What Am I Doing Wrong?

[GambleDomains]

So, I've been domaining for a couple of months now, I have a small portfolio of around 20 names, half of which I know are pretty naff but the other half I think have value (and others on here think they have some value too) so I've been focusing on contacting end users for these 10 or so.

I have sent A LOT of emails to relevant parties, all found using the usual techniques (google/bing, paid advertising, keywords, similar domain names etc) and to be honest I've barely had a reply - a couple of thanks but no thanks...

Now I know this is a tough business and it takes a lot of patience - I'm not expecting to make regular sales worth £**** plus but even just a couple of low £*** would do me well right now. Looking on here at the names people have recently sold and for how much I can't help thinking that some pretty average names are making a fair amount of profit and I have a few names that I think are on the same level or even of a better standard but I'm just not getting anyway! What am I doing wrong?

Here's an example of the type of email I'm sending to end users - some pointers or suggestions would be extremely welcome right now! Am I contacting the right people? is my pitch to much/to little? Am I just being impatient?...

Hi there,

My name is Gavin and I am the owner of the domain name insertdomainhere.com which I am making available for sale.

I am in the process of contacting prospective buyers, of which you are one.

This two word .com domain is a short, memorable and marketable domain name, workable with a variety of business possibilities and could help redirect search engine traffic to your site or of course be developed into a site in its own right.

If you are interested in this domain please contact me asap, if I do not hear from you I will move on to the next prospective buyer.

Thanks so much for your time.

Gavin Gamble
Postal Address

EMAIL ADDRESS
Telephone Number


PS. All of my names are listed on godaddy, Sedo and afternic as 'make offer'. Zero interest.

 

[Kate]

Hi,

First of all, what makes you think you are doing wrong ?
The majority of domainers are struggling to sell. It's not like you are the exception.

Also, you say you have "a small portfolio of around 20 names". Statistically, you are not going to receive unsolicited offers every day.

Patience is needed too, but you also have to know which domains not to keep so you trim your portfolio, otherwise the losses just add up. Because not every domain in your portfolio will sell.
While we don't know the domains in question, but since you are new, your first purchases are probably not stellar enough to result in sales. There is always the luck factor but it cannot be a substitute for domain quality. It takes a lot of experience to understand what to buy and what not to buy... unless you are a super fast learner I think a couple of months of experience is nothing.

The best way to make sales... is to have domains that people are already looking for ie if you have zero views on your domains right now it means nobody is looking for your domains.
On the other hand, if you have a potential buyer who is already convinced they need your domain then the only remaining issue is the price. It's all about owning the right inventory.

Now you say you've sent a lot of E-mails and no bite, then the domains clearly are not that great after all. The market is always right. Keep learning.

 

[GambleDomains]

Thanks for the comments sdsinc - all taken on board!

 

[garptrader]

I believe this is a common frustration many domainers experience. Emails can get filtered and thrown into the spam folder or just sent to the admin assistant who receives dozens of advertising inquiries every day and just deletes them all. On the other hand if you own a car or tv or computer or just bought a new pair of running shoes and get an email promoting something you already have, what is going to be your response? You don't need another one and would only consider buying another if it is a phenomenal deal. The six and seven-figure domain sales just are not reality for the average domainer. Again, SEDO's average .COM domain sale is $600 so when you ask for $5000 expect a lot of not interested responses - particularly if your name is not .COM or not that great. I recall a .NET sale I made via Godaddy a few months ago where the buyer was a new business which had just filed for an LLC in the prior several weeks. The name of their new business was my domain name. But if I were to send an email now trying to sell a related name, they probably would reply not interested because now they already have a domain name.
I believe another common challenge domainers run into is thinking that because they have a better name than the domain that a small business is currently using that it should be a no brainer to buy their domain. However, if a business has a $%&*@! name it probably is because they don't give much thought or place much value on domain names and aren't going to spend much money on a better one.

 

[GambleDomains]

I agree with everything you say garptrader!

with regards to Sedo/godaddy etc, I have my names listed as offer only (and they have been viewed numerous times) - is there a better route to take? maybe a 7 day public auction? I'm not after £****, I'm just after low to mid £***

 

[garptrader]

If you are new to domaining it is likely you don't have many $XXXX domains. After a few years in the industry it may make sense to designate the top 10% of one's portfolio as higher-end names which are left as make offer to not limit the upside. However, many people when they look to buy things want to know the price rather than having to negotiate back and forth. Try some low to mid $XXX fixed prices and see what results develop. Realistically to sell domains they need to be of a certain quality and it takes a bit of study to learn what that means.

 

[GambleDomains]

Cheers garptrader!

Don't get me wrong, I've only been trying to sell domains for a couple of months, but I have been researching and looking into it for around a year. I definitely have some terrible domains, but I think I do also have some of moderate value so Ill concentrate on those!

 

[biggie]

:talk:

Hi

it's insertdomainhere.com that's the problem.


you can't just go around grabbing any unregistered domain name, buy it with a gd coupon code, then start sending out unsolicited emails to unsuspecting victims....

and expect success too.

issue with email is:

if I do not hear from you I will move on to the next prospective buyer.

that means you are spamming, because you did not "selectively" choose this domain for this specific potential.


imo....

 

[hookbox]

@GambleDomains

When I first started I wasn't getting any sales because I realized my pricing was way off. Here's a tip list every single hand regged name at $295. Don't do any make offer listing but list them everywhere at $295. Email the names to potential customers at $295. The bottom line is the only way to know if you are buying names that people want is to sell some names that people want.

I did this and as soon as I started making sales I realized I did have names that people wanted which is more than half the battle. The key is to put the price low enough where no matter who you are or how much money you have if you like the name you can afford $295. Once you get some sales than you can start figuring which names you can ask more for. Small sales is a great motivation to continue with domaining.

 

[GambleDomains]

:talk:

Hi

it's insertdomainhere.com that's the problem.


you can't just go around grabbing any unregistered domain name, buy it with a gd coupon code, then start sending out unsolicited emails to unsuspecting victims....

and expect success too.

issue with email is:


that means you are spamming, because you did not "selectively" choose this domain for this specific potential.

imo....

I think you have a good point there with the bit in bold - think my pitch definitely needs some work.

I must add though this is just a basic template, I do customise it for every individual end user. I also buy my domains usually with a select group of end users in mind and I have learnt to only buy domains after some good, thorough research into the possible market, I thought this was usually the protocol? I know its not a case of buying 'any old' domain and emailing end users, but generally we all purchase domains with the ambition of selling them for profit, no?

---------- Post added at 04:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:58 PM ----------

@GambleDomains

When I first started I wasn't getting any sales because I realized my pricing was way off. Here's a tip list every single hand regged name at $295. Don't do any make offer listing but list them everywhere at $295. Email the names to potential customers at $295. The bottom line is the only way to know if you are buying names that people want is to sell some names that people want.

I did this and as soon as I started making sales I realized I did have names that people wanted which is more than half the battle. The key is to put the price low enough where no matter who you are or how much money you have if you like the name you can afford $295. Once you get some sales than you can start figuring which names you can ask more for. Small sales is a great motivation to continue with domaining.

Sound advice! Taken onboard! :D

 

[AEProgram]

some advice and tips.

First like others said, for every one sale most make they are sitting on a ton of other names, sales are down across the board as we seen in the past week with the BuyDomains and Oversee auction, and I guarantee you the HA auction ending in an hour will be a big giant flop as many domain owners are completely out of touch with reality.

You say you have your names listed at GD and SEDO, then include a link to the listing. People assume everything is a scam, a link to GD or SEDO at least shows it's legit. Obviously to a domainer an email like yours sounds normal, but to a lay person it reeks of a scam email. Remember, scammers are now including phone numbers in their email too, just ask those who get 419 and domain appraisal scam emails.

One of the biggest mistakes domainers make is emailing ONLY people that already have established websites. Try emailing people who have hosted blogs, etc. they are 5000x more likely to buy a domain that will redirect to their blog or make a WP on it etc than someone who already has a domain.


Now ill review the email and make changes worth trying, you did forget to include a very important piece of info, what is your email subject?

--

Hi there, [if all possible use a name, you can get it from about us pages sometimes, etc, do not use the name in the whois info]

My name is Gavin [include a last name] and I am the broker in charge of selling the recently made available domain name insertdomainhere.com.

I am emailing those who I feel could benefit greatly by owning this domain name.

This two word .com domain is a short, memorable and marketable domain name, workable with a variety of business possibilities and could help redirect search engine traffic to your site or of course be developed into a site in its own right.

The price of the domain is [include price and usd for us or unknown, euro include eur etc] and you can purchase the name via GoDaddy [include link not a click here]
Or
Via SEDO [include link]

You can also purchase it using paypal.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by replying to this email, or calling me at [phone number]

Thank You

Gavin Gamble
Postal Address

EMAIL ADDRESS
Telephone Number
----

Some additional tips

1. Many emails hit spam, to reduce those chances whenever possible email people with the service they use, a gmail user email from a gmail address, a yahoo user from a yahoo address. Make sure simply not to open an email account and start sending as everything will hit spam, so use the email first to send yourself a few emails, only send limited amounts etc.

2. Keep a list of everyone you email, after 5 days resend the same email but this time include no links and use a different email provider. Obviously you will mention in this email that to buy they must reply or call.

I made several changes but this line "if I do not hear from you I will move on to the next prospective buyer." is poison, no one should ever use it as it will take a possible sale and turn it into a guaranteed NO sale. By mentioning very nicely that you are contacting all those that might benefit, you achieve the same goal but in a normal way.

Don't be overly thankful, it reeks of scammer and desperateness. "Thank You" or "Thanks" is enough.

 

[McDuke]

hmm i keep it short and sweet maybe its bad?

I say

Hello, I have the below names available,
(x names)

Thanks,

contact info

is this bad?

 

[alien51]

The problem with that $295 business model, is that it only applies to handregs. And quality handregs these days, are difficult to come by. Nobody has even come up with a magic formula that will guarantee that all your handregs will sell. Which basically means, most people's handregs are merely based on their own speculation.

There was this guy in the other thread, who said he spent 100 bucks on handregs and never sold one. Come renewal time, you need to fork another 100 bucks for your portfolio to increase your capital expense to 200 bucks. If you sell 1 domain by that time, that will leave you with a profit of 95 bucks. If you keep this up for the 3rd year renewal, you will end up 5 dollars in the red. That's probably the time you'll realize you have a portfolio that is an absolute loser. You junk them, and then try to spend more money to do handregs yet again.

By this time, you would have spent 4 YEARS of your life and you haven't really earned anything much. And that's because, (1) your business model is based on a mere speculation; (2) you are in a very crowded industry of domainers; and (3) you are selling cheap.

Conclusion = It may be that pure Domaining using this model, may not be financially worthwhile.

 

[hookbox]

@alien51

It was advice for only the 20 hand regged names he already owns. Try to get some bites first to see if your own the right track with your domain choices.

 

[GambleDomains]

@AEprogram

Thanks so much for that, that's a wealth of advice I needed and just the little tweaks you have made make great sense now that I read it back to myself!

Infact thanks everyone on this thread, some great contributions here and all are very much appreciated, thanks guys! This is why I Love namepros!

 

[garptrader]

Note I will applaud your effort for finding out how challenging it can be to sell domain names BEFORE you reg hundreds of them or even worse start spending a lot of money on these new TLDs thinking they will be easy flips. At least now you know that selling domains is not easy.

 

[GambleDomains]

Note I will applaud your effort for finding out how challenging it can be to sell domain names BEFORE you reg hundreds of them or even worse start spending a lot of money on these new TLDs thinking they will be easy flips. At least now you know that selling domains is not easy.

Hit the nail on the head there! I only own .coms and I said before I started out that 20 names was the absolute limit untill a few decent sales proved to myself that it is possible.

 

[seven]

The sales letter isn't horrible but it isn't optimized either.

The biggest mistake you're making is not listing a price.

Remember, you're emailing these people, not the other way around.

What if you were in a mall and some guy from a bed store hopped out in front of you and said, "Hey you own a bed, right? I can sell you a better bed."

Meanwhile you just keep looking at him. Maybe you think, "well if the bed is a steal I might but I'm not even looking for one."

The guy continues, "just make me an offer and we can talk about it some more."

You're going to walk right on by unless by some paths crossing in the universe chance they're offering a bed that you've been wanting to buy anyways.

Stop looking for the big sale and start looking for the consistent income you can take to the bank.

If nothings happening, price at $199 or even $99. Still excellent ROI and you'll gain some momentum and confidence.

And then you can improve your sales pitch. Your sales pitch is standard but very weak.

Don't tell them why it's a great domain, show them --- "Did you know exact match domain names show up better in Google --- just look at all these sites getting free organic traffic:

[10 examples]"

You're doing something wrong so change.

There are different layers to this and they're working against you at different degrees. It's not 1 single change. There's probably at least 3 or 4 big ones.

1. Better domains
2. Better research
3. Better sales pitch
4. Include price

Have you thought about calling people?

Put yourself in the business's shoes and you'll sell a lot more domains.

 

[GambleDomains]

@seven

Good tips and input - all taken onboard

With regards to using the telephone, I'm not from a sales background ( clearly it would seem!) But I do know making calls has a distinct advantage and gives a personal touch. I'm not the most confident person on the phone but its definitely something I'm going to have to work on!

 

[RapidNames.com]

i wish you to update this thread, once you got success / fail.

it will helps to other domainer as well.

Goodluck