Hey you – Yes, You … Why the Hell are you here?
By Alan on Apr 22, 2009 in General Thoughts
I have blogged more in the last week than in the last month and this will stop shortly because it is entirely unproductive except to rant and rave about a few things and sell a few names. Funny enough we rarely sell domains through auction platforms – sure, a few like anybody else every month but domainers are NOT our target market and certainly not our bread and butter. In fact, domain sales alone are something we consider a bonus for being in the industry and not the reason why we are here.
This brings me to ask the question to all of you – Why are you here?
Are you here to sell a service to the 5,000 people or so who live and breathe domains daily or have something a little more that might attract all those who domain part time?
Are you here to sell a few names and wait for those lotto numbers … oops, I meant big sale to retire from?
Are you here to further the industry or just ride what ever is hot at the moment?
Again – why are you here?
I will assume most of you have some answer but does your answer have an end game. 5 years from now how do you expect to evolve within the industry or will you just wait for the industry to evolve then jump on board?
I can name dozens of people right now building empires. Some have been doing it for years, some are rather new but all parties have aggressive, targeted and well planned development with an end game that is far bigger than most can imagine.
Our geo domains – some have commented about PPC traffic, back links, archive.org results – etc. I laugh when I hear these questions. Some of those domains have traffic, others we have NEVER EVER placed in a parking account – WHY? Parking to me – and I understand general opinion is not with me – is so secondary in our end game that it doesn’t matter. If you have to worry about losing out on that $20 click one day or want to analyze 5,000 domains to try to find some pattern that may bring you $500 a month in revenue then you are missing out on the entire point of being in this space.
Sure, parking and small time sales may make you feel all fuzzy inside having Google pay for your Volkswagen or make your grandmother smile now that you can afford to take her to an extra bingo game every week but your plan – your plan to evolve and grow .. Where is it? Again, why are you here?
First – you have to stop thinking like a domainer.
I’m not saying domaining is bad but the biggest people in this industry and even some of the smaller people claim they do not want to sell to domainers. Many would say they think its because of price but its not really price – It’s the valuation methods many domainers use which have ZERO correlation to end-users in the real world.
Names which are “aged” (sorry, that’s the biggest joke in my book), or names which have no archive.org results or no back links – There are a ton of valuation methods but as some berry nut said on thedomains.com a few days ago (you’re alright berry guy – you made me laugh) pretty much summed it up about the domain auction for raspberry.com
I’m too tired to be searching and copying and posting quotes but in a nutshell he asked how can a bunch of domainers who know nothing about berries try and value this domain.
Spot on – the crazy berry guy was right.
If we are trying to price a domain for liquidity within our circle of people then sure – common sense tells you to factor all those factors in to secure some liquidity but you see the berry guy was telling everyone to basically learn more about the berry industry and you’ll see exactly how cheap 16k for that domain was.
No ONE is jack of all trades but many domainers pretend to be. You own a name about hotdogs then you are a hotdog king but here’s the sad reality.
Most are shitty salespeople.
Acquiring a domain name, searching keywords, analyzing trends – man, this is geek world galore but it DOES not make you a salesperson.
Putting names on SnapNames, selling names on SEDO, letting them ride at Afternic – these are not examples of what real salespeople do.
Real salespeople take courses; understand markets and cold call the hell out of companies.
When was the last time you cold called???
How many names did you sell this month? Thought so.
By not selling to endusers on a constant basis many seem to be trapped in these archiac valuations of domain names since the only market they could actually break into was … other domainers. Of course, many of you sell domains to end users but come on… how hard do you really try. Do you remember selling credit cards over the phone when you were 16 or cold calling your neighborhood to help elect the latest crook .. oops .. congressman. Man, its these events where you made 30 calls an hour. Domainers who own possibly millions of dollars in end user names just wait … order a pizza … wait … wait more … wheres the remote … oh goodie, snapnames auctions are happening for 10 minites … cool … back to pizza.
Obviously, many of you do more than this but do you do all you can do? If not, why are you here? Do you expect to be still at your desk in 2 years looking at drop lists?
I love success stories more than anybody. You can be my enemy but give it a good go and win you will always have my respect. It’s those that talk about the industry, those that complain about account reps week after week, and those that do the same thing today they were doing 3 years ago. Its those people I ask – why are you here and where are you going?
I love this industry but the industry DOES not have to love us. It will grow and change and many will complain but you – yes, you with the red shirt on – what’s your plan?
Love all of you but think about it – maybe today you will do something different.
rati | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
It’s Awesome Alen,
Very Nice Point, we have to stuck on end user not on Domainers.
Thanks for nice tip, you rock man.
Francois | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
I like the post.
Like allways:
Direct, sharp but so true!
Kevin Jackson | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
The berry guy was indeed right. We need to value domains based on the particular niche/industry they target and the advantage that they would give to such businesses.
Posts like these are very encouraging. Keep them coming!
100% Free Credit Scores | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
Spot on Alan – I broker names so Im often calling on Large and Small companies hitting them up an letting them know the power of a domain.
Ths issue is that most people still dont get it but I have seen things change recently and Im 100% sure that NOT selling to domainers is the way forward we need to educate the endusers and sell to them.
Yes big domainer sales are nice but they are few and far between.
wannadevelop.com | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
You rocking…
Where is the thumbs up rating thingy?
I wrote an article not so long ago about the art of domain sales……… It’s really not rocket science, but you do have to actually WORK. Lots of work but it is worth it.
Waiting and hoping for things to happen on their own, well, it doesn’t work like that… People need to get aggressive and go where the real money is.
Either sell or develop.
Parking is so boring and out of style this days, I mean.. Come on!!
We are in 2009
Jody | Apr 22, 2009 | Reply
I was definitely one of the crazier people talking about the raspberry but ultimately determining value depends on your use for it. Short term investment, long term investment, e-commerce in development, branding in development etc. etc. so it can be hard to judge. The Toys.com’s and the Candy.com’s are easier to guage value, other domains can be more complex.
I would not suggest every investor to try to sell the hell out of all their names or develop everyone because it’s not best for all. Some will buy a domain today and sell it for 100 times more tomorrow without ever spending a second thinking of the domain, so development or pitching would be a waste of resources. Plus people are working with all different budgets which effects their strategy.
As long as you’re making a living you are doing something right. If things are getting tough, I think anyone could spend a week looking for an end-user sale and get it, could spend some time researching development and do it, but really it’s not for everyone.
Alan | Apr 24, 2009 | Reply
Jody,
Thanks for the note – just a couple comments on your quote
“As long as you’re making a living you are doing something right. If things are getting tough, I think anyone could spend a week looking for an end-user sale and get it, could spend some time researching development and do it, but really it’s not for everyone”
I commend anyone for making a living in this industry but doing right for the MOMENT is not really doing it right. Its one of the reasons why domainers are commonly called lazy domainers. In theory, sure anybody should be able to find an enduser within a week however its like saying anybody can sell a car in a week if times get tough. Theory is not practical in this industry since many times you have to educate the end user about the product itself (cars sell themselves to a certain point). Many have no idea what to say or understand the dynamics of price points for end users, nor have an iota of an idea that many valuation points domainers use (such as age etc) have ZERO influence on most end users.
Selling to endusers is an art much like selling any product but very few can become great in a week.
Plus as an investor its your job to understand all the potential customers for your product and not just people who do the same thing you do. Do I think its for everyone .. no .. but thats the difference between a simple investor and a businessman.
As I’ve said before – many domainers are investors and NOT businessmen or even true salespeople .. although I believe many more could be if they only looked outside the industry more.
Thanks again for the comments.
Joe | Apr 28, 2009 | Reply
“why are you here?”
To learn. When you were posting at Bido.com I found your comments to be far more insightful that the others. So, I followed you here.
I used to own 400 – 500 domains and would sell a few every so often, but I have since switched to development mode. Now, I owe a hundred or so domains that I have only partially developed. I think development is really the direction of the future and since I am a Internet marketer/developer by profession I have no excuse to miss mark on this opportunity. Admittedly, I was a lazy domainer.
Recently, I purchased a domain from buydomains with the intention of development. It is geo and describes exactly what I do and should have decent monthly traffic. If it goes well, I may leave the domaining field entirely, but any success I may have will be because of buying a nice domain and developing it out.
Thanks for the great posts. I find them to be more of business mind-set posts rather than only targeted to domainers.
Alan | Apr 28, 2009 | Reply
Joe,
Have you been drinking? No one listens to me
I love your words “It is geo and describes exactly what I do”
You get it !!!
Thanks for the kind words. Development is the way to go – its the only way to ultimately get it … hard work but it pays off and one good developed domain is many times worth much more than 500 parked any day (excluding the names Frank and Kevin have of course lol)
If you can incorporate that domain into your “real” job it will provide huge dividends. I see it happen every day – problem lies that many domainers do not have a “real” job so its impossible to incorporate the domain into some kind of immediately tangible benefit.
ex. NewYorkLawyers.com, MiamiDoctor.com – take a profession and a domain, SEO right (that’s the challenge) and you have a lead machine for yourself.
Good luck with everything!!
Need any SEO help just drop me a line
Alan