Teach a man to fish - Co-creating Abundance

[Rob Monster]

You all know the famous proverb from Lao Tzu:

I think it also applies to domaining.

I believe in teaching people to become sovereign, so they can provide for themselves, provide for their families, provide for their communities and also have time to contemplate the meaning of life.

So with this in mind, I have sponsored a number of initiatives, which I will not name here because that would be promotional and the mods don't like that.

However, I do want to share something and invite input to it. About 6 weeks ago, Epik acquired 2 brands that had training products associated with them: DomainFlippa and Domain Graduate.

The Founder of Domain Graduate, Sean Stafford, and I have a shared passion for teaching people how to become successful domainers. This project fits my personal interest and calling: (digital) empowerment.

In the past, Domain Graduate and Domain Flippa were both paid courses. The existence of a fee implicitly meant that most people would never participate since there was a large toll at the entrance.

When Epik acquired these brands, it was with the specific goal of making the pie bigger. We want to help teach a lot more people to be good at domaining by tapping the wisdom of those who mastered it.

With this mind, I am sharing a living draft, of what is to become Domain Graduate 2.0. It is the collective wisdom of some professional domainers. You can download a copy here:

https://my.armored.net/index.php/s/dG7MkwJAp9H3L43

This document will continue to be iterated, so if you see issues or opportunities to improve, we'll use this thread to invite discussion about how to empower more people to become effective domainers.

As for the draft document, here is my ask:

- If you have time, review it and send any editorial feedback to @DomainGraduate.

- Comment publicly if you like to discuss or share some technique that you think belongs in the course.

- Feel free to invite non-NP members to visit this page to retrieve the draft course.

We will add an acknowledgement section collating the input and refrencing the attributed contributions. That section might get large, and that is fine!

In about one week, we'll have a final version and we'll publish it with a beautiful cover, and put it online at a new and improved DomainGraduate.com so anyone can download it.

After that, we plan to recruit translators to localize the document and where appropriate add local resource tips. Different countries will have different versions to reflect language, ccTLD, local laws and local customs.

Finally, for anyone who wants to contribute to the cause, domain name donations are welcome to the eRise Foundation, for which a latest update is described here.

So, that's it. Tell us what you think.

On behalf of the Domain Graduate Team:

Rob Monster, @Abdullah Abdullah, and Sean Stafford

 

[bmugford]

Actually, not everyone is quite that cynical. It seems crazy in this day and age that capitalists are not just selfish pricks but indeed this happens. I call it enlightened capitalism. I am refining the model but it is actually possible to do well by doing good, and to do good while doing well by co-creating abundance. Feel free to not participate but if you like the idea of teaching people to fish, then fish. However, scarcity minded people will never point out their fishing holes because they think that the God of the universe who made the fish in the first place, can't show you a better fishing hole. I do understand the mindset. It must be suffocating.

It is just amazing how your altruism lines up so well with your own self interests.
What are the odds?

The Epik promotion in the manual is also at the detriment of the information.

For instance -

Here is a list of some of the most common places that to buy and sell. They are listed here in the order of the most time I spend using them

1.) Epik.com
2.) GoDaddy Auctions
3.) Sedo.com
4.) NamePros.com
5.) Snapnames.com

What nonsense. Who spends the most time on the Epik marketplace?
Take out the obvious self promotion and maybe people will take it more seriously.

Brad

 

[Rob Monster]

It is just amazing how your altruism lines up so well with your own self interests.
What are the odds?

The Epik promotion in the manual is also at the detriment of the information.

For instance -

Here is a list of some of the most common places that to buy and sell. They are listed here in the order of the most time I spend using them

1.) Epik.com
2.) GoDaddy Auctions
3.) Sedo.com
4.) NamePros.com
5.) Snapnames.com

What nonsense. Who spends the most like on the Epik marketplace?
Take out the obvious self promotion and maybe people will take it more seriously.

Brad

I did not write any of the content but sure, make that list alphabetical since we don't know market share. I do think DAN belongs on that list along with NameJet. Thanks!

 

[Ategy]

I actually don't really have a problem with Epik being used as an example when talking about registrars. It's a good registrar .. good prices .. low commissions .. on a value/technical level, I don't have issues recommending Epik. (As long as it's accurate and ethical and not what @bmugford pointed out above .. although in fairness it is a very rough draft .. and honestly .. that shady style of writing isn't much of a surprise when looking at the book as a whole .. partially why I said I think a fresh start would be better to clear out all that questionable stuff)

That being said .. beyond Epik, there needs to be an obvious focus on GoDaddy's aftermarket simply because literally half of all expired domains in the world pass through their aftermarket. Sedo and even BrandBucket etc should be covered as well. I actually like Epik's wholesale aftermarket .. but unfortunately the expiration stream still needs to grow to get more .. with this year's growth, hopefully we'll see more growth there sooner than later.


But all that part of the discussion is missing the point here ...
I think what some are having a hard time understanding is how getting more domainers in the industry helps grow the pie? If you have a pie with 6 people .. nummm nummm nummm .. if you have a pie with 60 people it's indeed nothing but crumbs.

Maybe if we had a better auction marketplace (see that email you missed monday/tuesday .. lol), then more new domainers would at least give us more liquidity.

What's needed is ironically exactly what YOU keep telling us !!! .. Which is indeed to grow the pie ... but the pie isn't domainers .. it's end-user capital ... so we either need more end users .. or we need to better educate and inform end users on how the value of a good $3,000 is actually more profitable to them than if they acquired a $10 handreg. Or how a $50k domain is better for them long term than a $3k domain.


All that said .. sometimes you have an unmentioned detail that really clarifies everything .. lol .. kinda waiting for that ah-ha moment where you clarify what we still don't quite understand where you're going and how this indeed grows the pie ...

 

[Brands.International]

More scarcity thinking. Pity.

Old school domainer with small pie mindset -- every man for himself. Lame.,

I hoped for better from you.

Thank you for you gentle words about my thinking and mindset - it is pure kindness from you, and although it was rather short answer, imo it answered all points in my post in detail.

True example of professional level of discussion we should be all doing here, and how to exchange the ideas and opinions on this forum. So, thanks again

 

[Rob Monster]

Quick scenario discussion, just for calibration, largely prompted by @Ategy.com.

I know there are some concerns about overfishing. Some of this has been relayed to me privately so I think the mindset is one of scarcity and competition is messing with people's perspective.

Let me offer the counter-argument:

- More domainers means more people holding domains which means less hand-reg options for retail investors who cannot even find a passable domain to hand-reg since they are occupied. This forces potential buyers to focus on the after-market. For the folks that have been sitting on PPC landers for 10 years, this is actually good news. We are just there already in cloud, crypto and cannabis, for example.

- More domainers who know how to make money means more folks introducing new people about the importance of having a viable digital brand. Consider in particular, emerging markets. Some folks here made a fortune when the Chinese entered the market, for example. How much new liquidity entered the domain industry in the last 5 years, just because of that? I don't know but it was life-changing for many.

I know there are folks here who are concerned about having too much competition in expiry auctions because a bunch of new emerging market speculators will be bidding. Sure, the prices in auctions might go up but let's face it, there is a tremendous amount of inventory that still needs to be placed, including inventory that the old-timers have been sitting on forever. If the prices rise, everyone will be fine.

 

[Rob Monster]

Thank you for you gentle words about my thinking and mindset - it is pure kindness from you, and although it was rather short answer, imo it answered all points in my post in detail.

True example of professional level of discussion we should be all doing here, and how to exchange the ideas and opinions on this forum. So, thanks again

I took issue with your directive:

That is some nonsense right there. You think this is about money. It is not.

 

[JB Lions]

That is some nonsense right there. You think this is about money. It is not.

So you're a business and it's not about money?

Epik being mentioned 32 times, is not meant to drive traffic to Epik, resulting in sales (money)?

You starting threads on .org and dash .com, mentioning big sales, was not meant to drive regs?

You posting a spreadsheet with 4 letter .orgs was not meant for people to start regging?

The stuff with all these other countries is because you want to tap those markets to make............money.

etc.

@Ategy.com don't overthink it. The goal of a registrar is to make money. GoDaddy wasn't passing out $1 coupons for new regs and transfers to save the world, it was to get people into the GoDaddy ecosystem, hoping they'll stay and continue to spend money.

It's business, business is about making money. Don't try to make it bigger than it is.

Rob, why not simply make your own ebook, called it Monster's Guide To Domaining. If you feel you have knowledge to share, get it organized, knock an ebook out.

-------------
Didn't see this thread in my New Posts. Thanks mods for moving it to the right forum/Promotional.

The General Discussion forum should be for exactly that.

 

[Rob Monster]

So you're a business and it's not about money?

Epik being mentioned 32 times, is not meant to drive traffic to Epik, resulting in sales (money)?

You starting threads on .org and dash .com, mentioning big sales, was not meant to drive regs?

You posting a spreadsheet with 4 letter .orgs was not meant for people to start regging?

The stuff with all these other countries is because you want to tap those markets to make............money.

etc.

@Ategy.com don't overthink it. The goal of a registrar is to make money. GoDaddy wasn't passing out $1 coupons for new regs and transfers to save the world, it was to get people into the GoDaddy ecosystem, hoping they'll stay and continue to spend money.

It's business, business is about making money. Don't try to make it bigger than it is.

Rob, why not simply make your own ebook, called it Monster's Guide To Domaining. If you feel you have knowledge to share, get it organized, knock an ebook out.

-------------
Didn't see this thread in my New Posts. Thanks mods for moving it to the right forum/Promotional.

I am not an editor of the book. I am sponsoring the production because I thought there was a need following the discussion that happened here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-for-the-goodwill-of-domains-digital-empowerment-brand.1157478

People said that giving away empowerment grants without a training program was a train wreck waiting to happen. So I listened to that advice.

We acquired Domain Graduate because Mike Cyger would not take my call. This product is of course not as good, but it is perhaps the 80 for the 0. We did the same with escrow -- made it free.

As for the business model, of course we have to make a margin. However, I can charge a 9% commission while helping someone sell a domain for 5X for their reserve price. That is co-creating abundance.

I completely accept that these capabilities may not appeal to some domain industry old-timers. On the other hand, some long-time domainers may have the capacity to suspend disbelief.

I realize there is this chronic need to drawl parallels with various carpetbaggers that passed through. I don't think that is fair, and I think the deliverables in the last 12 months show there is substance here.

As I said before, I don't really care who makes money, nor who takes credit. You can compare Epik to Godaddy if you like, but our mindsets are quite different and they would probably acknowledge that.

Finally, I am not here to make enemies. To the contrary, I am here to listen to smart people and to empower people who can think beyond themselves. If that's you, then you are my friend.

 

[Lox]

The next step is to create a #1 101 book ....the end-user edu book:

Title: The Value of Domain Name
Subtitle: Expand and protect your cyberspace.
The message: You need more than 1 domain name / extension! Find out why!

Where the word domainsquatter or cybersquatter is explained (without defense) , where domain investor (holder) is on spotlight ....

If well written/ compiled, it can be dispatched across the registrars space.

 

[Ategy]

You know .. in all fairness .. a lot people did say that anybody coming on the empowerment program would need serious education. I just think that most of us thought it would be more of class type training in a (virtual) setting where people would better absorb the information than just a booklet. I personally thought what you bought was more in tune with DNA, with a teacher and help, tests, mentorship, chats, etc. So I really understand the confusion from both sides here.

And I'll also be fair in saying that a lot of what Rob does .. does indeed genuinely go beyond just the money. That's not to say he doesn't want Epik to make money and be profitable .. if not then all our domains there would ironically be in danger.

He's trying to do things that in his mind is good for the community (and yes .. Epik) .. whether each thing is or isn't is definitely a matter of each person's opinion. But yes, along with participating here and also creating as the CEO of Epik, he's going to refer to Epik and some of the projects he's along the way. He's got so much going on and honestly trying to get a lot of things in place for domainers (and yes .. Epik), that I think it's a bit much that people hold that against him when he talks about them. The whole point of NamePros is to discuss things in the industry .. I really he should be able to talk about these things and not feel guilty about refering to Epik if indeed it's something that relates to Epik.

I for one would much rather a registrar CEO participate in an open forum and disagree with me, but still interact .. than what every other CEO in the industry does .. which is not consult or interact with domainers as they stay behind closed doors. Like him or not .. disagree with him or not .. it's better for the domain community that he's here as a registrar CEO.

That being said .. most certainly people are allowed to have their opinions on each specific thing, and there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with something he's doing/planning, as is the case here. I've exchanged quite a bit with Rob over the last few months, and while I definitely do not always agree with him, if there's one thing I have to give him credit for, it's that if you have an idea that's better than his, and you can convince him of it .. then he'll pivot or change or tweak. He'll put up a fight if he thinks you're wrong .. but I respect someone who disagrees with me AS LONG AS they can justify their point of view (even if I think/know it's wrong) .. more importantly, I've personally found that indeed he does listen and give things a chance. (Although sometimes I feel he's got too much going on to truly focus on one thing at a time .. but .. he's developed a heck of a lot of tools and features for the industry over the last few months .. which is a result of that measure once, cut twice mentality and rushed approach)

I do think that he should be a bit more diplomatic at times, like the "Lame" comment I found to be out of place, but there are very few people around here who are constantly trolled as much as Rob, so by comparison I suppose "Lame" is pretty tame and not very offensive even if it wasn't productive. Doesn't excuse it in this case, but I've seen much worse directed at him, and he didn't care and more importantly, nobody came to his defence. (Just to be clear, trolling was NOT the case with @Brands.International, as I think his post made sense and was completely justified from his perspective, and I think he said what many were indeed thinking, including myself on many points)


That being said .. back to the book thing ... I think the people having problems with this, are also genuinely sceptical of the empowerment program working and that it could indeed build up too many false expectations in people who are already faced with more life challenges than most of us. Without naming names (NOT Rob), in other non-Rob threads, I often confront people who boast ideas that I think are dangerous for domainers (new or otherwise), and back to this specific case, I think what we had all originally envisioned was a full interactive course and complete training, as opposed to a very incomplete and outdated booklet. There's a reason why GoDaddy and Uniregistry send their staff to customised courses at @Michael Cyger's DNAcademy, and it's specifically because it's not a book/guide, but a training/course.

But to be clear .. my concerns here are most certainly not specific to this book nor specifically against Rob's initiative .. it's a broader concern that too often there's an image that domaining is easy or quick money .. but the reality is that it just isn't an industry that is made for most people. Yes you can teach some fundamentals .. but as I've said for long before this discussion ever started .. domaining is about so much more than just domains.

Yes it could be possible to help boost people up to having a better chance of succeeding with domains .. but it most certainly isn't going to be with this book ... UNLESS .. the person has very-VERY strong existing marketing and language skills .. if those were a very strict prerequisite, then the chances would be better (and even then the book needs to be re-written) .. but most people just don't have that experience or knowledge .. and while it most definitely is something that can be learned by some .. it's not going to be in a booklet like this which isn't even complete on even just the domain part.


As for China .. there will never be another China, simply because there is no other China. China has the fastest growing economy (by overall volume) in the world .. combined with the even stronger factor of their language, keyboard interactions and culture being very prone to the accumulation of relatively short liquid domains. Yes there is strong growth in India and other parts of the world, but the demand will not be for the same type of domains that intersect as profoundly as was the case with "CHIPs" and numerics, which are much more limited in supply than the alternatives most other nations would be prone to using.

Again though .. in Rob's defence .. it's not the first time he's talked about his thinking of development the domain market in areas of the world where the domain per capita ratio is low. It's a fair point, that whether you agree with him or not, is not just something he's making up out of thin air here just for the sake of defending his point.

That being said .. I think the counter point is also very justified in their thinking that more domainers is not really a solution, and that the likelihood is that new domainers will ultimately focus on existing markets than wasting time in the difficult process of developing new ones.

Again though .. global and general population (end user) domain education is a good thing *IF* it can be done .. and while I don't always see it .. I respect that Rob is one of the few people in the industry who is actually trying to do something that he things could spark growth in new regions and in turn get businesses in those regions to get online and get a good domain. Some might see it as a lot of effort for adding a few drops in the ocean, and you might think it's the wrong approach, but it's not disingenuous, and while I have a hard time sometimes seeing his grand vision, I can say that Rob is not starting these threads simply for the sake of promoting Epik.


That being said .. I am still concerned about the expectation that a quick edit of a frightfully insufficient, outdated and incomplete booklet, is going help newcomers succeed where they didn't in the past. As I said .. even DNA can't do magic and is not nearly a 100% guarantee of success, and it's vastly more interactive and complex and developed than this is .. so what are the chances here? Rob .. you've truly done some great things for domainers .. quickly added lots of great features to Epik .. have surpassed everyone's timeline expectations on multitude of great side-projects .. but getting people to become viable and profitable domainers, while at first glance might seem easy .. truly is not .. and it can indeed be dangerous if it's not done right.

It's going to take real teachers and ongoing mentors and interactive course content .. and even then .. the failure rate will be high because domaining truly just isn't for everyone. But at least with that people will have a chance (otherwise I'm very worried and concerned for the financial well-being of someone who is given the expectation of succeeding at domaining after just reading a booklet). But it's not a week long thing .. you'll need teachers and mentors .. and to teach those teachers domaining, or teach domainers to teach ... all while understanding that most domainers do rightfully see this as simply helping new competition.


PS1 .. @Brands.International .. you are not lame!
PS2 .. @Rob Monster .. you are not a publicity seeker!

 

[Rob Monster]

You know .. in all fairness .. a lot people did say that anybody coming on the empowerment program would need serious education. I just think that most of us thought it would be more of class type training in a (virtual) setting where people would better absorb the information than just a booklet. I personally thought what you bought was more in tune with DNA, with a teacher and help, tests, mentorship, chats, etc. So I really understand the confusion from both sides here.

And I'll also be fair in saying that a lot of what Rob does .. does indeed genuinely go beyond just the money. That's not to say he doesn't want Epik to make money and be profitable .. if not then all our domains there would ironically be in danger.

He's trying to do things that in his mind is good for the community (and yes .. Epik) .. whether each thing is or isn't is definitely a matter of each person's opinion. But yes, along with participating here and also creating as the CEO of Epik, he's going to refer to Epik and some of the projects he's along the way. He's got so much going on and honestly trying to get a lot of things in place for domainers (and yes .. Epik), that I think it's a bit much that people hold that against him when he talks about them. The whole point of NamePros is to discuss things in the industry .. I really he should be able to talk about these things and not feel guilty about refering to Epik if indeed it's something that relates to Epik.

I for one would much rather a registrar CEO participate in an open forum and disagree with me, but still interact .. than what every other CEO in the industry does .. which is not consult or interact with domainers as they stay behind closed doors. Like him or not .. disagree with him or not .. it's better for the domain community that he's here as a registrar CEO.

That being said .. most certainly people are allowed to have their opinions on each specific thing, and there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with something he's doing/planning, as is the case here. I've exchanged quite a bit with Rob over the last few months, and while I definitely do not always agree with him, if there's one thing I have to give him credit for, it's that if you have an idea that's better than his, and you can convince him of it .. then he'll pivot or change or tweak. He'll put up a fight if he thinks you're wrong .. but I respect someone who disagrees with me AS LONG AS they can justify their point of view (even if I think/know it's wrong) .. more importantly, I've personally found that indeed he does listen and give things a chance. (Although sometimes I feel he's got too much going on to truly focus on one thing at a time .. but .. he's developed a heck of a lot of tools and features for the industry over the last few months .. which is a result of that measure once, cut twice mentality and rushed approach)

I do think that he should be a bit more diplomatic at times, like the "Lame" comment I found to be out of place, but there are very few people around here who are constantly trolled as much as Rob, so by comparison I suppose "Lame" is pretty tame and not very offensive even if it wasn't productive. Doesn't excuse it in this case, but I've seen much worse directed at him, and he didn't care and more importantly, nobody came to his defence. (Just to be clear, trolling was NOT the case with @Brands.International, as I think his post made sense and was completely justified from his perspective, and I think he said what many were indeed thinking, including myself on many points)


That being said .. back to the book thing ... I think the people having problems with this, are also genuinely sceptical of the empowerment program working and that it could indeed build up too many false expectations in people who are already faced with more life challenges than most of us. Without naming names (NOT Rob), in other non-Rob threads, I often confront people who boast ideas that I think are dangerous for domainers (new or otherwise), and back to this specific case, I think what we had all originally envisioned was a full interactive course and complete training, as opposed to a very incomplete and outdated booklet. There's a reason why GoDaddy and Uniregistry send their staff to customised courses at @Michael Cyger's DNAcademy, and it's specifically because it's not a book/guide, but a training/course.

But to be clear .. my concerns here are most certainly not specific to this book nor specifically against Rob's initiative .. it's a broader concern that too often there's an image that domaining is easy or quick money .. but the reality is that it just isn't an industry that is made for most people. Yes you can teach some fundamentals .. but as I've said for long before this discussion ever started .. domaining is about so much more than just domains.

Yes it could be possible to help boost people up to having a better chance of succeeding with domains .. but it most certainly isn't going to be with this book ... UNLESS .. the person has very-VERY strong existing marketing and language skills .. if those were a very strict prerequisite, then the chances would be better (and even then the book needs to be re-written) .. but most people just don't have that experience or knowledge .. and while it most definitely is something that can be learned by some .. it's not going to be in a booklet like this which isn't even complete on even just the domain part.


As for China .. there will never be another China, simply because there is no other China. China has the fastest growing economy (by overall volume) in the world .. combined with the even stronger factor of their language, keyboard interactions and culture being very prone to the accumulation of relatively short liquid domains. Yes there is strong growth in India and other parts of the world, but the demand will not be for the same type of domains that intersect as profoundly as was the case with "CHIPs" and numerics, which are much more limited in supply than the alternatives most other nations would be prone to using.

Again though .. in Rob's defence .. it's not the first time he's talked about his thinking of development the domain market in areas of the world where the domain per capita ratio is low. It's a fair point, that whether you agree with him or not, is not just something he's making up out of thin air here just for the sake of defending his point.

That being said .. I think the counter point is also very justified in their thinking that more domainers is not really a solution, and that the likelihood is that new domainers will ultimately focus on existing markets than wasting time in the difficult process of developing new ones.

Again though .. global and general population (end user) domain education is a good thing *IF* it can be done .. and while I don't always see it .. I respect that Rob is one of the few people in the industry who is actually trying to do something that he things could spark growth in new regions and in turn get businesses in those regions to get online and get a good domain. Some might see it as a lot of effort for adding a few drops in the ocean, and you might think it's the wrong approach, but it's not disingenuous, and while I have a hard time sometimes seeing his grand vision, I can say that Rob is not starting these threads simply for the sake of promoting Epik.


That being said .. I am still concerned about the expectation that a quick edit of a frightfully insufficient, outdated and incomplete booklet, is going help newcomers succeed where they didn't in the past. As I said .. even DNA can't do magic and is not nearly a 100% guarantee of success, and it's vastly more interactive and complex and developed than this is .. so what are the chances here? Rob .. you've truly done some great things for domainers .. quickly added lots of great features to Epik .. have surpassed everyone's timeline expectations on multitude of great side-projects .. but getting people to become viable and profitable domainers, while at first glance might seem easy .. truly is not .. and it can indeed be dangerous if it's not done right.

It's going to take real teachers and ongoing mentors and interactive course content .. and even then .. the failure rate will be high because domaining truly just isn't for everyone. But at least with that people will have a chance (otherwise I'm very worried and concerned for the financial well-being of someone who is given the expectation of succeeding at domaining after just reading a booklet). But it's not a week long thing .. you'll need teachers and mentors .. and to teach those teachers domaining, or teach domainers to teach ... all while understanding that most domainers do rightfully see this as simply helping new competition.


PS1 .. @Brands.International .. you are not lame!
PS2 .. @Rob Monster .. you are not a publicity seeker!

Thanks @Ategy.com for a thoughtful (late night) commentary. I will address a few points:

- I am a big fan of emerging markets. During 2019 Epik attracted a lot of domain portfolios from people in emerging markets. On average, the domain registration quality is better than what we see from developed markets in terms of near-term selling potential. Yes, there are exceptions but what I see in places like Nigeria, Indonesia and Vietnam, and I sure elsewhere, is a spirit of camraderie where folks are teaching each other what works.

- We are expanding the editorial team. We added @Sarah Frank whose one-time calling was to be a teacher and does a lot of our new hire training. She will be working with Sean Stafford, founder of @DomainGraduate to collate the editorial input and progress this first version of the course. She will also be able to coordinate with the translators so we don't have too much chaos as the course evolves. If folks have input, there are now 2 contacts for direct dialog about edits.

- As for Mike Cyger, obviously I respect the guy's work. I also respect his Sherpa legacy which started out as very benevolent, but has since become a bit more weaponized with self-serving agenda, including softball questions to sponsors, etc. It is what it is and I am glad the legacy content is still online since the teaching value of the legacy content is relatively high.

- As for @Brands.International, I am a big fan of listening to my critics. However, if someone presents me a directive or a command, rather than a suggestion or critique, they have made a tactical error assuming their objective is to persuade me of some change of course. Better to use data or logic, but bring me a directive, and I will likely ignore you. If someone persists with a directive rather than inviting discussion, then they are likely a thug engaging in nonsense, and that will be called out.

At the end of the day, I do appreciate the vast intellect that exists here in this community, and look forward to using what spare resource we can bring to the table to help a few more folks become sovereign. I won't be surprised if this work lifts up 10,000 people who in turn lift up folks in their communities. I see the evidence of it all the time, including moments ago where a guy who bought a domain last week on layaway, just flipped it for $500. It is a small win, but they do stack up!

 

[Ategy]

As I said .. I understand your perspective and point of view on trying to grow the industry. I have no doubt you'll most definitely help empower people .. again .. my concern is more for those who don't make it and who do lose money. If one person makes $500 and two people lose $10 .. then I'm ok with that ... but looking at the industry average for newcomers and the quality of the book, I'm pretty sure the end result will not be such illustrious math. But again .. you didn't say everything .. having a "teacher" can certainly shift numbers depending on the teacher.

You can't really blame people for having issues with your vision when you only paint half the picture and present it like it's complete!


On that note .. in all fairness to @Brands.International .. I think you might have misread or misinterpreted his post (you need to slow down a bit Rob .. lol). In his post not only did he not make any demands of you, he actually asked question trying to inquire (which you ignored and called him lame). The only directives he gave were suggestions to "you" in general, not you personally .. he used the term to mean his suggestion to the rest of "you" people. I didn't see him tell you that you must do anything.

Sure his words were to the point .. but in all fairness .. you often do the same .. as is the case here! He brought up some valid arguments and asked some on point questions that actually opened the door to helping you clarify things to him. Maybe there's stuff from another discussion I'm missing, but I don't see it here.


As for Domain Sherpa .. that's not Cyger .. that's owned by Media Options now (2 yrs) .. they keep it afloat for the same reason you want to start this book . .to help build education. They do huge numbers with domain sales and brokering .. any sponsorship money really isn't going to be significant to them in any way. They're mentioning their own things within episodes is pretty much exactly like you mentioning Epik here .. I personally don't have a problem with either you or them for that as long as the content/discussion has primary focus!

 

[Sarah Frank]

Hi Everyone,

I am excited to get this ball rolling and edit the material to provide the best knowledge for domainers. While I have my own opinion on a few edits, I really value YOUR feedback and went through all of the replies and took notes. It's been a few days since the book was shared via the original post, has anyone finished it? Is there any additional feedback?

 

[Rob Monster]

Quick update here:

- @James Rayers contributed a very nice section about buying and selling Brandable Domains. This has been incorporated into a new section of the book.

- I wrote sections on (1) Shooting the Moon, and (2) Domain Leasing and Financing -- two of our most preferred techniques at Epik.

- I added a new Foreword and a "Final Thoughts" section.

The book remains a work in progress but I am hopeful that with additional editorial review from @Abdullah Abdullah and then a design refresh from @Ala Dadan we'll have a V2 out to you all early this week.

We'll then give the book the rest of the week to invite critique and new submissions and then call it the official release and allow the translators to do their thing.

In case anyone still wants to contribute a section, just PM with the details of what you want to cover and we'll see if that fits anywhere.

Thanks for co-creating!

 

[Rob Monster]

@Kassey Lee could we count on you for a chapter on Chinese and Pinyin domains?

@GUTA would perhaps consider a section on how to sell to Chinese? A shameless plug of Guta is allowed!

Thanks again @James Rayers for an awesome byline article on Brandable Domains. I think folks are really going to appreciate that one!

 

[Rob Monster]

The eBook could a massive upgrade on the weekend.

We are still open to submission of content/contributions. The entire book will be free for anyone. The folks who contribute will also have the opportunity to sponsor a chapter in each book.

Early preview of site:

http://demos.epik.com/review/dg/

Initially it just features a downloadable eBook with translations as they come available. This is going to get a lot of exposure so if you want to teach, here is an easy chance.

Here is the outline in case anyone spots obvious sections where they want to contribute some expertise e and teach some folks to fish:


Foreword

Preface

Introduction: Domaining


Getting Started: Understanding Domains

Chapter 1: Domains as Virtual Real Estate

Chapter 2: Buying a Domain


Making Your Money Work for You

Chapter 3: Investment and Reinvestment

Chapter 4: Typo Domains

Chapter 5: Traffic Monetization and Domain Tasting

Chapter 6: Development: Monetization Beyond Parking

Chapter 7: The Domain Name Aftermarket


Parking and Monetization

Chapter 8: Parking Your Domains


Buying and Selling

Chapter 9: Best Practices when Buying and Selling

Chapter 10: Being a Savvy Buyer

Chapter 11: Selling Domains and Interesting Ways to Do it

Chapter 12: Domain Appraisals



Advanced Techniques

Chapter 13: Brandable Domains

Chapter 14: Shooting the Moon – Selling for big amounts

Chapter 15: Domain Leasing and Financing – Baiting the hook



Working Smart

Chapter 16: Domaining Tools

Chapter 17: Domain Estate Planning

Chapter 18: Scams and Ethics

Chapter 19: Final Thoughts

 

[Kassey Lee]

could we count on you for a chapter on Chinese and Pinyin domains?

Happy to help. Need to know the writing requirements. Also, I'm traveling overseas now, added with new writing assignment. Won't be able to help unless you can wait until late December or early January.

 

[Rob Monster]

Big update here:

http://demos.epik.com/review/dg/

The updated e-Book with layout is now online, including 4 new chapters of content, including 3 written by yours truly.

A couple questions:

1. The title will get an update since some folks did not like it. How about "Achieving Financial Independence with Domains"?

2. Are there any essential sections missing? Any nominations for content contributors?

And a reminder, any organization that contributes meaningful content gets a free sponsorship. We have some placeholder sponsors on there yet in addition to Epik and @James Rayers' company.

 

[JB Lions]

Big update here:

http://demos.epik.com/review/dg/

The updated e-Book with layout is now online, including 4 new chapters of content, including 3 written by yours truly.

A couple questions:

1. The title will get an update since some folks did not like it. How about "Achieving Financial Independence with Domains"?

2. Are there any essential sections missing? Any nominations for content contributors?

And a reminder, any organization that contributes meaningful content gets a free sponsorship. We have some placeholder sponsors on there yet in addition to Epik and @James Rayers' company.

You have 6 places to Buy and Sell and left off the #1 place I buy, Namejet, is there some reason they're not being mentioned?

Chapter 7 seems to be completely off, content nothing to do with subject. Just 2.5 pages

Chapter 7: The Domain Name Aftermarket
New Hamshire seacoast
talking about renewing 100 .infos

Here is the last half page:

But when it comes time to renew those 100 regular .infos the renewal fee will be $10 dollars each. The first year of registration is what is cheap, not the renewals. Second, it is going to be easier to manage and market one good .info then it is going to be to market 100 no-so-good .info domains. Now, it’s true that you may be able to swing a few good sales with some of these info’s that you have registered if you play your cards right, but it is going to take more of your time. Keep in mind, it is going to be much better to have one very good name then to have 100 bad ones. Quality domains sell well, and no one wants to buy large quantities of bad ones. Costs aside, managing one good domain is far more efficient than the exhaustive and futile efforts to try and monetize or manage 100 bad ones.

What does that have to do with the Aftermarket?

 

[Rob Monster]

You have 6 places to Buy and Sell and left off the #1 place I buy, Namejet, is there some reason they're not being mentioned?

Chapter 7 seems to be completely off, content nothing to do with subject. Just 2.5 pages

Chapter 7: The Domain Name Aftermarket
New Hamshire seacoast
talking about renewing 100 .infos

Here is the last half page:

But when it comes time to renew those 100 regular .infos the renewal fee will be $10 dollars each. The first year of registration is what is cheap, not the renewals. Second, it is going to be easier to manage and market one good .info then it is going to be to market 100 no-so-good .info domains. Now, it’s true that you may be able to swing a few good sales with some of these info’s that you have registered if you play your cards right, but it is going to take more of your time. Keep in mind, it is going to be much better to have one very good name then to have 100 bad ones. Quality domains sell well, and no one wants to buy large quantities of bad ones. Costs aside, managing one good domain is far more efficient than the exhaustive and futile efforts to try and monetize or manage 100 bad ones.

What does that have to do with the Aftermarket?

Good edits. Will review with @DomainGraduate. Thanks JB!

 

[vikki88]

With this mind, I am sharing a living draft, of what is to become Domain Graduate 2.0. It is the collective wisdom of some professional domainers.

Thank you for this @Rob Monster , really insightful

 

[Rob Monster]

Thank you for this @Rob Monster , really insightful

Thanks -- the latest one is fully laid out and live for download here:

https://domaingraduate.com/

Enjoy! I think it will help a lot of people.

 

[oskaaay]

You all know the famous proverb from Lao Tzu:

Show attachment 134962

I think it also applies to domaining.

I believe in teaching people to become sovereign, so they can provide for themselves, provide for their families, provide for their communities and also have time to contemplate the meaning of life.

So with this in mind, I have sponsored a number of initiatives, which I will not name here because that would be promotional and the mods don't like that.

However, I do want to share something and invite input to it. About 6 weeks ago, Epik acquired 2 brands that had training products associated with them: DomainFlippa and Domain Graduate.

The Founder of Domain Graduate, Sean Stafford, and I have a shared passion for teaching people how to become successful domainers. This project fits my personal interest and calling: (digital) empowerment.

In the past, Domain Graduate and Domain Flippa were both paid courses. The existence of a fee implicitly meant that most people would never participate since there was a large toll at the entrance.

When Epik acquired these brands, it was with the specific goal of making the pie bigger. We want to help teach a lot more people to be good at domaining by tapping the wisdom of those who mastered it.

With this mind, I am sharing a living draft, of what is to become Domain Graduate 2.0. It is the collective wisdom of some professional domainers. You can download a copy here:

https://my.armored.net/index.php/s/dG7MkwJAp9H3L43

This document will continue to be iterated, so if you see issues or opportunities to improve, we'll use this thread to invite discussion about how to empower more people to become effective domainers.

As for the draft document, here is my ask:

- If you have time, review it and send any editorial feedback to @DomainGraduate.

- Comment publicly if you like to discuss or share some technique that you think belongs in the course.

- Feel free to invite non-NP members to visit this page to retrieve the draft course.

We will add an acknowledgement section collating the input and refrencing the attributed contributions. That section might get large, and that is fine!

In about one week, we'll have a final version and we'll publish it with a beautiful cover, and put it online at a new and improved DomainGraduate.com so anyone can download it.

After that, we plan to recruit translators to localize the document and where appropriate add local resource tips. Different countries will have different versions to reflect language, ccTLD, local laws and local customs.

Finally, for anyone who wants to contribute to the cause, domain name donations are welcome to the eRise Foundation, for which a latest update is described here.

So, that's it. Tell us what you think.

On behalf of the Domain Graduate Team:

Rob Monster, @Abdullah Abdullah, and Sean Stafford

Am glad to be pointed to this thread. It indeed a cause worth pursuing to empower others. Really grateful

 

[Rob Monster]

Good to see the folks in Nigeria starting to do some youth outreach in Nigeria. I have no idea what will come of it all but they are making some things happen there. Good to see!

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks to @Mod Team Bravo and other Mods for moving this thread out of the status of "Promotional" and to the more reasonable and benign category of "Free Stuff". We'll take it.

Quick update on DomainGraduate.com:

https://domaingraduate.com/

A big new section has been added for OUTBOUND. Thanks to @rohitgoyal for his input along with great input from @DomainGraduate founder Sean Stafford and @Riacontents. It might be one of the most helpful sections in the whole course. And it is all free!

Continued suggestions are welcome. Thanks to the co-creators!