I find it challenging to prioritize the many possible tasks that come with domain investing. Some don’t take long to do, but in total the time commitment can be substantial with a large portfolio, or if you are early in domain investing and still learning. Also what ‘needs’ to be done is not clearly defined.
I don’t have any answers, but I think this topic is important. As we seek life balance, and success with domains, it is important to work smart on what really needs to be done.
I hope this article will act as a catalyst, and readers will post their insights on what should be high priority, tips to be more efficient, and how to handle competing demands.
A Typical Point In Time
To make this discussion concrete, here is a list representing some of the things that are competing for my time this week.
Have Your Say
I used numbers on the above list to make it easy to reference. Let’s have a lively discussion In the comments below tell me:
I am not going to share what I worked on, and what I set aside, until others have commented. I will in time share in the discussion below what I attended to this week, and why. I will also share my reasoning on why I thought certain items could be delayed.
Right now, I have less time than normal to spend on domain names, so writing about this felt timely, although did add a bit to the stress of trying to find time.
Here are a few reflections from thinking and writing about this topic.
I don’t have any answers, but I think this topic is important. As we seek life balance, and success with domains, it is important to work smart on what really needs to be done.
I hope this article will act as a catalyst, and readers will post their insights on what should be high priority, tips to be more efficient, and how to handle competing demands.
A Typical Point In Time
To make this discussion concrete, here is a list representing some of the things that are competing for my time this week.
- Get newly acquired names listed on marketplaces with operational landers. Days lost represent potential loss in sales.
- Decide names to renew in advance. There are price increases in .com Sept. 1, and .xyz and a number of other extensions Sept 2. How to best spend available funds takes time.
- Check for offers/inquiries frequently, and respond promptly. Is there a new inquiry on your NamePros landers? Did you follow up with a previous lead that ghosted you? Is there an Afternic broker inquiry needing response?
- Update transferred names. If you have transferred registrars, you need to get Fast Transfer names at Afternic out of review and back active, and also update the registrar at Sedo, and at your registrar reconfirm transfer status. Also, depending on your defaults, you may need to update nameserver settings, and may want to list the name on the registrar marketplace. Finally, you want your records updated.
- Get eligible names active on the transfer networks. Because of the 60 day lock, I always have a few names that have become eligible for Afternic Fast Transfer of Sedo MLS, but are not yet activated.
- Be alert to new opportunities. For example, Porkbun is now part of Sedo MLS. That means I have some names that have become eligible for Sedo MLS but that requires a bit of time.
- Take names you no longer own off all marketplaces. It won’t directly help you, but it is just the right thing to do, but a few more minutes out of each day.
- Take advantage of Afternic Custom Lander for CamelCase on landers with buy-it-now and lease-to-own. That is a welcome development, but it takes a bit of time to get each name operational, but important to do for some names. It may also influence which names use Afternic landers, so you may be updating some nameserver settings.
- Search for names to add to your portfolio. Many people say you “make the money on the buy.” So it seems important to be constantly on the outlook for new names, whether that is at expiring auctions, closeouts, expiring names, hand registrations, wholesale marketplaces, NamePros or somewhere else. Can I really afford to not constantly check a subset of these each day?
- Check ExpiredDomains at time of new drops. I typically use ExpiredDomains with filters to check several extensions for names meeting my criteria at the time they drop each day. From the names that drop I do some research, and decide whether to take any. That all takes time, more than you might first think, but is an important avenue for acquisitions. Each day I miss a ‘drop’ I feel I might have missed an opportunity.
- Check what names expire soon, and take action as appropriate. You don’t want to lose a name you planned to keep. I like to do this at least two ways: my spreadsheet has a column for expiry date, so I sort on that. I also sort at each registrar by expiry date, just to catch any that may be wrong on my spreadsheet. Some also depend on the three required emails from the registrar, or use auto renew on certain names.
- Many like to bid on auctions near close, as opposed to using proxy bids.
- Update your records. It is important to have records, in a spreadsheet or some other form, for all of your domain names. It is one of those tasks that definitely needs doing, but can seem easy to put off.
- See if there is important news that impacts your domain activities. For example, are there important changes in products, trending terms, warnings, price promotions, etc. NamePros is my go-to resource here, and I think it is important to daily check active discussions, warnings, etc. You can follow certain discussions, like the official ones for platforms that you use, to make this more efficient.
- Some time should be spent on learning. That can in long run help me be a more successful investor. It is easy to put off, but important to do. A future NamePros Blog article will look at the topic of effective and efficient learning.
- Liquidate names If there are names you have decided not to likely renew, you may want to list them at liquidation prices or in auctions here at NamePros, or on a wholesale platform. See the article Liquidate Domain Names or Not, That Is The Question.
- Learning a new tool, or how to set up a shortcut, can save you time. When I finally took time to learn ExpiredDomains that was transformative in how I acquire domains. When I got around to saving sets of DNS Records for all of my TXT verifications at some of my favourite registrars, ultimately that saves endless time. It was a little thing, but one day I put all of the nameservers, TXT verifications, etc. I use frequently in a spreadsheet for easy copy and paste – I use that every day.
- Improve presentation. I’ve written about this a couple of times, and I realize views vary, but one thing on my list is to improve descriptions and visual images, for example for premium or standard listings at Atom.
- Work on something substantial. I find it easy to spend all of the time on day-to-day things, like finding names, researching them, getting them listed, etc., and not follow up on the big plans that might be the difference between struggling and being very successful.
- Boosting a name. I use the term boost here in a broad general way. Is there a name you think would really benefit from more visibility, and how can you achieve that. That may be via outbound or social media mention, or possibly using purchased boosts at Atom. You can also achieve new attention by changing landers or price. In fact, an increase or a decrease seems to spur interest.
- Check that all of your landers work. This is a key way potential users find names. I bet that there are at least a few not working, for one reason or another.
- Focus on your best names. Do you know what your 10 best names are? Give them special attention, through how they are listed and presented, how long you have them renewed, how carefully you have thought about pricing, etc. All names are not created equal. Focus on your best.
- Have you promised to do something this week? Much of domain investing just impacts ourselves, but if you have commitments to others, make sure that those receive priority. Don’t be scared to say no to requests either though. Handle your own mental health.
- Backups What happens if your computer fails completely or is stolen. Imagine the worst scenario, and make sure you have current backups to get you through it.
- Security How secure are your most important assets? Are there steps you can take to improve that?
- Help someone. I think it is important if we each do our part in helping others in the community. NamePros is a superb community in that regard. If possible, try to find at least a few minutes each day to give back. It can be as simple as welcoming new members, answering a question, words of encouragement, sharing a tool or technique, etc.
Have Your Say
I used numbers on the above list to make it easy to reference. Let’s have a lively discussion In the comments below tell me:
- Which items should have highest priority?
- Which could I safely set aside for a week?
- Which could be eliminated entirely from the list?
- What items have I left off my list, but you think are an important part of a domainer daily workflow?
I am not going to share what I worked on, and what I set aside, until others have commented. I will in time share in the discussion below what I attended to this week, and why. I will also share my reasoning on why I thought certain items could be delayed.
Right now, I have less time than normal to spend on domain names, so writing about this felt timely, although did add a bit to the stress of trying to find time.
Here are a few reflections from thinking and writing about this topic.
- Try to ask yourself, will it really matter if I don’t do it right now?
- Which items have the largest probable impact?
- Even though all the names may not be important, it is often more efficient to do related tasks together.
- When I retired, I stopped using a schedule and to do lists. But maybe it is critical to do that, especially if you have many competing important items on the go. How do you handle keeping track of important tasks?
- Now and then ask if some things are draining time but honestly have little purpose.
- Will some things be easier to do if you wait a little while. Sometimes new features are buggy, for example.
- I don’t think it is irrelevant to make one consideration what you like to do. There is a downside to that though, and you need to find balance so important things you don’t like doing still get done too.
- When are you most and least efficient? I am a morning person, but not very energetic in the evening. I tend to do mechanical things, like updating my spreadsheet and expense record in the evening.
"they're just names for sale". Man, I hope I dont croak before I sell my domains!
