guide 10 rules I follow when contacting end-users.

[infosec3]

1. Get the correct email. In many cases, Whois only shows the web developer contact information.

2. Keep your email short with no more than two paragraphs of only two or three short sentences.

3. Contact end-users one by one, never in bulk.

4. Don't keep contacting people that do not respond.

5. If you get a response, answer immediately. Most purchases are made impulsively.

6. Fully identify yourself or your company.

7. Give the recipient the option to stop receiving your emails or unsubscribing.

8. Don't ask the end-user to make an offer, because you are the one contacting him. You should know the price of your own product.

9. Have an online presence yourself (a domain portal or something of that sort). If end-users can't find you online, that might make them think twice about buying your name.

10. Modify the wording of your email once in a while.

 

[kaz2]

Their Website, Facebook page, Whois, contact form or another way available.

So I take it you do not just send it to a generic admin or contact us address? Do you ever use the contact us forms on a website? Cheers.

 

[silentg]

These are some great tips.

 

[infosec3]

I send it to the best address available. If I am able to find the owner or CEO, generally by doing some extra search on Google, that is what I use. If not, I settle for the one I can get.

 

[kaz2]

I send it to the best address available. If I am able to find the owner or CEO, generally by doing some extra search on Google, that is what I use. If not, I settle for the one I can get.

Thanks, this is good info. I have a question which is the big elephant in the room...how do you avoid spam complaints as even sending 1 unsolicited commercial email can be construed as spam - what steps do you take to avoid spam complaints? This is my biggest worry about emailing out end users.

 

[dsant]

what is your experience of contacting by short emails end users/company via linkedin? I just built a dn company page.

 

[OceanKing]

Thanks for the article. Very valuable. Is it ok to contact an end user immediately after the registration of the domain name?

 

[DANEYAL]

Thanks, precisely mentioned valuable points on the subject.

 

[SammyLee]

Nice points

 

[Bullock]

2. Keep your email short with no more than two paragraphs of only two or three short sentences.

Hi Infosec3,

may you post a basic but effictive template?

Thanks

 

[kaz2]

Hi infosec3, I have obtained the 50 tips guide mentioned in your signature and am going through it. I have to say that it is packed full of practical advice, much more than I expected.

Tips on pricing domains (very interesting when you see so many newbies, myself included, hand regging a domain for $10 and then expecting $X,XXX), choosing domains, the best place to hand register domains and much more. You also give solid advice on how how to avoid spam complaints and the best way to send emails which, for me personally, is so important.

I was also interested to see what payment methods your buyers adopt as, when selling lower priced domains, escrow is not always viable.

The only recommendation I would make it to put is as black font on a white background but that is a minor point - the key thing is the content which is good.

All in all in is a good read and has valuable advice from someone who is actually selling domains at the level most of us newbies are operating at - many thanks for producing this guide which puts it in one place.

 

[RGkiiing]

infosec is the man if you didnt know, now you do

 

[WatchDogue]

Nice and succinct "10 Rules to follow" when contacting an end-user!

In particular # 5 & # 8 are important to adhere to when initiating the sale.

Thanks for posting!

 

[Brandevise]

1. Get the correct email. In many cases, Whois only shows the web developer contact information.

2. Keep your email short with no more than two paragraphs of only two or three short sentences.

3. Contact end-users one by one, never in bulk.

4. Don't keep contacting people that do not respond.

5. If you get a response, answer immediately. Most purchases are made impulsively.

6. Fully identify yourself or your company.

7. Give the recipient the option to stop receiving your emails or unsubscribing.

8. Don't ask the end-user to make an offer, because you are the one contacting him. You should know the price of your own product.

9. Have an online presence yourself (a domain portal or something of that sort). If end-users can't find you online, that might make them think twice about buying your name.

10. Modify the wording of your email once in a while.

#3 is right on point especially if you don't want your domain flagged as SPAM.

I can understand #4 since I used to not even respond to offers that I wasn't interested in, however as I now am making more of an effort to find end-users myself, I'm always hoping that they at least have the courtesy of responding back with a yes or no.

#7 is one I haven't done and I can see how important it is to include. Normally I have these on newsletters I send out when visitors opt-in, but never on individual emails I send myself.

How can you include an option to stop receiving your emails if they have not opted in?

Would simply asking at the closing of the email in the P.S. section a good idea?

 

[domix]

nice tips.

 

[TravisS]

#3 is right on point especially if you don't want your domain flagged as SPAM.

I can understand #4 since I used to not even respond to offers that I wasn't interested in, however as I now am making more of an effort to find end-users myself, I'm always hoping that they at least have the courtesy of responding back with a yes or no.

#7 is one I haven't done and I can see how important it is to include. Normally I have these on newsletters I send out when visitors opt-in, but never on individual emails I send myself.

How can you include an option to stop receiving your emails if they have not opted in?

Would simply asking at the closing of the email in the P.S. section a good idea?

Per #7....

Yeah, that's the best way to do it. If I receive an unsolicited message with an "opt-out" or "unsubscribe", I'd be a little irritated. After all, it's not like I signed up for it.

Just stick a little clause before your closing. ~"This is a 1 time email", etc, etc.

On the other hand, if you've crafted the entirety of the message well enough, the reader won't be thinking it's spam, etc., etc. A well crafted message may not always illicit the "sold" you want, but it should never have the recipient coming back at you screaming, "spammer". Typically most, just won't bother responding.

I wouldn't do/well I don't do #7. I think it's limiting. If you were to follow up for some reason, make a call in addition to an email, etc., etc.,...it just makes for unnecessary complications. But what the above example would also do, is incite a energy/eagerness for the buyer. But still, there's better ways to draw that out than tacking that on.

#4 Your trying to illicit a response. People like to respond with short, easy answers. If you make it so it's easy for them to respond, and make them want to respond, than they'll respond.

#4.5 You can always track your emails. That way, you'll never wonder if that guy or gal opened it, and then ignored it. Regardless, it's better to just leave the person be when in doubt.

#8 "Don't ask for them to make an offer" That's not necessarily true. Situation depending, but I would often give min/max price OR buy it now $X. I prefer doing it that way, as gives the buyer a little leverage.

#9 I'm just adding, using a free mail or whatever portal. Honestly, sometimes it's preferable. You should always strive for 100% in professionalism of course, but....sometimes using a gmail (preference depending) can be a little more inviting for some people. It's also a good way to look like you don't care about the name, messaging the guy/gal outta the blue, and bing, bang, bong.

#11 Don't spam or frankly (inadvertently) message other active domain investors, especially if your tactics are the slightest bit questionable. They shouldn't be anyways...but some people have zero shame lol.

Awesome list. Being devils advocated. Besides, to each is own. Switching it up is always better than sticking to the same pitch. Thanks!

 

[TravisS]

There was a few things I meant to edit on the above, but couldn't get to it in time lol.
....

Switching it up is always better than sticking to the same pitch. I'm sure most have their own brand of things, depending on what they know of the name, buyer, etc. Substitute this sentence for x, y, or z, type deal. Sometimes I am just passing a name along to someone I think would be interested, not necessarily trying to squeeze every dollar out of it, assuming they lack the budget for negotiations. It's good way to gauge how effective your actually being with all things considered. With all that said, I'm a little too lazy for outbound haha. Wish I did it more.

 

[33S]

Although I tend to register both if they are available, I prefer to offer only one at a time. Once the end-user has purchased the first one, then I mention that I also own the other domain.

The reason behind this is that giving clients more than one option at first might distract them from making a purchase in the first place.

Thank you

I just got a bunch of cash for gold ones, what do you think is better: city+cashforgold or cashforgold+city? I know that business should come after city but it seems to be a different case. Or is it not?
And is CashForGold better than Cash4Gold?

 

[33S]

What do you guys think is a good subject line - "yourdomain.com domain name", "yourdomain.com domain name for sale" or like one NP user suggested we should put the end user's domain name in the subject line - "theirdomain.com question"?

 

[Asfas1000]

Federer, what is your subject line ?

 

[Georgi Vasilev]

I think it's a good idea to include your photo in the email's signature. Also it looks nice when the signature itself looks professional.

 

[kaz2]

This week I redesigned our main template (see below) and it is producing 3x more replies and sales than before:


Hello,

We thought you may be be interested in a domain name we are looking to sell:

LakeCharlesAttorneys.com

According to Google Keyword Planner, there are 50 monthly searches for those keywords. You could capitalise on some of these searches by developing the domain and forwarding targeted traffic to your main website (via outbound links, enquiry form etc.).

The domain is for sale for $199.
Please let me know if your business would be interested in this opportunity as we are reaching out to some companies that we feel could benefit from the branding appeal this domain could offer.

Best regards,
Federer

Rua Address Number | Postcode / ZIP Code | Country
Direct Phone | Cellphone
- Any history of the Domain can be viewed here: web.archive.org/LakeCharlesAttorneys.com
- Registration info: whois.domaintools.com/LakeCharlesAttorneys.com
- This is a one-time advertisement that is being sent to your company just once; please reply « stop » if you no longer wish to receive a message from us in the future


Potential buyers seem to MUCH rather see a stated price in the initial email.

Federer, this is a fantastic post and a great example of what is close to a perfect sales letter! The 3 points you make in your next post about why it converts are bang on the money (no pun intended).

Can I please ask if the 3 domains you sold ever received passive inbound offers and how long did you hold them for?

Thanks!

 

[33S]

@Federer

You have an awesome sales letter. When you're telling an end user about Keyword Planner's monthly searches, do you include in your number similar searches, like "Attorneys Lake Charles"? Because searches with a city in the end are way more numerous than the ones with a city in the beginning, although domains with a city in the end are less desirable.

 

[Asfas1000]

Also Federer if you could comment on which industries to avoid for this type of domains (geo) ...

 

[roshdomains]

Just came across this thread, I was wondering what are people's thoughts on sending emails about a Flippa auction to prospective end users. Does the fact that they have to sign up for the auction place deter them, verify details etc deter them?

 

[Domain Wildcatter]

Great info everyone! Thanks!

I would contribute the suggestion to get a Google Voice number and add it to your contact information in the email. Very easy to setup. Get to pick your own phone number. Becomes a firewall against having to use your personal phone number.