I'm Shane Cultra, Ask Me Any Question

[Domain Shane]

Lets have some fun. I promise to be open and honest with the questions if we can keep it civil.

A little background. I'm nobody special, just a guy that runs a nursery, runs a lot, and loves domains. I am part of team that runs DSAD.com, used to have a blog called DomainShane, used to be part of a little show called Domain Sherpa, sold my first blog WallStreetFighter to Break.com and Lionsgate Film, part of group that sold a show called WallStrip to NBC for $5 Million, and ran 20 plus marathons and 2 Ironmen in between then and now. Bought and sold a few domains along the way

Post any question and I'll have my team of assistants, just kidding, I'll do my best to answer it.

 

[ajenipa]

thanks for this AMA
How did you get to know about domaining?

what is your first ever domain name, what is the purchase price and how much did you sell it for?

 

[Domain Shane]

thanks for this AMA
How did you get to know about domaining?

what is your first ever domain name, what is the purchase price and how much did you sell it for?

My daughter was born and I registered her name, first and middle. I got an offer to buy it a few weeks after I registered it. I got my gears running. I got real interested when I started reading Reese Berg's blog called 4 letter noob

Other than that I think my first domain was BidARate.com. And I have no idea why I bought it. I thought banks would reverse bid a home loan or something. I made the mistake of thinking business ideas rather than words that could represent any business. Took me years to figure that out

 

[Domain Shane]

probabation.com good doman name. But not much money in gardening domains. Gardening site
tried it but very low CPC payout. Hard to sell plants online since they die in shipment, as Jackson
Perkins went bankrupt years back. Always wondered if seeds would sell.

Ahh, but that's why I love it. Because I own a brick and mortar business. The perishable and lack of easy shipment keeps my business strong. Seeds, on the other hand are very shippable and can be a good online business. But the markup is low. You have to collect your own to make a lot of money. Of course I own SeedHouse.com

And its Propagation.com

 

[rafaelo0]

Hi Shane,

I liked seeing you on domain sherpa with Michael, Drew and Ali i think that all of you bring something to the table like great information and experience to new/old domainers.

Plus all of you have great chemistry i found my self not just watching the domain sherpa shows just for excellent knowledge that all of you provided but also for the funny part like the jokes and how all of you kid around with each other i felt like sherpas were like a familly (in some extent).

Didn't feel that when i was watching other sherpas that i didn't mention don't get me wrong they added great content and other positive aspects but the funny part wasn't there, without including Michael of course he just has a excellent personality that no one can match and he can engage in any topic without it getting out of end.

That's why i would like for Drew to bring all of you back for some shows.

I didnt know you sold WallStreetFighter to Break.com and Lionsgate Film.

Congrats it seems you don't just have the gift for the domain industry but also for creating great content.

I have to check more your blog.

My questions are:

I notice lot's of domainers that public brand them self (like on video) can get "attacked" in coments, how do you deal with the negative aspects of puting your self out there?

Excluding .com what are your top extensions that you like to invest, think have good future and you had success at?

What are the categories/industries you like to invest and had success on domain names?

Example: tech categories like crypto currencies, software, VR etc... domains or in the gardening categories like gardening tools, seeds, compost etc... Domains

 

[hxp]

@Domain Shane

What have been your biggest, or most significant, mistakes/lessons/failures in domaining?

Also, (if you don't mind a second question) what are some "blind spots" that you think other domainers have? Things or ideas that strike you as obviously positive/profitable, but that others don't seem to see or take advantage of?

(Thank you!)

 

[Vito]

Hey Shane,

At first when I started reading this I said to myself, this seems a bit weird. I didnt think anyone would really ask any questions. As I read on, I am thinking of many questions I now have for you! lol

I read your blog often. I have even commented a few times. Your staff is all so diverse and I think you are very lucky to have the team you have currently. Everyone brings something special to the domain community. I have had the pleasure of meeting you and Travis at Namescon and I have to tell you and everyone, reading this, Shane is as nice and personable as he seems in his writings on DSAD.com and his vlogging on Sherpa.

I commend you on your persistence on adding content each and every night for a few hours per night on your site especially with balancing a Business and family. Truly motivational.

OK so I have a few questions now since you labelled this "Ask Me Anything" and they are only for my own motivation of blogging myself. I really like doing it but as a guy with a real job myself, sometimes very long hours, this domaining can only be a part time hobby for me. I always think how life could be if I was a domainer/blogger full time...

So here goes,

1) With your team of 4 bloggers who all add true value to the DSAD brand, how do you split the income DSAD makes? 25% times 4?

2) You have said before that your blog brings you 6-figures per year. Is that for the entire team, or for you individually? If your DSAD income is split 4 ways evenly and you are all making 6-digits, thats almost a half million a year. I had no idea that is even possible for a domain blog.

3) What is the best income maker on your site, The NameJet and/or GoDaddy auction picks afillliate incomes?

4) Since you are an Illinois guy like myself, how come you don't run the Bank of America Marathon up here in Chi-Town?

Thanks,
Vito

 

[Domain Shane]

Hi Shane,

I liked seeing you on domain sherpa with Michael,

I notice lot's of domainers that public brand them self (like on video) can get "attacked" in coments, how do you deal with the negative aspects of puting your self out there?

Excluding .com what are your top extensions that you like to invest, think have good future and you had success at?

What are the categories/industries you like to invest and had success on domain names?

Example: tech categories like crypto currencies, software, VR etc... domains or in the gardening categories like gardening tools, seeds, compost etc... Domains

First, thank you Rafaelo for the kind words,

As for the negative comments. I am not going to lie. I still don't have thick skin but its getting thicker every year. My wife reminds me that the more "famous" you become the more negativity I will draw. That I can't and shouldn't respond. So I usually don't. But occasionally I stupidly do and it never ends well. In all of my domain investing career the only one that got to me and still gets to me is one that Konstantinos wrote about me and he let the comments get bad. So bad he let them talk about my wife and children (he eventually removed) but just let them toast me. And he set it all up for them. I am not a big fan of disguising hate speech as freedom of speech. Some comments were meant to be removed. There should be boundaries. That being said, he has been friendly in removing some things that were out of bounds and I am cool with him now. And maybe I just realize I have done nothing wrong so there was no need to be upset. It just stung a little at the time. In short, you get used to it with time and move on

2. I have had little to no success outside of dot com. I have sold a name in almost every tld. .net, .org, .io, .info, etc but have trouble doing it regularly. As for the future, I just don't see the returns that I see in dot com on a regular basis. I think for every home run in .exchange, there will be 100 other names you eat. I'm not saying that there isn't money there, I just can't find a strategy that I think doesn't lead to huge holding costs. I venture outside of dot com but more of a vacation than building a house

3. I like one word things. Things that can be a brand. Tools, nouns, animals. Those words aren't going be used to sell that product but will merely be a brand. Dustpan won't be to sell dustpans but rather to represent something like cleaning your computer from malware or selling cleaning supplies in general. I do like solar a lot . Of course I like short. Especially pronouceable 5L.coms. They just aren't very cheap anymore

 

[Domain Shane]

Hey Shane,

At first when I started reading this I said to myself, this seems a bit weird. I didnt think anyone would really ask any questions. As I read on, I am thinking of many questions I now have for you! lol



So here goes,

1) With your team of 4 bloggers who all add true value to the DSAD brand, how do you split the income DSAD makes? 25% times 4?

2) You have said before that your blog brings you 6-figures per year. Is that for the entire team, or for you individually? If your DSAD income is split 4 ways evenly and you are all making 6-digits, thats almost a half million a year. I had no idea that is even possible for a domain blog.

3) What is the best income maker on your site, The NameJet and/or GoDaddy auction picks afillliate incomes?

4) Since you are an Illinois guy like myself, how come you don't run the Bank of America Marathon up here in Chi-Town?

Thanks,
Vito

Thanks Vito, much appreciated

1. Very good question. So when Aaron and started working we agreed. Whatever advertisers I had I got to keep the money. We would split the new income. Unfortunately that hasn't worked real well because nobody wants to advertise with us because we're not a real news blog. Payoneer, Efty (they give me a free account), and any of the big guys skipped us so Aaron doesn't make as much as he deserves for his good articles. Josh and Travis get a percentage of the affiliate commissions we make from the list. So Josh can make four figures per month from the list. Travis gets paid for being the tech guy and keeping things up and running. People don't realize how much time it takes to keep plugins up to date, backups done regularly, and the site efficient. He gets paid a small sum plus a percentage of the list. I get the most and probably a disproportionate amount but I started the list before they got there and had a few good advertisers.

2. So the six figures is a combination of domain sales and the blog. The blog itself is above mid five figures and six figures. My domain sales vary year to year but last year I had domain sales pushing six figures on its own. That was with a good sale of Trunk.com to Mr. Rosener who gave me a price too good to pass up at the time. So no, we don't get rich off this but it is a nice income. So no, not $600K, I wish and the guys do get paid, just not very much. They deserve more. Especially Aaron

3. Godaddy. Namejet and Sedo treat us well but Godaddy pays the bills.

4. I have run the Chicago marathon 5 or 6 times. Ran 3 hours 6 minutes in 2015

 

[Vito]

I cant believe you labelled your post, "Ask Me Anything" I bet you didnt know what you were in for...lol

I appreciate you sharing. It really does seem like blogging about domains can truly pay off. You guys deserve the money you get over there with the amount of work you put in. Thanks for answering Shane.

3 hours and 16 minutes is friggen awesome. Congrats!

 

[Mister Funsky]

Hi Shane...thanks for taking the time to allow some questions.

Do geo domains have a future?

Monetize with parking or lander with pricing details?

Fixed price or make offer? (or both)

Thanks...and thank your family for allowing the time.

 

[Domain Shane]

Do geo domains have a future?

I think they will always have a future. I do think it has to be a marketable range though. I think city names are better than wider ranges. The good and the bad is the defined range. You know who your user is going to be but that's all you got. The great part of the Internet is the ability to sell to the whole world but a geo name cuts that down quite a bit


Monetize with parking or lander with pricing details?

All of the above. Lander with BIN and make offer. Listed on as many sites as you can. And definitely at Godaddy and Afternic. I like Efty's product. I also don't worry about parking revenue anymore. Only left names that weren't great names but paid for renewal in parking and didn't present a UDRP problem

Fixed price or make offer? (or both)

See above. BIN on all names under $10K


Thanks...and thank your family for allowing the time.

Salmon and sweet potato cooking 10 feet away as I type this

 

[Domain Shane]

PS: this is not a solicitation to buy names. While I appreciate the LLLL.coms being sent, the other random domain PMs aren't necessary.

 

[Grilled]

@Domain Shane - I admire your willingness to hold an AMA in the wake of this so called war on trolls. I know Drew refers to me as such, so I'm not sure if you include me in that same category. I don't know much about you, or DSAD, aside from what I've seen on Sherpa over the years. I do appreciate that DSAD has been vocal about calling out some questionable activity when they see it. For instance, (a) Raising suspicious of HKDN / Oliver before shillgate (b) Travis M. recently noted something didn't seem right about Sati.com being for sale for less than $10k after it had recently sold for $100k. DSAD published this prior to the creation of the NP thread discussing it.

I'm curious to know if you've ever had any ethical struggles from a journalistic level on what content you decide to publish -- especially that from private sources, or off the record conversations (both factual and/or speculatory)?

Now that you've been a blogger for several years, do you see yourself as a journalist? Have you taken any courses or read any books to prepare you for such an important and vital journalistic position? If so, any recommendations? I assume you receive leads on domain related stories every now and then, how do you determine what is enough information to blog about, especially when that information presented may be speculative and/or incomplete? Do you take the time to research it, or do you take the approach that if it won't make you any money, then it's not worth the effort?

 

[DomainDepot]

@Domain Shane thanks for taking the time to do an AMA

Curious to hear you thoughts on the following:

What do you think are some of the next big future themes to come in domaining?
I mean new gtlds, the meteoric rise of CHIPS, or other themes

As someone who came in later to the game I find myself trying to ponder/anticipate
I would also be particularly curious about two topics:

• Domains in India (1/7 of world population still coming online)
• General threats to domain industry (apps, elimination of browser to access internet, AI)

Thanks!
DomainDepot

 

[Domain Shane]

@Domain Shane - I admire your willingness to hold an AMA in the wake of this so called war on trolls. I know Drew refers to me as such, so I'm not sure if you include me in that same category. I don't know much about you, or DSAD, aside from what I've seen on Sherpa over the years. I do appreciate that DSAD has been vocal about calling out some questionable activity when they see it. For instance, (a) Raising suspicious of HKDN / Oliver before shillgate (b) Travis M. recently noted something didn't seem right about Sati.com being for sale for less than $10k after it had recently sold for $100k. DSAD published this prior to the creation of the NP thread discussing it.

On a prenote. That's Drew's war on trolls. I was merely pointing out that a few bad apples ruins it for everyone. I've never been a fan of anonymity. I have always felt you were given your face, your words, and your voice. To hide any of those for any reason other than security is showing lack of accountability. It's tough to fight shadows and I won't. I put myself out there everyday and almost every day I see someone write something to the effect they "despise" me. Nobody likes being despised but any time you write anything there will be someone who doesn't like your words.

I'm curious to know if you've ever had any ethical struggles from a journalistic level on what content you decide to publish -- especially that from private sources, or off the record conversations (both factual and/or speculatory)?

Now that you've been a blogger for several years, do you see yourself as a journalist? Have you taken any courses or read any books to prepare you for such an important and vital journalistic position? If so, any recommendations? I assume you receive leads on domain related stories every now and then, how do you determine what is enough information to blog about, especially when that information presented may be speculative and/or incomplete? Do you take the time to research it, or do you take the approach that if it won't make you any money, then it's not worth the effort?

I am absolutely not a journalist. I am a blogger. Huge difference. I would love to take the time and do more interviews and research stories. I see where you are going with this but I put my reputation and my financial resources in my words. If I say something that isn't true or damaging then you knew exactly where to find me. My name and information is plastered everywhere to find me. I talk every day to people in the industry. It has taken then years to finally quit saying "please don't post this" every time I talk to them. I don't feel a duty to call out fraud or write articles about the dark side of our industry. But I do have morals and ethics contrary to what is said about me in some comments. Generally when I see something I deem is wrong I take action. That action may not always be in prose or on the blog. I have a voice with my blog but that doesn't mean I always have to use it. That is the beauty of this thing. It's my voice, it represents me, and I am the one that is accountable for it. And as long as that is the case I will use it how I see fit on any given day. In short, I'm only going to say something in public I am willing to take the repercussions of those words.

 

[Domain Shane]

@Domain Shane thanks for taking the time to do an AMA

Curious to hear you thoughts on the following:

What do you think are some of the next big future themes to come in domaining?
I mean new gtlds, the meteoric rise of CHIPS, or other themes

As someone who came in later to the game I find myself trying to ponder/anticipate
I would also be particularly curious about two topics:

• Domains in India (1/7 of world population still coming online)
• General threats to domain industry (apps, elimination of browser to access internet, AI)

Thanks!
DomainDepot

1. The future is a tough one. I see dot com still being the future. As those become too expensive I certainly see new Gs being used more and more often. As I stated before the hard part is the holding cost of those domains and knowing which domains will become popular. Popularity shifts on a dime. There is nothing that I feel strongly enough to go "all in" on except dot coms. But I am dabbling in everything else. I do think LLLL.coms go up from here. And one words dictionary will climb very quickly as the demand for them is off the charts. The fringes are a crap shoot. Just have to be watching daily to see sparks before the flames come

2. I don't believe in .IN. They will build on .com. They have a different culture than the Chinese and paying up for domains doesn't seem to be a big cultural trait in my eyes. Quite the opposite. They value good value and returns on their money

3. Threats. Changes in navigation are the obvious threat. Even with voice though, you have to have a marker. I think words and numbers will continue to be the markers. Branding and marketing have existed for thousands of years. I think that continues for quite a while. Apps are that. An application. They aren't websites.

 

[briguy]

Hey there @Domain Shane!
Just wondering if you could sum up your business philosophy in a few short words, what would it be?

 

[.NJ]

Whats up Shane.

What are your last three or four most recent domain sales?

Date of purchase.

Purchase price.

Sales price.

I think this would be a nice inclusion for the members.

Thanks.
Kevin

 

[kandyan]

Hi Shane.. Thanks for your time..

I've read either in your blog/somewhere.. that you also have few other revenue producing websites?

Are those related to your Nursery/Affiliate marketing? n What's your take on domain development? Any thoughts and Ideas? Thanks again

 

[Corey]

Thanks @Domain Shane

Could you elaborate on numeric domains. Thank you in advance.

Cheers
Corey