discuss New ways to sell domains?

Fancy.domains said:

You’ll just need the quality ingredients and the “secret” recipe.

Click to expand...

Sureee
I prefer top ingredients to reach highest qualityyy
The secret recipe in my case is that I make no secret of it - simply because domain names are anyway not copyable and therefore every domain name('s individual recipe) is protected, means noone can bake the same domain nameee

Arpit131 said:

Hello guys..
Let's discuss new ways to sell domain names.

It's been quite sometime since we happened to brainstorm on this particular things.

Last I heard, someone was using Twitter ads to sell their domain names and it was working for them!

Let's discuss some more on this..
Think of the craziest ways and share it here. Who knows, something worthwhile comes up maybe!!

The idea is to think out of the box! Go crazy!
Share the best way you could think of

Click to expand...

There's not a whole lot new under the sun, but unless you have a great name for yourself/business, you should probably change it. While most of the "serious" good names for your domain business are already taken, here are a couple of names that are available that might draw attention; LobsterDomains(.)com, who doesn't like lobster?, TootyFruityDomains(.)com (could be at TM issue, but i doubt it?) or CheescakeDomains(.)com...who doesn't like Cheesecake? Then there's your personal name...the guy who owns Epik (domain registrar) his real name is Rob Monster...now that's one you'll never forget. I'm guessing he owns MonsterDomains that appears to have sold for $3,500. Regardless, if you're going to be in the "name" business, you better have a good to great name

HotKey said:

@BrandCougar

One of the best I've seen (videos) is from the owner/broker/marketer or whoever of:
p r e s i d e n t . c o m

If need a solid example, imo this one is a home run, for a "home made" video. As it should be, for his asking price.

**

As per new ways to sell domains... try talking to people. Like person to person. Personal engagement, a handshake, a smile or a nod, are reactions that come naturally rather than planned, and can influence the outcome of the conversation in a positive manner, and nothing beats word-of-mouth. It creates a trust factor because people can associate a real face to it (on the downside, if you're a regular to the spot, you'll hear about it if things don't work out).

Out of the box idea? How about hide in a cardboard box downtown, wait for the execs going to lunch, then suddenly jump out with a bunch of tiny pieces of paper spraying everywhere with your domain name and phone number on it.. kinda like those "babysitter available" plastered on telephone poles..

Click to expand...

great idea


but

antique and unprofessional colors and sound
spoil the value

ThatNameGuy said:

NameSplice...glad you asked. I'd planned to have a booth at the worlds largest amateur handicap golf tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC last August, but it turned out my nephew was getting married that week, and Donuts (the registry for .Golf) was transitioning, and couldn't co-sponsor/partner with me. A good friend played in the tournament and said I really should have been there I even planned to have a LPGA pro and another golf pro work the booth with me, and a representative from Donuts. I do plan on going this year for the 36th annual tournament where over 3.000 male and female golfers from around the world will be there. I also looked at it as an opportunity to introduce the domain industry, not only to golfers but bankers, lawyers, doctors, business owners, teachers etc.that play in the tournament.

I also intend to display "industry specific" domains at trade shows in the homes, realty and mortgage industry where I own a couple hundred domains that relate to those industries. A registry in my hometown owns Homes(.)com and the new gTLD .homes. Originally I was hoping to work with them to help promote domains in general, but it appears now they're going to want to work with me

Finally, i'd like to create a briefcase domain display where a domain agent, like a real estate agent, can sell domains on a street corner in Manhattan I've actually created a .com domain that's perfect for selling domain displays. It would be perfect to take it to meet-ups, Chamber of Commerce meetings, colleges, or even Startup incubators.

While it would be nice to sell domains on the spot, at least enough to cover expenses, the real value will come from the contacts and interest we're able to generate for the domain industry

Click to expand...

you are a great visionary of domain name sales tactics

did you ever sell a domain that way?

frank-germany said:

you are a great visionary of domain name sales tactics

did you ever sell a domain that way?

Click to expand...

I expected that question, but I haven't done my first trade show yet. That said however, I've sold all sorts of intangible business services at trade shows. I've sold medical billing systems hardware and software, I've sold credit/collection systems to creditors, investigative services to banks, and niche tax services to lawyers.

The whole trade show experience provides the sort of confidence needed to sell domains directly to decision makers. The naysayers will say the attendees already have names to which I say, doesn't everybody Besides, a certain percentage of attendees are always looking to "go it on their own", and they're going to need a domain.

I'd be doing it now if it weren't for the fact that I'm still seeking a partner to compliment my experience and expertise, and the likes of Go Daddy and Donuts may be just the ticket

maxtra said:

Stand on the street corner and hawk your names

Click to expand...

LOL. This got me really laughing

ThatNameGuy said:

I expected that question, but I haven't done my first trade show yet. That said however, I've sold all sorts of intangible business services at trade shows. I've sold medical billing systems hardware and software, I've sold credit/collection systems to creditors, investigative services to banks, and niche tax services to lawyers.

The whole trade show experience provides the sort of confidence needed to sell domains directly to decision makers. The naysayers will say the attendees already have names to which I say, doesn't everybody Besides, a certain percentage of attendees are always looking to "go it on their own", and they're going to need a domain.

I'd be doing it now if it weren't for the fact that I'm still seeking a partner to compliment my experience and expertise, and the likes of Go Daddy and Donuts may be just the ticket

Click to expand...

I think you have potential
but need to tweak here and there

especially I 'm not a fan of your domains
as far as I know them

but like to look at things from a different angle
and obviously, you do so too.

but I would love to see 1 or 2 results from your efforts

plans don't make a sale...

ThatNameGuy said:

NameSplice...glad you asked. I'd planned to have a booth at the worlds largest amateur handicap golf tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC last August, but it turned out my nephew was getting married that week, and Donuts (the registry for .Golf) was transitioning, and couldn't co-sponsor/partner with me. A good friend played in the tournament and said I really should have been there I even planned to have a LPGA pro and another golf pro work the booth with me, and a representative from Donuts. I do plan on going this year for the 36th annual tournament where over 3.000 male and female golfers from around the world will be there. I also looked at it as an opportunity to introduce the domain industry, not only to golfers but bankers, lawyers, doctors, business owners, teachers etc.that play in the tournament.

I also intend to display "industry specific" domains at trade shows in the homes, realty and mortgage industry where I own a couple hundred domains that relate to those industries. A registry in my hometown owns Homes(.)com and the new gTLD .homes. Originally I was hoping to work with them to help promote domains in general, but it appears now they're going to want to work with me

Finally, i'd like to create a briefcase domain display where a domain agent, like a real estate agent, can sell domains on a street corner in Manhattan I've actually created a .com domain that's perfect for selling domain displays. It would be perfect to take it to meet-ups, Chamber of Commerce meetings, colleges, or even Startup incubators.

While it would be nice to sell domains on the spot, at least enough to cover expenses, the real value will come from the contacts and interest we're able to generate for the domain industry

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.
I knew you were not so much for just listing names at marketplaces and you had an "out of the box" (or "out of the booth",should I say)strategy plan to sell some of your names. I was just curious if this strategy was working out for you and if so, I thought this thread would be a good place to share your experiences.
Looking forward to hearing about some sales. Thanks

Has anyone tried an approach of offering the domain name with a startup website? I am not sure of the costs involved with being a reselling webhost service, but I think to many tiny businesses the idea of buying a domain with even a very basic few pages up and going quickly would encourage them to get their own domain.

I personally don't want to get into the website creation business (partly because I would be terrible at it ) but I wondered if people have either offered both services, or partnered with someone who did.

Bob

Follow the founder/CEO of your target company to his regular bar, club or restaurant.
Make sure you wear the domain name printed Tshirt.

You can print 'Make offer' or the BIN price at the backside.

Wait for him to get drunk and then introduce yourself.

frank-germany said:

I think you have potential
but need to tweak here and there

especially I 'm not a fan of your domains
as far as I know them

but like to look at things from a different angle
and obviously, you do so too.

but I would love to see 1 or 2 results from your efforts

plans don't make a sale...

Click to expand...

Frank....plans do make sales, and I have 50 years of planning experience that proves it. Besides, you don't know my domains, only what you've been told. Do you know my .Golf domains? Can you name even one of them? How about my .Homes domains? And btw, slightly over 50% of my portfolio of 1,500 domains are .coms, and not just new gTLD's. And yes, ALL my domains were hand reg'd much to the chagrin of many of the old timers. Were you at NamesCon in Vegas? If you were, maybe you'd have a little more respect for my passion, my experience and my drive. The last think I'll clue you in on is the importance of a sense of humor where laughter is like a mini vacation.

Finally, I'm not cowing to the way old time domainers would like for me to play. I realized early on that an opportunity exists for a guy like me who understands business, and has named dozens of successful startups.

Frank...i have other "new ways to sell domains", but I'm not about to share results just to set myself up for ridicule...i'm way too smart for that. Cheers!

register exact match address domains for big luxury developments.
point to Zillow map with all properties for sale around the same area as development you are targetting.

redirect domain to that page.

contact development tell them your .com.

BrandCougar said:

@DefinitelyDomains

THANK YOU!

That is the type of example I was looking for - something that provides us a sense of what has been tried.

The piece looked professional. Well done!

A few questions come to mind...

1) What sort of response did you receive? via Email? or via YouTube comments? Other?

2) Curious - what was your specific "Call to Action" in the piece to help drive an inquiry?

3) Who was your target market? What demographic? What skill set? What need definition?

4) What tools did you use to develop the piece?


Please share or feel free to contact me via DM.

Thanks,

-Cougar


ps: Thanks for sharing your video channel. Your "AerialEarth.com" video provided more of a Call-to-Action with the bold white email (subtle call to action). One other thought... yes I am a bit interested in what you have provided - what questions did you ask in the piece to help QUALIFY prospective buyers? NATM - Need? Authorization? Timeframe? Money? (buyer qualifying type of questions)

Your "AllAboutAutos.com" poked a couple qualifying questions on the screen. Well done! Nicely layered into the upbeat music and casual video. This one had the best audience "engagement" and call-to-action.

You have developed a great base to build on. The more you can qualify your prospects and direct them to contact you, the better.

Click to expand...

@BrandCougar - thanks for the feedback and apologies for the late reply. To be completely honest, I didn't receive any responses. It's fair to say that I was merely messing around so didn't do much in terms in marketing and self promoting the videos. They didn't receive many views either which is obvious from checking out the video stats.

That's not to say that they can't be effective and there's certainly a lack of people out there opting for this method of promoting names. For me, this is a particular area of focus for this year.

I look forward to sharing the results.

Here's my latest addition... (while I had 30 mins to spare!)

@DefinitelyDomains -

I like the upbeat tone of you videos.

My feedback...

What I saw was a (4) phase piece.

1) Intro - a clear statement that it is a domain you are selling and its name.
2) Curtain Drop - which outlines a "value proposition" - but one that only domain resellers might see as value.
3) Call to Action - via a simple bold question - YES!
4) Contact Info - a passive request for an action "to email you".

I would suggest a few changes that better TARGET your intended prospect.

1) Intro - good with what you have (tho given the domain name, I would use more of an "AllAboutAutos" classier theme as your domain is "RentASupercar" (more prestigious and less cartoonish).
2) Curtain Drop - make it about the buyer (not a domainer views) - ask a question more tailored to a high-end car rental vendor - "Is your inventory sitting or being driven?" or even more bold "Do you make money while your cars are parked?" or "Are you making interest payments while your cars sit idle?" Try to hit some kind of nerve with the viewer - stick a knife in it and wiggle it 'til it makes them upset! Touch a nerve, then solve that problem.
3) Call to Action - what you had was simple, bold, and to the point - the word "Interested?" is a lead-in to a call to action.
4) Contact / "The Close" - something that entices them to do something.... other than watch the video 2-3 times... for example "Contact us today to discuss how we can help you drive traffic to your site?" or (and I know I'm old school, but "Call Today! 111-222-1234" Your lead gen rate is 3X if you provide a phone # above your email address. The goal of that initial conversation is to QUALIFY the PROSPECT. It is not to toss out a price.

I think you have something interesting going on with your video approach. I once heard that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google's search box. And I think video is a terrific way to poke an emotional response (it is a mini-TV model) an inexpensive advertising venue if you can find a way to harness it.

Thanks again for sharing your video model. I am curious, what software are you using to develop these snippets?

-Cougar

ps: Please don't get me wrong - your initial venture into this is quite interesting - and the initial video pieces your created are quite professional looking - especially the "AllAboutAutos.com" one. That's really got a draw to it - calm, relaxing, (get me out of this damn cubical) type feeling to it. Spot on terrific!

Bob Hawkes said:

Has anyone tried an approach of offering the domain name with a startup website? I am not sure of the costs involved with being a reselling webhost service, but I think to many tiny businesses the idea of buying a domain with even a very basic few pages up and going quickly would encourage them to get their own domain.

I personally don't want to get into the website creation business (partly because I would be terrible at it ) but I wondered if people have either offered both services, or partnered with someone who did.

Bob

Click to expand...

I do it for 10+ years. It takes 3+ years for domain to get good SE rankings and most of the time I fail, at least on G. It's very difficult even for experienced webmasters like me. Once you made a profitable website from a domain, you would not want to sell even if you receive offers. Nobody would sell a gold mine unless the offer is exceptional.

If you develop domains, you would be called a webmaster rather than a domainer. Because you would need fully developed, established websites. 1-2 page landing pages have less chance than fully developed domains, more chance than parking pages with no real content. It's something in between. "Startup website" is probably more than 1-2 page. It may help to sell the domain faster but for less $. Poorly developed website ("startup website") may drop the value of its domain. It's like gamble. Website buyers and domain buyers want different things. If the website fails, it may be worth less than its domain value. That's why some valuable domain drops.

Web hosting cost is almost zero compared to domain renewal costs. Because a hosting account can host multiple domains. The biggest cost is the time needed to learn how to manage a website. It requires to invest 3+ years. For comparison, there are 50x things to learn compared to domaining. You would need to love to learn about websites, servers, SEO, online marketing, etc, and more importantly would need lots of time to invest with no revenue. It would be similar to become a college student one more time. Hosting cost is nothing.

ThatNameGuy said:

Frank....plans do make sales, and I have 50 years of planning experience that proves it. Besides, you don't know my domains, only what you've been told. Do you know my .Golf domains? Can you name even one of them? How about my .Homes domains? And btw, slightly over 50% of my portfolio of 1,500 domains are .coms, and not just new gTLD's. And yes, ALL my domains were hand reg'd much to the chagrin of many of the old timers. Were you at NamesCon in Vegas? If you were, maybe you'd have a little more respect for my passion, my experience and my drive. The last think I'll clue you in on is the importance of a sense of humor where laughter is like a mini vacation.

Finally, I'm not cowing to the way old time domainers would like for me to play. I realized early on that an opportunity exists for a guy like me who understands business, and has named dozens of successful startups.

Frank...i have other "new ways to sell domains", but I'm not about to share results just to set myself up for ridicule...i'm way too smart for that. Cheers!

Click to expand...

you feel offended
sorry for that

after 23 years of online sales pitches
I'm not so easily found to be enthusiastic about new tactics as 20 years ago

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

I don't care about the quality of your names at all
that's your business not mine

the names I have seen,
- I would have passed on those -

so question again:
did anything work so far
or is it all boiling?

frank-germany said:

you feel offended
sorry for that

after 23 years of online sales pitches
I'm not so easily found to be enthusiastic about new tactics as 20 years ago

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

I don't care about the quality of your names at all
that's your business not mine

the names I have seen,
- I would have passed on those -

so question again:
did anything work so far
or is it all boiling?

Click to expand...

Frank....my life's plans as well as my domain plans have been successful to date On the one hand you say, "I don't care about the quality of your names at all, that's your business", yet you don't know a single .golf or .homes domain I own. As I told you, and you don't seem to understand my answer to your query,
NUNYA BUSINESS!

poweredbyme said:

I do it for 10+ years. It takes 3+ years for domain to get good SE rankings and most of the time I fail, at least on G. It's very difficult even for experienced webmasters like me. Once you made a profitable website from a domain, you would not want to sell even if you receive offers. Nobody would sell a gold mine unless the offer is exceptional.

If you develop domains, you would be called a webmaster rather than a domainer. Because you would need fully developed, established websites. 1-2 page landing pages have less chance than fully developed domains, more chance than parking pages with no real content. It's something in between. "Startup website" is probably more than 1-2 page. It may help to sell the domain faster but for less $. Poorly developed website ("startup website") may drop the value of its domain. It's like gamble. Website buyers and domain buyers want different things. If the website fails, it may be worth less than its domain value. That's why some valuable domain drops.

Web hosting cost is almost zero compared to domain renewal costs. Because a hosting account can host multiple domains. The biggest cost is the time needed to learn how to manage a website. It requires to invest 3+ years. For comparison, there are 50x things to learn compared to domaining. You would need to love to learn about websites, servers, SEO, online marketing, etc, and more importantly would need lots of time to invest with no revenue. It would be similar to become a college student one more time. Hosting cost is nothing.

Click to expand...

Bob Hawkes said:

Has anyone tried an approach of offering the domain name with a startup website? I am not sure of the costs involved with being a reselling webhost service, but I think to many tiny businesses the idea of buying a domain with even a very basic few pages up and going quickly would encourage them to get their own domain.

I personally don't want to get into the website creation business (partly because I would be terrible at it ) but I wondered if people have either offered both services, or partnered with someone who did.

Bob

Click to expand...

Bob...at a minimum, a website template could be offered with every domain for sale. I was meeting with the folks that own .Bible last week, and since returning home I thought it would be nice to offer with a domain name like HawkesFamily.Bible an actual online Bible ...a site where you can make footnotes, high light certain passages, and even have members of your family use the site.

Along with a .Bible domain you might also offer one of Epik's "forever" domain options in case someone in the family would like the domain to be in the family "forever"

As I said, I just met with these folks to discuss ideas, to which they referred to me as an "ideator" It's funny, but I'd never heard that expression, and now that I've Googled the term, I guess I really am an ideator

Finally...even though I've never read the Bible cover to cover, I can see myself high lighting the Ten Commandments in an online family Bible if I were to own it. The only thing holding .Bible back is their price of registration that needs to come down, if they're to succeed imho

Since it's Sunday, instead of signing off with Cheers!, I'll just say God Bless!

May be we can learn from the best domainers or working with the best domainers, then create some modification or combine with massive promotion on right market.

frank-germany said:

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

Click to expand...

Well said @frank-germany. While I totally think it is appropriate and healthy to talk about plans, like @ThatNameGuy does with all his enthusiasm, you remind us that even good ideas sometimes don't work out, and most do not yield results fast.

I wonder if it might look back at what has worked in this industry, and that might help us find new ways moving forward. Here would be my list.

• Brandable Marketplaces. I think these worked by providing a new model that filled a real need for startups. If you look at numbers, that alone is a good revenue source for many domainers too. So why did these work? The existing general marketplaces with 10 million + names were not working effectively for finding names, and the curation feature gave a manageable catalog to browse. You can argue they take too much commission, but the numbers do support that even with that on average they are more profitable for domainers.
• Integrated One Stop Shops. I think the big registrars make most of their money, and why they get most of their customers, is because I can go to a company like GD and register a domain name, add things like security, get web hosting, have an easy start web creation tool, etc. This is not necessarily positive for domainers, but I think has a lesson re what the user base is looking for.
• Advertising. I think most would agree that GD dominate at least to a fair degree because of their overwhelming advertising presence.

So what would you add, and what lessons does it have? I think there may be new ways to advertise and certainly new ways to promote, like the trade show route that @ThatNameGuy promoted. I also feel that the market badly could use new marketplaces that had the curated feature of the brandable ones but that are not restricted to .com (for most part) and are not aimed only at business owners.

I think that Dofo may be industry changing as an easy way to see what is available across multiple marketplaces and with a search engine that is far superior to the big players.

What do end users ultimately want?

1. An efficient and attractive way to see mainly what they might want with a minimum of noise.
2. Enough competition and evidence that they are getting good or at least reasonable value.
3. Trust in the process of acquiring a name.
4. Fast transfer of the name.
5. Ease in going from having the name to putting it to use.
6. Pre, during and follow-up service along the lines of what the real estate (or at least exemplary parts of it) industry offer.

Bob

BrandCougar said:

@DefinitelyDomains -

I like the upbeat tone of you videos.

My feedback...

What I saw was a (4) phase piece.

1) Intro - a clear statement that it is a domain you are selling and its name.
2) Curtain Drop - which outlines a "value proposition" - but one that only domain resellers might see as value.
3) Call to Action - via a simple bold question - YES!
4) Contact Info - a passive request for an action "to email you".

I would suggest a few changes that better TARGET your intended prospect.

1) Intro - good with what you have (tho given the domain name, I would use more of an "AllAboutAutos" classier theme as your domain is "RentASupercar" (more prestigious and less cartoonish).
2) Curtain Drop - make it about the buyer (not a domainer views) - ask a question more tailored to a high-end car rental vendor - "Is your inventory sitting or being driven?" or even more bold "Do you make money while your cars are parked?" or "Are you making interest payments while your cars sit idle?" Try to hit some kind of nerve with the viewer - stick a knife in it and wiggle it 'til it makes them upset! Touch a nerve, then solve that problem.
3) Call to Action - what you had was simple, bold, and to the point - the word "Interested?" is a lead-in to a call to action.
4) Contact / "The Close" - something that entices them to do something.... other than watch the video 2-3 times... for example "Contact us today to discuss how we can help you drive traffic to your site?" or (and I know I'm old school, but "Call Today! 111-222-1234" Your lead gen rate is 3X if you provide a phone # above your email address. The goal of that initial conversation is to QUALIFY the PROSPECT. It is not to toss out a price.

I think you have something interesting going on with your video approach. I once heard that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google's search box. And I think video is a terrific way to poke an emotional response (it is a mini-TV model) an inexpensive advertising venue if you can find a way to harness it.

Thanks again for sharing your video model. I am curious, what software are you using to develop these snippets?

-Cougar

ps: Please don't get me wrong - your initial venture into this is quite interesting - and the initial video pieces your created are quite professional looking - especially the "AllAboutAutos.com" one. That's really got a draw to it - calm, relaxing, (get me out of this damn cubical) type feeling to it. Spot on terrific!

Click to expand...

@DefinitelyDomains -

Below is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier.

I hope the example is helpful...

-Cougar

ps: The only embarrassing thing is they spelled the name incorrectly in the title "InvestYield". Oops!

Educating specific business owners the importance of online presence and how it can increase productivity in their business can create room for you to advertise your domains. IMO

Bob Hawkes said:

An efficient and attractive way to see mainly what they might want with a minimum of noise.

Click to expand...

GoDaddy could benefit from this - they are big on clutter and noise.

BrandCougar said:

@DefinitelyDomains -

Below is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier.

I hope the example is helpful...

-Cougar

ps: The only embarrassing thing is they spelled the name incorrectly in the title "InvestYield". Oops!

Click to expand...

@BrandCougar - Yes it is - thanks!