I guess I'm doing something wrong...

**tightstitch** · 08-09-2009, 02:36 AM

I've been apart of dnforum for almost a year now, and I still feel like a newbie; I guess I only have a few posts, and just trying to figure it all out. Reading (and have bought) books all about how to "succeed" in domaining hasn't worked, but I guess I'm just doing something wrong. Maybe all of my domains suck?? I have over 200, and they probably do suck, but I think that they're worth something considering they are all hand registered .coms and some .mobi and all of them get traffic, all be it, the traffic is still relatively low, but they are steadily gaining momentum

I would appreciate any help. Maybe I just need to get a better reputation on here? I'm an honest and ethical person, and would never dream of stiffing someone over. Will anyone be my friend so maybe I can get some advice on how to actually make some money besides the measly cents I get from parking?? Posting domains for sale hasn't worked yet either...I still have yet to make my first sale :(

I just had a baby and really need to start making some money...pronto! If I knew I was pregnant at the time I registered all of my names, I probably would have not bought so many. Lol.

Anyway, I'm trying to get more into posting and making friends on here, so feel free to add me if you so desire!

Thanks, and look forward to reading your responses!

**james2002** · 08-09-2009, 02:49 AM

I don't want to personalize you in the public.

I sent PM for some suggestions.

Good luck with your venture

**Castion** · 08-09-2009, 07:45 AM

Although personal relationships and a decent work ethic are great to have. They wont guarantee you any sales.

You wrote that you have been reading up here at DNF.. That is the best way to start, with your wallet safely tucked away in your pocket. Dont be afraid to drop those early names that you dont see potential in. 200 names is still a 2K renew fee pr year and without a decent traffic income or flipping proceeds, domaining will end up a liability instead of a income source.

I am also fairly new at domaining and entered through in interest in a specific niche (gambling).. I knew something about gambling and hence could use my knowledge to make some very early domain sales. If you dont have specific knowledge of a niche and just want to enter domaining as an investment object. Then the best way is to examine exactly what sells in the current market. As a newbie its better to keep on the safe path while still learning. Another way to pick up gems is to analyze drop lists. Quite a few decent names are dropping and not all are picked up by the drop catchers.

You can keep some speculative names (after all we need our dreams) but really you need to size up your annual income to asses how many you can afford to keep without the speculative names making any money.

EDIT
Your chosen sales venue is also extremely important. Some names sell better at some venues than others. Although DNF is a great source of domaining knowledge it is far from the most active marketplace.

Check out:

GoDaddy auctions (5$ annual fee)
Snapnames
Afternic (20$ annual fee)

**tightstitch** · 08-10-2009, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by Castion

Although personal relationships and a decent work ethic are great to have. They wont guarantee you any sales.

You wrote that you have been reading up here at DNF.. That is the best way to start, with your wallet safely tucked away in your pocket. Dont be afraid to drop those early names that you dont see potential in. 200 names is still a 2K renew fee pr year and without a decent traffic income or flipping proceeds, domaining will end up a liability instead of a income source.

I am also fairly new at domaining and entered through in interest in a specific niche (gambling).. I knew something about gambling and hence could use my knowledge to make some very early domain sales. If you dont have specific knowledge of a niche and just want to enter domaining as an investment object. Then the best way is to examine exactly what sells in the current market. As a newbie its better to keep on the safe path while still learning. Another way to pick up gems is to analyze drop lists. Quite a few decent names are dropping and not all are picked up by the drop catchers.

You can keep some speculative names (after all we need our dreams) but really you need to size up your annual income to asses how many you can afford to keep without the speculative names making any money.

EDIT
Your chosen sales venue is also extremely important. Some names sell better at some venues than others. Although DNF is a great source of domaining knowledge it is far from the most active marketplace.

Check out:

GoDaddy auctions (5$ annual fee)
Snapnames
Afternic (20$ annual fee)

Yeah, you're right, but I'm not looking to make friends to make sales! I just need to get more active in the forum and make friends, and build a reputation since I'm not really known, so if someone is interested, they won't have to question my reliability. Really, I need to learn more instead of sitting back and silently reading what everyone else is talking about.

I've learned more from the few posts I've actually made than what I've read, even though what I've read has been somewhat useful. I will try your suggestions of going to other venues to post names for sale before I do drop, because you are right, it doesn't seem to be a very active marketplace. Actually, I have business ideas appended to most of the names that I registered, but haven't really had the time to develop them into what I hope for them to be. I had registered a bunch of names, then shortly after I found out I was pregnant, then my brain went to mush, and now I'm just busy taking care of her, I only have time at night to do what I need to do. Boohoo, but that's not an excuse!

Ultimately, I probably need to stop wasting my time on here, and get to developing my names, because I don't really think other people are envisioning what I am, when I initially registered the names, because I usually tend to be an outside of the box thinker, and most of this business seems to be run on trends and what not. I don't think anyone else sees the value in them because I'm not doing a good job of establishing it by just letting the domains sit around and collect dust.

Anyway, thanks for the advice, and I will use your advice by trying to get sell and drop the names that I don't have time for, and don't really see much value in.

Gracias!

**Ervin** · 08-10-2009, 01:49 AM

I would say that you must be passionate to what you are doing. Do not hand reg any domain because of it sound nice/good to you, write it on a list and review it for few days. Plan your time wisely and focus on one subject each day.

Owning great quality domains is better than owning bunch of useless domains.

**tightstitch** · 08-10-2009, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by ervinter

I would say that you must be passionate to what you are doing. Do not hand reg any domain because of it sound nice/good to you, write it on a list and review it for few days. Plan your time wisely and focus on one subject each day.

Owning great quality domains is better than owning bunch of useless domains.

You're right, I'm very passionate about what I've invested a lot of time and energy doing, and know that with continued work and dedication, I can make things happen. I did make the mistake of registering domains before researching them, and a mistake I will NEVER make again!

I'm going to end up having to take somewhat of a loss, but in the end I am wiser, and that much closer to having things go the way I want them to, I just won't give up, and can't. I've decided that instead of trying to sell, I am going to develop and actually make my ideas come to fruition. Surely the people that do a search, or type my names directly into a browser are looking for something and I just need to provide it to them, so I'm just working on providing that service or information or even product that people are looking for. I'm working on goals and a definite plan of action right now. Wish me luck!

**Ervin** · 08-10-2009, 03:31 AM

Great to heard that!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

**allroundguy** · 08-10-2009, 05:17 AM

As said ...

**draggar** · 08-10-2009, 05:50 AM

It took me over a year to really start learning - before that was a huge "newbie tax" where I hand-registered a lot of "cool" names only to realize that they suck. :( I think most people take a loss in the beginning, sometimes in the thousands of dollars.

I'm dropping right and left every month now, I drop all the crap that I have and I'm only keeping names with parking revenue or sites I've developed and want to maintain.

Find a niche that you're educated in (it helps if you enjoy the niche, too)- model railroads, sports cars, baseball, stitching, quilting, hiking, whatever. Use your knowledge to find good names in that field. Keyword combinations in one niche may be dirt while in another could be a gold mine.

The only sad part is that you may get attached so some of these sites and you might not want to sell them later down the road, but as long as you're making enough to cover reg fees and Hosting, you'te doing something right.

Also - time spent on here reading threads and learning is NOT time wasted. Many people spend a lot of their days researching - that is now they get god end-user sales and get good sites up.

As for development - here is something simple for beginners:
Sign up with a host and be able to host unlimited sites.
Start with one domain, point it to a folder and throw a wordpress blog in there with a nice (free) template. Get that up, throw 1-2 AdSense ads on there and then add to it a few times a week.

Rinse and repeat.

**biggedon** · 08-10-2009, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by tightstitch

I've been apart of dnforum for almost a year now, and I still feel like a newbie; I guess I only have a few posts, and just trying to figure it all out. Reading (and have bought) books all about how to "succeed" in domaining hasn't worked, but I guess I'm just doing something wrong. Maybe all of my domains suck?? I have over 200, and they probably do suck, but I think that they're worth something considering they are all hand registered .coms and some .mobi and all of them get traffic, all be it, the traffic is still relatively low, but they are steadily gaining momentum

I would appreciate any help. Maybe I just need to get a better reputation on here? I'm an honest and ethical person, and would never dream of stiffing someone over. Will anyone be my friend so maybe I can get some advice on how to actually make some money besides the measly cents I get from parking?? Posting domains for sale hasn't worked yet either...I still have yet to make my first sale :(

I just had a baby and really need to start making some money...pronto! If I knew I was pregnant at the time I registered all of my names, I probably would have not bought so many. Lol.

Anyway, I'm trying to get more into posting and making friends on here, so feel free to add me if you so desire!

Thanks, and look forward to reading your responses!

my advice

keep reading and keep your wallet/purse locked up.

don't be concerned about "making friends", be more concerned about asking the "right" questions and being professional.

if you're doing that, "friendships" may come based on business relationships or by the way you present yourself.

if unsure about posting, ask a staff member first.

i find it's best to keep your family/private life, private.
brief intro's are ok
but some people will use these as sympathy tools to gain your confidence or get your money.

also, don't expect to be, though you may like to be, profitable in your first couple of years.

if you're hand-regging names, in can takes a few years before traffic and offer requests start to flow.
you have to be patient, and have a budget to maintain, until you start generating revenue.

there are still some good pickings from expiring lists, so keep your eyes open for them and some of the great deals that come and go very quickly here on DNF.

Good Luck!

**mibworld** · 08-10-2009, 11:55 AM

Don't be afraid of dropping some of your names if you are now convinced that they have no value.

I prefer buying expiring domains, but you can also hand-reg if you are really careful with your selections and research every name before buying it. You must have a clear idea of your intentions for each name. Are you going to develop it? Flip it? Wait for an end user? If you don't have a clear answer for these questions, don't buy it.

Start developing a few of your names, but don't expect immediate results. Take it as a long term project and an opportunity to learn.

Good luck!

**tightstitch** · 08-13-2009, 12:29 AM

Hey guys,

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back, it's been a busy week. Anyway, first I'd like to say thanks to Ervin; the encouragement is greatly appreciated! Thanks for the advice draggar, and biggedon.

To draggar: I don't think I got my words across clearly; I didn't mean that it is a waste of time to read on the forum, I just need to use MY time more wisely and use the time that I am on the forum in an education mindset.

To biggedon: You're right in the fact that private/family life should be kept private because there are people out there that try to get sympathy to take advantage of people. I don't want people to think I'm one of those types of people, so I'll be sure to watch my words in the future.

Thanks for the tips everyone; I've made a plan, decided which names I'm going to keep, which ones I'm going to develop, and which ones I'm probably going to let drop.

Good luck to everyone and thanks for the support!

**MacyT.** · 08-13-2009, 02:18 AM

Developing names scared the daylights out of me when I realized that's what I had to turn to with some of the 'mistakes' I had made hand regging names. I'm not a programmer, web designer, or any of that. But once I realized I needed to learn the basics - it's become easy! My sites aren't fancy - but they bring in a lot more traffic than if they were parked. And the less exciting ones sell well too!

I find developing names much more satsifying...I have a more creative streak in me that helps with being impatient...and at the very least, the hopeless names/sites at least help pay off some renewel fees

.

The nice thing about developing too is that -- a decent % of those hand-regged names that domainers would call 'mistakes'... I've actually turned those 'worthless' domains into 5 figure sites...

My advice to you - learn basic web development skills, learn how to write good web content, and most importantly - learn advanced keyword research - that is the most important skill if you're looking to build sites to sell quickly.

It's not as hard as you might think. Stop looking for buyers on here. Start building new skills...it'll happen quicker than you think

.

**Castion** · 08-13-2009, 06:39 AM

With all due respect to MacyT.. What he is proposing is really another route.. Its true that with enough work you can turn any name into a valuable site. But what domaining is really about is picking the names that are valuable without a branding effort.

Not that there is anything wrong with being a webmaster, probably a larger percentage of webmasters are profitable than domainers and there certainly is nothing wrong with acquiring new skills.

**BGray** · 08-13-2009, 07:33 AM

Here's my take on the industry right now if you are looking to make money:

1) You're going to have to spend money. The value right now is in the quality 1 and 2 word domains with search volume in high ad spent niches. Right now you can buy domains that would have been $xx,xxx 2 years ago in the $x,xxx range. These domains will be back up again in a year or so if they aren't already now. There are a lot of people out there that won't pass up a $1k-$5k offer on a really good domain that might have held out for more in 2007. Buy and hold or flip.

2) Develop

**dodo1** · 08-13-2009, 08:57 AM

Bryan, your advice is well-meant and valid, but judging from the original poster's words, she doesn't have a lot of money to invest. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest to spend even more money on expensive domains before being further up the learning curve.

DNF is a place full of valuable information. A lot of grounded advice has been given to you in this thread already. Continue to read and also try to participate in discussions. Never be afraid of asking questions, because most members on DNF are willing to help and explain things.

As for the domains you registered last year, carefully consider which ones you want to hold on to. Sometimes it's better to realize a loss if that means you won't have to pay for another year of domain registrations. Your 200 domain portfolio will cost you around $2,000 in annual fees, so unless you have a plan in place to cover those costs, you should look into cutting them where possible.

**BGray** · 08-13-2009, 09:01 AM

exactly my point. Time value of money plays a very big factor here and domaining fresh regs or under $100 buys isn't a good investment all things, including time, considered.

Sure you "might" be able to catch a diamond right now but there are tons of other things that would be a better investment of your time, including development.

**pwr1009** · 08-13-2009, 06:02 PM

my advices :

-concentrate on a few names, the better of course

- sell all the rest, even for 0.10$ / name, or let them expires they probably are worth nothing

- don't buy more names for the moment or get a limit (1 /month) so you can really pick quality

- you need to developp your names

good luck

**GAMEFINEST** · 08-13-2009, 07:36 PM

When I first started out domains/websites, I was spending around 16-18 hours a day on the comp...even now is the same ..

**Bodis.com** · 08-13-2009, 09:33 PM

Agreed. 16-18 hours a day has been same for me.

I also followed a niche when starting in domain industry. I bought forum related domain names since I knew a lot about forums, forum names, and how much forum names are worth.

Find domain names in subjects that you know really well. That is really the only way unless you get really lucky.

Do you know a lot about pregnancy? There must be something. Start finding domains in that area. Best is to keep looking at what is selling and what is not on these forums to figure out what is good type of domain. Then just register the same type of domains with your subject. Look in the Fixed Price domains UNDER $100 and see what is selling there.