various Starting Out in Domain Name Investing? Check Out These Articles

The NamePros Blog has been providing domain name investing news, information, interviews, tips, analysis, and strategies for many years. For this article, I searched the archive of blog posts, looking for articles particularly relevant to those relatively new to domain name investing. Although some of these articles were written years ago, I think you will agree that most of the principles still apply to domain name investing today.


Great Articles for Domain Investing Beginners

While most NamePros Blog posts are relevant to new, or experienced, domain investors, some are particularly worthwhile for those just starting out. While space did not permit me to include all relevant articles, here are some that I found particularly valuable.

• While he was still relatively new to domain investing himself at the time of writing, great advice in this column by Joe Nichols on 6 Lessons for Domaining Beginners. From stressing quality over quantity, to a reminder to be wary of things you don’t understand, Joe clearly and persuasively offers insights for those early in domain investing.
• in 2015, NamePros blog writer James Iles wrote this 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Domain Investing. His reflections include the realization that domain investing is more intensive, and challenging, than some anticipate, and that education is critical to success in the field.
• This list of 5 tips before you start domain name investing by Andy M is sound and sensible advice. Every domain name investor should live by the golden rule at the end of the article.
• James Iles suggests that you check these 8 things before you acquire a domain name. From searching if there are related trademarks, to examining the reputation of the domain name, keep this list close.
• Until researching this article, I had never discovered The Rule of 3 for Buying Domains as a Beginner. Great advice from Vandesh! I particularly liked: “Ask at least 3 people how each name sounds.” I think many of us overlook doing the simple test.
• I liked the selections made by James Iles from NamePros member comments for 12 Common Domainer Mistakes. From avoiding impulse purchases, to using realistic pricing, heeding these can make your domain investing more successful. Be sure to check out the full list.
• While certainly not only for new domain investors, I find this Expert Exchange on the question Is Being Different Necessary to Succeed in This Business? insightful for someone starting out. Hear what Morgan Linton, Andrew Rosener, Tessa Holcomb, Mike Mann, Frank Schilling and many others have to say.
• In conventional investing, it is often said that the emotional side is key to success. I think the same can be true in domain name investing, and it is important to realize that at the outset. This NamePros Blog post by Omar Negron, creatively titled The Truth About Domaining, deals with topics such as patience, staying consistent and how to deal with rejection.
• James Iles asks his Expert Exchange a question that many new domain investors wonder about, and that is Should You Quote a Price?. See what the domain selling pros have to say.
• It is important that beginning domain investors have realistic expectations. We have all heard about someone quickly making a domain name sale at a huge profit, and it is easy to assume that happens with most domain names. It does not. Understanding that most domain names will not sell for many years, if ever, is important, not just in terms of expectations, but also to see what your retail prices need to be in order to make a profit overall. This NamePros Blog article on Domain Name Sell-Through Rates provides industry-wide numbers, as well as a list of ways you can improve your own personal sell-through rate.
• Few things are as difficult as pricing and negotiation. Are You Leaving Money on the Table? has great advice from successful domain investor Keith DeBoer. Don’t forget to check out the reference links at the bottom of his article.
• It is easy, and fun, to assemble a domain name portfolio, but in most cases it is much more challenging to sell those same domain names. This blog post, based on ideas from NamePros members, deals with the topic of Balance Domain Name Buying and Selling. Doing something as simple as setting some days for working on selling, and other days for research and buying, may help you succeed.

Search Tips

If you want to do your own literature search in the blog, remember that there is a Blog tab on the home screen. Once there, you can readily order posts by date, views or title.

Here is a search tip. Let’s say you want to find blog posts that mention the word outbound. Use the Google site search command to find mentions of only that word and only within the blog portion of NamePros.

outbound site:namepros.com/blog/

You can of course extend this with all of the standard Google search tricks including quotation marks for exact search, - to exclude a term from the search, etc.


Other Beginner Resources

While I have covered articles that were in the NamePros Blog, there are many other threads and posts with valuable advice for domain name investing beginners. I list a few of my favourite resources below.

• There is a whole NamePros section for domain beginners.
• This is a NamePros compilation of popular beginner discussions.
• This thread started by Tom Carl 10 Tips for Domain Beginners is valuable reading.
• Not long ago Dave started this thread on the main types of domain name.
• Ever wonder what questions domain investor beginners were asking in 2003? RJ, who founded NamePros, started this thread to answer frequently asked questions about domain investing. While you don’t still earn NP$ for great questions, you can still browse the thread as an interesting resource.
• Finally, as a beginner don’t overlook this guide to NamePros services and resources.

What Do You Think?

I have shared some of my favourite NamePros Blog articles for early domain name investors. I would love to hear your picks. Please use the comments section to share links to articles that you found valuable when you were starting out in domaining.

Also, if you had a single piece of advice to offer to newcomers, what would it be?

Future posts in this series, that looks back at NamePros Blog articles, will cover topics such as tools and techniques, types of domain names, strategies and interviews.