How would you start in domaining, if you started today?

[steveto]

Question.

If you never did domaining before and you got into it just now..how would you start? How would you build your portfolio? Would you reg type-o's, dropped domains..read the news and try to reg future potential earners...buy existing high traffic domains...reg keyword domains and or reg domains of interest and develop them? What would YOU do to be successful so late in the game..or is it too late?

Steve

[biggedon]

Question.

If you never did domaining before and you got into it just now..how would you start? How would you build your portfolio? Would you reg type-o's, dropped domains..read the news and try to reg future potential earners...buy existing high traffic domains...reg keyword domains and or reg domains of interest and develop them? What would YOU do to be successful so late in the game..or is it too late?

Steve

Hi

i don't think it's too late to get in the game, as not too long ago, i started a thread about that particular subject.


assuming that i just started, then i wouldn't know "jack from jill" or whether to "go up or down the hill"

in other words, i wouldn't know who was who or which way to go


at this stage of the game, there is waaaay to much info to try and consume......if trying to learn and buy/sell at the same time.

with the multitude of websites spewing out keyword results data like "a popcorn machine gone wild" , not to mention the......

expired domain lists, backorders, .me, .mobi.,etc, domain auctions and the various marketplaces, escrow, who's the best registrar, the best ppc, what's the best forum, where's the best place to sell domains, how to sell to end-users, what is BIN, email scams, forum scammers, sales contracts, stolen domains, whois privacy, reverse hijacking, urdp's, wipo's, c&d's, da bot, appraisal sites, domain conventions, blogs, newsletters, etc, etc.

where does a newb start first?

.mobi .me or .tv




but i'd probably do what i did when i first started... buy some domains with traffic and revenue

[INFORG]

Best bet for a newbie is to find a mentor or two and start slowly. Each person has to inventory their strengths, weaknesses, risk tolerance, and settle into something that is comfortable. Diversify in several domaining niches - development of hand reg or expired keyword names, parking traffic names, flipping a certain niche like 3 character, etc.. GO EASY ON THE HAND REGS!!!!!

Biggest mistake newbies tend to make is spending entire bankroll too quickly by handregging junk, or making a poor purchase of one expensive, hard to move, name.

I always direct newbies to expired lists - at least you have the comfort of knowing that at least one other person saw some value in the name. A whois or google check can sometimes show you that several people over the years saw that value.

I advise newbies to stay away from simplified, one metric, selection systems. Too many people banking on CPC rate only, exact match results only, estibot only, etc.

[JB Lions]

I'm pretty new to domaining, got the bug after instead of letting a few domains expire, sold them. But I've been a full time affiliate marketer for 8+ years, so it's kind of a natural reach in a lot of ways.

In regards to hand regs, that's what I've been doing so far and like all the names I've registered, they all make sense. I do see what you mean when I see a lot of junk names being bought and sold, don't think I'll have that problem. I think the main thing I need to learn is selling them, best places, parking etc. Right now I just have them all at sedo until I learn a little more.

"I always direct newbies to expired lists - at least you have the comfort of knowing that at least one other person saw some value in the name. A whois or google check can sometimes show you that several people over the years saw that value."

As far as that, I did find a couple real good ones on the Just Dropped list that if they don't sell, I could actually develop. But if I see several people owning it over the years but they keep letting it expire, doesn't that just tell you the opposite as far as value? Tells me they're registered it, they weren't making any money with it and instead of developing or trying to sell it, let it expire. But, maybe it wasn't so much the name but the person and in the right hands can be something.

[chipmeade]

"Start slow. Start via Snap or Pool, Give yourself a $200 min per name. Go for keywords. Only reg what you want to develop. Promote like crazy. Get new credit cards. Max those out as well. Pull your hair out. Make one sale. Spend twice as much on new domains. Convince yourself that Estibot $ are too low. Repeat the process."

See, it is simple to get started.

[INFORG]

I'm pretty new to domaining, got the bug after instead of letting a few domains expire, sold them. But I've been a full time affiliate marketer for 8+ years, so it's kind of a natural reach in a lot of ways.

In regards to hand regs, that's what I've been doing so far and like all the names I've registered, they all make sense. I do see what you mean when I see a lot of junk names being bought and sold, don't think I'll have that problem. I think the main thing I need to learn is selling them, best places, parking etc. Right now I just have them all at sedo until I learn a little more.

"I always direct newbies to expired lists - at least you have the comfort of knowing that at least one other person saw some value in the name. A whois or google check can sometimes show you that several people over the years saw that value."

As far as that, I did find a couple real good ones on the Just Dropped list that if they don't sell, I could actually develop. But if I see several people owning it over the years but they keep letting it expire, doesn't that just tell you the opposite as far as value? Tells me they're registered it, they weren't making any money with it and instead of developing or trying to sell it, let it expire. But, maybe it wasn't so much the name but the person and in the right hands can be something.

I got into domains through the same route you did, so our experiences are already geared toward developing (or every name having that potential) and creating a value in the name, but that isn't what everyone wants to do or has the aptitude for. I try to limit my purchases to only names that, if I can't park/sell them for profit, that I am willing to develop, but not everyone wants to do this. That is why I recommend trying a smorgasbord of revenue streams, or business models for the newbies.

Back to picking up drops that have been let go multiple times, you still have to do some research, and for me, it still comes down to "would I develop this one?". But, picking a name off the list and seeing that multiple domainers thought there was value in it, means you are probably on the right track.

If you are doing all the right things, you can afford some vanity picks and strange hand-regs. The biggest problem comes later when you need the discipline to let them drop. If you aren't culling the bottom 10% of your portfolio every year, you either have a lot of money tied up in great generics, or you are throwing away some money.

[fm1234]

If I were starting back over, or trying to help someone get into domaining, I would junk clever/descriptive stuff and stick to keyword domains that meet certain length and search parameters. I would cry myself to sleep if I figured up the money I wasted over the years adding prefix and suffix words to popular search terms ("best[keyword].com" "[keyword]worldwide.com" etc.) Sometimes prefix/suffix terms really work, eg. when they rhyme, are alliterative, factor into search terms themselves (like, if there is actual search volume for the phrase "best [keyword] worldwide") but for the most part, unless they are being developed virtually all such domains are just money sinks.

If I were starting out with some money, or advising someone else who was, I would just scrap hand regs entirely because of the time they take, and look for a handful of high quality aftermarket names to develop. Spending $500 out of pocket on a single project seems like an anathema to a lot of domaining and general IM newbies, but quality over quantity can make a real difference in outcome.


Frank

[HomerJ]

instead of regging a bunch of domains, i would have invested in a smaller set of traffic/revenue generating domains first that would have given me a stream of income. then i could have continually re-invested that back into new domains and/or new regs. that is one thing

[Dale Hubbard]

If you're just starting out, I'd take a look at some of the ccTLDs like .org.uk where there appears now to be a steady rise in popularity. Like the .com space, the .co.uk domains are scarce - I know exactly how scarce because catching them when they drop is my 'bread and butter'. I have accumulated quite a few LLL.org.uk domains now for my personal portfolio. However, 41% of them are still available. That's interesting because it's less than half, and it gives an indicator as to the potential, because the other 59% are registered.

To see the official trends in UK extension registrations, and growth rate, see here. To download a free list of all the LLL.org.uk domains that have NOT been registered, see here.

[steveto]

It's a good idea to develop, but if you are starting out with some money...say between 1-3k..

How would you budget:

Domain name
Website development
SEO

How much would you alott to each one..you said $500...That's enough maybe for a domain name and maybe SMALL development..I think the going rate is give or take $500 bucks JUST for development these days..no? Unless you mean mini site? I fail to see how that much can get a non-handregg'd domain and development..while also trying to pay for some SEO work to be done, or do you do that yourself?

If I were starting back over, or trying to help someone get into domaining, I would junk clever/descriptive stuff and stick to keyword domains that meet certain length and search parameters. I would cry myself to sleep if I figured up the money I wasted over the years adding prefix and suffix words to popular search terms ("best[keyword].com" "[keyword]worldwide.com" etc.) Sometimes prefix/suffix terms really work, eg. when they rhyme, are alliterative, factor into search terms themselves (like, if there is actual search volume for the phrase "best [keyword] worldwide") but for the most part, unless they are being developed virtually all such domains are just money sinks.

If I were starting out with some money, or advising someone else who was, I would just scrap hand regs entirely because of the time they take, and look for a handful of high quality aftermarket names to develop. Spending $500 out of pocket on a single project seems like an anathema to a lot of domaining and general IM newbies, but quality over quantity can make a real difference in outcome.


Frank

[profecy]

I think the best way to start out, similar to what HomerJ mentioned, is to begin with CASHFLOW. Just like real estate, if you buy vacant land that isn't making you any money, you'll soon go broke unless you turn around and sell that same land. But if you put a building on the land, develop it out, generate monthly revenue, you can then buy more and more land, repeating the process, and you become very successful over time.

[GeoOwners]

Buy 1 (one) That's ONE name that makes money parked. Spend half your available money on that ONE (1) name and the other half on a site. Insert advertisements on that site.

Retire...

[Compassion]

pick the very best name to register for $9.
pray it is the next ireport or iphone sale

or

plug head into Internet like Neo from the matrix and use the experiences and info to make your domaining decisions.