, trying to get articles published about the industry in general and NOT just to sell your ineedamillion-today.info domain?

Where’s the joint agreements to work together and dual promotion between the Monikers, Domaining.com’s and SmartName’s of the world?

If the industry succeeds we all succeed.

Oversee is building a powerhouse and using synergies to complement one another to build something great. Remember, these guys have street credit and I mean $150 million from Oak Street is real street credit – not street credit from domainers but from investment bankers. Who else is doing anything else beside their day to day functions they were doing years ago?

So the question of whether or not to quit domaining is not as simple as it sounds.

Of course, you want to make a living so you are probably not going to let your names expire but are you going to help build the industry?

Got Milk commercials are great – nothing short of an incredible example of an industry promoting its industry.

We are online, some of us even own the traffic – where is our industry campaign except for Bob Parson’s flashing the breasts of GoDaddy girls everywhere (which I will not complain about).

Move forward, quit or get out of the way.

Have no idea who said this but what will we decide to do?

If anybody wants to start a campaign with a plan – a respectable agency and a real plan then we are in.

Should you quit domaining?

Not really – but we all should quit domaining without a plan.

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Enjoy and remember to sign up for the PrivateNames.com newsletter

©2012 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

So is this industry any different than any other industry? Hardly not and I think a lot of the negativity I’ve seen across the blogs lately stems from a combination of things.

First, some domainers have a feeling of self entitlement which is just plain ridiculous. No one is obligated to share information; no one is entitled to pay your asking price for your domain and by no means are the big companies entitled to do you favors. Compare the domain industry to banking. Let’s say you have spent $100,000 on your visa card over the last year making the bank a nice chunk in addition to the annual card fees and the value of having such a good cardholder. Times get tough and you run into a snag asking for a waiver of the late fee. Bank denies the request and you have to pay $35 for a late fee. Many cardholders will become irate about the fee stemming from the same sense of entitlement but wait – the privilege is given by the bank to give you a credit card, they have no obligation to you. Parking companies are the same way, it’s a privlege to be able to earn money from your traffic (as much as many of you will argue that its your traffic.. much like the cardholders complain how its thier money being spent) – these companies are providing a service and I’m sure they are taking care of their top clients but don’t rely on their generosity and complain when they change things up. You’re still parking your names with them right? Still never got around to developing a plan right? Its up to you to advance your business, not the goodwill of others.

Secondly, as many people (such as my favorite Julia Mackenzie’s blog) have posted about in the past domainers are lazy. I’m not saying this to criticize since if money is rolling in and the future is looking bright it is very easy to become complacent and not fix something that isn’t broken. However, is that not why most businesses fail?? – they never expand, they never look for alternative revenue streams and sometimes even outright deny even considering partnerships with service providers to grow their business.

Wait …. Isn’t that what most domainers have done over the last 5 years?

Complacent sounds familiar.

Outside of parking, most have never really looked for other revenue streams (besides a cash sale) and many times ask extremely unreasonable amounts for any partner to open up doors and develop together.

We all compare domains to real estate and it’s a known fact that most developers want nothing to do with landowners except buy your land. Most developers will go to extreme measures – form different corporations, ask trusted associates to buy land in their name, almost any trick – to acquire the land for the cost only.

You want to join the team and partner up? then bring more to the table than a simple asset. Learn how to develop, get a traffic stream going, build content … yes, its the same thing everybody has been telling you for years.

In fact its the same thing people we all admire like the Castello brothers and others have been doing all along – so why haven’t you started?

Are you an Entrepreneur?

Do not kid yourself – most domainers are not.

Ask yourself is your Grandmother an “entrepreneur” since she bought a house in 1990 for $100,000 and now it’s worth $400,000.

Your grandmother decides to hold out for $450,000 and partner with a developer – is she an “entrepreneur” now.

In either case the answer is NO.

There is a HUGE difference between an “entrepreneur” and someone who bought something yesterday that’s worth more today.

Investing in a few assets and reselling down the road is the trait of a simple investor – nothing more.

The person who bought something and then created value for the asset on top of the simple asset value … Now, that person is an entrepreneur.

Without creating value – I’m sorry but you do not deserve the title “entrepreneur”. Even having a fancy blog with some thoughts about an industry is not bringing value to your assets – possibly adding more value to your opinion in the community but by no means adding value to your assets.

As for Mini-Sites. First, they don’t suck.

Companies like AEIOU.com, WhyPark.com and other service providers to domain owners are generally doing a good job but these are not the end all solutions for the next wave of changes in his industry.

Many Domainers (not all) seem to ride the wave of what works right now but never really have a solid plan for the future so if you are creating a mini-site then sit down and create something which can be part of a larger plan, something that can tie in with other projects for cross marketing or something you have interest in building out. The cost of a mini-site is extremely low – in fact, it’s half the cost of a simple logo design through many of the online providers – and most times you can keep the files. If anything, people like Latona are giving first time developers the tools to start online at giveaway prices.

Now, if you just buy a mini-site and do the same old thing that you did with your domain name a few years ago (change the nameservers and log out) … you have no right to complain about losing money when the industry changes or call yourself an “entrepreneur”.

So again, mini-sites do not suck but how many people use them does.

It’s almost like renting a store, putting up a flashy sign then walking away. Your store is developed outside, more people are noticing it every day walking by but hey, there is still nobody inside. We would not do this in real life, so why do it online?

The fact is no other industry provides an opportunity for people to work at home, invest a few bucks for a true brandable platform for your next business and practically create something from nothing marketable to a global community with a little hard work.

Of course, if you are only in this industry to flip domains then most of this article will not apply but for those of you who are sitting on domains for which you have development plans (and claim to have spent thousands on development when asking for a price) then I think a more appropriate question of the day would be to ask yourself…

Do you suck as a Domain Owner?

©2012 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.