Not to be a buzz-kill here, but it would be great to hear about some actual sales of hand registered names from people. How were the names chosen? How were they sold? What research was done? That's what comes to mind for me when I hear "strategy".
I can start us off.
Name: ParkingLotDesign (in king)
Registered: December 2016
Sold: September 2017
Sale price: $1,100
Unless I'm registering future tech type names, my general hand reg process is to scan the deleted list on ExpiredNames.net. Typically I set the filters to 16 characters, 3 words max, .com only, and I often ask for a CPC value (1 cent minimum).
I almost always look for exact match product and service names.
I like this process a lot better than doing targeted research on keywords and industries. The primary reason is that I know I'm looking at names that have been registered previously, and within those are names that businesses may have used for websites. Of course this doesn't do a lot for quality, but it does mean the diamonds in the rough exist if you have the patience to scan a lot of names.
ParkingLotDesign jumped out at me right away for two reasons:
- It struck me as a niche that companies would either specialize in, or would be a primary focus.
- The structure of the name is perfect. I would have passed on ParkingLotsDesign, ParkingLotDesigns, ParkingLotDesigning, etc.
When a name catches my eye, I type it into Google, first with quotes and then without. My search uncovered that there were several potential end users for the name; maybe three of which are what I would consider good. When I say "good", I mean the company is substantially engaged in the product/service my name speaks to, and they rely on the internet for a good chunk of their sales/promotion. A mid-sized company is ideal... in large companies it can be hard to pin down decision-makers, and small companies often don't prioritize domain names.
Since I always rely on outbound with these types of names, that's pretty much where my research ends. I rarely care about history, CPC, or search volume. The end users never ask (okay, almost never).
There's one main question I need to answer yes to before buying the name:
Do my potential buyers care about being an online authority in this product/service?
Once I buy the name, I hold for two months before doing outbound, to ensure there are no issues if a buyer wants to transfer the name to another registrar.
I started doing outbound of ParkingLotDesign in the Spring of 2017. I sent targeted emails to about 10 potential end users. You
must email people, not generic mailboxes or contact forms. Marketing directors and CEOs are best.
My emails are very straight-forward: "This name is for sale. I think you might be interested." Obviously I fancy up the language a bit, but that's all. I only provide more detail if they ask, and if they write back, usually all they want to know is the price.
If I don't hear back, I follow up a week later. This helps to let people know I'm a real person, not a scammer, and it takes care of any people who didn't see the first email or let it fall down their inboxes and forgot.
My first outbound attempts came up short, so I let the name sit over the summer. In August I reached out to a different contact at a company I had already contacted (my best potential buyer, I thought). This gentleman wrote me back on the same day with a price request. I said $1250, he countered $800, I came back with $1100 final offer. Sale done.
The site is now being used to promote the company's AutoCAD-style parking lot design software. It looks pretty good!
If I could boil it all down to a few tips, they would be:
- Patience and restraint are key when registering. 99.9% of names will not be good.
- Focus on names that existing companies will see real value in owning.
- Outbound is a great way to move these types of names. Keep emails short and professional. Use a professional email address (no Gmail, Hotmail, etc.)
- Follow up, and don't be afraid to try multiple people at the same company (especially if it's a bigger one).
- Keep prices reasonable, especially if your list of end users is on the lower end. Remember these are hand reg names... Yes, maybe you'll miss the odd golden opportunity, but making a $500 sale on a $10 name is pretty solid.