For the last few years I have given the majority of my attention to the internet and making money. There have been times where I have spent the majority of the day and night search for that "golden domain" that would bring in the cash. I managed to sell a few domains here and there but nothing really significant.
I have built and funded several web projects which for the most part have been a flop and only put me farther in debt. I managed to sell one website that I designed and developed for what I thought to be significant amount...low $x,xxx.
I have participated in many affiliate programs but have never made any real money from them. My highest adsense payout was I believe ~$30/mo.
I am really thinking about giving up totally to be real honest. I am close to losing all my inspiration. I think its just gotten to the point where its getting to be too much to keep on going.
Does anyone else ever feel this way or am I just a crazy cry baby
The funny thing is I am not looking to get rich per say..but rather have extra funds to get myself out of post-divorce debt and have some extra income to put in the bank.
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"If PHP is peanut butter...then...MySQL would be the jelly. Together they can make one heck of a good sandwich." --- Netzilla 9/14/08
To be honest i would not focus on that "Golden" name. There are MANY and i mean MANY names out there that you can pick up for less than regfee and resell for $xxx amounts in under 24 hours. Trust me i do it ALL the TIME.
High quality names are one thing but if you focus on a niche you can more than likely dominate it if you hone in on it. If your domains are not selling for much, pick up a free script related to the domain, design around it and list it for sale in the turnkey websites section here.
I just noticed your message while browing for names
Come on, nobody said this was going to be easy. But you know that already. It's a shame all the good names have been taken but one thing to keep in mind the new wave of buying and selling names is not in the domain name itself, it's all about development.
Take a break from selling. I'm serious. It's putting you down. You don't need that. What you need to do is pick up PHP for Dummies and get cracking on the understanding that if you're going to sell big, you're going to need to develop the domain. You can't sell average domains for income, it doesn't work. Too much competition, too much saturation, too many ideas already formed.
Take what's out there, find a problem and fix it with your development. I'm talking about niches. Learn how to visit hotscripts, find the latest and greatest (sometimes costing you $10 to $100) and install scripts to the domains. Personalize them. Use some php knowledge you learn from PHP for Dummies and apply it to make things happen that is unique. Sell.
Rinse and repeat.
I knew personally if I was going to earn income on the web it wasn't going to be selling domains. So I got into this late but I'm more of a collector than anything. I use what time I have these days to support my product, release new addons for my product and this itself has created a huge stream of revenue.
Play your cards right. It takes time and if you don't have time, you're not going to succeed.
Don't give up. Get mad and say if this guy can do it so can I. We're on on the same boat. All of us.
I'll give you a tip:
Invest $160 in a VB owned license. Install the forum package on your domain name. Right there $160 is $250 once installed and sitting on a domain. That is your base min. price. Find a buyer that wants a community running the best forum package out there. Get some posts on there, hire some paid posting services to help you get some content on that forum and sell for $400 - $500. This may involve purchasing some cheap *talk.com or talk*.com domain names. Be logicial. Don't setup a forum on a domain like OWK.com or JJVR.com.
I was at the point that you're talking about not too long ago. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was in control of a few valuable domains I picked up by chance that Internet REIT put up for sale on Afternic mistakenly.
Keep going with development. Chances are, you've got a site bringing in pennies a day. That's where I am now. If you do that a few times over, you're making a few times more each day.
You're going to run into a good deal sometime. It's bound to happen, and it's going to happen when you least expect it. Until that day comes, store up money you've made from development.
Keep an eye on auctions for short domains. Lots of times at Afternic and Sedo, you can pick up an LLL for less than 3Character.com's minimum observed value. Sell it for a few dollars more than 3Character's price guide lists, and collect the difference. I see LLL .nets sell for $750 and LLL .orgs sell for less than $300 all the time on Sedo. Maybe if you're lucky, while you're in the middle of flipping one of these names, an end user will contact you with interest in one of your names. That's what I like about short domains, especially three characters or less: there are always opportunities to sell to groups using your acronyms.
Nice to hear the encouraging replies you received, but to answer the above question; I would guess that you are far from alone, and to speak for myself I have felt that way many times over the years. It is sometimes difficult to justify the "time spent" whether you just invest in domains, develop, research trends or whatever; it is sometimes hard to justify the time and effort if you have not had any big scores. Additionally I might point to the negative health aspects of too many hours spent sitting in front of a computer.
If I had the resources I would develop a treadmill/pc with a built in monitor and ergonomic keyboard to combat this. Having said that; I would say that only you can answer that question. Best of luck!
Doing something is better then nothing. And if you think you will get more money in doing something else then this then Yes you should do that other thing.
But if you yourself believe that you will get good returns by sticking to this then You should stick to this. Because till you don't go into other side you will not know how much you are losing by being on this side.
I agree with this statement. That is my view; albeit...
I seem to be the only one in this thread to answer to or empathize with the question. I just have to be honest about it. The first name I ever sold that I hand reg in 99 I sold for 3k in 2000. I have sold many since then but that was the best for me. Someone who lived just blocks from me in Boulder Creek at that time hand reg loans.com because he was a loan agent, not a domain investor, which sold for $3,000,000. People who had inside information about the future registered many domains as early as 1992. It is a fact that the majority of great names are gone. Prices of domains have been influenced greatly by domain investor speculation. The majority of domains remain undeveloped.
I stay in this because I look to the future. Also, I still think it possible to find a gem in the desert if one looks hard enough.
If you have some good domains it is very inexpensive to sit on them; even for years! If your portfolio is too large you could run into some big trouble with reg fees alone if your not actively marketing them.
I think that only the individual can decide for themselves what their next move should be. My advice would be to make an adjustment if needed, but not to necessarily get out of the game entirely.
I will repeat again to answer what I thought was your question:
I will say YES, you are not alone by a long-shot if we are talking only about domain investing and advertising revenue. Developing is a different story.! If anyone tells you different; then they either got lucky early on, have a lot of $ to invest, are already heavily invested or possibly are just smarter or more tenacious than you or I.
I will stand by my "only you can decide" statement. If you can hopefully find a way to stay in the game; then by all means listen to the advice that the more sucessful folks in this thread are giving you.
I am not trying to be negative in any way! I am just trying to keep it real
Whoops! Sorry, I am not the only one to admit it...I reread it and Etab said:
That's keeping it real
Last edited by damagedgoods : 05-15-2008 at 01:52 PM.
Maybe it's time to switch gears. I'll bet you have a stockpile of great skills and ideas but you don't even know it. This biz has you always on the chasing end of a dollar and you feel like if you let up for a second you'll miss that huge opportunity.
What you need to do is take a step back. Accept the fact that you might miss something (in reality you probably won't) and take a couple of days, take a week and reevaluate your skills and your interests. As others have suggested, it could be about finding a niche you really love and then trying your hand at developing only that target. Or maybe you want to try something completely different. Learning something new is always inspiring.
But you have to take that step back and look at the big picture. Allow yourself time to stop working and start thinking about where you're going to go from here.
Don't despair
Focus , you stated that you have tried several web projects and several affiliates. Try Focusing on one specific area .Learn to be the best you can at that .
As others and yourself have said, Development is the key. Even if you find that Magic Golden Domain worth MegaBucks. Developed a Great Name will be worth even more with the traffic Stats development brings.
4 Years ago, I had 1 Free Domain. No chance of Selling it . So only solution development (Lots of false starts , Crap sites).
Made a little Money with Google Adsense & CJ.com links
Than 3 years ago found Namepros. Lots of Friendly Guys (& GALS)
Helpful advice and some not so helpful. Bought and sold a lot of names for no profit or at a loss. Started to use my head and develop and sell as sites or names with traffic.
Bought a HEAP of cheap .info's (like a lot of people Bought some good and Some CRAP) . Lost a Lot of them with the Regfly Fiasco. Also due to Personal reasons for nearly 12 Months ,didn't have Internet access. My Internet empire ,especially the minisite sales took a massive hit (I lost 1000+ names).
Thankfully the core Developed names continued to genrate income.
3 years Later ,I own 200 good names ,little crap . Almost all developed , Monthly income in the last 2 years from advertising >$5K
Sales in last year $2k (Why sell them , They make me Money)
I still buy names for investment and resale but no need to panic sell.
Too many people especially the younger ones, come into domaining thinking of instant wealth. Articles about Pizza.com selling for Massive lumps of money don't help. Everyone thinks the latest and greatest name is a GOLDMINE.
Instead think of the names you purchase as capital assets to make you money through development.
The Factory Owner doesn't buy that new Machine thinking he can sell it 2 months later for 1000% Profit. No he sees it as a way of making money from the products it produces and over the lifetime of the asset makes his 1000% profits.
$10 Names remember only need 3c Income Per day to recoup over 12 months their Renewal fee. If at the end of the 12 months if it hasn't generated that amount than it probably never will. If it has ,than the name also has appreciated in value as well.
You're far from alone. I've been at this for nearly a decade and have hit that point at least three times I can recall. Having projects fail can be really discouraging.
There are some good tips and advice in this thread already. Nice to see everyone offer their own experiences.
If you're like me, you probably have way too project ideas and incoming strategies. Try to identify the ones that work and which ones are time wasters. Not long ago I had a portfolio of 77 live websites. Most of them were generating next to nothing and serving no purpose other than distracting me from working on the ones that could actually make money.
Make friends with others in your same situation. Having someone to talk to that shares a similar vision and goal can be invaluable. If you're lucky, you'll find someone you trust enough to partner with on your ventures.
I started domaining and webmastering as a part time venture when I was earning $10/hr at a 9-5 with no money in the bank. It's not been easy making a living doing this, but it has been personally rewarding. Inspiration and success often come from unexpected places.
loads of times, and not just for web stuff. each time something has come along shortly after. i find it's a good time to take stock of things. sometimes for me enthusiasm clouds the judgement and the down times are good opportunities to re-evaluate everything with a different perspective.
Thank you all very much for your advice and input. I appreciate it greatly! NP is such a wonderful place full of special people!
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"If PHP is peanut butter...then...MySQL would be the jelly. Together they can make one heck of a good sandwich." --- Netzilla 9/14/08
DNKitchen.com and Chef Patrick ---> 
Maybe every week or so. But for me it is not due to less earning but due to more cravings and greed 
