First, a quick word on why a quality brand is important. A recent study shared by eConsultancy found that just 3% of traffic to eCommerce websites comes from social media, while a staggering 46% comes from brand familiarity. Your domain is your brand.

Brand familiarity boosts web traffic

Brandable: What You Don’t Need to Worry About

Keywords

For once, you can throw Google AdWords keyword data out the window–well, almost. You may still be interested in targeting a specific keyword to be a part of your brand name, particularly if you will be using a two-word domain as a keyword/brand-word combination. You can now create your own words successfully if you follow a few guidelines featured below.

Definitions

The language of the internet evolves much faster than Merriam Webster can keep up. Your brand does not neccisarily need to have a known definition. I decided to name my Twitter forum community “TweetSocial.com” 3 years before it was included in the Oxford Dictionary as a new word for 2011.

What Makes a Domain Brandable?

Pronunciation

How a domain name is spoken aloud is one of the most important factors in determining brandability. Often called the “radio test,” you can simply ask a few friends to spell out a domain name over the phone or in person. If your domain name can not be understood clearly and remembered through word-of-mouth marketing that will hurt your brandability.

Length

While many brands use three-words I recommend first researching two-word options. When it comes to the internet, shorter is always better.

I would estimate the majority of valuable brandable domain sales are between 4 and 6 characters. Virtually all four-letter domains and quality, pronounceable five-letter domains have been claimed, so you’ll need to browse the aftermarket for extremely short brands.

Meaning

Not to be confused with a definition, meaning lends some since of relation to a particular product, service or industry. “DotSauce” is a play on hot sauce, but the dot connects the publication with all things Internet. Use an industry term, relevant word, idea, color, or some other identifier that the target audience will associate with.

Appeal

When looking for brandable domains to potentially resell, you’ll want to make sure that you have meaning, as described above, but you also want to be sure that there is a possibility that the domain will actually sell. I’ve shared some tips for picking domains that have selling potential in the past. It helps to get into the mind of an entrepreneur working in a particular industry; would they find this domain a viable or premium option to build their business on versus a keyword or longer domain?

Discriptors

Some words are simply great or must-haves for certain industries which can make it hard to find suitable brand options. If you’re looking to go the discovery route, you may find the Bust-A-Name tool with built in thesaurus very helpful for finding related words and descriptors for your brand names.

Pull out a sheet of paper and take a few minutes to jot down any quality keywords that may describe your area of interest. You can then plug those keywords into Bust-A-Name along with the other root word you would also like included to see what is available.

Detractors

Now that you know what elements contribute to a great brand, there are a few things you definitely want to consider avoiding when selecting quality brandable domains.

• Doubled up letters (‘SportSShop,’ ‘KinGGames’) – Domains like this do not do well with the “radio test” mentioned previously and it opens up the possibility of losing traffic to typos.
• Intentional misspellings (Flickr) – Dropping vowels, replacing S with Z or doubling up certain letters just looks plain unprofessional and is not good for memorability or usability.
• Unintended meanings – I’m sure everyone has seen the list of unfortunate domains like PenIsland.com. Watch out for hidden meanings you might not want to associate your identity with.
• Domain hacks (Del.icio.us) – Some people are fans of these quirky brands that use the TLD extension as part of the brand name itself to create a word. I believe this can hurt memorability and marketing efforts online and in person.

Researching and flipping brandable domain names is not a walk in the park and it certainly pays to be patient. The right end-user may not come along for a year or more. Now is a great time to start investing in quality .com brands as they are becoming increasingly rare and domain prices are trending upward.

Can’t wait?

Consider joining the DotSauce Domain Club to learn more about domain investing and browse our members-only inventory of $19 .com names, including dozens of quality brandable domains.

Investing In Quality Brandable Domain Names 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

[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

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

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

I’ve recently discovered a new, possibly better solution for displaying a domain portfolio within any WordPress page using the My Domain List WordPress plugin which is available at CodeCanyon for $12.

As it turns out, this plugin is a great way to both market your domains for sale and manage your portfolio privately.

[Header image via Flickr]

Automated Whois Information

One of the key perks of My Domain List is automated retrieval of whois information. This is a great feature which enables you to keep up-to-date on all of your domain information from multiple registrars in one central location.

My Domain List Management

The following data is displayed for all domains within a private domain management page.

• Domain registrar
• Owner name
• Whois creation date
• Ownership change date
• Expiration date

These details can be displayed publicly as part of your domain list table or kept private.

If you would like to manage your portfolio with My Domain List while keeping some domains private you can do that as well. Select the “Unpublish” to set a domain to only be visible through the domain management page.

Your domain list is displayed by placing a shortcode within a post or a page and customizing it to suit your needs, as in this example.

[my-domain-list-portfolio show='owner,extension,registrar']

With this initial release of the plugin there are some features left to be desired (such as domain search and categories), but all the essentials seem to be covered. The UI is well designed for both owner and visitors and the Make Offer process is user-friendly and inviting with a fixed priced domain.

My Domain List Screenshots

Here are more screenshots of the Domain List display and the private back-end. You can review the full plugin documentation here.

My Domain List – Full Demo

Incoming Offers Stats – Displayed on WordPress Dashboard

Optional Pagination by Letters

Get My Domain List

My Domain List is available exclusively at CodeCanyon. The WordPress plugin is reasonably priced at just $12. This is a bargain for being able to manage and market your domain names for sale.

Let me know what you think. Please leave a comment below if you decide to give it a try.

My Domain List WordPress Plugin: Market and Manage Your Domains DotSauce Magazine

I’ve also published a new recently expired domain list today at the Domain Club forums for premium members’ eyes only.

Today’s sample list is a bit longer, but I imagine the majority will be claimed just as quick.

Handpicked Expired Domains

This list of available domains is courtesy of the DotSauce Domain Club.

Please do not republish elsewhere. Enjoy!

• ReviewReader.com
• EmailDock.com
• KeyboardMobile.com
• ComputersAuthority.com
• CodingManual.com
• EnergyMonth.com
• CancelFlights.com
• CaliforniaLovin.com
• PromoPurchase.com
• ExoticsBlog.com
• HeadlinesBlog.com
• AntiqueBasket.com
• PowerfulMachine.com
• ChartAstrology.com
• ChristianChain.com
• LandSelector.com
• UpdateGenie.com
• DownloadCover.com
• AdvertExpert.com
• TradingDistrict.com
• FuturityNews.com
• EmploymentAffiliate.com
• NetworksInstalled.com
• ImprovingIncome.com
• ElectronicsClassified.com
• PowerfulList.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.

If you’d like to get exclusive, instant access to choice domains, learn about Domain Club Pro membership which includes high-quality handpicked expired domain lists, exclusive $19 domain inventory, and many other resources and services for domain investors.

Thanks for checking out the Domain Club expired domain lists sample. Please leave a comment with your thoughts or to share a domain you’ve claimed.

Expired Domains Available to Register DotSauce Magazine

Domain Club members won’t claim all the available domains and they’re often cherry-picking from our high quality $19 domain inventory, so I’ve decided to offer sample lists for all DotSauce readers to enjoy.

This first sample list was taken from the initial handpicked expired domain lists offered exclusively to DotSauce Domain Club Pro and Business level members during our launch 3 months ago.

Handpicked Expired Domains

Please do not republish this list.

• CollegePhilosophy.com
• TradingFiles.com
• WeeksWeather.com
• BloggingBrand.com
• FightsMedia.com
• IdealNotebook.com
• LinkRedirects.com
• UpdateSolutions.com
• PerfectLullaby.com
• LasikOptics.com
• BooksBase.com
• BlogSignature.com
• BenchTraining.com
• NetworkPackage.com
• DeskMemo.com
• TransportFood.com
• FlirtProfile.com
• PoliticalRankings.com
• PreviewCasinos.com
• UsefulDownload.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 RSS feed. And, of course, you can always get a Domain Club Pro membership for instant access.

Heads Up Domain Club Members

A new handpicked expired domain list will be published on the member forums later today!

Claimed Domains

For a glimpse at activity on the inside, here are a few of the domains from the same list that were available to Domain Pro Club members, but have since been claimed.

• ThemePulse.com
• WheelForums.com
• CaliRiders.com
• WatchRank.com
• ExpertArticle.com
• WallpaperCloud.com
• GreatBookmarks.com

Don’t miss out on great finds like these. Learn about the many Domain Club Pro membership features, including exclusive access to new and archived handpicked expired domains.

Pro and Business level members are able to register these domains on a first-come, first-serve basis and can set up a convenient email alert to stay on top of newly published lists.

I hope you find one of the domains from this list of interest and are able to see the value in this particular Domain Club feature. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or would like to say thanks for a domain that you’ve registered from the list. Your feedback is always appreciated.

Handpicked Expired Domains Available To Register DotSauce Magazine

I’ve made some adjustments to our Plus membership to appeal to those interested in claiming one or two quality .com domains from our inventory each month.

Affordable Plus Membership

Plus members can now take advantage of up to two $19 .com domain deals per month for an affordable $9 membership fee.

Join the DotSauce Domain Club today to start making money reselling our quality .com domains.

Handpicked Available Domains

In addition to their pick from our $19 quality .com inventory, Domain Club members enjoy private access to regularly updated, handpicked lists of recently expired .com domains. These domain lists are made available to Pro and Business level members on our member forums.

Beginning next week, I will begin to publish small samples of these handpicked expired domains to the public here on DotSauce.

The samples will be taken from earlier month’s lists so that members have plenty of time to consider claiming any available domains before they are published.

I have to remind everyone who has the best lists, right? There have been 6 full lists and 2 bonus lists published on the inside since the Domain Club launched.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the DotSauce Domain Club I would be happy to help. Contact me here or leave a comment below.

Bringing Back Handpicked Expired Domains! + New Domain Club Offer 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

Domain investors looking to expand their portfolios and make more sales are invited to take a look at our inventory and other value added services offered exclusively to Domain Club premium members.

Today’s update has a little something for everybody.

These 9 domains are now being offered for only $19 each to Domain Club premium members.

As you can see, there are a handful of short brand names as well as popular keyword domains with promising search volume.

Standout Domains

• National Diabetes Month is November, so that domain represents an excellent opportunity to develop.
• Thousands of website owners search for HTACCESS tutorial each month.
• Baroque Guitar is a great niche product domain
• A domain with considerable age (6yrs) has also been included, Telephone Prank is a great generic phrase.

And in-case you missed the previous update, here’s a look at more recent additions.

For additional stats, the complete $19 domain inventory is available in a convenient sortable table.

Domain Investors’ Central

With membership at the DotSauce Domain Club, you can grow your portfolio and resell quality domains for nice profits. With just one domain sale your membership fee can be repaid many times over!

Our inventory is sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. Join today to claim your favorite domains.

Visit the Domain Club features and pricing page to learn about affordable membership plans and other valuable services offered to domain investors.

Exceptional New .Com Domains Available to Domain Club Members 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

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

The preview below shows the latest domains offered to Domain Club members for just $19 each.

Featured are a handful of quality product related domains, excellent brandable domains and other promising names with obvious development and resale potential.

Visit the Domain Club inventory to review complete statistics in a convenient sortable table.

Expired Domain Lists Update

Domain Club Pro and Business members have also enjoyed private access to 5 available domain lists packed with quality expired .com domains that have recently become available to register. Two bonus lists featuring pronounceable 5 letter domains and a handful of promising 3 word domains have been published as well.

Joining The Domain Club

Our quality domain inventory and expired domain lists are just the start of DotSauce Domain Club value for domainers. Visit the Domain Club features and pricing to review the many benefits offered to members.

Affordable membership plans start at $14 per month or $20 per month for Pro membership which includes private access to expired domain lists and more.

Thank you for checking out our newly featured domains! I hope to see you on the inside of the DotSauce Domain Club soon. Please feel free to use the comment form below to ask any questions or leave feedback.

Fresh Domain Club Inventory: Quality .Com Domains Just $19 Each 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

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

Browse through the quality .com domains that are available to members right now and if you find a deal that can’t be passed up, you can sign up for instant access to our exclusive discounts.

Latest Additions

Recent additions to the Domain Club inventory include some real gems, such as these domains:

• ProfessorPoker.com
• ModelBedrooms.com
• ShopSongs.com
• SmashingDeal.com
• VehicleConcept.com
• SportShifter.com
• MembershipBlogs.com
• UltimateJerseys.com
• ClearanceMens.com

Full Domain Club Inventory

There are currently 55 domains discounted to just $19 each and more will be added regularly.

View the full Domain Club inventory here with accompanying stats in a convenient sortable table.

Added Value Features and Services

Great discounts on our .Com inventory is not all the DotSauce Domain Club offers. Members enjoy personal consultations, exclusive access to high quality expired domain lists, tools and resources for domain investors, free domain advertising on DotSauce and more.

Visit the DotSauce Domain Club to learn about all the value you can get with our affordable membership plans. I look forward to seeing you on the inside.

DotSauce Domain Club Inventory Revealed for Your Review DotSauce Magazine

TailWords is firstly an SEO tool, so there are a few minor search functions and features left to be desired for domainers. However, the application brings the available domain finder tool to a new level by incorporating useful keyword data.

These analytics were previously only available through external services such as Estibot and the Google AdWords keyword tool.

TailWords Keyword Data

You may recognize these TailWords features as common domain research metrics.

• Google Search Volume – Displays a daily volume figure taken from 2010-2011
• Average AdWords PPC Bid Price – Data from 2010-2011
• Broad Search Results
• Phrase Search Results – Number of results for phrase search with keywords in quotes
• Search Results, All In Title – Number of results for phrase search that have all keywords in title
• Number of Words
• Number of Characters

Other more advanced filters are also available as shown in this screenshot.

Example TailWords Advanced Search

Using TailWords to Find Available Domains

TailWords automates a valuable domain discovery method that many domainers currently do manually. It’s also doing a better job at it. Using the app, we’re saving at least two time-consuming tasks; finding keyword data and bulk domain lookup.

I did notice some minor discrepancies in the data. A small percentage of domains found were actually unavailable, which is to be expected. So, don’t get too excited about any particular domain before doing a real availability check. You should also remember that the search volumes and PPC bid data are estimates.

Being a long-tail keyword research tool, TailWords is definitely a promising application for acquiring three-word domain names with high search volume and potentially high PPC values. I was able to find numerous quality three-word domains and a select number of two-word domains after spending some time plugging in keywords.

Highlighting keyword order

Tip: Domainers should be wary of keyword positioning when using SEO data. Use your browser search feature (Control + F) to highlight the main search term to more clearly identify entries with the proper positioning.

Check out TailWords for yourself and let me know what you think of its potential as a keyword domain research tool. I have a feeling I will be spending a decent amount of time with this new tool. So, please leave a comment if you would be interested in a more detailed review of TailWords advanced search options and how the data offered can be used.

Impressive New Keyword Research Tool Pinpoints Available Domains 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

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

Premium level Domain Club members are taking advantage of heavily discounted pricing of just $19 for any domain featured in our inventory.

New Domain Club Inventory for March 25

This update shows that while we do display stats and analytics provided by Estibot, these numbers do not always reflect the actual resale potential or value of certain types of domain names.

The Domain Club features great keyword and product domains, however, we also include quality brand names like Marriposa (female name) and profitable business and technology ideas like MembershipBlogs.

More examples of this include SearchObserver which may not be a popular term, but would make an exceptional brand name for an SEO blog and TouchDrummer would be an ideal name for a tablet PC application.

Dozens more domains are available to Domain Club Members and additional domains will be added regularly. Members also have exclusive access to articles and resource guides on domain sales, plus personal consultation.

For details on our quality domain inventory and the many additional features and services, visit the DotSauce Domain Club page for membership info, pricing and to signup.

Handpicked Expired Domains

Yesterday I published the second exclusive available domain name list at our private forum for Domain Club Pro and Business level members. In total, there are 54 nice .com domains that are still available to register as of the time of this posting. Also be sure to check out the new resources while you’re there and feel free to contribute your own.

Free Domain Advertising

You may have noticed a new section on the DotSauce sidebar labeled “Domains For Sale.” This area is currently offered exclusively to Domain Club Pro and Business members to advertise one of their domain names for sale to the thousands of unique visitors that visit DotSauce Magazine each month. Members can submit domain listing details here.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our $19 inventory, available domains or any other DotSauce Domain Club features and services.

10 More Quality .Coms Discounted to $19 for DotSauce Domain Club Members DotSauce Magazine

Our given names have become brands in the digital age regardless of profession, industry or interests. It’s how we connect on social networks and get discovered on search engines.

Expecting parents can use the new Rewordious Baby Names application to find a great name for your baby boy or girl with a matching .com domain.

The application might also be useful to see if other members of your family have available domains. I noticed a few relatives when trying it out! Time to make some phone calls.

[Header Image: Jason DeRusha, Sam Loves To Blog, via Flickr]

Baby Names With Available .Com Domain DotSauce Magazine

Premium members have the exclusive opportunity to buy these domains for just $19 each.

New Domain Club Inventory for March

There are some real gems in this update. A handful of great products and keywords as well as quality business and brand names.

Exclusively for Domain Club Members

Buy these domains for $19 each and resell them for potentially hundreds. Do you have what it takes?

Dozens more domains are available to Domain Club Members and additional domains will be added regularly. Members also have exclusive access to articles and resource guides on domain sales, plus personal consultation.

For complete details on our quality domain inventory and many more features and member services, visit the DotSauce Domain Club page for membership info, pricing and to signup.

Don’t Miss March Madness

Need a professional website? Don’t miss our March Madness web development special. Get a professional design, development and SEO services package for just $300.

If you have any questions about the DotSauce Domain Club or the March Madness special, please leave a comment or contact us here.

New DotSauce Domain Club Inventory – Quality .Com’s Just $19 Each 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

To take part in this giveaway you simply need to sign up for Domain Club membership. Basic membership is completely free and gives you instant access to a private forum and collection of the best articles on DotSauce Magazine since 2007.

Our premium plans start at just $14 per month and entitle members to exclusive discounts on a select inventory of quality .COM domain names. The DotSauce Domain Club provides many valuable features and services for domain investors of all experience levels. Visit the sign up page for complete details.

Giveaway Prizes

Here’s your chance to win free access to the valuable features and services offered to our premium members. We’re also giving away comprehensive website consultation and professional website development services. Give your website a makeover or launch a brand new business!

• 6 months of free Domain Club Pro membership ($120 value)
• 6 months of free Domain Club Plus membership ($84 value)
• 3 months domain for sale advertising to DotSauce readers (free to Pro members)
• A comprehensive blog or website consultation and review
• Professional WordPress website development with premium design from ThemeForest

Enter the giveaway now for your chance to win!

Earn Giveaway Entries

Complete one or more tasks to earn entries into our giveaway drawing. The more entries you earn, the greater your chances of winning.

20 Points – Sign up for free or premium Domain Club membership (required)
30 Points – Blog about the DotSauce Domain Club
20 Points – Refer at least one member using your affiliate link (free or paid)

10 Points - Like DotSauce on Facebook
10 Points – Follow @DotSauce on Twitter

If you’ve already been following DotSauce for a while, that’s OK too.

Complete Your Entry

Please post a comment here or contact us with your Domain Club username, and links to your Facebook and Twitter profiles to complete your entry into the drawing.

Don’t forget to include a link to your blog post if you’re kind enough to write about the Domain Club.

Winners for each prize will be selected at random from the total pool of entries on March 28th 2011. You’ve got one month to accumulate as many entry points as possible for the best chance to win.

Enjoy the Domain Club!

Thank you so much for participating in our giveaway and for becoming one of the first members to join the DotSauce Domain Club. See you on the inside!

[Image: Alyson Hurt, Raffle Tickets, Flickr]

DotSauce Domain Club Prize Giveaway – Sign Up for Free! DotSauce Magazine

[Image: John Carleton, For The Win, via Flickr Creative Commons]

You should be a happy camper if you have a lot of technology or business related domain names. These are niches that I target when doing expired domain research, though I wouldn’t pass up gems from other niches that have good end-user potential.

Poll Question

In this poll question I’m asking you to share what your portfolio is comprised of. It should prove interesting to have a perspective look at how the industry is investing in domains.

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!

Be sure to subscribe to DotSauce so I can let you know when the results are in.

Benefits of Niche Targeting

There are several benefits of targeting a niche over choosing a variety of categories. It’s nice to know ahead of time what you’re getting in to. Targeting niches helps you specialize and grow more knowledgeable about related sales, popular keywords and trends.

Niche targeting saves you from having to dig through the proverbial haystack and can make for more productive research sessions.

While on the hunt for domain names to add to your portfolio, consider your online marketing reach. Ask yourself, “What type of audience can I reach with my present network and web presence?“ It can boost business to target a particular niche that you know your network is already interested in.

To get started, create a list of keywords to target on drop lists and aftermarket listings. Update your keywords regularly. Get additional keyword suggestions with SEO tools and the AdWords Keyword tool.

Niche Challenges

If you are too specific, and I’ve seen this often, some investors will end up with all their eggs in one basket. Categories like 3D or Green domains run the risk of any one industry going southward or being replaced.

It’s nice to be able to offer something for everybody. Consumers like to have choices. If you are targeting a niche, you may want to consider branching out to related industries. It could be as easy as asking your current customers what other topics and industries they have interest in.

Do you have any further suggestions for niche targeting? Please leave a comment; I would love to hear your ideas and how it is working well for you, of course without revealing too much about your prized niche!

Poll: Is Your Domain Portfolio Niche or Diverse? 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