Antony Northcutt
New Member
- Impact
- 17
I want to become a successful domain name investor, so I took the course that everyone's talking about. Here's what I found ......
The most useful course I've ever taken.
My industry is getting too crowded and the money is fast disappearing, so towards the end of last year I decided to look at creating a solid side-hustle to run alongside my web design business as a way of creating an additional revenue stream. I got sucked into "Money Twitter" bought a ton of courses from GumRoad, some were great most weren't, and then by chance I stumbled across a link to the DNAcademy. I really wished I'd seen this earlier, it would have saved me a ton of cash and a lot of time. But what can you do, it found its way to me at the right time.
To be honest, I never even knew it was a "thing". Of course I knew about buying "expired" domains but an entire industry built on buying and selling domains? Talk about an eye-opener. The idea of continuing my journey with digital assets appealed to me, I'd played with the idea of creating affiliate sites but it just seemed like a lot of hard work and upfront investment when I just simply didn't have ready access to either. It was time to delve deeper.
Michael Cyger is a true legend in the world of domain investing so I immediately knew I was in good hands. His reputation is second to none, and return on investments over the years have proven his expertise over and over. An infectious personality and clear passion for what he does results in a fully engaging experience throughout the course. If you were to cut Michael in half you would see the words DNAcademy running through him like a stick of seaside rock.
If you're not going to take the course seriously, then don't even think about enrolling. I would say it's the industry standard for new and existing domainers, so it's not something you can whizz through on a free afternoon and expect to be set up afterwards. The material is rich, informative, and demanding. It's an investment, and one that will pay off if you come to it with the right strategy and attitude. There's a lot of mention that a domain is the solid foundation on which a business can be built and I feel the same about DNAcademy. Without taking this course, you're building on sand.
So for those that are committed to creating a profitable business from domain investing, this is where you would start your journey, and it is a journey as Michael will lead you through the past, present, and future of domaining. DNAcademy isn't just a "how to" course, it offers extensive context about "why" there's value in a domain, examining it's history, the big wins, the not so great era's, and making the humble domain a powerful and much loved protagonist in the story of the internet.
I have always stood firm in the statement that "information is power" and it's especially true with domain investing. Without the hugely detailed insights into what makes a good domain investment verses a bad one, I would most definitely be throwing good money out of the window. Prior to the course I thought I had a good feel for a quality and sellable domain, after taking the course I now realise I had no idea and without the course I'd still be buying junk thinking it's gold. There's simply no other resource available that will give you this kind of education, and ultimately save you from going out of business before you've even started.
An area where most new domainers tend to fall down is on the valuation side of things which is why Michael spends an uncomfortably large amount of time on this subject. This section will determine a big chunk of your success as a domain investor and will seperate the wheat from the chaff. If you don't know how to value a domain, you won't know how to buy a domain, it's as basic as that. I feel that gaining Michael's valuation knowledge is where your money is being spent, this stuff is like gold and will give you such a huge advantage over those that haven't taken this course. Did you know there's more than 20 different elements that are taken into consideration during this process?
With so many options available when selling a domain, marketplaces can be pretty daunting to a new investor. So knowing where, and how, to place your domains for sale can often be the difference between success and failure. Michael will walk you through all the steps needed to get your domains sold, and prevent you from selling your assets in the wrong marketplace. Hugely valuable for your success rates as you would expect.
It's not all theory either, you'll get regular exercises throughout the course that you'll need to complete and submit for marking. These keep you on track and make sure that you really "get it" before you start spending your own money. There's even an auction simulator to test yourself in a "real world" situation. Great fun, and a safe place to practice what you've learnt.
The DNAcademy is famous for developing tools for its students to help them get ahead of the competition, there's currently four on offer. As I become more familiar with them I'll update this post or review them individually with my thoughts. I can only expect them to be of the same standard as the course.
And so we move onto the areas where I feel improvements can be made. I would like to see at least an introduction to "outbound" domain sales, I say introduction because outbound is an entire course of its own. It's such an important aspect of domaining, especially for those just starting out with the need for liquidity it deserves some coverage. The only other improvement is purely a visual one, I'd like to see the videos updated using higher quality equipment, maybe this is a personal thing, but I think it's important to enjoy watching the lectures.
So with all this being said, I expect some of you are screaming at me to get to the juicy bit where I discuss my results so far. You want to know if it's working and am I ready to retire yet? I'm by no means rich yet, but I'm confident that I'm now making better decisions. That I've adopted the mindset of an informed domain investor rather than someone looking to just make a quick buck on the side. My commitment is greater as is my determination to succeed. I'm sure I have given myself the best opportunity for success by taking this course and becoming a part of the DNAcademy community, so I would say yes, it's working.
Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and I hope to see you in DNAcademy sometime.
