What Tips Would You Offer A Newbie Domainer?
April 11, 2008
This video offers tips, ideas and strategies for new domainers entering into the very competitive area of domaining.
I have wanted to do this post for quite a while, good to finally get it down on paper bytes! Having a background in affiliate marketing / and website creation my path as a domainer is a bit different from most. I spend a bit more time creating mini sites and less time buying domain names. Having exchanged email with lots of folks just getting started with domaining I often hear similar stories.
- New domainers often get a bit *buy* happy when they are just starting out and end up spending lots of money in a time when they are still very much learning the ropes as a “domainer”.
- New domainers often find that others do not share their enthusiasm for the domain names they have purchased, finding that selling their names is a bit tricker than they had hoped.
- New domainers often become disenchanted with earnings from domain parking – their are many reasons for this but the bottom line usually that the names they picked up 95% of the time will never see any quality traffic. No traffic = no money.
- Once yearly reg fees come around new domainers often let names go and end up spending lots of money with little to show in return for their investment.
With that here are some tips I would recommend for those new to the business of buying and selling domain names. My method takes work, energy but will create a cash flow for those just started something that can make all the difference in the world. Even more exciting domainers taking my advice will have something worth value once those nasty yearly reg fees are due.
- Start off with a plan of action, put down on paper how much money you can spend over the course of a six month period. For some that might be a grand – for others it might be $300 or less. My method will work for any amount you put down within reason (lets say you need at least $200 spend over a six month period).
- Understand that their is much to learn as a new player in the domaining world. Plan on spending lots of time at blogs, forums and other quality sites online about the subject of domaining and Internet marketing.
- Learn the difference between domain names that are brandable versus what I call “keyword driven” names.
*example of branded names: Google.com, Yahoo.com and Amazon.com
Nobody was searching for “google this” or “yahoo that” when these companies first got started.*example of keyword driven domains: CheapTickets.com, DomainParking.com, MovieTickets.com
- Understand that what makes money online is traffic, your job as a new player in the domaining industry is to tap into commercial keyword traffic which will make you money and thus create a monthly cash flow for you. What is commercial keyword traffic, well in short it is traffic that makes money online. Searches done for products or services that cost money.
- Learn all you can about what people search for online, the types of words people using while at search engine and begin think about possible domain names based on exact keyword phrases that are generic in nature and available as a domain name. Use the free Google Adwords keyword suggestion tool to hunt for keyword phrases with plenty of advertisers competition. Register several domain names based on these vary keyword phrases and then move on to the next phase of my action plan. Development.
- I personally feel any serious domainer should have some basic skills when it comes to creating a website online today. After all if your going to be buying and selling domains online shouldn’t you know how to create a basic website? With that choose several of your domain names that are keyword driven and begin creating a website on the subject at hand. Pay close attention to the Google Webmaster Guidelines, after all your going to hope Google sends you free search traffic that you can later monitize with earning programs like Adsense, affiliate programs or other partner programs online.
- Spend equal time between learning about web design and basic seo and hunting for the next great domain name to buy or flip.
- Don’t expect to make any money from your websites for six months – this is where most people fail. They give up before the are able to see any real results, making it online is not hard. However those that apply constant pressure over a period of months and years win the race.
So that is how I would guide a friend or relative who might want to get involved in domaining today.
What is your experience?
What tips would you give others just starting out?
What has worked for you and what has not?
To Your Success,
Brian J
Thank you. Your site is excellent resource and you come across as a decent guy on your videos.
I am a new to Domain Parking. I have 150+ names on hand with several live and just one on sedo.com as an experiment.
I am anxious to get rolling on this biz but I don’t know much about how to go about it and nothing about web design. The learning curve at my age is too long. I would be better off learning on a fast track.
I am looking to get one on one - side by side guidance. Ideally I would like to find and hire someone in the Chicago area (Western Suburbs) with the know how. I would sit with them and go through set ups of a few sites until I get it down myself. Then I would just follow up with the rest of my sites.
Any thoughts? Meanwhile, I’ll be all over your site. T - Jack
Hey Jack,
I can tell one thing for sure, everyone is looking for the silver bullet, the fast track as you put it. As they say anything in life worth while often takes a bit of work …
I am certainly not getting any younger, and you can learn well into life. It is just a matter of making the commitment. As far as learning goes Jack their is plenty of great stuff online to learn from, some free and some paid. My eCourse is a great example, in-depth information on making money from expired domain names through quick site development.
http://www.revenuedomainsexposed.com
Glad you like the site Jack.
Brian J
Hey Brian,
I gave this post a Digg and I’m going to add your site to my list of Blogs & Websites for domainers on my Blog: http://tldnames.blogspot.com , It’s another blog that is full of useful information for all of us domainers out there, those of you that are new to the business and also those that have been at it for years. One more thing for the newbies, if you’re not a member of the Digg.com community yet, you should join. It’s another way for those of us who share the same business and social networking interests to support each others efforts.
All the best,
Brad Christopher
Hi Brad,
Glad you found the post informative and thought provoking. Digg is a great resource indeed, I hope this post helps those just getting started with domaining.
Brian J
I’ve found your site from a link on another web site: http://tldnames.blogspot.com which is also a wealth of information for us newbies to the internet marketing and promotion problems for our new websites. getting people to visit is one thing, but getting them to purchase my products is even harder. I can’t afford to spend too much money on advertising and purchasing google ad words is too overwhelming right now.
Beth
PS: I’ll come back and post a link to my site when I do a total makeover..
Your article provided much information that I myself practice and advice to newbie domainers. Spending hundreds of dollars on perceived to be valuable domains is a an expensive experience that will soon discourage newbie domainers from pursuing the business.
Experience over time has taught me a lot and now, I am more critical on choosing what domains to register.
Hey Brian,
I know nothing about all of this stuff, but had heard there was money to be made with domain names and I wanted to try to bring a few extra bucks.
My mother works for a woman whose daughter earns a living on the Internet. The daughter spoke with me and gave me a few tips. She helped me to register some domain names and did the necessary work on them to park, etc. in return for a percentage of the $$$.
I got lucky and was able to pick up a great bank name. After about 6 months, the bank’s attorneys contacted me and was threatening to sue. Since I don’t need that kind of trouble, I cancelled the parking and when renewal time came up, I told her I was not going to renew that particular domain name.
Meanwhile, someone contacted her looking to purchase the domain. Since I had expressed no interest in renewing the domain, she basically just gave it away for a few hundred dollars, without even consulting me first.
She is an honest person .. and she did turn the money over to me, however in talking with several other people .. they say the domain should have been worth thousands and not a mere few hundred dollars.
Is there anything I could do or should do at this point to recover my domain name? I feel I was taken advantage of because of my lack of knowledge about this business and that my domain was sold right out from under me.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks Brian,
Cass
The one thing I would particularly emphasize that you didn’t really go into here is that if you come into possession of what you believe to be a genuinely high-quality domain, make sure to secure it for several years at the expense of renewing names you’re less sure about. Less is more if less means holding onto a name with real value as opposed to the “shotgun approach”.
Hello Jack,
This is a long shot that you will get this message but I will try anyway. I too am a newbie and I am also in the west burbs of Chicago. I have 100 domains at the present time and would enjoy talking or even meeting you so we can share our ideas and experiences, I even have a couple of really good domainer books I would consider letting you borrow. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Ed