Introducing Afternic Boost: More domain visibility, more domain sales

[GoDaddy]

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Afternic Boost, the new program that can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for participating portfolios!*

We have been experimenting with how to drive more exposure for Afternic domains on GoDaddy, and we're thrilled to announce that these experiments yielded impressive results. As a result, we're rolling out Boost as a standard inclusion for all Afternic sellers starting September 4, 2024.


Why Afternic Boost Works:
We listened to your feedback and developed Afternic Boost to address your need for greater exposure on GoDaddy. Here’s what Boost provides at launch:

• Suggested search results: Your domains will gain higher placement in GoDaddy’s suggested search results, making them more discoverable.

• Verified Badges: Boost Fast Transfer domains will feature "Verified" badges on exact-match searches, aiding visibility.

• Verified Lander Badges: Eligible domains using Afternic’s Buy it Now and Custom Landers will display verified badges. Boosted domain names that aren't opted into Fast Transfer will display a "Premium" badge on Afternic's Buy it Now and Custom Landers.

• Targeted Email Marketing: Our targeted email campaigns will match your domain names with potential buyers at GoDaddy.

As the world’s largest domain registrar, GoDaddy offers a massive, continuously growing audience of domain shoppers. Afternic Boost leverages this vast customer base, ensuring that your domains are seen by a motivated, pre-qualified audience.




What You Should Know:

• • Boost begins on September 4, 2024. All Afternic sellers will be automatically opted in to Boost, ensuring your domains gain maximum exposure.
  • Additional Commission: To support this enhanced service, an additional 5% commission will apply for Boost customers from September 4, 2024.
  • Flexibility: We understand that one size doesn’t fit all. Therefore, you can opt out of Afternic Boost at any time from today (August 7, 2024) if it doesn’t align with your strategy by heading to afternic.com/account/boost.

Investing in Success:
Think of Afternic Boost as an investment rather than an expense. Online marketplaces, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Zillow, offer sponsored listings to increase sellers' exposure in search. Similarly, Boost allows domain investors to enhance their visibility in a digital marketplace, and the results are that Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for your portfolio*.

Next Steps:
Experimentation with Boost will continue through the month of August. On September 4, Afternic Boost will be automatically activated at the account level, optimizing your portfolio's visibility.

If you decide Boost isn't right for you, you can easily opt out. We recommend remaining enrolled to continue benefiting from enhanced visibility across the GoDaddy platform.


If you have any questions, read the launch blog post, or head to Afternic’s Help Center, where we’ve got you covered.

Want to learn more about what Boost offers? Head to our blog.

*Individual results may vary. Based on internal data of GoDaddy aftermarket sales from January 2024 through June 2024.

 

[Traderas]

Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales

an additional 5% commission will apply for Boost customers

Let me get this straight.

You are going to charge 5% more for the possibility of increasing sales by up to 10%?

That doesn't sound very appealing.

 

[Shimmy]

I opted out, 25% is already too high

 

[GoDaddy]

Let me get this straight.

You are going to charge 5% more for the possibility of increasing sales by up to 10%?

That doesn't sound very appealing.

Afternic is always working to give you more ways to increase the number of domain sales you make, and that latest initiative is Boost. This is an investment to help increase exposure and visibility through GoDaddy, Afternic landers, and email campaigns.

 

[Mister Funsky]

To support this enhanced service, an additional 5%

You had me hooked until I read this.

EDITED: I posted some off topic comments

 

[rh2000]

So 15% goes to 20% and 25% goes to 30%. I have to decide if I want to pay this. This is a tough decision.

 

[Janoss]

Why can't the boost be given to aftermarket domains at the current 15% commission? It doesn't seem GoDaddy is incurring much extra costs from doing this boost so this just seems like a lazy way to increase the commission to 20%.

 

[bmugford]

It kind of seems like a way of returning to the previous 20% commission.

I think this should be an opt-in, not an opt-out.

Just to confirm, you can opt-out or opt-in at any time?
You are not locked into your decision forever?

Does the 20% option only comes with upgrades or is the 15% also receiving downgrades from the current setup?

Brad

 

[Traderas]

Afternic is always working to give you more ways to increase the number of domain sales you make, and that latest initiative is Boost. This is an investment to help increase exposure and visibility through GoDaddy, Afternic landers, and email campaigns.

Thank you for not answering...

For me, it s not clear what you will provide for this extra 5%.



Regarding the "up to a 10% increase in sales performance," you are seeing good results because you are testing this "enhanced visibility" in some specific portfolios.

What will happen when all your customers participate in Boost by default?

If you increase the visibility for all the domains listed on Afternic, they will end up having exactly the same visibility in comparison to one another.

 

[Garet]

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Afternic Boost, the new program that can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for participating portfolios!*

We have been experimenting with how to drive more exposure for Afternic domains on GoDaddy, and we're thrilled to announce that these experiments yielded impressive results. As a result, we're rolling out Boost as a standard inclusion for all Afternic sellers starting September 4, 2024.


Why Afternic Boost Works:
We listened to your feedback and developed Afternic Boost to address your need for greater exposure on GoDaddy. Here’s what Boost provides at launch:

• Suggested search results: Your domains will gain higher placement in GoDaddy’s suggested search results, making them more discoverable.
• Verified Badges: Boost Fast Transfer domains will feature "Verified" badges on exact-match searches, aiding visibility.
• Verified Lander Badges: Eligible domains using Afternic’s Buy it Now and Custom Landers will display verified badges. Boosted domain names that aren't opted into Fast Transfer will display a "Premium" badge on Afternic's Buy it Now and Custom Landers.
• Targeted Email Marketing: Our targeted email campaigns will match your domain names with potential buyers at GoDaddy.

As the world’s largest domain registrar, GoDaddy offers a massive, continuously growing audience of domain shoppers. Afternic Boost leverages this vast customer base, ensuring that your domains are seen by a motivated, pre-qualified audience.




What You Should Know:

• • Boost begins on September 4, 2024. All Afternic sellers will be automatically opted in to Boost, ensuring your domains gain maximum exposure.
  • Additional Commission: To support this enhanced service, an additional 5% commission will apply for Boost customers from September 4, 2024.
  • Flexibility: We understand that one size doesn’t fit all. Therefore, you can opt out of Afternic Boost at any time from today (August 7, 2024) if it doesn’t align with your strategy by heading to afternic.com/account/boost.

Investing in Success:
Think of Afternic Boost as an investment rather than an expense. Online marketplaces, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Zillow, offer sponsored listings to increase sellers' exposure in search. Similarly, Boost allows domain investors to enhance their visibility in a digital marketplace, and the results are that Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for your portfolio*.

Next Steps:
Experimentation with Boost will continue through the month of August. On September 4, Afternic Boost will be automatically activated at the account level, optimizing your portfolio's visibility.

If you decide Boost isn't right for you, you can easily opt out. We recommend remaining enrolled to continue benefiting from enhanced visibility across the GoDaddy platform.


If you have any questions, read the launch blog post, or head to Afternic’s Help Center, where we’ve got you covered.

Want to learn more about what Boost offers? Head to our blog.

*Individual results may vary. Based on internal data of GoDaddy aftermarket sales from January 2024 through June 2024.

OK, please correct me if my numbers are off...

Let's say that baseline sales are $10,000 without boost for names using GoDaddy NS which means a base commission of 15%.

At Base
$10,000 sales
$ 1,500 commission
$ 8.500 to seller

If sales achieve the full "up to" 10% boost...Commission shifts to 20%.

$11,000 sales
$ 2,200 commission
$ 8,800 to seller

OK, that represents an improved net of $700 to GoDaddy and $300 to seller.

If sales boost by 5% with that 20% commission...

$10,500 sales
$ 2,100 commission
$ 8,400 to seller

GoDaddy's commission increases by $600. Seller's net drops by $100.

If "up to 10%" represents a strong result and 5% is a reasonable, more modest increase with Boost, the scale seems too heavily weighted in GoDaddy's favor.

If my calculations represent any mistake or misunderstanding on my part, I welcome correction.

EDIT: Although Boost may increase the number of sales, it does not (intrinsically) increase the price/revenue per name sold. It actually decreases it by 5%. The seller has the cost/value/expense of up to 10% more inventory sold. Revenue per name takes a hit. Right?

 

[bmugford]

What will happen when all your customers participate in Boost by default?

If you increase the visibility for all the domains listed on Afternic, they will end up having exactly the same visibility in comparison to one another.

Yeah, if everyone is opted-in to the program then no one really gets an advantage.

All that happens in that case is the commission went back to 20%.

That is one reason an opt-in would make way more sense.

Brad

 

[Acroplex]

I would love a clear answer to the following: How can DAN.com listings, with access to that general Afternic account, opt out of this boost surcharge? All BIN listings at DAN are added to Afternic with no way to opt out. So how will we opt out of the boost "feature"?

And please don't ask me to opt out via an Afternic account, there is not one. You have created an unreliable bridge between two competing platforms, both of which you own and neither of which performs at 100%.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy

I share the concerns as mentioned by other members.

At this moment I have a question about the email campaigns you mention in the blog post. The information about this is very limited. Can you provide more detail on how this will happen in practice with the huge number of domains from both Afternic customers and your own portfolio?

Email marketing can create more sales opportunities. GoDaddy will run periodic campaigns for Boost domain names to connect potential buyers with your domain name.

 

[rh2000]

Only thing I kind of find appealing is the higher placement and the email marketing to endusers. Not sure what the effect of badges do. But it is still costly. I would have to raise all the prices on my domains if I stay enrolled.

 

[GoDaddy]

It kind of seems like a way of returning to the previous 20% commission.

I think this should be an opt-in, not an opt-out.

Just to confirm, you can opt-out or opt-in at any time?
You are not locked into your decision forever?

Does the 20% option only comes with upgrades or is the 15% also receiving downgrades from the current setup?

Brad

You are able to opt out, or in via afternic.com/account/boost. Please note that since opting out can take up to 48 hours to sync across our systems, you won't be able to re-enable Boost for at least 48 hours. To explore the Boost features, please head to the Afternic blog: blog.afternic.com/boost

Yeah, if everyone is opted-in to the program then no one really gets an advantage.

All that happens in that case is the commission went back to 20%.

That is one reason an opt-in would make way more sense.

Brad

Hi @bmugford
Through testing this year, it's clear to us that Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance - that testing was performed through all eligible Afternic listings this year.

I would love a clear answer to the following: How can DAN.com listings, with access to that general Afternic account, opt out of this boost surcharge? All BIN listings at DAN are added to Afternic with no way to opt out. So how will we opt out of the boost "feature"?

And please don't ask me to opt out via an Afternic account, there is not one. You have created an unreliable bridge between two competing platforms, both of which you own and neither of which performs at 100%.

Hi @Acroplex
Dan.com domain names are not eligible for Afternic Boost, which requires an Afternic account to participate. Therefore, Dan.com sellers will not need to opt out.

The features of Afternic Boost are only available to Afternic sellers.

 

[bmugford]

Hi @bmugford
Through testing this year, it's clear to us that Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance - that testing was performed through all eligible Afternic listings this year.

Well, 0% is still "up to" 10%.

My main point is if everyone is opted-in to the program, then no one really gets much of an advantage.

They are just paying a 20% instead of 15% commission.

If the program yields more total sales that would be a benefit to GoDaddy in general. In that situation, I am not sure why they would need to raise the commission.

Brad

 

[Acroplex]

Hi @Acroplex
Dan.com domain names are not eligible for Afternic Boost, which requires an Afternic account to participate. Therefore, Dan.com sellers will not need to opt out.

The features of Afternic Boost are only available to Afternic sellers.

OK. I will take your word for it, regarding how DAN listings on Afternic will be unaffected and not jacked up to 20% for an inaccessible feature.

Now think for a second: What made you create this mess instead of providing everyone with the option to participate?

Opt-in systems are democratic. Forced opt-in systems are the exact opposite.

 

[bmugford]

Opt-in systems are democratic. Forced opt-in systems are the exact opposite.

If is was an opt-in for just more promotion, sure.

Opt-in to pay an extra 5%, not so much.

Also, in that situation the people that opted-in might actually have an advantage.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

re Email campaigns, I'm worried about UDRP issues when companies are contacted directly, instead of just having a passive lander with Afternic.

 

[bmugford]

re Email campaigns, I'm worried about UDRP issues when companies are contacted directly, instead of just having a passive lander with Afternic.

Yeah, I think there needs to be more details on some of this stuff.

Can you opt-out of that?

I don't really do outreach on my domains for a number of reasons.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

I'm opting-out of this.

Or "Downgrade" as it's called in the options.

 

[bmugford]

Why Afternic Boost Works:
We listened to your feedback and developed Afternic Boost to address your need for greater exposure on GoDaddy. Here’s what Boost provides at launch:

• Suggested search results: Your domains will gain higher placement in GoDaddy’s suggested search results, making them more discoverable.
• Verified Badges: Boost Fast Transfer domains will feature "Verified" badges on exact-match searches, aiding visibility.

Can you provide actual screenshots of this for reference?

I would like to see how a 15% vs 20% is displayed.

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Molly]

Agree with the others — this is just a way for Godaddy to increase commission.

 

[Future Sensors]

 

[Acroplex]

It's ridiculous that the context in salmon pink was made to sound so ominous.

Why stop there? Just make it say "DESTRUCTION AND PERIL SHALL FALL ONTO THOSE WHO OPT OUT OF AFTERNIC BOOST!"