question A plan for contacting end-users.

[greggb]

So, I purchased a few two-word .coms related to some well-known industries. I think they're pretty good, but of course I would Today I created a script that finds a ton of websites with specified keywords, along with a contact-management tool. Then I started sending off emails.

It's kind of weird for me, because I hate selling, and in fact I've always felt bad when trying to sell something to someone. I'm a lousy salesman. I've read that the key to doing well in domaining is in being a good salesman, but I really don't think I have that in me.

I'm thinking a better approach, given my personality and abilities, is to put a lot of lines in the water and wait for a fish to hook itself. It has to happen sooner or later, right? Someone has to see that domain and decide it's worth the price I'm asking. I've given BIN prices to these domains with the option to make an offer. I'm only asking $299 on one, and $199 on another, and I'm not sure about the 3rd. But the point is that, from the perspective of the buyer, they can have these domain names at an affordable price without all the hassle of negotiating. According to Sedo, domain names with affordable BINs sell 40% more often than those without, by the same logic.

I figure every other day I'll send out 5 new emails for each domain, and one day someone will whip out their credit card and buy it.

Is there anything wrong with that plan?

Thanks

 

[KDN]

First of all, I think that you already have an edge over most of the domainers because you can create scripts (I would love to have that skill). To answer your question, I personally think that there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. If you think that your domains are good then you can just wait for buyers to bite the hook and focus on buying more quality domains. In my case, the reason why I send e-mails to end users is because most of my domains are average so I need to explain to them why my domains are good for their business.

 

[greggb]

Thanks for the input! And yeah, the scripts do come in handy. I've thought about making this website finding/contact management tool available to the GP. If I can get a definitive "yes I'd use that" from a few people I probably will.

This is how it'd work. What you'd do is open your browser and start googling or visiting pages where there'd be links to the kinds of websites you'd want to market to. You'd do a quick Ctrl-S on each page, and save the page to a unique directory (one without anything else in it). Once you had 10 or 15 pages or so you'd zip the directory it was in and upload it via a script I'd create, along with a comma-separated keyword list. My script would then find all the domains matching those keyword(s), and display those domains for you in a clickable list.

I got about 50 domain names in 2 minutes or so this way.

Or you could could copy-and-paste source code to a text box and submit it.

There's nothing revolutionary about it but I've found it to be really useful. When I have a list of nothing but domain names in front of me, I really get a good idea of which ones might be in the market for the one I'm trying to sell. I mean there are those who obviously beat me, and those who don't. I figure I might as well market to everyone my domain beats (in my opinion). And if you're selling a domain name for less than $500 I'd say you're probably keeping it affordable to a lot of small businesses.

And BTW, it finds any domain on the page, whether it's inside of javascript or in an actual <a> tag or whatever.

Again, please let me know if you'd use something like this.

 

[KDN]

It took me few good minutes to digest but yeah I think I get the gist lol. I would love to try it, buddy. Thank you!

 

[onebrand.co]

@greggb - wow, creating a script to mine for data! I like this idea personally but...perhaps you could share some tips (in a simple layman terms?) with us :D

 

[namerav]

Best way to sell the domain is to meet right one in-person. Research and Meet.
Unless the domain is rockstar, in that case people will come to you.

 

[DomainVP]

This is how it'd work. What you'd do is open your browser and start googling or visiting pages where there'd be links to the kinds of websites you'd want to market to. You'd do a quick Ctrl-S on each page, and save the page to a unique directory (one without anything else in it). Once you had 10 or 15 pages or so you'd zip the directory it was in and upload it via a script I'd create, along with a comma-separated keyword list. My script would then find all the domains matching those keyword(s), and display those domains for you in a clickable list.

I got about 50 domain names in 2 minutes or so this way.

Or you could could copy-and-paste source code to a text box and submit it.

I figure I might as well market to everyone my domain beats (in my opinion). And if you're selling a domain name for less than $500 I'd say you're probably keeping it affordable to a lot of small businesses.

No..no..no..no..no...

We all get eMails every single day from people who do the same exact thing because my domain had a 'keyword' in it. PLUS selling a name for $500 or less cheapens everything; people that spam people at these prices are a problem in the industry, not an asset, and seemingly fade very quickly.

Is all of this effort worth the $700 you are asking on the names? You will quickly find that it's not, and that just part of the learning curve I guess. You will be haggled anyway, it's the nature of the transaction.

Do more research and come up with a better solution; you will find that taking this approach is a hard road with little return if you do this.

This has been discussed on the forum, so all the information is here at your fingertips.

Best wishes.

 

[alien51]

Every time you send an email to an "end-user", you should realize that you are not the only one doing that.

With billions of domainers out there (not counting the Chinese and the North Koreans), imagine the amount of emails flooding the inbox of "end-users". Your email will get lumped together with the viagras, and the cialis, and the rest of the penis enlarger emails. I am speaking from my experience as an end-user. I drag them all to trash, especially the ones who contact me via my whois email. You have no idea how many cyborgs use the whois email to bombard spam.

Think about it, why would anyone spend his precious time sorting through tons of spam looking for a salesman soliciting a domain he owns ?? People do not want to be bothered by salesman ringing their phones or knocking on their doors every minute of the day. Do you know how many salesmen are out there peddling the same stuff ??

If people need something, they think about it while sitting in the kitchen, then head out to the grocery store to see what stuffs are there for sale, or they go online to see where they can buy what they want.

It's the same with domains. Domains are just names. If you needed a name, it is easy to brainstorm about the word-combinations that you want while sitting in a room. There is no need for outside suggestion from sellers. Usually, domainers are just peddling what "they have". They are not exactly making a suggestion that fits your need. They are making a suggestion, to make a sale.

So my normal process when i want a domain, is to brainstorm it in a meeting room. Then i go online and check if it is taken, and who owns it, and whether it is for sale. If i needed a different word-combination, i can play the words by myself.

Domain research is very easy. "Branding" research is difficult. And most domainers cannot suggest to you a brand you can use, because they are limited only with what they own in their portfolio. Only you as an end-user can figure out what fits your need.

So in summary, there is a saying which goes: "Don't call me. I'll call you".

 

[DomainVP]

Every time you send an email to an "end-user", you should realize that you are not the only one doing that.

With billions of domainers out there (not counting the Chinese and the North Koreans), imagine the amount of emails flooding the inbox of "end-users". Your email will get lumped together with the viagras, and the cialis, and the rest of the penis enlarger emails. I am speaking from my experience as an end-user. I drag them all to trash, especially the ones who contact me via my whois email. You have no idea how many cyborgs use the whois email to bombard spam.

[First]

 

[Pattern]

There's nothing wrong with end user outbound imo and you will hear lots of different opinions on the topic. I believe that if you are in the domain business then you got to hustle and work your butt of to get some sales rather than sit and wait for someone to come knocking. The benefits of waiting for the knock is you are in a stronger position in the negotiation then if you went soliciting them, because technically they might have not wanted your name so it is not very important on their list.

Truth is, when you do outbound you might make someone who wasn't aware that your domain was available to find out it is! Not everybody thinks of domains specifically during their day to improve their brand, but if you let them know it's out there they'll start thinking.

Now, here is the problem....

Most domainers --- NOT all, but most--- don't know proper email marketing techniques, and they don't do outbound for truly valuable domains. Personalized, one on one sending is the correct approach but most domainers are too lazy to do it. It is essential to be very picky with what you choose to market and what you choose not to. If the domain is crap, marketing it will not result in sales and will only give a bad name for our industry. However, if you market a 3 letter dot com, Geo+service, or an exact match domain to a company in that industry you're doing them a service by making them aware of an opportunity to expand on their current branding strategy.

 

[discobull]

I've sold a lot of domains via email solicitations so I can tell you that it can work for sure. Of course, for a sale to happen you'll need to have the right domain at the right price and put that information in front of the right person at the right time. Some of that will depend on your skill, but there's also obviously an element of luck involved. To succeed with your marketing campaigns you'll need to be prepared to stick it out even though not all will result in sales. You also need to have a thick skin because not all responses will be polite.

I'd suggest that when you're starting out, that you not include pricing info in your initial email. When people don't respond to emails that include pricing, it's impossible to tell whether their lack of interest is due to the quality of the domain or due to the price. If you send out emails with no price and nobody asks you for a quote then you know that the domain is the problem or possibly that you've targeted the wrong audience. Conversely, if you do get quote requests but no sales, then you know that you need to adjust price and you're also given an opportunity that you would not otherwise have had to start a negotiation with the people that have expressed an interest in your domain.

Another approach that I've had success with is combining a mailing with an Ebay listing. For the purpose of mailings, I prefer Ebay over other venues because people you contact will be more likely to have heard of them and have an account with them then say a marketplace like flippa. Ebay pricing is also attractive since although their commission is 10%, they cap it at $100 regardless of how high the closing price. The other nice thing about Ebay is that buyers have to pay upfront so that you don't have to go through the whole escrow ordeal.

Anyhow, what I would do is create an Ebay listing and then send out an email notifying people that the domain was available and include a link to my Ebay listing in the email. Just as before, I wouldn't include the price so that I could gauge the interest in the domain by looking at the number of page views for my ebay listing. My listings typically had a wide spread between starting bid and the BIN, especially when I was starting out because I really didn't have much of a feel for what people would be willing to pay. Sometimes the auction would end at the starting bid, sometimes it would close early at the BIN, other times people would ask to make a deal directly off of ebay, and of course there were also times when the domain didn't sell. Ebay allows you 50 free listings ( no listing fee, but you do have to pay the commission if your domain sells ) per month, so it's not a costly proposition. The Ebay approach only makes sense if you have a good number of leads. If you've only got a handful, it's not worth the effort.

Hope this helps and good luck to you.

 

[Pattern]

@discobull I've never tried the eBay method mainly because of the reason that a link may be seen as spam by many email providers. In addition, many people nowadays are afraid of clicking on unknown links. Also, what is the benefit of giving a commission to the platform?

Then again, you've sold domains with this strategy so I must not be seeing something. The benefits that come in my mind are feelings of competition between potential candidates, but can't an auction be created once all the positive, typical "how much" responses are tallied up?

 

[discobull]

@discobull I've never tried the eBay method mainly because of the reason that a link may be seen as spam by many email providers. In addition, many people nowadays are afraid of clicking on unknown links. Also, what is the benefit of giving a commission to the platform?

Then again, you've sold domains with this strategy so I must not be seeing something. The benefits that come in my mind are feelings of competition between potential candidates, but can't an auction be created once all the positive, typical "how much" responses are tallied up?

I agree about the link being scary, so to put them at ease I'd tell them that they could get to my auction by either a) clicking on my link or b) going to ebay and searching for item # XXXXXXX.

There are multiple benefits for using Ebay. First, there's trust. People that are receiving my emails don't know who I am, but when they go to my listing they see that I have transactions under my belt and 100% favorable ratings. That matters. Next, an auction has a time limit. That creates urgency which you wouldn't otherwise have. A listing also provides you with an opportunity to provide a more detailed explanation of what it is that makes your domain valuable, as compared with an email which is best kept short.

Additionally, by setting both a starting bid and a BIN number you also get to attach a price range to the domain instead of just a fixed price. This improves the odds of getting a sale because not everyone thinks that prices are negotiable so if all they have is a price quote and the price is too high they just don't respond. You'll also find that sometimes people will just quickly click on the buy it now button for fear that someone might start the auction which would force them to wait a week for the domain and then possibly end up paying more if they get in a bidding war.

As far as the commission, I felt that the benefits of using Ebay outweighed the costs. Also, as I mentioned above, it would happen often that people would read my listing then respond to my email with an offer in the middle of my price range and ask me to do the deal directly. If the offer was good, I would take it and cancel my listing. I would guesstimate that this happened in about 50% of the completed sales. This means that half the time I'd get the benefit of using Ebay without it costing me anything.

 

[Chris Wright]

Your script sounds useful.
I would love the opportunity to try it out.