Today we sat down with Samit Madan for a one on one interview.
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Eric - When did you buy your very first domain name and what was the motivation behind it?
Samit - The first domain we bought was www.mumbaimart.com for India's first eCommerce portal, back in 1998. It's still an operational site, but doesn't offer online shopping anymore.
Eric - How has the industry changed for you since you first started domaining?
Samit - What has changed is that there are a lot more tools now for those who are inclined to approach domain investment in a professional manner, there was pretty much nothing when I started out in 2006. I don't consider myself a 'domainer', in the sense that I'm not in it for the 'trade' aspect, but for building an in house repository of brands for development, both for our clients and ourselves. Though I'm not averse to selling domains when the offer is too sweet to turn down, like Frank Schilling says "Everyone Sells".
Eric - What does your typical day consist of when domaining?
Samit - I catch up on domain and tech related news via my blogs' Domain Twitter Stream ( http://www.mwzd.com/dts/ ), which is pretty sweet and totally efficient as it allows me to get done within 30 minutes or so. Since we're past our acquisition phase, most of the rest of the day is spent ideating new projects and actually developing websites.
Eric - Without giving away to many secrets, do you have a favorite resource for locating buyers?
Samit - There are no secrets in domain investment anymore, it's all out there, low hanging fruit, but you still need to reach up and grab the knowledge and also be smart enough to identify which fruit is ripe and which isn't. If you buy the right keywords, buyers will contact you, if you buy mid level names, Google is your best bet, but both LeadRefs & Estibot provide excellent end user identification services.
Eric - Has NamePros.com helped you over the years since you've been a member, and if so, in what way?
Samit - NamePros was my primary source of information about what factors made a domain valuable and why. It also allowed me to keep abreast of the current industry trends and focus areas. I got most of my domain learning here, even though I already had substantial SEO & Development knowledge. 100s of people have shared gems of info that are peppered throughout the forum, it's upto the user to glean the relevant info for themselves. It was a primary venue for sales in 2007-2009 too and allowed our portfolio to grow exponentially through this time.
Eric - If you don't mind me asking, what was the largest confirmed domain sale you ever made?
Samit - The largest reported sale (DNJournal) we've made is AutoRental.Co $5000.
Eric - How many domains do you typicaly deal with at a time in your portfolio?
Samit - We currently have 100s of developed websites and domains to go with them.
Eric - Where do you see the domain industry headed with all the new tld's coming in 2013?
Samit - It's boom time for registrars and resellers, for domain investors it's a time of great uncertainty, specially if you're holding onto subpar or non-commercial keywords. There are 250 million odd domains now, that's about 50% of existing websites, so there already is a shortfall in the market. The primary reg market will grow by 2/3x within the next 3/5 years. The smart money is headed into servicing this market increase.
Eric - If there was one thing you could advise new domainers about in todays market, what would it be?
Samit - Develop what you want to keep, sell the rest, specially if it doesn't make at least reg fee back every year, it's a liability, not an investment. There are exceptions to this rule, but those domains are easy to identify. I know it's tough advice and absolutely impossible to follow 100%, but it's the need of the hour.
Eric - Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me, I know your time is valuable. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Samit - Absolutely my pleasure, always happy to help with any NamePros initiative. Well, I just updated my twitter description recently, and I guess it's perfect to end on - 'Time to fly'.
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Disclaimer - If you republish this interview in whole or in part you MUST include a backlink to NamePros.com crediting us as the source of the interview. In addition, this disclaimer MUST remain intact so viewers of your site wanting to republish also credit NamePros.com
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Eric - When did you buy your very first domain name and what was the motivation behind it?
Samit - The first domain we bought was www.mumbaimart.com for India's first eCommerce portal, back in 1998. It's still an operational site, but doesn't offer online shopping anymore.
Eric - How has the industry changed for you since you first started domaining?
Samit - What has changed is that there are a lot more tools now for those who are inclined to approach domain investment in a professional manner, there was pretty much nothing when I started out in 2006. I don't consider myself a 'domainer', in the sense that I'm not in it for the 'trade' aspect, but for building an in house repository of brands for development, both for our clients and ourselves. Though I'm not averse to selling domains when the offer is too sweet to turn down, like Frank Schilling says "Everyone Sells".
Eric - What does your typical day consist of when domaining?
Samit - I catch up on domain and tech related news via my blogs' Domain Twitter Stream ( http://www.mwzd.com/dts/ ), which is pretty sweet and totally efficient as it allows me to get done within 30 minutes or so. Since we're past our acquisition phase, most of the rest of the day is spent ideating new projects and actually developing websites.
Eric - Without giving away to many secrets, do you have a favorite resource for locating buyers?
Samit - There are no secrets in domain investment anymore, it's all out there, low hanging fruit, but you still need to reach up and grab the knowledge and also be smart enough to identify which fruit is ripe and which isn't. If you buy the right keywords, buyers will contact you, if you buy mid level names, Google is your best bet, but both LeadRefs & Estibot provide excellent end user identification services.
Eric - Has NamePros.com helped you over the years since you've been a member, and if so, in what way?
Samit - NamePros was my primary source of information about what factors made a domain valuable and why. It also allowed me to keep abreast of the current industry trends and focus areas. I got most of my domain learning here, even though I already had substantial SEO & Development knowledge. 100s of people have shared gems of info that are peppered throughout the forum, it's upto the user to glean the relevant info for themselves. It was a primary venue for sales in 2007-2009 too and allowed our portfolio to grow exponentially through this time.
Eric - If you don't mind me asking, what was the largest confirmed domain sale you ever made?
Samit - The largest reported sale (DNJournal) we've made is AutoRental.Co $5000.
Eric - How many domains do you typicaly deal with at a time in your portfolio?
Samit - We currently have 100s of developed websites and domains to go with them.
Eric - Where do you see the domain industry headed with all the new tld's coming in 2013?
Samit - It's boom time for registrars and resellers, for domain investors it's a time of great uncertainty, specially if you're holding onto subpar or non-commercial keywords. There are 250 million odd domains now, that's about 50% of existing websites, so there already is a shortfall in the market. The primary reg market will grow by 2/3x within the next 3/5 years. The smart money is headed into servicing this market increase.
Eric - If there was one thing you could advise new domainers about in todays market, what would it be?
Samit - Develop what you want to keep, sell the rest, specially if it doesn't make at least reg fee back every year, it's a liability, not an investment. There are exceptions to this rule, but those domains are easy to identify. I know it's tough advice and absolutely impossible to follow 100%, but it's the need of the hour.
Eric - Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me, I know your time is valuable. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Samit - Absolutely my pleasure, always happy to help with any NamePros initiative. Well, I just updated my twitter description recently, and I guess it's perfect to end on - 'Time to fly'.
--------------------------------------------
Disclaimer - If you republish this interview in whole or in part you MUST include a backlink to NamePros.com crediting us as the source of the interview. In addition, this disclaimer MUST remain intact so viewers of your site wanting to republish also credit NamePros.com
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