discuss New ways to sell domains?

[Arpit131]

Hello guys..
Let's discuss new ways to sell domain names.

It's been quite sometime since we happened to brainstorm on this particular things.

Last I heard, someone was using Twitter ads to sell their domain names and it was working for them!

Let's discuss some more on this..
Think of the craziest ways and share it here. Who knows, something worthwhile comes up maybe!!

The idea is to think out of the box! Go crazy!
Share the best way you could think of

 

[frank-germany]

Frank....plans do make sales, and I have 50 years of planning experience that proves it. Besides, you don't know my domains, only what you've been told. Do you know my .Golf domains? Can you name even one of them? How about my .Homes domains? And btw, slightly over 50% of my portfolio of 1,500 domains are .coms, and not just new gTLD's. And yes, ALL my domains were hand reg'd much to the chagrin of many of the old timers. Were you at NamesCon in Vegas? If you were, maybe you'd have a little more respect for my passion, my experience and my drive. The last think I'll clue you in on is the importance of a sense of humor where laughter is like a mini vacation.

Finally, I'm not cowing to the way old time domainers would like for me to play. I realized early on that an opportunity exists for a guy like me who understands business, and has named dozens of successful startups.

Frank...i have other "new ways to sell domains", but I'm not about to share results just to set myself up for ridicule...i'm way too smart for that. Cheers!

you feel offended
sorry for that

after 23 years of online sales pitches
I'm not so easily found to be enthusiastic about new tactics as 20 years ago

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

I don't care about the quality of your names at all
that's your business not mine

the names I have seen,
- I would have passed on those -

so question again:
did anything work so far
or is it all boiling?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

you feel offended
sorry for that

after 23 years of online sales pitches
I'm not so easily found to be enthusiastic about new tactics as 20 years ago

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

I don't care about the quality of your names at all
that's your business not mine

the names I have seen,
- I would have passed on those -

so question again:
did anything work so far
or is it all boiling?

Frank....my life's plans as well as my domain plans have been successful to date On the one hand you say, "I don't care about the quality of your names at all, that's your business", yet you don't know a single .golf or .homes domain I own. As I told you, and you don't seem to understand my answer to your query,
NUNYA BUSINESS!

 

[DOMAIN ILLUMINATI]

Write your domain name on your forehead (including a "FOR SALE" - tag) before you leave your home.
Expect strange looks (don't care, give a friendly look back).
And questions - about your domain name… ...perfect!!!

Unfortunately this is not possible for (super) long domain names - for that I will have to find another solutionnn

DISCLAIMER
Use only a pen that is skin - friendly and washable and only do it if your domain name is appropriate for displaying it publicly.​

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I do it for 10+ years. It takes 3+ years for domain to get good SE rankings and most of the time I fail, at least on G. It's very difficult even for experienced webmasters like me. Once you made a profitable website from a domain, you would not want to sell even if you receive offers. Nobody would sell a gold mine unless the offer is exceptional.

If you develop domains, you would be called a webmaster rather than a domainer. Because you would need fully developed, established websites. 1-2 page landing pages have less chance than fully developed domains, more chance than parking pages with no real content. It's something in between. "Startup website" is probably more than 1-2 page. It may help to sell the domain faster but for less $. Poorly developed website ("startup website") may drop the value of its domain. It's like gamble. Website buyers and domain buyers want different things. If the website fails, it may be worth less than its domain value. That's why some valuable domain drops.

Web hosting cost is almost zero compared to domain renewal costs. Because a hosting account can host multiple domains. The biggest cost is the time needed to learn how to manage a website. It requires to invest 3+ years. For comparison, there are 50x things to learn compared to domaining. You would need to love to learn about websites, servers, SEO, online marketing, etc, and more importantly would need lots of time to invest with no revenue. It would be similar to become a college student one more time. Hosting cost is nothing.

Has anyone tried an approach of offering the domain name with a startup website? I am not sure of the costs involved with being a reselling webhost service, but I think to many tiny businesses the idea of buying a domain with even a very basic few pages up and going quickly would encourage them to get their own domain.

I personally don't want to get into the website creation business (partly because I would be terrible at it ) but I wondered if people have either offered both services, or partnered with someone who did.

Bob

Bob...at a minimum, a website template could be offered with every domain for sale. I was meeting with the folks that own .Bible last week, and since returning home I thought it would be nice to offer with a domain name like HawkesFamily.Bible an actual online Bible ...a site where you can make footnotes, high light certain passages, and even have members of your family use the site.

Along with a .Bible domain you might also offer one of Epik's "forever" domain options in case someone in the family would like the domain to be in the family "forever"

As I said, I just met with these folks to discuss ideas, to which they referred to me as an "ideator" It's funny, but I'd never heard that expression, and now that I've Googled the term, I guess I really am an ideator

Finally...even though I've never read the Bible cover to cover, I can see myself high lighting the Ten Commandments in an online family Bible if I were to own it. The only thing holding .Bible back is their price of registration that needs to come down, if they're to succeed imho

Since it's Sunday, instead of signing off with Cheers!, I'll just say God Bless!

 

[Premium Domain]

May be we can learn from the best domainers or working with the best domainers, then create some modification or combine with massive promotion on right market.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

so when an idea is great - it might get results

if it's brilliant - it might get results fast

Well said @frank-germany. While I totally think it is appropriate and healthy to talk about plans, like @ThatNameGuy does with all his enthusiasm, you remind us that even good ideas sometimes don't work out, and most do not yield results fast.

I wonder if it might look back at what has worked in this industry, and that might help us find new ways moving forward. Here would be my list.

• Brandable Marketplaces. I think these worked by providing a new model that filled a real need for startups. If you look at numbers, that alone is a good revenue source for many domainers too. So why did these work? The existing general marketplaces with 10 million + names were not working effectively for finding names, and the curation feature gave a manageable catalog to browse. You can argue they take too much commission, but the numbers do support that even with that on average they are more profitable for domainers.
• Integrated One Stop Shops. I think the big registrars make most of their money, and why they get most of their customers, is because I can go to a company like GD and register a domain name, add things like security, get web hosting, have an easy start web creation tool, etc. This is not necessarily positive for domainers, but I think has a lesson re what the user base is looking for.
• Advertising. I think most would agree that GD dominate at least to a fair degree because of their overwhelming advertising presence.

So what would you add, and what lessons does it have? I think there may be new ways to advertise and certainly new ways to promote, like the trade show route that @ThatNameGuy promoted. I also feel that the market badly could use new marketplaces that had the curated feature of the brandable ones but that are not restricted to .com (for most part) and are not aimed only at business owners.

I think that Dofo may be industry changing as an easy way to see what is available across multiple marketplaces and with a search engine that is far superior to the big players.

What do end users ultimately want?

1. An efficient and attractive way to see mainly what they might want with a minimum of noise.
2. Enough competition and evidence that they are getting good or at least reasonable value.
3. Trust in the process of acquiring a name.
4. Fast transfer of the name.
5. Ease in going from having the name to putting it to use.
6. Pre, during and follow-up service along the lines of what the real estate (or at least exemplary parts of it) industry offer.

Bob

 

[BrandCougar]

@DefinitelyDomains -

I like the upbeat tone of you videos.

My feedback...

What I saw was a (4) phase piece.

1) Intro - a clear statement that it is a domain you are selling and its name.
2) Curtain Drop - which outlines a "value proposition" - but one that only domain resellers might see as value.
3) Call to Action - via a simple bold question - YES!
4) Contact Info - a passive request for an action "to email you".

I would suggest a few changes that better TARGET your intended prospect.

1) Intro - good with what you have (tho given the domain name, I would use more of an "AllAboutAutos" classier theme as your domain is "RentASupercar" (more prestigious and less cartoonish).
2) Curtain Drop - make it about the buyer (not a domainer views) - ask a question more tailored to a high-end car rental vendor - "Is your inventory sitting or being driven?" or even more bold "Do you make money while your cars are parked?" or "Are you making interest payments while your cars sit idle?" Try to hit some kind of nerve with the viewer - stick a knife in it and wiggle it 'til it makes them upset! Touch a nerve, then solve that problem.
3) Call to Action - what you had was simple, bold, and to the point - the word "Interested?" is a lead-in to a call to action.
4) Contact / "The Close" - something that entices them to do something.... other than watch the video 2-3 times... for example "Contact us today to discuss how we can help you drive traffic to your site?" or (and I know I'm old school, but "Call Today! 111-222-1234" Your lead gen rate is 3X if you provide a phone # above your email address. The goal of that initial conversation is to QUALIFY the PROSPECT. It is not to toss out a price.

I think you have something interesting going on with your video approach. I once heard that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google's search box. And I think video is a terrific way to poke an emotional response (it is a mini-TV model) an inexpensive advertising venue if you can find a way to harness it.

Thanks again for sharing your video model. I am curious, what software are you using to develop these snippets?

-Cougar

ps: Please don't get me wrong - your initial venture into this is quite interesting - and the initial video pieces your created are quite professional looking - especially the "AllAboutAutos.com" one. That's really got a draw to it - calm, relaxing, (get me out of this damn cubical) type feeling to it. Spot on terrific!

@DefinitelyDomains -

Below is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier.

I hope the example is helpful...

-Cougar

ps: The only embarrassing thing is they spelled the name incorrectly in the title "InvestYield". Oops!

 

[Ifechukwude]

Educating specific business owners the importance of online presence and how it can increase productivity in their business can create room for you to advertise your domains. IMO

 

[J Sokol]

An efficient and attractive way to see mainly what they might want with a minimum of noise.

GoDaddy could benefit from this - they are big on clutter and noise.

 

[DanBingham]

@DefinitelyDomains -

Below is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier.

I hope the example is helpful...

-Cougar

ps: The only embarrassing thing is they spelled the name incorrectly in the title "InvestYield". Oops!

@BrandCougar - Yes it is - thanks!

 

[poweredbyme]

Domain is mostly bought to develop a website to advertise a product.
Who will be interested to buy a domain that needs advertisement?
I don't advertise my domains anywhere. Domains and websites should not need to be advertised, only products need. Domain itself is not a product. It's just an advertisement medium.

 

[DanBingham]

I don't advertise my domains anywhere

Then you really are limiting your exposure, unless you are not actively selling any!

 

[poweredbyme]

Then you really are limiting your exposure, unless you are not actively selling any!

Yes. I sell passively. I don't have too many domains and don't have domains that worth 5+ figures. But even if I had, I wouldn't advertise.
For me, active selling is to list domains at 1-2 marketplaces. I should admit I am a bit lazy, calm, not very ambitious in general. This might be a factor. Perhaps I am trying to rationalize my laziness. However I truly believe domains are only advertisement medium like a TV channel. If you were trying to sell a TV channel, you wouldn't advertise it on other TV channels.

 

[BrandCougar]

"active selling is to list domains at 1-2 marketplaces"

Sorry to say... that is not "selling"... that is "order taking". Two different activities.

One is qualifying and actively engaging prospects, the other is a book keeper that takes no accountability for revenue results..

And if you don't know the difference, then you are in for a tough ride as an investor.

-Cougar

 

[ThatNameGuy]

"active selling is to list domains at 1-2 marketplaces"

Sorry to say... that is not "selling"... that is "order taking". Two different activities.

One is qualifying and actively engaging prospects, the other is a book keeper that takes no accountability for revenue results..

And if you don't know the difference, then you are in for a tough ride as an investor.

-Cougar

"active selling is to list domains at 1-2 marketplaces"

Sorry to say... that is not "selling"... that is "order taking". Two different activities.

One is qualifying and actively engaging prospects, the other is a book keeper that takes no accountability for revenue results..

And if you don't know the difference, then you are in for a tough ride as an investor.

-Cougar

BrandCougar...you're EXACTLY right, but that's the way this industry operates. And that's the reason there's so much opportunity It's like everyone in this industry is so brainwashed they really believe their way is the right way and the only way....sad

 

[BMWMotoRider]

I expected that question, but I haven't done my first trade show yet. That said however, I've sold all sorts of intangible business services at trade shows. I've sold medical billing systems hardware and software, I've sold credit/collection systems to creditors, investigative services to banks, and niche tax services to lawyers.

The whole trade show experience provides the sort of confidence needed to sell domains directly to decision makers. The naysayers will say the attendees already have names to which I say, doesn't everybody Besides, a certain percentage of attendees are always looking to "go it on their own", and they're going to need a domain.

I'd be doing it now if it weren't for the fact that I'm still seeking a partner to compliment my experience and expertise, and the likes of Go Daddy and Donuts may be just the ticket

Good ideas here. This got me thinking.

How about selling industry specific domain names to vendors that call on an targeted industry-pitching the domain names as lead-generating tools for the vendors. For example, have potential clients compete to win the domain name for their business. For example, an international Lawyer/Law Firm might want to obtain OffshoreTaxAttorneys.com for marketing (yeah, I own it.). A vendor at an American Bar Association conference could get a lot of hits for attorneys that could "win" that name at the end of the conference.

So, in this case you'd want to find a group that specialized in web marketing for legal professionals/law firms. Someone smart said there's Riches in the Niches.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Good ideas here. This got me thinking.

How about selling industry specific domain names to vendors that call on an targeted industry-pitching the domain names as lead-generating tools for the vendors. For example, have potential clients compete to win the domain name for their business. For example, an international Lawyer/Law Firm might want to obtain OffshoreTaxAttorneys.com for marketing (yeah, I own it.). A vendor at an American Bar Association conference could get a lot of hits for attorneys that could "win" that name at the end of the conference.

So, in this case you'd want to find a group that specialized in web marketing for legal professionals/law firms. Someone smart said there's Riches in the Niches.

Excellent observation MotoRider....another example is an industry like "Real Estate" where you have over 1.3M realtors in the US alone, and just as many vendors who serve the real estate industry. I'm already considering making real estate agents "domain agents". After all they work with other agents every day, they work for "commission only", and they're already trained in sales......Duh!

 

[lock]

Customer lands on landing page can see domain for sale contacts owner.
If this is not happening then they are still searching or not for your domain.

 

[Daniel Lorentsen]

I've tried a lot of things, but the only way that has really worked for me is just simple old landing pages. It sounds so boring but when it works it works, so I'm sticking to it. Rather spend my time looking for good domains and then letting them sell themselves

 

[skyz21]

I've used yelp to connect with business owners who had similar names to the domain I was selling. Came close to closing, but not in the end. Could be helpful for some. Also a great tool is scrapebox, use it to find relevant blogs & forums for your niche and then go add value to their comments with a link back to your domain. This may yield some results if done right.