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Epik University - Branding question

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What would you call a free online university for learning to buy and sell domains?

  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.
  • Epik University -- EpikU.com for short

    21 
    votes
    41.2%
  • DomainFlippa -- keep the old brand but just make it free

    votes
    3.9%
  • Come up with a new name that you won't outgrow

    18 
    votes
    35.3%
  • The whole idea is stupid and you wasted your money!

    10 
    votes
    19.6%
  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.

Rob Monster

Founder of EpikTop Member
Epik Founder
Impact
18,389
Over the weekend, Epik acquired a very interesting set of courses from Troy Rushton. You can get a sense of the content here:

https://learn.domainflippa.com/

The plan is to open up all the courses -- they will be free. In many parts of the world, even a $49 tuition is unaffordable. So, we want to democratize knowledge.

The question on the table is about branding. Providentially, we secured EpikU.com on the drop this week and could forward it to a subdomain like university.epik.com.

However, there is also a case for putting it out there as stand-alone brand.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Given you have acquired all this content, and Epik is a great brand, I would encourage you to build out this program, and charge the $49/$79/$99 or whatever you like, otherwise you can offer coupon codes for free use to emerging markets like Nigeria etc... on a need to basis...

Lots of people are curious about domains, have no idea how to start, so if you have solid content, you should be able to get a nice added revenue stream to Epik with an online University.

The difference between yourself, and other programs is you can actually show, and present real results of domains you are selling everyday, people are always driven by results, and thinking well why can't I do the same. Plus you guys live, and breathe this stuff from start to finish on a daily basis, with all the tools from domain registration, dropcatching, hosting, and development it's a great continuation to the epik stream.
 
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Given you have acquired all this content, and Epik is a great brand, I would encourage you to build out this program, and charge the $49/$79/$99 or whatever you like, otherwise you can offer coupon codes for free use to emerging markets like Nigeria etc... on a need to basis...

Lots of people are curious about domains, have no idea how to start, so if you have solid content, you should be able to get a nice added revenue stream to Epik with an online University.

The difference between yourself, and other programs is you can actually show, and present real results of domains you are selling everyday, people are always driven by results, and thinking well why can't I do the same. Plus you guys live, and breathe this stuff from start to finish on a daily basis, with all the tools from domain registration, dropcatching, hosting, and development it's a great continuation to the epik stream.

That is brilliant advice -- use coupon codes so that people in emerging markets can get it for free but others who can afford it could pay a bit so that we can afford to hire more content producers and add live 24/7 chat support for coaching, etc. I owe you. PM me your Epik account. Will send some Epik account credit if that is useful to you. That was really some "money" advice and the idea was something I completely overlooked!
 
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The question on the table is about branding. Providentially, we secured EpikU.com on the drop this week and could forward it to a subdomain like university.epik.com.

However, there is also a case for putting it out there as stand-alone brand.

Stand-alone brand sounds good, and then you can subsidize the cost for people who can't afford it.

Also it might be a good idea to expand the use and development aspect of the domain in addition to sales and provide some training courses on that subject. IMO
 
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Over the weekend, Epik acquired a very interesting set of courses from Troy Rushton. You can get a sense of the content here:

https://learn.domainflippa.com/

The plan is to open up all the courses -- they will be free. In many parts of the world, even a $49 tuition is unaffordable. So, we want to democratize knowledge.

The question on the table is about branding. Providentially, we secured EpikU.com on the drop this week and could forward it to a subdomain like university.epik.com.

However, there is also a case for putting it out there as stand-alone brand.
Looks like a scam.
 
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Looks like a scam.
Scams are usually from people who don't have results, or any skin in the current game. They just want to sell clickbank type infomercial programs for $39, and have a throw away customer. If you build a business like Epik, you want to build compliment products so your customers can do everything in house.

This is starting from the ground, and building into something if they have the vision, and drive, nothing wrong with that, Epik has all the tools if they find the education fitting to move forward. I think the one hook that gets us all is that we can take a $8 reg fee domain, and flip it for $500, $1000, $10000, $25000 etc... It took many of us years of trial, and error to figure this out. Like me personally I don't touch geo based real estate domains, because I know real estate people for the most part don't get it, and they don't want to invest the money, the names however always sell for a premium as people tend to think otherwise until they have to go sell them...so why put myeslf thru that trouble.

I have learned this the hard way like others, but I learned. Not wasting money on such industries, or domains can really help people be more successful, it takes time, but one day you can get to a point, and see a name, and you just know if it is worth the bid, or not. Another thing is trends, sell when the news is hot, self driving cars a year or two ago they were all the rage, people were paying a premium for the domains, and now? crickets....

Guys like Troy Rushton, gosh I don't know how many years back he started Protrada which let you bid in domain auctions if you couldn't watch them live, by placing the max bid you want to pay, and then it would place a min bid up to your proxy, or until you got the high bid. I think he also had a feature that let you bid at a set time etc... This is going back to 2011, when automated bidding was not at the level it was today, and godaddy had 2 min reset on each bid, These guys have a lot of knowledge of he industry as most people don't really know the name, but he has done a lot behind the scenes for over a decade, and probably had a lot of knowledge that went into his programs that comes with trial, and error.
 
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Scams are usually from people who don't have results, or any skin in the current game. They just want to sell clickbank type infomercial programs for $39, and have a throw away customer. If you build a business like Epik, you want to build compliment products so your customers can do everything in house.

This is starting from the ground, and building into something if they have the vision, and drive, nothing wrong with that, Epik has all the tools if they find the education fitting to move forward. I think the one hook that gets us all is that we can take a $8 reg fee domain, and flip it for $500, $1000, $10000, $25000 etc... It took many of us years of trial, and error to figure this out. Like me personally I don't touch geo based real estate domains, because I know real estate people for the most part don't get it, and they don't want to invest the money, the names however always sell for a premium as people tend to think otherwise until they have to go sell them...so why put myeslf thru that trouble.

I have learned this the hard way like others, but I learned. Not wasting money on such industries, or domains can really help people be more successful, it takes time, but one day you can get to a point, and see a name, and you just know if it is worth the bid, or not. Another thing is trends, sell when the news is hot, self driving cars a year or two ago they were all the rage, people were paying a premium for the domains, and now? crickets....

Guys like Troy Rushton, gosh I don't know how many years back he started Protrada which let you bid in domain auctions if you couldn't watch them live, by placing the max bid you want to pay, and then it would place a min bid up to your proxy, or until you got the high bid. I think he also had a feature that let you bid at a set time etc... This is going back to 2011, when automated bidding was not at the level it was today, and godaddy had 2 min reset on each bid, These guys have a lot of knowledge of he industry as most people don't really know the name, but he has done a lot behind the scenes for over a decade, and probably had a lot of knowledge that went into his programs that comes with trial, and error.
Thanks for your considered reply.

I missed the part about opening up the courses gratis/ for free. Excuse me.
 
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Thanks for your considered reply.

I missed the part about opening up the courses gratis/ for free. Excuse me.

Yup, most courses will be free. We are still working on the details. Maybe some approved folks could contribute their courses, e.g. how to sell domains in China, etc.

We'll try to make it as useful to as many people as possible.
 
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Feature Idea:

You can have some tests or screening in the end. Well performing candidates can apply and get funneled into the MicroFinancing Program or get some benefits from the Digital Empowerment Program

It can be a good incentive to take up the courses and get serious.
 
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Over the weekend, Epik acquired a very interesting set of courses from Troy Rushton. You can get a sense of the content here:

https://learn.domainflippa.com/

The plan is to open up all the courses -- they will be free. In many parts of the world, even a $49 tuition is unaffordable. So, we want to democratize knowledge.

The question on the table is about branding. Providentially, we secured EpikU.com on the drop this week and could forward it to a subdomain like university.epik.com.

However, there is also a case for putting it out there as stand-alone brand.
Great idea! Also i think one more idea is to give access of this content for free to the Epik users especially for the users who uses Epik as their favorite registrar say users who have registered 1000s of domains at epik or transferred 1000s of domains to Epik from other registrar and use Epik from longtime. You can introduce Epik points for the same, these points will be allocated based on the Domains registered or other services using. Once, any user reaches specific number of Epik points they will get free access to the premium Epik content.

This way new members attracted to Epik as a registrar and for other services as already Epik is known for their services and this way users will also get benefitted!

Thanks,
Sumeeth
 
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Why is something with the world flippa in it, even in consideration? I know that's the past/current name but that was never good. You would get a new name or something with Epik in it.
 
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Why is something with the world flippa in it, even in consideration? I know that's the past/current name but that was never good. You would get a new name or something with Epik in it.

I included it just in case the legacy brand was considered a positive asset. It might be, but perhaps not. So it was a sort of baseline for the poll.
 
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I included it just in case the legacy brand was considered a positive asset. It might be, but perhaps not. So it was a sort of baseline for the poll.

I think everybody in domaining that sees that name thinks of Flippa.com and there would be confusion if this product is tied to them. Definitely something I would drop.
 
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"Epik U" is the brand and EpikU.com the matching domain. Happy to help regarding China market.
 
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Epik Promos all over the place

breaking news
namepros is getting bought by @Rob Monster

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Weren't it for your post, I would still think epik had affiliations with flippa.com for this project.
 
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Epik Promos all over the place

breaking news
namepros is getting bought by @Rob Monster

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It would have been more appropriate if the threads were in the following forum section, as all the other promotions are:
https://www.namepros.com/forums/promotional.15/

In regard to your idea, it won't work.
Mastery of Domaining can't be achieved by just reading "educational" material.
It can help a bit, but it is certainly a very small part of the equation.

A lot of experience, understanding of the market demand, language/s & negotiation skills can help one to succeed.
 
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Epik Promos all over the place

breaking news
namepros is getting bought by @Rob Monster

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Show attachment 130003

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You call it promo. I call it engagement and community participation.

Engagement and community participation by companies in the industry is a good thing. It's productive for the community as a whole. Companies become more transparent and understood. They become better equipped to solve our problems as they engage in conversation with the community.

We, as a community, should encourage engagement and community participation by companies instead of villifying it.

I hope we continue to see more community participation and engagement from many companies in the near future.

Please don't confuse "promo" with "engagement" and/or "community participation."


pro·mo
/ˈprōmō/
INFORMAL
noun
  1. a piece of publicity or advertising,

en·gage
/inˈɡāj,enˈɡāj/
verb
  1. 1.
    occupy, attract, or involve (someone's interest or attention).
Community participation can be loosely defined as the involvement of people in a commu- nity in projects to solve their own problems. People cannot be forced to 'participate' in projects which affect their lives but should be given the opportunity where possible.
 
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It would have been more appropriate if the threads were in the following forum section, as all the other promotions are:
https://www.namepros.com/forums/promotional.15/

In regard to your idea, it won't work.
Mastery of Domaining can't be achieved by just reading "educational" material.
It can help a bit, but it is certainly a very small part of the equation.

A lot of experience, understanding of the market demand, language/s & negotiation skills can help one to succeed.

We are sharing best practices. I am an open book.

I DON'T want people buying crap. Why?

I don't want people to lose money. I want them to becoming financially independent and sovereign.

I don't want them registering crap and tying up money for us with Verisign during grace renewal or cluttering our marketplaces with garbage, or reducing our SEO authority with content that nobody wants.

The challenge is to teach and coach at scale. If you have thoughts there, I am all ears.
 
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Over the weekend, Epik acquired a very interesting set of courses from Troy Rushton. You can get a sense of the content here:

https://learn.domainflippa.com/

The plan is to open up all the courses -- they will be free. In many parts of the world, even a $49 tuition is unaffordable. So, we want to democratize knowledge.

The question on the table is about branding. Providentially, we secured EpikU.com on the drop this week and could forward it to a subdomain like university.epik.com.

However, there is also a case for putting it out there as stand-alone brand.

Another cool initiative.

I'd suggest that you use subdomain/folder of EPIK, as it is in line with your core business.

Call it Epik Domain University (EDU) and make it accessible via epik.com/university or epik.com/edu

Cool part: EDU also means education )
 
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i'm for EpikUniversity.com
 
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