Reasonable Income Expectations

[brett_atredback]

Hi All!!,

I have some online biz plans, though they will take a while to get ramped and bringing in $$. I am thinking of doing a bit of domaining on the side - say no more than a couple of hours per day to make some monthly income and pay biz bills etc (i still have a day job).

Can anyone give me some reasonable expectations regarding time, $$ input required and average monthly income I can expect if I put some effort into domaining? If I were to put a couple of $k (say $2k!) up as input capital, and say 10ish hours per week, would anyone have any idea how many domains I could pick up per week, perhaps how many I could sell per month and average profit margin?

Again, I know somewhat tough questions, but I need to do a bit of planning and if domaining is not going to meet my needs in the short to term term, I'm not going to spend effort learning it.

thanks!
Brett

 

[Spade]

This is a nearly impossible question to answer. Everyones experiences are entirely different, and there are countless strategies - some of which takes years to really begin to profit from.

Domaining is a lot about patience. Much of the sales I make today, are domains I picked up 2-3 years ago. So expecting to put in $2,000 dollars and start making money right away isn't always reasonable.

The other issue is that not all people who employ the same strategy make the kind of revenue. Sometimes luck is a factor and sometimes skill. Most people who jump into this game make early mistakes, and dont recover. Knowledge is your most important skillset in this game, understanding what sells and why. That takes serious time to understand.

Justin

 

[brett_atredback]

Thanks for replying. Kind of what I expected!

 

[copper]

Lots of fresh domainer think it's easy money, but, it's not.
For every $xxx,xxx and above sale you see, there are
incredible numbers of domainers losing money everyday.

Profits don't come overnight unless you are extremely lucky or extremely brilliant.
However, if you have patience, money will come in due time

 

[DavidH]

You would probably be wise to spend the 10 hours a week to start with learning as much as you possible can on the forums so as to avoid making the same mistakes as other people.

Having money to start with is often a not so good thing as it is very tempting to rush in and blow it on names that may not be a good deal.

You also need to decide what you want out of domaining - do you want names to develop, do you want names that earn parking revenue, do you want names that you can flip (are you looking to flip short term or longer term), etc.

Have you got specific experience in a particular industry or hobby that could give you an edge over probably 90% of other domainers? Start in that niche where you will probably recognise bargains that the rest of us would not.

I started with very little money and have learnt an enormous amount over the past few years. Domain names have got me out of quite a few scrapes where I needed cash for bills, etc, but one major factor you have to learn is PATIENCE. Dont expect to instantly make money - it takes time, effort, and consistent practise, especially in the current downturn where everyone is being more cautious.

Have faith in yourself, start small, keep going, dont listen to all the naysayers, learn as much as you can, and you will do fine.

 

[brett_atredback]

Thanks again everyone!!! Would seem that one of the most important thing is to understand pricing trends and history. Where is the best spot(s) to get that?

 

[hawkeye]

Get that info here and at other forums. Attend if possible a domain show ala DomainFest, Traffic, Domain Round Table. Go to Domaining.com and follow the bloggers! Find sites, read, find more sites, read more. There is no course or route to take, except learn from others!

 

[JamesDavid]

I agree with everyone here in respect to learn, learn, learn, then jump. Too often people jump and don't learn.

Once you learn more you will realize that you have a few avenues of domaining to choose from.
Flipping
Investing
Parking
Developing

Brief Breakdown of each.
Flipping: You buy a domain with a sole intention of end users in mind to sell it too, after the domain is secured you then market by email, person, or phone to a list of companies trying to sell the name. You can make money doing this but ALOT of time is required and no success is guaranteed.

Investing: This is the approach where you speculate and buy domains you think will be useful/desirable in the future or where you go out and buy one good name that you feel will rise in value in years to come. If you are looking to pay monthly bills this route is NOT for you.

Parking:
You buy domains with the intent of parking them at one of the various hundreds of domain parking companies. You try to buy keyword rich domains, to make money hand regging you need to get lucky, or you can buy names with traffic already. unfortunately this market has been hit hard because of the economy and I don't see it bouncing back anytime soon. Some money to be made here but not much, plus you really have little control of what money is made.

Developing:
Hands down the most promising approach if you are starting in domains today with little cash. If you want to go this way, learn, learn, learn then buy ONE, ONE, ONE, domain in which you can provide a service, sell a product, or any other unique idea..
In this approach the domain itself matters less and your input and force matters most. Whether you own KennysKeychains.com and sell keychains through a drop shipper or write ebooks, money can be made. Just go develop the next twitter and sell it for a billion in 6 years....

 

[Spade]

Thanks again everyone!!! Would seem that one of the most important thing is to understand pricing trends and history. Where is the best spot(s) to get that?

See my sig =)

 

[DubDubDubDot]

First of all, it is very easy to burn though money domaining.

Don't get too excited by the domain sale reports. For every domain that sells, there are dozens or even hundreds of similar domains for sale at a similar price that aren't selling!

The real estate industry prices things to keep moving. The domain industry generally prices things based on the most optimistic sales history that can be found. The result is that domains sit idle for years, and often the ultimate sale price doesn't even cover the initial cost of the domain plus years of renewals. These weak sales (which comprise MOST domain sales each day) are brushed under the rug and not reported by the domain sale reporting sites.

So you've got to be careful what you buy.

If it is a [keyword].com, how strong and valuable are the keywords?

If it is a [brandable].com, realistically, is this something someone wants to build a business around?

 

[DomainTalker]

Excellent advice here.

.

 

[verbster]

Are you kidding? Just do exactly like the $3000 a day domainer says, and you'll be filthy rich in weeks. . . a couple of months on the outside. In fact, I'm sure by this time next week, half of all domainers will be making at least $1000 per day with no work or time invested at all.

 

[mwzd]

Great advice DavidH, repped.

verbster :D :D :D

Buy one good domain for 2k, sell for a profit (make sure you can though, knowing why is real important), rinse and repeat.

 

[brett_atredback]

Thanks again everyone, appreciate it!!!!!

 

[dbtbandit67]

i think there's no way around the grueling experience of having to go through growing pains. lebron james had a terrible jump shot when he first entered the league.

i hate reading these posts about people bragging about the domains they auto-flipped for big money. it gives off the impression that anyone can do it. you are going to sustain losses and will have wasted time as a result of growing pains. and that doesnt make you dumb, it's perfectly normal.

but you could alleviate this pain by being hyper-conservative about your budget in the beginning. don't buy domains off other domainers, you'll never get good deals this way. and i learned this the hard way.

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

that tool will become your best friend. ideally you want direct match keywords of something that gets a lot of searches, and is related to an actual product or service. i would stay away from "brandables" starting off. i'd also stay away, for now, from any other extension that isnt, .com/net/org

you could find domains by scanning droplists all day. but there are other people here that will be better in teaching you that rather than myself.

 

[snoop]

Hi All!!,

I have some online biz plans, though they will take a while to get ramped and bringing in $$. I am thinking of doing a bit of domaining on the side - say no more than a couple of hours per day to make some monthly income and pay biz bills etc (i still have a day job).

Can anyone give me some reasonable expectations regarding time, $$ input required and average monthly income I can expect if I put some effort into domaining? If I were to put a couple of $k (say $2k!) up as input capital, and say 10ish hours per week, would anyone have any idea how many domains I could pick up per week, perhaps how many I could sell per month and average profit margin?

Again, I know somewhat tough questions, but I need to do a bit of planning and if domaining is not going to meet my needs in the short to term term, I'm not going to spend effort learning it.

thanks!
Brett

I sense you are a bit unrealistic here, pretty much everyone loses at the start, and most still lose after that. A small % win and they are generally people who know this industry inside out. Just take a survey of how many people do this full time versus how many are hobbists and you'll get the idea. If you are trying to make money because your other online biz isn't making money yet my advice would be to focus on that business first as it obviously needs work.

There is no reasonable expectations as to earnings etc, this isn't a job, it is a cut-throat, high risk industry, there is no "certainty" or "norm".

 

[seven]

My first advice: Forget domaining. Go look into SRS (stock).

My second tip: You've got to find the end users. If you can't find people that want to use your name for an actual website, you'll lose.

Just in general: There are a lot of factors that go into prices. This is a nuance game.

Example: You might sell OrlandoSteakhouse.com that you just bought for $35 on NamePros for $2,000 to some guy in Orlando and be really happy about the sale - but did you know he would have paid $12,000 if you hadn't come out like an amateur in negotiations?

Another example: Do you have the patience to hold onto a domain for 5 years or will you drop it when no one ever inquires about it after the first renewal comes up?

On one side of the coin it is as easy as buying a domain and then asking others if they're interested. On the other, there's a lot of homework you're behind on.

 

[Billy2009]

O-N-E M-I-L-L-I-O-N D-O-L-L-A-R-S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just kidding.....I just had to say it.

Seriously though, I just think it is not as easy as it used to be. Nor will it ever be again. The last really good chance is in the coming year or so as domainers lose their ass in parking.
.

Hi Seabass, could you elaborate on this point please? Do you mean that domainers will have falling parking revenue and therefore sell their sites cheaply? And that prices will then rise?

 

[bmugford]

There is no easy path to wealth in domaining. It takes time and effort. You will rarely get rich selling to domainers.

How much money you can make depends on many factors.

1.) Business Model. Quick Flipping or Finding End Users.
2.) The amount invested, and that it is well spent.
3.) The ability to make the right decisions.

There is no magic formula.

Brad

 

[DavidH]

You also need to understand that you will not sell every domain name you register or buy, so set your profit margin high enough on the ones you do sell to cover the cost of the rest - I operate at the low end of the market, usually getting names for under $15 and look for a 20x cost plus as a selling price from endusers.

While this may seem to some a large return to look for, it has to pay for the names I dont sell so that the portfolio pays for itself.