- Impact
- 5
Hello,
I am glad to join this great forum. After having read through a lot of posts here, it felt like a nice place to hang out....
Just wanted to share some of my thoughts on marketing of premium/generic domains, and invite input from y'all.
As I see it, marketing of premium domain names differs greatly from the run-of-the-mill.domains because:
* Most our our fellow domain name investors/speculators that hang out with us at this (and other) forums usually buy the domains mostly for the resell market, and not for their own use. This make it quite improbable that we find a buyer for our super duper domain in one of these forums. It can happen, but may not be that likely.
* Most domain resellers do not have the resources/interest/time for developing the amount of content that would be needed to leverage better returns for a premium domain.
* Most of the businesses/end-users that would pay top dollars for premium domains do not always hang out with us at these domain forums.
* It takes a lot of time, active marketing, and a lot of patience to sell a generic domain name at or near its true value.
I often see premium domains being dumped at a fraction of their true potential just because the owner was unsuccessful in finding the right buyer, within the time frame that (s)he was prepared to wait.
I have looked around at some of the domain name related forums, but have not seen much discusion on this topic.
I have been at it for a while now, having my first batch of domains registered around mid 1996. So I will start off this discussion by outlining what I have found to be a winning strategy (YMMV):
1: Create at least a decent amount of content, and continue to log traffic while brainstorming/putting-together an active marketing plan,
2: Document any offeres received. Seems so trivial, but considering that a premium domain name may take several years to sell, often it is not that easy to find someone's contact information a year or two down the road.
3: Almost everyone wants a zillion dollars for their favorite .Com possession, but it rarey happens these days. Therefore, the first step is to look at it from the buyers point of view, and ask: What will be the maximum amount that I will be willing to pay for it? That's right, it does not matter how much I want for a domin. What matters is how much a buyer would want to pay for it. It also helps to calculate ROI -from the buyers' point of view. I also update these numbers periodically, at least once in six months or so.
4: Identify potential buyers in the target business segment, and send out a well thought-out piece of communication to the potential buyers.
5: Look at own cash-flow requirements, domain inventory, etc., and adjust the expectations as things may (or may not) shape up over time.
6: Not having content and the traffic stats can seriously lower the amount of money that a buyer will be willing to pay for a domain. Without the content, and traffic, a buyer is paying for a perceived value. If there is decent content, traffic, and some revenue (advertising, membership, etc.) stream, the buyer sees something more tangible, and the results could be real sweet.
7: Continue to look at the traffic and redo the math -as waranted.
The expected returns, ROI projections, and the marketing plan should be clearly documented, but must be treated as a living document, because those numbers are not cast in stone.
This is what I have found to work for me -most of the times. YMMV.
I wanted to share this with you here in the hopes that it helps someone, and also to start off a discussion, and to learn from your experiences. Feel free to add your suggestions/comments...
best regards,
SlashRoot
I am glad to join this great forum. After having read through a lot of posts here, it felt like a nice place to hang out....
Just wanted to share some of my thoughts on marketing of premium/generic domains, and invite input from y'all.
As I see it, marketing of premium domain names differs greatly from the run-of-the-mill.domains because:
* Most our our fellow domain name investors/speculators that hang out with us at this (and other) forums usually buy the domains mostly for the resell market, and not for their own use. This make it quite improbable that we find a buyer for our super duper domain in one of these forums. It can happen, but may not be that likely.
* Most domain resellers do not have the resources/interest/time for developing the amount of content that would be needed to leverage better returns for a premium domain.
* Most of the businesses/end-users that would pay top dollars for premium domains do not always hang out with us at these domain forums.
* It takes a lot of time, active marketing, and a lot of patience to sell a generic domain name at or near its true value.
I often see premium domains being dumped at a fraction of their true potential just because the owner was unsuccessful in finding the right buyer, within the time frame that (s)he was prepared to wait.
I have looked around at some of the domain name related forums, but have not seen much discusion on this topic.
I have been at it for a while now, having my first batch of domains registered around mid 1996. So I will start off this discussion by outlining what I have found to be a winning strategy (YMMV):
1: Create at least a decent amount of content, and continue to log traffic while brainstorming/putting-together an active marketing plan,
2: Document any offeres received. Seems so trivial, but considering that a premium domain name may take several years to sell, often it is not that easy to find someone's contact information a year or two down the road.
3: Almost everyone wants a zillion dollars for their favorite .Com possession, but it rarey happens these days. Therefore, the first step is to look at it from the buyers point of view, and ask: What will be the maximum amount that I will be willing to pay for it? That's right, it does not matter how much I want for a domin. What matters is how much a buyer would want to pay for it. It also helps to calculate ROI -from the buyers' point of view. I also update these numbers periodically, at least once in six months or so.
4: Identify potential buyers in the target business segment, and send out a well thought-out piece of communication to the potential buyers.
5: Look at own cash-flow requirements, domain inventory, etc., and adjust the expectations as things may (or may not) shape up over time.
6: Not having content and the traffic stats can seriously lower the amount of money that a buyer will be willing to pay for a domain. Without the content, and traffic, a buyer is paying for a perceived value. If there is decent content, traffic, and some revenue (advertising, membership, etc.) stream, the buyer sees something more tangible, and the results could be real sweet.
7: Continue to look at the traffic and redo the math -as waranted.
The expected returns, ROI projections, and the marketing plan should be clearly documented, but must be treated as a living document, because those numbers are not cast in stone.
This is what I have found to work for me -most of the times. YMMV.
I wanted to share this with you here in the hopes that it helps someone, and also to start off a discussion, and to learn from your experiences. Feel free to add your suggestions/comments...
best regards,
SlashRoot
Last edited: