If you’re not familiar with Premium Listings, it is essentially a domain aftermarket setup within GoDaddy’s storefront. Any domain managed with them can be priced and featured within the registration path of those searching for similar domains. I’ve previously written about some of the success I’ve had and how to setup Premium Listings on GoDaddy.

Here is the message I received from my account manager with the interesting parts highlighted:

Many of my clients are actively using our Premium Domain channel as a way of acquiring high value domains for a very small investment. In several situations, paying more money for the one right name is better than pay registration fees for 10 mediocre names.

I  have access to our master inventory of domains currently available through our Premium Domains offering. I want to help you build the value of your portfolio by making sure you’re buying the right domains, not just a lot of domains. Let’s run some searches from our list to show you that there are many domains you might be interested in acquiring. What specific keywords or niches are you actively looking  in when buying domains?

We have been hard at work developing a tool that will allow us to sort through the massive inventory of premium domain assets and being alerted when new names are added based on your keywords. This was very much a manual process up till now. Please send me your top 5-10 keywords as soon as possible.

Just a simple reply from your email with the keywords will help me to set this up.

This is great news for both buyers and sellers. It looks as if VIP account holders will soon be able to target current Premium Listing domains of interest by keyword and monitor new listings as they come in.

VIP account holders are a great audience to market the new service to. I’m sure this will bolster sales as domain buyers sign up for keyword alerts and discover good deals.

Presently, domain investors are associating the Premium Listings aftermarket with selling because there is no easy way to browse or discover good deals.

If the new service offering does well, I’m sure GoDaddy will consider making a Premium Listings keyword search and alerts tool available to the public.

Would you be interested in signing up for Premium Listings alerts? Will this encourage you to list your domains? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

GoDaddy Begins Marketing Premium Listings to VIP Accounts DotSauce Magazine

By actively building your online presence and dedicating time to proven online marketing and sales techniques you can start selling domain names more frequently.

In this article, I will share tips and techniques that have benefited me in the past and continue to provide great outlets for selling domains today.

[Header image via Flickr]

Personal Branding

An important starting point for domain flipping is to have a legitimate identity. Nobody truly wants to do business with an anonymous person. If you can own your name online I highly recommend it; MarkFulton.com is one of my most prized possessions. Create a website and interlink your social profiles as a platform to build your personal brand identity.

Blogging

After setting up your identity on the web my next recommendation would be to begin blogging. This can either be at your personal web page or a new company page or brand identity. Write a few posts about topics related to your domains, the domains themselves, post a sale, share some news; the point is to get original content indexed and have an outlet to advertise and accept inquiries.

Email List Building

With your blog setup, now is a great time to setup an email list and start capturing verified emails. Offer an incentive whether it be blog updates,  domain deals, a free download or eBook. Use a dedicated newsletter management service such as MailChimp that will not only let you send out your blog updates, but email your list directly and track conversions.

Networking

There are millions of people who buy domain names, build websites and start online ventures who are not exactly involved in domain industry circles. Network with fellow domainers on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, then spend some time branching out to related industries. Connect and engage with people you are sure know what a domain name is and maybe even own a few already.

Keyword Niche Marketing

A popular, albeit dated, domain flipping tactic is to market to small businesses, blogs and on forums associated with the keywords in a domain.

I don’t recommend commenting on blogs, posting on an excessive number of forums or spamming business owners. These practices can leave a permanent record of your domain sale and are usually not effective. Alternatively, you can target hashtags or keywords on Twitter using InboxQ.

Domain Forum Engagement

After you’ve checked out some of the niche forums, don’t forget we are flipping domains after-all. If you are confident that your asking price is reasonable enough for fellow resellers, compose a sales thread on NamePros and DNForum ($50 membership) for one of the easiest and fastest methods of domain flipping.

Domain Auctions

The right auction both online and offline can provide good exposure to your domain sale. You’ll have the most success here with well-aged domain names. Consider submitting your domains to some of the leading free domain marketplaces, live domain auction events or online auctions such as Flippa and Cax.com for a great opportunity to flip domains.

Advertising

Spending a little money to advertise a sale can pay off for the right domain names. Consider creating a banner or text advertisement campaign to feature on a high-traffic destination to get targeted exposure. Google AdSense and Facebook Ads are cheap and could spark a sale.

What are your top domain flipping techniques?

Thanks for reading through my tips and techniques for selling domains, now it’s your turn. I would love to hear about your own domain flipping practices. Share your story in the comments area or just fill us in on a great domain sales resource.

Domain Flipping: Advanced Tips and Techniques DotSauce Magazine

I came across an insightful article on Inc. Magazine recently featuring 5 negotiation tips that can definitely relate to domain sales.

First Mover Wins

In particular, negotiation tip #3 suggests an idea that is contrary to popular belief. Is it better to ask for buyers to make an offer or to set your asking price? The answer may surprise you.

Some studies suggest that the outcome of a negotiation ends up being closer to what the first party proposes. The article quotes an interesting excerpt from Negotiation, a book by Adam Galinsky and Roderick Swaab.

“In our studies, we found that the final outcome of a negotiation is affected by whether the buyer or the seller makes the first offer. Specifically, when a seller makes the first offer, the final settlement price tends to be higher than when the buyer makes the first offer.”

So, as it turns out, it should prove beneficial to your bottom-line to set an asking price you are comfortable with. Thinking back on my own personal sales history, this seems to make sense. If we look at the industry as a whole, the vast majority of domains that are sold started with asking prices.

Domain investors should definitely take advantage of the opportunity in pricing their domains. When listing your domains for sale on your portfolio or public marketplaces, set a reasonable asking price to put negotiations in your favor before they begin.

Related: Top 10 Reasons Your Domain Name Won't Sell

Still a Place for Offers

Of course, it is OK to accept offers for particular domains you are not ready to price or are not interested in selling in the short-term.

Be sure to research comparable domain sales and analytics for your domains and stay abreast of the latest domain pricing trends to decide if an offer is reasonable.

Negotiation tip #5 offers sage advice for dealing with low-ball offers you will inevitably receive:

Don’t take it personally. If you respond with a cool head, there may be an opportunity to make a deal no matter the starting point.

Related: Domain Sales Strategy: How To Be Three Steps Ahead

Asking Price vs. Make Offer DotSauce Magazine

In an effort to make the monthly link roundups easier to consume I’ve left out updates on marketing, social media, small business and entrepreneurship.

If you’re interested in getting all the updates please connect with DotSauce on one of these networks.

Stay In The Know: Connect With DotSauce

Twitter – (See top of sidebar to follow –>) Join 15,000 others who follow @DotSauce tweets on domains, SEO, marketing and web development.

Facebook – (See top of sidebar to like –>) Like DotSauce on Facebook where you’ll receive almost all the resources shared on Twitter, though more focused on domaining. Plus receive special announcements and exclusive offers for fans.

LinkedIn – If you are a web professional or work in a related industry, I would be glad to have you connect with me on LinkedIn. Twitter updates are broadcast to the LinkedIn stream.

Google+ – Add me to your circles. I’ll be sharing special updates and resources with Google Plus connections soon.

Web Development

It seems the theme for July is speed. Included are several great resources and some big news from Google on the webpage performance front.

Domaining

The domain industry continues to get exposure in the mainstream media. July was a busy month with several major industry moves and great editorials.

SEO

The web at large is catching on that social media and SEO go together. Google+ has been the tipping point, time to get on board.

Thank you for checking out these recommended news articles and resources. I hope you’ve found some beneficial information that can help your business or website.

As always, you’re welcome to share these links with your followers individually or by using one of the share buttons below. Any mentions are greatly appreciated.

Web Development, Domaining and SEO Link Roundup for July DotSauce Magazine

[Header image via Washington Post]

I’ve been disappointed in recent days to see some web industry leaders and mainstream publications come out against ICANN’s approval of the new TLD system, scheduled to go live in 2012.

There are concerns that new TLDs are just money-making schemes that provides no value to the internet, or that trademarked names are going to be rampantly squatted upon. Do you believe any of this is true?

This open survey features a few poll questions that should offer an idea of reader confidence or lack thereof in new TLDs.

New Top Level Domains Opinion Survey

Please submit your answers for the 5 brief poll questions below.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Consider sharing this survey to include your networks’ opinion on new Top Level Domains.

Thank you for your participation. Please subscribe to DotSauce Magazine or come back at a later date to review the results.

Opinion Survey: New Top Level Domains DotSauce Magazine

Domain Holdings has debuted a new domain development platform called DomainPower, a follow up to Rapid Domain Builder, it’s 2010 predecessor . The new development platform will focus on content development for SEO performance and engagement, and will feature multiple revenue opportunities.

DomainPower offers dozens of niche website frameworks suited to specific industries (Shopping, Insurance, Travel, etc.). Sites are enhanced with plug-ins such as social media integration. Enhancement services such as website content, link building and directory submission are also featured.

DomainPower Powered Sites

Here are a few examples of sites running on the DomainPower platform.

Innovative Analytics and Reporting

While I have not had the opportunity yet to dive into the DomainPower platform (signups are approved manually), I know that their analytics will play an important role.

According to the feature list DomainPower includes A/B testing, alerts for under-performing domains, and keyword tracking across search engines–all firsts for the industry as far as I am aware.

What do you think of DomainPower? Will you ditch WordPress powered sites or standard parking pages to give it a try? Will the revenue share be enough to compete with other emerging parking options? Please leave a comment with your thoughts.

Domain Holdings Raises $2.9M to Energize DomainPower Development Platform DotSauce Magazine

If you have an eye for business, you will be able to see how the Domain Club model is intended to work. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify and discuss a few matters to anyone interested about our process and how specific Domain Club features work.

Group buying sites rely on sales volume to make up for the discounted pricing offered to members. The Domain Club works the same way, offering nice .COM domains to members at a discounted rate of just $19 each.

Domain Club Exclusivity

One of the points I would like to clarify is that while our pricing is exclusive to Domain Club members, our domain inventory is not necessarily exclusively for sale on DotSauce.

I have got back into domain sales recently, putting in work behind the scenes to resell some inventory at a markup.

I’m pleased to report that business is good in just the first few days of dipping my feet into the water of domain liquidation in 2011. That’s right, I am making easy sales of domains currently offered to Domain Club members for just $19 each. In some cases domains have sold for several hundred dollars and many are selling easily for $50-$100.

Domain sales activity and valuations are on the rise, hitting an all-time high in May 2011.

Vision

If I can do it, you can too. That is my true goal for the DotSauce Domain Club. I want to help you succeed and feel the best way to start is with quality keyword, brands, and product domains.

As Domain Club membership grows, both users and myself will reap the benefits of increased activity; more inventory and more content. I hope to continue to prove the value offered by an affordable monthly membership fee for access to exceptional deals on .com domains and domain sales resources.

Join the DotSauce Domain Club today to get first pick of domains for just $19 each and instantly access our private forum where you can learn the best places to resell domains and other insider domain sales resources.

July Update

Members, be on the lookout for a big inventory update and handpicked expired domains list very soon.

I have been quite busy this month, but I have not missed my regular domain research. I will be making considerable additions to the Domain Club inventory and publishing a handpicked expired domains list soon.

Getting Back Into The Domain Flipping Rhythm DotSauce Magazine

IDNX.com will continually monitor trends in domain prices month-to-month. The interactive chart includes 6 years of sales data or over 200,000 domain sales from the world’s largest domain name marketplace.

The IDNX price index value can be directly compared to select economic indicators that seem to correlate very closely.

• NASDAQ 100
• Google’s share price
• Revenues from online ads (US)

Here is a glimpse of IDNX as compared to revenues from online advertising in the US. Domain prices have recently regained strength from a dip in 2008 and early 2009 to grow to an all-time high this year in May.

These comparisons offer an unprecedented view of the domain name industry. It shows domain buyers and sellers are taking their virtual real estate seriously and are making economically motivated, informed decisions.

IDNX provides a great leap forward in legitimizing the often misunderstood world of domains. Cheers to Thies and Sedo for their work and dedication to bettering the industry.

What do you think of the potential for this new tool? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts and consider spreading the good news by sharing this article with your network.

Domain Name Price Index Goes Live in Partnership with Sedo DotSauce Magazine

I have categorized and selected choice updates from the month of June in today’s link roundup.

To receive updates like those featured here, as well as more interesting resources and breaking industry news, please follow @DotSauce on Twitter.

Most of these links are also shared on the DotSauce Facebook page.

Branding & Domain Names

Each month it seems the domain name industry is featured in the mainstream media more and more. With ICANN’s approval of the new generic TLD space this month, I am confident this trend will continue. I found these headlines and resources particularly interesting.

Online Business

I’ve been pleased to read many informative and inspiring articles from respected entrepreneurs and industry leaders this month.

Web Development & SEO

Nearly a dozen great articles on SEO have been featured this month. The industry is evolving rapidly; optimizing for site performance, social engagement and producing quality content are becoming increasingly important to become an authority site.

Marketing & Social Media

These articles can help get you on the right path towards social media success. Get updated on the latest trends and social marketing techniques.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these resources and are able to use what you’ve learned to improve your online business. Join 15,000 others who follow @DotSauce on Twitter to stay in-the-know.

You’re welcome to retweet any of these links to your own following or share the entire link roundup. Have a great holiday weekend!

Domaining, Online Business and Web Development Link Roundup for June DotSauce Magazine

Many domains from the original list have been claimed by members, but I would like to share some of the remaining domain names with the public so everyone can get a glimpse of the great value offered in these handpicked expired domain lists.

Handpicked Expired Domains

This list of available domains is courtesy of the DotSauce Domain Club. Each one was available to register as of the time of this posting.

Please do not republish elsewhere. Enjoy!

• BicycleFans.com
• DuneSurfing.com
• TelephoneTunes.com
• NotepadReview.com
• PrintPrize.com
• DatabaseHelper.com
• ShopUpdates.com
• InternetMini.com
• ReportDisplay.com
• TweetDownload.com
• JPGDirectory.com
• DownloadTouch.com
• ToysAccessories.com
• LocalBreaking.com
• LocalListingsTV.com
• AuthorityCoupons.com
• BeatBits.com
• RomanticTeddy.com
• ArtistsToday.com
• WarriorWealth.com
• ConsolesAccessories.com
• RecessionSpecial.com
• Dozur.com
• Styus.com

GoDaddy is currently offering this $7.49 .com domain registration promotion.

The next sample list is ready to go, so be sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter or our RSS feed.

Previous Expired Domain Lists

If you didn’t find anything of interest in this list, you’re welcome to have a look at the few remaining days from the previous two samples.

• Handpicked Expired Domains Sample #1
• Handpicked Expired Domains Sample #2

Get First Pick of the Best Domains

Want to get first pick of these handpicked lists months before everyone else? It’s just one of the many benefits of Domain Club membership.

Sign up for a Domain Club Pro membership to get instant access to more quality expired .com domains. We can even send you an alert when new lists are published.

Thanks for checking out the third edition of Domain Club handpicked expired domains. Please leave a comment with your feedback or to share a domain you’ve claimed.

Handpicked Expired Domains DotSauce Magazine

[Image via Flickr.]

This particular piece of software called FeedNamer recently launched with a bang, using one of those very loud and long landing pages.

The application extracts words and phrases from RSS feed headlines and scans for domain availability. Supposedly hundreds of valuable domains are up for grabs using this method. I have my doubts.

I will admit the landing page is fairly well done for conversions, I can imagine this sort of thing taking off as some domain flipping courses and apps do. You’re getting what seems to be a pretty neat piece of automation software for $44. I’m sure a handful of you might even buy FeedNamer because I’m writing about it right now, even though I’m telling you NOT to.

The creator, Brad Gosse claims to be an 11 year veteran internet marketer, but I have to say he does not seem very experienced with quality domain names as evidenced by comments made in a video introduction. The examples provided are typical “dreamer” domains that someone just beginning to build a portfolio may think is valuable; domains with obscure niches or unprofitable speculative domains.

Putting the FeedNamer Concept to The Test

Knowing how simple the software is, I wanted to test the validity of the claims that good domain names can be extracted from RSS feed headlines. So, I put the concept to the test using free web based tools.

1. Find headlines

I used DotSauce News to get the latest headlines from 17 leading business blogs and 16 awesome marketing blogs.

I also tested extracting keywords from popurls mobile pages. Any page with feed headlines will work.

2. Extract phrases

Using the free web-based GetRank keyword extractor tool, I was able to replicate the FeedNamer software functionality by simply entering any URLs containing feed headlines.

I can’t say for sure that this keyword extractor is equal to the one used by FeedNamer, but I imagine they use comparable dictionaries. You will get a list of phrases as shown here.

3. Bulk availability check

Last week, DomainHole launched a fast and free bulk availability checker. I pressed the developers on Hacker News and they have confirmed no data is being logged.

Tip: You don’t need to format the text or type .com at the end of each line.

Simply plug the two or three-word phrase results you get from the keyword extractor into the bulk checker and you’re finished.

So, what is the result? Unfortunately, it’s as I expected; nothing good. I was unable to find any domains worth registering. To the developer’s credit, FeedNamer does mention that you will have to filter through some junk, I just can’t see any diamonds emerging from this junk pile.

I tried multiple different feeds and categories. Here are a few examples of my typical results:

If you haven’t already guessed, I am not a believer in this particular method of available domain mining. Do you see any domains even remotely valuable here? I for one wouldn’t want to be tasked with skimming through lists of this poor quality.

I highly recommend going with a domain suggestion tool that uses verifiable keyword data such as TailWords or DomainHole suggestions.

What do you think of the FeedNamer concept? What are your favorite domain suggestion tools? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Don’t Waste Your Money: FeedNamer Tool Flops DotSauce Magazine

However, SEO publications are far and wide sharing a much different story. They cite Google’s latest search ranking algorithm changes (dubbed the ”Panda” update) as the final blow to exact match domain value for SEO.

The debate came about slowly as search results pages evolved to something completely different than what was seen a few years ago (shown below) and has climaxed in recent weeks.

Aaron Wall of SEO Book Chimes In

One of the leading authorities on SEO, Aaron Wall of SEO Book, has just published a detailed editorial on how Google killed category killer domains.

He has personally stopped buying domains for SEO purposes and points to numerous factors for the decline in category killer domain value.

Here are the major points he writes about:

1. Search engines influence domain valuation
2. Authoritative brands have received a healthy boost
3. Social search provides additional boost to brands
4. Larger and more numerous ads and product listings
5. Localization features may be harmful to GEO longtails
6. Small sites don’t matter
7. Anticipated new gTLDs

These all seem to be fairly reasonable observations in my opinion.

The World’s Not Actually Ending

Please note that Aaron does not believe all domains are doomed. We are talking about exact match domains; that is, keywords or keyword phrases that represent a search string a user would type into Google.

I own dozens of these and still feel that they have great value and potential for other reasons than SEO benefit. So, you don’t need to take this as the literal end of the world. There will still be a thriving liquid market for domains.

Aaron made the following important point when responding to one comment.

“There is plenty of buying budget for domains in the say $50 to $5,000 range, but the main point of this post was that the high-six and low-seven figure domain names are at this point often becoming malinvestments.”

What’s Your Outlook?

Do you think Aaron is right or wrong about these domains?

I’ve posed the following poll question fairly straight-forward in the hopes of getting a balanced result. Please select the answer you feel most accurately predicts the near future of category killer domains.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Thank you for responding to the poll question! Please check back soon for the results and feel free to share your thoughts on the precarious future of exact match domains in the comment area.

Aaron Wall Declares Category Killer Domains Dead: Is He Right? (POLL) DotSauce Magazine

Reyes found that those who have Google Apps setup on their domains are particularly vulnerable to a social engineering exploit. However, any personal or business domain that is allowed to expire may be vulnerable to identity theft. This warning is not necessarily restricted to those using Google Apps.

Being the owner of a domain obviously enables a person to create and use any email addresses, even those that may have been used in the past. With website histories and domain Whois registrant email addresses being archived, there is due cause for concern.

Additionally, expired domains may become a target for identity theft as news leaks out.

[Header photo via Flickr]

Google Apps for Domains Disaster

It is potentially very easy for a would-be criminal to use old email accounts with malicious intent. Reyes has provided us with a first-hand demonstration.

"This Domain Has Already Been Registered With Google Apps"

After verifying ownership of his new domain, Reyes was able to gain access to an existing Google Apps for domains account including stored emails, contacts and calendars. This leads to being able to access more sensitive information such as passwords to social networking accounts, shopping and online banking.

Personal Information Compromised

The Google Security team responded to news of the exploit with a statement that it is important to renew a domain or export your personal information. Google may be updating the domain verification process as a result of the incident.

Two Solutions to Avoiding Identity Theft by Domain

The risk associated with expired domains is so obvious that it is often overlooked. A little common sense goes a long way in protecting yourself.

1. Export and Erase All Personal Information

Before allowing any domain name to expire, erase any email accounts and personal information.

Inform all of your contacts that you will be using a new domain and provide them plenty of notice and follow up reminders to update your contact information and email address.

None of your accounts on other websites should be using email addresses associated with the domain.

2. Renew Your Domain Name Indefinitely

Domains can be registered for a maximum of 10 years. Doing so will put your mind at ease and is also said to give some website authority for SEO purposes.

All domain registrars have the option to register for multiple years or to automatically renew a domain. Be sure to have valid payment information on file. You’ll also want to be sure you are receiving email notices from the registrar. You don’t won’t those renewal reminders getting lost in a spam folder.

It’s also a good practice to use an administrator and registrant email address that is not associated with the domain name. Otherwise, you may be vulnerable to domain theft if your website or email address are hacked.

Take special care of your personal and business domains to keep your identity secure! If you are selling or re-branding, take the proper steps before transferring ownership and seek out a reputable buyer.

Please pass the word along about the security risk associated with letting domains expire.

Security Warning: Expired Domains Vulnerable to Identity Theft DotSauce Magazine

The .co.uk domain name aftermarket is extremely active. In Q4 2010, .co.uk had a higher average sales price than both the .net and .org extensions, quadrupling in value from just $523 in Q1 of 2010 to $2,030 by the end of the year.

The extension is maintaining strength in 2011, currently holding three of the top ten ccTLD positions on the year to date domain sales charts on DNJournal.

If you are new to the UK domain name market here’s a little bit of background about the .co.uk extension and how you can get in on the action.

Nominet UK is the .uk domain name registry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Dr Willie Black and five others in 1996. There are around 9 million registered .co.uk domain names to date. Nominet publishes a comprehensive annual domain industry report which was featured on DotSauce last year. You can view the 2010 Nominet Annual Report here. (PDF)

How To Invest In .co.uk

There are a number of ways you can get into the .co.uk market and successfully make money. Which way you do it depends on your preferences as an investor. Here are some routes your can explore and some resources to help you along the way.

Hand Registration

The simplest form of domain name investing is registering a domain name from a UK registrar such as DomainMonster.com or 123-Reg.co.uk. Here are some key indicators to help you choose a quality name, which you are likely to be able to resell for a decent amount or develop into something which earns you revenue.

Check Google’s Keyword Estimator on Local UK Exact setting to determine how many searches there are for that term each month. Anything over 4,400 and you are on to a winner. Another good indicator is CPC value. Make sure you will be earning more than £1 per click at a bear minimum; any thing less than that and you’ll be left with diddlysquat by the time Google takes their cut.

DomainPrices.co.uk is one of the longest running databases of .co.uk domain names sales and is good for market research. Pay no attention to the likes of Estibot or any other appraisal tools, they are highly inaccurate more often than not. There are still some great .coms which can be hand registered and with six times the amount of .coms in the world than .co.uk domains, there is plenty of opportunity to go at in the UK market.

Aftermarket

There are some UK specific auction sites where sales tend to be much faster for selling and achieving better prices than major marketplaces like Sedo.

AcornDomains.co.uk is the de facto UK domain name forum and a huge resource of information for new and experienced domain name investors.

DomainLore.co.uk is a simple but effective auction site to buy and sell domains quickly and easily. There are many opportunities on these sites too for finding undervalued domain names that portfolio owners are looking to get rid of to fund other purchases.

I would recommend registering on both websites. Bargains can be found and a savvy investor can make a good profit buying at the right price and flipping the domains. A recent example of this would be the sale of TVS.co.uk which the previous owner bought for $1,500 in 2007 and sold last year for $75,000.

Drop Catching

Drop catching is the art of querying the Nominet Whois database lots of times just as a domain name is about to expire in the hope that you are first to “catch” it as its suspended indicator turns back to available. Drop catching is quite a bit different in the UK compared to the US in the fact that pretty much anyone can register as a member of Nominet for a small annual fee and directly query their database to catch domains whereas ICANN accreditation is significantly more difficult.

Drop catching directly through Nominet requires the domainer to have a script written in pretty much whatever programming language you are comfortable with, which can not just query the Nominet database, but input selected domains to scan during a 24 period and then if one becomes available, send a request to register the domain name.

If you are not confident going through the whole process of becoming a member of Nominet, having a script written and monitoring it yourself, then you can simply back order .co.uk domain through many of the UK registrars for a small fee and save yourself the hassle. Just this weekend I caught Cartagena.co.uk, a Spanish and Columbian holiday resort which I intend to sell straight away.

Domain Development

Be a category killer i.e. WeddingPlanner.co.uk

The .co.uk is also a great market for domain development. Finding your own niche is crucial for this and a savvy investor will have a selection of category killer domain names that they are developing either for long term revenue or for a quick sale once traffic and rankings in the search engines have been achieved. When I say “category killer” I mean market-leading domain names, ones that are generic and can “own” a niche.

I have been collecting dog breed domain names over the last 6 months and own a good selection which I am currently developing to drive traffic to a larger dog insurance website once I have finished building it. One of the sites, Rottweilers.co.uk, now gets over 5,000 visitors per month and the way it is built can now easily be rolled out across the other dog breed domain names I have.

Once you have control of your niche in the UK the returns can by rewarding. A significant example of this was MoneySupermarket.com’s purchase of nine UK financial services domains for an initial £4.6m.

I cannot stress enough that having a strategy for your domain name purchases is important. If your business strategy to develop .co.uk domain names, rather than trade them on the aftermarket, then a great tip is to check out places where you can buy existing websites on a good domain name. There are many UK businesses which are going out of business due to the financial climate and a good domain investor can take advantage of this and snap up an aged domain with good authority and existing content for a relatively small investment.

There is no denying that .co.uk is a great domain extension to invest in. Whichever method you choose to become involved with there is certainly still a large amount of opportunity within the UK domain name market.

[Header image by Flickr user Trey Ratcliff.]

What do you think about .co.uk domain names? Please leave a comment below and consider sharing this introduction to investing in .co.uk.

An Introduction To Investing In .co.uk Domains DotSauce Magazine

Domain sales exposure in the old version was decent; as members visited the page the top listings would be seen. With the updated Domain Name Marketplace group, exposure will be brought up to a new level.

Facebook Domain Name Marketplace Upgrade

We now have live notifications and optional email updates. This should encourage members to engage and stay updated on the latest sales listings. We should also begin higher quality domains from industry veterans and brokers.

You are invited to join the newly upgraded Domain Name Marketplace group on Facebook to advertise and browse domain names for sale.

Now that we have to take live notifications and emails into consideration, I will post some rules as a notice to all group members. We should follow certain guidelines to reduce signal to noise ratio. With 900+ members, this group will likely be quite active. Common sense rules will apply when it comes to spacing your posts over time and staying relevant.

I hope that the group works out for the best and begins driving home sales between real verified people. I also look forward to introducing more and more people to domain sales on Facebook by inviting other web professionals and business owners to join.

See you on Facebook. Let’s see what you have for sale!

Other Social Domaining Destinations

You can find the counterpart to the Facebook Domain Marketplace group on Twitter @DNMarket where over 330 verified sellers have advertised domains for sale to over 1500 followers.

Also be sure to join the Domaining group on Facebook for industry news and discussions without domain sales advertising.

Facebook Domain Marketplace Group Upgraded, Join 900+ Members Buying and Selling DotSauce Magazine

Follow these tips and techniques to get a few steps ahead of the domain sales game.

[Header image by Flickr user Matt Gibson]

Step 1. Marketing

Be where the buyers are. If you want to make more sales, you’ll want to be proactive and seek out potential end-users for your domain names.

While a select few domain sales are made through a random inquiry, the majority are driven by marketing just as in any other industry. Successful brokers are hard at work building lists of contacts, networking with business owners, blogging and otherwise promoting their portfolios and you should be too.

Here are some places you may be interested in targeting as they relate to specific domain names.

• Google search results advertisers
• Niche social groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
• Twitter keyword search
• Established industry blogs and forums
• Small business communities
• Related websites owners

Step 2. Empathy

Understand what type of domain names a buyer is looking for as well as their budget. Every buyer is unique, as is each domain marketplace, so each opportunity should be approached with as much insight into the prospective end-user as possible.

If you are dealing with a fellow domain investor on an industry discussion forum, you should expect to sell near wholesale or absolute liquid value. However, when reaching out to a small business, featuring a domain in a live auction or listing your portfolio on popular domain marketplaces you should set asking prices based on each unique audience.

Step 3. Communication

Close the deal in a professional manner. Anticipate the buyers needs by suggesting payment methods and domain transfer details during your initial contact. This should cut down on the number of messages needed to close a deal and will affirm that you are experienced and serious about selling.

Write with an air of professionalism and authority and respond in kind. A potential buyer will be less likely to make a low counter-offer or ignore you if they are being contacted in a respectful, non-intrusive way. The money is in the message.

Each domain sale is a learning experience. You can apply the knowledge gained to your next sales. Identify what techniques are consistently working well and make them your focus.

Where do you market your domain names for sale to potential end-users? Have you had success pricing domain names for specific audiences and marketplaces? Please leave a comment below to share your recent domain sales experiences.

Domain Sales Strategy: How To Be Three Steps Ahead DotSauce Magazine

I am pleased to announce DotSauce News has been completely renovated early and is now live. The original site was powered by a hosted service, Slinkset, which is being shut down completely. I had to act fast, but I am happy with the development progress of the new site thus far.

Wide and Unique Coverage

DotSauce News currently features 70 feeds representing a near comprehensive collection of the most popular blogs and publications from the following industries.

• Business
• Domaining
• Marketing
• SEO
• Web Development

More news sources will be added over the coming days and weeks and suggestions are always welcome. Please leave a comment below.

Advanced Site Features

Some site features and concepts are still being developed. No login is needed at this time, but the option to create a customizable DotSauce News account may be incorporated as a service offered to DotSauce Domain Club members in the near future.

Here are a few of the features that make DotSauce News stand out:

• Multiple industry coverage
• Feeds sortable by engagement score or alphabetically
• Full article reading for many feeds
• Multiple feed and in-article advanced search
• Curated list of favorite articles
• Multiple layout options for readability

What do you think of the new DotSauce News site? Read up on the latest in domains, business, SEO and more, then come back to let me know what you think.

Would you like to see additional categories or more advanced domain news feed sources such as domain marketplaces or discussion forums? Please leave your feedback in the comments below.

I would also appreciate it if you help spread the latest domain news coverage around the web by sharing the new DotSauce News site with your network.

DotSauce News Updated! Features Domaining and Related Industry Feeds DotSauce Magazine

Generic domains, which you would think would be fairly obvious to define, have come under the same pitfalls as people confuse the term with long-tail domains, made up phrases, even brand names.

I believe Quality is not as easy to boast about.

When appraising whether or not a domain is high quality, you essentially need to decide if it is desirable and valuable or not. We take in to account whatever metrics and analytics are available at the time of research and make a judgement call. Quality requires an explanation.

How Do You Define A Quality Domain Name?

Please select all the most important factors you use when researching domain names for quality. Yep, you can select as many or as little answers as you like. I’ve purposely left out domain age because it can’t exactly be linked to quality.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Thank you for your participation! Please check back soon or subscribe to the DotSauce Newsletter to be updated when the results are in.

Previous Poll: Niche or Diverse?

The previous poll on DotSauce Magazine asked readers if their domain portfolio contained domains from one or many different categories. 70% of respondents said they do have domains from many different categories, 22% own domains from a few related categories and 8% are devoted to one niche category.

View the poll results and read about the benefits and challenges of niche targeting here.

[Header Image: Shira Golding, we're quality, via Flickr]

Poll: How Do You Define A Quality Domain Name? DotSauce Magazine

Just like my first GoDaddy premium listing sale earlier this month, BrandBucket received a 30% commission on the sale and there was additionally a fee for logo design and marketing. My take-away this time was $1,300 or about 162 times my initial registration cost of $8.

Hard Lesson Learned

You may be curious why I accepted an offer of $2000 when my asking price was double that. Well, the sale of this domain also came with a hard lesson learned. I made one of the more common domaining blunders, having an old sale indexed in search engines.

I try to stay on top of deleting old sales post content, but it slipped my mind during a recent short-sale and it ended up hurting the bottom-line of the offer at BrandBucket.

I received word from a BrandBucket representative that a buyer was “very interested,” but had done his homework and believed I had purchased the domain from a forum sale for $500 some time ago. In actuality, it was me offering the domain for sale during 1 week of raising funds to launch the new DotSauce Domain Club.

You can imagine how viewing the $500 price tag on the same domain listed for sale for $3999 would affect an interested party’s offer.

Spring Cleaning

I am not going to dwell on what could have been, but I am definitely going to be wary about making this mistake again. When listing your domains for sale on blogs and forums, be sure to remove the post content after the sale has been finalized or it will remain indexed on search engines.

Savvy buyers will look up the name on Google to see its history. So, if you have old sales on domain forums, auctions, classifieds, Twitter, etc. I recommend you do some spring cleaning and delete anything that may be harmful to your current domain sales marketing efforts.

160x Domain Flip at BrandBucket and One Hard Lesson Learned DotSauce Magazine

The act of spending our hard earned money causes us to rationalize our decisions as good choices. A recent article on FastCompany discusses this rationalization effect (Cognitive Dissonance) as it applies to Facebook’s like button.

“Every opportunity to reflect on our choices is an opportunity to reconstruct a past view of ourselves as flawless decision-makers.”

The simple act of “liking” a brand on Facebook causes us to feel more positively about it.

Rationalizing Registrations

I believe that registering domain names has any even stronger rationalization effect on domain investors. When we decide to register domain names we are committing to ownership, management and yearly renewal fees. Once the checkout has completed at your favorite registrar, or likely even before, we begin to rationalize our decision.

Sadly, to their own detriment, many inexperienced domain investors take these rationalizations to the extreme. They will hold on to low quality brands or non-sense keyword phrases that they may have registered on a whim in the hopes a perfect buyer will come along and offer a premium.

A lot of domain sales marketing copy looks a lot like used car dealership TV commercials. Loud and obnoxious, siting stats and potential uses for the name; the more exclamation points and CAPS the better. This is just one reason why your domain name won’t sell. Most people filter out the noise.

The best marketing copy should be the domain name itself.

Psych Yourself Out

Rationalizing a poor domain name happens to everyone. I stopped counting how many domains I’ve let expire over the years, but the number is quickly diminishing as I am able to discover more domains with plenty of potential.

When you look back over your portfolio now, you may be able to view some domains in a different light.

Next time you register a domain, try to rationalize your decision with concrete information before the purchase is made. There are a number of questions you can ask yourself about a potential investment to discover real value. Tip #1 in my article, 5 tips for selling domain names, can help you choose domain names that have obvious selling potential.

You may also be interested in a related article about psychology as applied to domain sales and marketing. My post on Right Brain Domaining shares how creative personal attributes can help you succeed online.

Have you found yourself rationalizing a poor domain registration? Do you feel sorry for people when they advertise low quality domains for sale as premium? Please leave any comments you might have below and consider sharing this article to spread the word.

The Psychology of Domaining: How Registering Makes You Rationalize DotSauce Magazine

Many times domains related to your business may even be available to register for a low yearly fee. Ivana recalled a time when she found many domains for a business, “…you’d think that just about every obvious name had been taken, but this is just not true. Especially if you’re selling into a specialty niche, market or industry.“

Considering that if a single domain generates just a handful of leads it will more than pay for itself, this is not an opportunity to be missed. It’s pretty amazing that it has taken this long for many online marketers and business owners to realize this important marketing strategy.

Four Benefits of Descriptive Domains

In her article on OPEN Forum, Ivana covers four points on the importance of owning descriptive domain names that I would like to share.

1. Own the entire market space – Get seen by customers searching for your services and not just your company name.

2. Build brand value and dollar value – Ivana recommends, “Instead of location, location, location, you want to be thinking keywords, keywords, keywords. Owning the most popular words that a target customer will use when they are looking for your product is like money in the bank.“

3. Rank higher on search engines – Google gives some weight to keyword domain names.

4. Get more exposure – Ivana describes another key benefit; “By owning more domains, your products, services and company will get more exposure to your target audience… Buying up domain names that contain descriptive keywords of your products and services increases your likelihood of being found by your ideal customer.“

Finding Related Keyword Domains

The new TailWords keyword tool recently featured on DotSauce should prove to be useful for finding related keyword domains that are available to register. The key stat is daily search volume. If you can find a domain representing a high-volume search there is promise for generating leads.

For truly high-quality descriptive domains that drive a lot of traffic you will likely need to research domains featured on popular domain marketplaces and auctions or make offers directly to owners for domains of interest.

Ivana suggests forwarding your new domains to relevant pages on your site. You could also use them as landing pages for PPC campaigns, special marketing campaigns, forward to your homepage or create a sister website. How do you use keyword domain names to boost business?

OPEN Forum Clued In On Buying Multiple Domain Names for Business DotSauce Magazine

These applications and resources can be an invaluable addition to your domain investing tool-set. Enjoy!

[Image by Flickr user bertboerland]

1. Rapportive for Researching Inquiries and Offers

Just yesterday a DotSauce Domain Club member contacted me for a consultation seeking advice on a recent offer received by email. He wanted to know if he should respond with an asking price or direct the person to a Sedo auction. As part of my recommendation, I suggested researching the name and email address of the interested party and gave Rapportive as a starting point. Surprisingly, the Domain Club member was able to discover the incoming offer was actually a domain buying scam.

2. Tout for Email Marketing

Last year I wrote about how to automate end-user domain sales marketing using the web-based Tout email application. I’m pleased to report that Tout has received updates in both user-interface and interesting new features.

3. WordPress for Blogging and Building a Domain Portfolio

I mention WordPress and blogging all the time, and will continue to do so because it is such a valuable medium for online businesses. Publishing unique content about your interests or niche can drive new customers from search engines and build your reputation.

4. Facebook for Networking

This link leads to the ever popular Domaining on Facebook group. If you are a serious domain investor who wants to learn and network with your colleagues, I welcome you to request an invite and join in on our discussions.

5. Noted for Research and List Manipulation

Noted is a very unique resource you’re unlikely to see mentioned elsewhere. Noted was developed a decade ago and I have been using it as my primary notepad application ever since. The simplicity, speed and text manipulation features offered by Noted have saved me countless hours. Learning to master find and replace can be a great skill for domain research.

6. Ping.fm for Social Marketing

This application is another time-saver that I don’t know what I’d do without. Ping.fm enables you to broadcast a 140 character status update to dozens of social networks at the same time. You can also create specific groups to segment which networks receive each update. For example, I have specific groups for sharing with everyone or just the DotSauce Facebook page.

7. Google Docs for Spreadsheets

Domain investors are constantly dealing with spreadsheets full of domains and analytics. Storing these files on the Google Docs cloud can offer you quick access and unique tools on the go. You may also want to check out Web Scraper for Chrome which can extract and export tables on web pages to Google Docs.

8. Browser Addons & Bookmarklets for Saving Time

There are dozens of very useful browser addons for making online business easier to manage and saving you time on repetitive tasks. The two links above lead to round-ups of some incredibly useful Chrome addons and a list of browser bookmarklets for domain and SEO research.

9. Friends & Family for Feedback

The people you talk with everyday are likely only somewhat familiar with the domain name industry, but they can still be an invaluable resource. When it comes time for usability testing you can ask for a quick opinion to get an outsider’s perspective. Whether it’s your website navigation or a potential domain investment, ask a friend what they think.

10. Sleep & Exercise for a Balanced Mind

I recently read a surprising article on sleep at the Harvard Business Review that really hit home. Tony Schwartz says sleep is more important than food, “even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a significant toll on our health, our mood, our cognitive capacity and our productivity.“ Working from home, I am often a night owl, but I have been trying to manage my sleep better and it helps greatly.

I hope you enjoyed these 10 unconventional ideas, tools, and resources and have a chance to put them to good use. If you know someone else who would find these useful, consider sharing this post.

Did I miss a unique resource? Please leave a comment with your favorite unconventional domain tools.

10 Unconventional Tools & Resources for Domain Investors DotSauce Magazine

I’m not sure how long this feature has been live. I don’t recall seeing it before and the earliest I can find someone talking about it is just last month. A few months ago, I listed the majority of my portfolio and am now continuing to do so as new domains are acquired.

Today’s sale brought in several hundred dollars profit for a name that was available yesterday for just $19 to DotSauce Domain Club members. The domain (LinkCoupons) sold for $600. GoDaddy takes a 30% commission, so I am expecting a check for $420.

Recommended Pricing and Range

GoDaddy is using a keyword algorithm to generate an automated appraisal for domains as their recommended pricing. Oddly, this data is only shown after domains are submitted. I own mostly two-word keyword domains and found that the appraisals were moderate to low estimates, but interesting to review nonetheless.

A handful of keyword .CO domains had the highest recommended pricing, but I opted to price them significantly lower.

A price range is also displayed for each domain that goes from 50% off the recommended pricing to around 25% more. I think increasing the recommended price by 200% or possibly much more for quality domains is more appropriate pricing.

How It Works

GoDaddy Premium Listings work by advertising your domain to those searching for it or a very similar domain on GoDaddy.com. Instead of seeing “Sorry, this domain is unavailable.” a searcher will see “This name is available as a premium domain.”

As I previously mentioned, GoDaddy takes a hefty 30% commission on Premium Listings, so sellers should price accordingly for at least the minimum you are willing to accept plus 30%. Domains that have sold are conveniently transferred automatically to the new owners’ account and the price is not negotiable.

How To Add Premium Listings

Premium Listings have become a popular outlet for domainers in recent years. So, unless you have jumped ship for more elephant-friendly registrar, I highly recommend taking advantage of GoDaddy Premium Listings (especially after today) as a rewarding and passive means of domain sales marketing.

The process is simple to complete from your Domain Manager by following these steps.

1. Select a domain or multiple domains
2. Hover over the “Cash In” icon
3. Select “Add to Premium Listing“
4. Set your asking price and select auto-renew listing

Note: I’ve noticed an issue when adding domains in bulk; the text-area is not pre-populated with selected domains so you will need to create a list of names and prices manually.

To view and modify your listings, hover over the green “Buy/Sell” tab in your Domain Manager and select “Premium Listings.”

Have you featured domains as GoDaddy Premium Listings?

Share your success stories and any suggestions you might have for fellow domainers using this service. What do you think about GoDaddy’s recommended pricing and price range? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

[Header Image by Flickr user drewdomkus]

GoDaddy’s Recommended Pricing for Premium Domain Listings and My First Sale DotSauce Magazine

Latest poll question, "Does your domain portfolio contain names from a specific category or a variety of categories?"

This week I’d like to ask an open-ended question. As there is no definitive answer, feel free to respond with your thoughts in the comments below the post.

Do you focus on domain names and website development projects that you are passion about or those with the highest profit margins?

I have noticed an over-reliance on domain analytics, automated appraisals, average CPC and other domaining metrics. While this data is interesting and helpful in many ways, it should not be viewed as your primary method for investing in domain names.

Keyword quality and the potential reach of a domain should be the main deciding factors for any registration or aftermarket domain purchase. If a great domain or brand has promising stats, the data can be used to enhance your domain sales marketing.

I believe that passion is more important than potential profits. It’s why I primarily focus on technology, internet and business related domain names as this is what interests me most. It’s also why 99.9% of my portfolio is composed of all .com domain names; I am passionate and confident about the success of the .COM TLD.

In the past, with domain parking still in its infancy, you could simply define a single keyword phrase for each domain. It was plausible to acquire decent domains en-mass and collect nickels and dimes all day.

Today, we know that content is becoming increasingly important for any web presence to be successful. This presents somewhat of a problem for those with diverse portfolios. Do you really want to write and devote your time and marketing efforts to products, services and ideas that you are not personally interested in? I’m guessing not.

Passion Leads to Profits

When we are passionate about a subject we can better manage and grow a web presence. Developing a website for something you are passionate about will be fun and rewarding. It doesn’t seem like work to write, share and learn about something you are interested in.

Because of these key benefits, projects you are passionate about will become more valuable and marketable than projects put together with the sole intention of making money.

There are ways to find a happy medium. I think a wise option is to not think about monetization until a website is well established. When you have a captive audience of fans and followers you should have no concerns about getting advertisers, selling products or otherwise profiting from your hard work.

Passion or Profits? DotSauce Magazine

[Image: Nic McPhee, Wrapping one's head around the data, via Flickr Creative Commons]

I set out with a goal to create a page that hits-home on three of important aspects of domain development:

1. Unique Content and SEO
2. Automation
3. Maximum Revenue Potential

My Dream Parking Page

The following mock-up shows my vision for a perfect domain parking page. A solution like this is what it would take to get me back in the game.

I created this concept page using a nifty application called MockingBird and will continue to edit my Dream Parking Page as new ideas and monetization opportunities present themselves.

Click image for full page mock-up.

Psst! PromoEssentials.com and other quality domains are currently available
for $19 each, exclusively for DotSauce Domain Club premium members.

Unique Content and Search Optimization

It may not look like it, but this page can contain a large amount of unique content. The trick is that not all of it is displayed to users at once. Using well-formated list-styling with a little XHTML and CSS magic, the tabs can contain extensive resources, apps and information for visitors on-demand.

Parking pages and mini-sites face an SEO dilemma in that we would like to be more like a single landing page to convert as much traffic as possible into revenue through PPC or acquiring leads. The problem of delivering unique and fresh content to stay relevant on search engines then becomes an issue. For this reason, my dream parking page would be mostly one-page of content aside from an added Q&A application to take advantage of user-generated content.

Customization of navigation and other website element text is key to be able to include the domain keywords where appropriate. As you can see in the mock-up, there are keywords in all the major elements of the page including the title, slogan, tabs and search bar.

Automation

The main tabbed section can contain interactive applications such as the Amazon product feed shown. These popular products would update automatically based on a master keyword and can then be refined by the visitor.

Affiliate promotions and more content can be featured within the other tabs. I’ve shown an example of connecting to a daily deals network such as Groupon or LivingSocial affiliate programs.

All of the site elements would ideally be editable through a WordPress theme options panel or plugin. One could then use WordPress multi-site to create and manage pages for all of your domains.

Maximum Revenue

It doesn’t look like it, but almost every clickable element on my Dream Parking Page leads to a revenue generating source. Whether it’s referrals to Amazon products, Google AdSense or an affiliate offer, all exits lead to profits.

I have additionally included a prominent notice at the top-right of the page stating the website or domain may be for sale.

The are three advertising positions placed strategically for exposure and page flow. Most mini-sites typically use just two alloted AdSense units. The third position can be used for affiliate banners, direct advertising or an alternative ad network.

Additional site elements such as video and social buttons compliment and balance the advertising so that it isn’t overwhelming.

What would your dream parking page be like?

I would love to receive feedback on my mock-up. Maybe you have first-hand experience with domain parking optimization or can give advice from a user perspective. Any suggestions at all are welcome.

Let’s crowd-source the perfect domain parking page for 2011 and beyond. Please leave your suggestions and ideas in the comments area below.

My Dream Domain Parking Page DotSauce Magazine

Selling Domains

This roundup includes some of our most comprehensive articles and editorials on selling domain names that you might have missed.

1. Top 10 Reasons Your Domain Name Won’t Sell

They say the best way to learn is to figure out the things you may be doing wrong. Have a look at these suggestions to make sure your tactics are up to date.

2. Selling Domain Names for Maximum Profit

This in-depth article provides a broad range of important advice on domain name investing and sales.

3. How To Sell Domain Names

A down-to-earth guide created for those just starting out. Review the most important steps to take before and during the domain sales process.

4. Free Places to List Your Domains For Sale

A collection of 30 marketplaces, forums, classifieds and other domain sales listing services that have absolutely no fees.

5. Using Images and Data To Market Domains

Learn how gathering analytics and statistics on you domains can increase valuation and boost sales.

6. Automate End User Domain Sales Marketing

This article offers an introduction to end-user domain sales using an innovative web based email marketing tool.

7. Social Domain Sales

Get an inside look at how selling domains has made it’s way to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

8. Top Domain Sales Categories

Review the most popular industries for domain sales thus far in 2011 for one of the leading marketplaces.

9. Domain Name Portfolio Examples

In this article I review 5 new and interesting domain portfolio websites. If you already have a domain portfolio website or are looking to build one these should prove great inspiration.

10. Right Brain Domaining

Inspired by a great business read, I share the six-aptitudes of success in an evolving domain name industry.

Best of DotSauce

Want more? I have compiled all the most popular articles and editorials on domaining, website development, and domain name tools and resources into a collection called the Best of DotSauce. To get immediate access to this collection, sign up to join the DotSauce Domain Club free then visit our private member’s forum.

After joining, you will be automatically entered to win premium membership upgrades, professional website development and other prizes as part of our grand opening giveaway. Thank you for becoming one of the founding Domain Club members.

Selling Domains: 10 Articles You Might Have Missed DotSauce Magazine

It seems right to follow in the footsteps of so many powerful and compelling short brands owned by businesses who were lucky enough to be around while the best names were still available.

You may have a limited budget and are looking for five letter domains that are available to register. There are a few tools available to help. However, you will find that the supply of available five letter names is quickly diminishing in both quantity and quality.

There is still hope for finding good quality short domains. With a little time spent researching at the right sources, you will be able to find five letter domains that are affordable.

SnapNames Advanced Search

SnapNames is one of the most active auction and expiring domain marketplaces. Follow these steps to modify the search parameters. This will help you narrow the results and quickly find short .com domains.

1. Uncheck unwanted TLDs
2. Check the boxes to remove hyphens, numbers and IDNs
3. Input max characters as 5
4. Set results per page to 500

After scrolling past a limited selection of four letter domains, you will begin to see the big list of five letter domains with the potential to be acquired.

You may also want to uncheck “Buy It Now” results to avoid five letter domains with ridiculous asking pricing. Other popular domain marketplaces can offer additional results with their advanced search tools.

FreshDrop Filters

You can get super fast look at 5 letter domains that are listed on Afternic, Fabulous, BuyDomains, as well as domains expiring from GoDaddy and Dynadot using FreshDrop.net quick filters. Professional members can use these filters across other marketplaces.

The “Reg Fee” selection is a list of domains that have been deleted in the previous 10 days.

• LLLLL - Covers all five letter domains
• VCVCV & CVCVC - Help in finding potentially pronounceable domains by vowel and consonant positions

ZFBot Research Tool

The results found at ZFBot will be a little different. First, you will need to enter at least 2 characters to begin a search for short domains. A new feature allows you to place terms at the beginning or the end of a domain. This can be a great way to target a particular niche with a related two or three-letter word as part of your five letter brand.

Select your extensions, set the min and max characters to 5 and you’re on your way.

The domains found with ZFBot may or may not be available for sale. A good sign of domains that have the potential to be acquired is if they are parked. You can also search dropping domains.

When you find a domain that peeks your interest, view the WhoIs information and email the owner directly with your offer to purchase the domain.

Sedo Down for the Count

While researching for this article I was surprised to encounter difficulty finding short domains at Sedo, the world’s largest domain marketplace. The new search user interface is now using sliders and the option to define a maximum character limit is no longer present. Additionally, the Sedo inventory is not working correctly on FreshDrop.

Update: I may have encountered a bug when trying Sedo. The ‘Domain Length’ option slider now works to search for domains with a maximum of 5 characters.

Short Domains Discounted to Just $19

Before you head off on your search, I’d like to clue you in on a handful of short domains that are now available at the new DotSauce Domain Club.

• Frawn.com
• Hapse.com
• Cozers.com
• Huged.com

Premium members can buy these and other quality .com domains for just $19 each. There are many other benefits to Domain Club membership, so be sure to check it out.

Best of luck finding the perfect five letter domain. Please leave a comment to let us know how the search goes and if you know someone in need of a great brand name consider sharing this article with them.

Best Ways to Find Five Letter Domains DotSauce Magazine

The Afternic domain name marketplace is one of many free places to list your domain names for sale. This marketplace stands out from the rest because of Afternic DLS, a domain listing network that reaches more than 35 million prospective buyers every month.

In our first glimpse of what is to come for the new Domainer’s Advantage area, Afternic has shared a graphic representation of year to date domain sales volume by category (shown below).

Online Business Boom

Business, Computers and Shopping are the leading categories for sales thus far in 2011.

The Afternic newsletter mentions, “online shopping — including sales of electronics such as laptops — has skyrocketed over the past three years.” And continues with some timely data from Forrester research, ”With 2 in 3 Americans reporting that they have purchased online, the opportunities in these domain categories remain strong”

Recreation, Family Life, Careers, and Financial categories are also faring well with sizeable portions of the sales volume for 2011.

Mystery Category

Curiously the pinkish slice at 10 o’clock on the chart does not seem to be represented in the key. Maybe this is Adult names? The unknown slice is just slightly smaller than the leading Shopping category next to it.

Do you have domains in the top performing categories? Are your private sales showing similar results this year? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

In case you missed the big reveal, there are some nice technology and online business domains currently available to DotSauce Domain Club members for just $19 each.

2011 Domain Sales by Category: What’s Hot On Afternic DotSauce Magazine

Acclaimed info-graphic artist JESS3 was commissioned to design this beautiful illustration of the generic TLDs of tomorrow looming over the historic downtown of current domain spaces.

Take a moment to look closely over all the proposed extensions. There is actually a great selection of Premium TLDs including .RUN, .NEW, .SPACE, .CHURCH, .PAPER, .FUTURE; which I have not seen any group show interest in operating.

Washington Post Commissions Artist’s Illustration of New TLDs DotSauce Magazine

The Domain Club offers an exciting and unique business opportunity for domain resellers and investors of all experience levels. Keep reading to find out why.

Veteran domainers will be able to add great domain names to their portfolio and save valuable time. It takes a lot of commitment to research expired domains and aftermarket deals every day. Trust DotSauce to deliver top quality domain names for a steal of a deal, just $19 per quality .Com! Domains are sold on a first come, first serve basis and fresh .com domain names will be added to the inventory regularly.

Membership Plans

There are plans for all levels of domainers, including free membership. Premium plans start at just $14/m for access to purchase up to 4 discounted domain names each month.

The Domain Club Pro Membership ($20/m) allows you to purchase up to 8 discounted domains, view exclusive lists of available domain names and access exclusive domain tools and resources. The Business Membership ($49/m) offers 20 discounted domains and the full suite of Domain Club features.

Newcomers to the domain game will find the DotSauce Domain Club provides everything you need to get started profiting from domain names. The hard work is done for you! You simply need to market our high-quality domain names to your network and other potential customers to start earning.

Select your favorite brands, keyword and product domains from our diverse inventory. There are dozens of great domains representing the latest trends in technology, web development, business and much more. Each domain features search and PPC data as well as an automated appraised value.

For a detailed look at exclusive membership features and pricing visit our signup page.

Attractive Affiliate Program

Domain Club membership enables you to earn a considerable profit reselling domains. You can also earn added revenue by participating in our membership affiliate program. Earn a 50% commission for every person you refer to join the DotSauce Domain Club and a bonus 5% commission on any domain names purchased. You could earn up to $24 per referral.

Real Added Value

The Domain Club features a private members forum that includes lots of added value. A collection of the most popular articles published on DotSauce since early 2007 will start you off on the right foot. Private discussion areas are setup for website development, design, SEO, and marketing questions.

Domain Club members are offered free personal consultations each month based on their membership levels. Simply schedule a convenient time to talk with me personally over the phone or IM about domain sales, website development, blogging or whatever your domaining concerns may be.

Pro and Business Members have exclusive access to additional domain tools and resources. They will also have exclusive access to handpicked expired domain lists. These lists contain quality two-word .com domain names available to register on a first-come, first-serve basis. Members will be able to subscribe to be alerted of new available domain lists.

Join the DotSauce Domain Club Today!

Whether you are looking to get started selling domains or add some gems to your current portfolio on the cheap, DotSauce Domain Club membership is a great opportunity to profit. Our high quality domains will command attention, interest and higher valuations. The domains practically sell themselves!

At just $19 each, you’ll find the first time you resell one of our domains your monthly membership fee will be covered and then some. So, what are you waiting for? Check out the many Domain Club features and sign up today.

Introducing the DotSauce Domain Club DotSauce Magazine