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

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’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

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

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

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

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

In less than 2 hours from the time of this posting Domain Madness will be underway. The auction closing and final bids will be broadcast here at that time.

Update: Domain Madness Auction Results

Domain Name News has reported the final sales figures for the auction. Ocean.com has been sold for $100,000 and 11 other domains including Irons.com, SmoothLegs.com and GasDeals.com made up an additional $61,000 in sales.

Live Broadcast at 3pm EST

Domain Madness Auction Inventory

I would like to quickly feature the inventory for your review and invite you to participate in the live auction event. There are no reserves and many reasonably priced keyword domains.

Several lots have already received bids and will be sold.

• Ocean.com
• FamilyVacation.com
• Irons.com
• MensJewelry.com
• DomainDevelopment.com
• HomeOwnerInsurance.com
• HoneyBellOranges.com
• Pig.com
• LastMinDeals.com
• Title.info
• Gyrate.com
• Waikiki.me
• EliminateDebts.com
• DrugDeal.com
• DoubleOven.com
• ZoomLens.com
• Discount.us
• ChildDevelopment.com
• AutoRepairs.com
• LimoRental/s.com
• FinancialPlanners.com
• OfficeScreens.com
• BaseballTrainer.com
• BasketballDrills.com
• BaseballTicket.com
• BaseballGame.com
• NameGames.com
• SingAlongs.com
• SmoothLegs.com
• StationaryStore.com
• BigWinner.com
• MagicSpell.com
• iLoveShopping.com
• FlowerBouquets.com
• AthleticClubs.com
• MiracleCream.com
• Evenings.com
• StayCool.com
• GasDeals.com
• LocalSupplier.com
• ArmTattoos.com
• GPSdevices.com
• RefinanceCalculator.com
• TanningStickers.com
• CashBackCredit.com
• JobResume.com
• Cradle.net
• CheckCard.net
• Incentives.net
• Champs.tv
• RentHome.net
• FlightSale.com
• ForexCurrency.com
• YellowstoneNationalPark.net
• BroadbandProviders.com
• RibSauce.com
• OnlineTheft.com
• BetterBody.com
• SiteManagers.com
• Bet.ws
• Uncoordinated.com
• TractionTires.com
• ImpoundAuction.com
• FreezerBurn.com
• DrugDeals.com
• BasketballDrills.com

For complete details visit the official Domain Madness 3 Auction page.

I wish all parties involved; buyers, sellers and the DomainConsultant team all the best during this premier auction.

Domain Madness Live Auction Right Now! Featuring A Small Ocean.com of Keyword Domains 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

The development team happily announced considerable optimization and performance gains and hinted at a new plugin community.

By utilizing Custom Post Types and tight WordPress integration we have shaved off more the half the file size of our download!

The WP e-Commerce 3.8 release has been mostly about optimization and aligning our code and our User Interface with WordPress standards.Future proofing our software and stabilizing it by utilizing the most up to date WordPress hooks and filters has been our top priority.

…our goal is to foster a Plugin community around e-Commerce functionality so that the WP e-Commerce Plugin stays fast and lightweight.

WP e-Commerce Preview – Normal Looking WordPress Interface

Other notable WP e-Commerce 3.8 updates include:

• New user interface
• Integrates with WordPress Media Manager
• Better template integration for WordPress themers

The new WP e-Commerce interface blends seamlessly with other WordPress administration pages. Anyone familiar with adding posts and pages will be right at home building an online storefront with WP e-Commerce. Today I’m going to help you do just that by helping you build a custom domain portfolio.

How to Build a Domain Portfolio with WordPress

In just a few simple steps you can now create a functional domain name storefront or portfolio using your choice of widget-ready WordPress theme.

Let’s get hands on! Follow along as I describe the basic steps in setting up the WP e-Commerce 3.8 plugin to sell your domain names.

1. Install WP e-Commerce 3.8

And you’ll want to upgrade to WordPress 3.1 if you haven’t. Go to Plugins > Add New and search for WP e-Commerce.

Make sure to install the original plugin and not an imitator.

2. Configure essential WP e-Commerce options

Under Settings > Store, setup your payment gateway and other basic WP e-Commerce options.

Note: Be sure your WordPress admin user email address is the same as your PayPal account if you choose to use PayPal.

3. Rename the “Products Page”

After installing WP e-Commerce you will notice a few new pages have been automatically created. Navigate to the newly made “Products Page” and rename it to “Domain Portfolio” or whatever you like.

4. Create new Product Categories

Build up your categories such as ‘Short Domains’, ‘Product Domains’, ‘Business’, ‘Shopping’, etc., for easy browsing.

5. Create a New Product for each domain

Be sure to include a description and any other details which may be helpful in marketing your domain for sale.

Example Domain Product Page

6. Set your price or a discounted offer and other details

Also upload an accompanying image, remove shipping requirements and check that other details are correct.

Note: You may want to create a custom-meta entry or edit WP e-Commerce theme files to create a “Make Offer” option that links to your contact page. You can also input external links to auctions or marketplaces which will override the shopping cart action.

7. Set Quantity to Limited

In the Stock Control area set the product quantity to 1. Presumably each domain is unique, so you’ll want to be sure to select this option.

You can also choose to be notified when a sale is completed.

8. Add your choice of WP e-Commerce widgets

Under Appearance > Widgets to your theme you can select widgets such as Shopping Cart and Latest Products, as well as special offers, a search bar and any other useful information for your visitors.

You now have a working domain portfolio powered by WordPress and WP e-Commerce!

You can view this example portfolio page on one of my sandbox WordPress installations to see the results of completing these steps.

Making the Most of It

If you take the time to thoroughly describe your domain and include related data you will gain targeted search traffic. WP e-Commerce allows you to interact with customers in a way that sales by email does not provide. Having a web based portfolio can also be a great way to track your sales and inventory even if a domain isn’t sold on the site.

You can further customize your WordPress theme files to integrate your domains and shopping cart however you like.

Another alternative is to invest in a premium WordPress theme that is customized for and compatible with WP e-Commerce 3.8. You may need to wait awhile for theme developers to catch up to the new release, but it should be any day now that themes will be updated.

How I Am Using WP e-Commerce

Want more WordPress ideas? WP e-Commerce was just 1 of 20 ways to make money blogging featured on DotSauce this year.

I’m currently working on multiple development projects using WP e-Commerce for clients and my own business.  While I have recently transitioned my focus to the DotSauce Domain Club, I am excited to say I will soon update the 2 year old AQDN marketplace with WP e-Commerce, a fresh look and new concept that is sure to turn heads.

Stay tuned for updates and let me know how your portfolio development comes along. If you have any questions about setting up a domain portfolio with the new WP e-Commerce, please feel free to leave a comment below and I will try my best to help you out.

How to Build a Domain Name Portfolio with WordPress eCommerce 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

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

This list of domains from our inventory should prove that Domain Club membership is a better option than spending hours, even days finding comparable domains that are available to register. Our domains have great keywords that have obvious resale potential to a variety of industries.

Domain Club Inventory

The following domains are available to purchase by members for just $19 each.

Thank you for reviewing the initial Domain Club inventory. More domains will be added on a regular basis.

Can you see the resale value of these domains is potentially many times your small investment of $19? A single flip could cover your membership fees for over a year and allow you to buy more from our quality inventory. And that’s just the beginning of the value in Domain Club membership.

Getting Started

Consider joining the DotSauce Domain Club today to get first choice of these quality domains.

Membership plans start at just $14 per month and give access to added features and exclusive services like our affiliate program, personal consultation, free domain tools and domaining resources.

If you have any questions, please let us know! See you on the inside.

Are These Domain Names Worth $19 Each? You Decide. 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

If you are interested in networking, learning and sharing you experiences with fellow domainers, I would encourage you to browse through the list and follow the profiles that interest you.

[Image: Rosaura Ochoa, Twitter escultura de arena, September 20, 2009 via Flickr, Creative Commons]

I also maintain another large list of Domainers on Twitter that I personally follow who may not be included on the DNMarket list. This list is comprised of experienced domain investors and domain industry professionals that provide valuable and interesting resources and discussions on Twitter. If you would like to be included on this list let me know, but please no profiles which solely advertise domains for sale.

To become a verified seller on DNMarket you simply need to follow and request to be followed back. Verified sellers are able to send direct messages to DNMarket at any time with promotional messages featuring their domains for sale. The direct messages are then broadcast to all our followers.

The DNMarket profile has 1378 followers who’ve shown interest in viewing domain names for sale. It was also recently featured on DotSauce as one of 28 free places to list your domains for sale.

Thank you for visiting DNMarket and browsing the domains listed for sale there. Please use the sharing buttons below to help spread the word about this free social marketplace and expand the domain industry’s reach on Twitter and across the web.

Hundreds of Domainers on Twitter DotSauce Magazine

Consider this list an added resource or continuation of my article on 5 Tips on Selling Domains for Maximum Profit. If you’re looking to reach a wide audience of fellow domainers, webmasters and resellers then this list is for you. Earn some extra cash or liquidate your portfolio with no upfront expenses.

[Image: Colin, FREE, July 18, 2008 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike]

Prepare your domains for sale and submit your listings absolutely free to the following forums and classified websites.

Free Domain Forums and Classifieds

1. NamePros Domains For Sale
2. WebHosting Talk Domain Advertising
3. v7 Network Domains Marketplace
4. DigitalPoint Buy / Sell / Trade
5. DomainState Domain Sales
6. WebmasterTalk Domain & Website Sales
7. @DNMarket Group on Twitter
8. Facebook Domain Name Marketplace
9. Devsa Domain Marketplace
10. NamesLot Names For Sale
11. ChowCow Free Domain Classifieds
12. 4.cn Domain Marketplace
13. Hacker News Trades
14. Domain Discussion Forum Exchange
15. Domainer’s Market Group on LinkedIn
16. Tycoon Talk Domain Marketplace
17. Craigslist Business / Commercial Classifieds

Niche Domain Marketplaces

1. AcornDomains Marketplace (CO.UK)
2. ccTLDs.com Global Buy / Sell / Trade (All Country Codes)
3. IDNForums Market – Internationalized words and special character sets
4. Short Domain Forum – 3-6 character domains and dictionary words
5. INForum Marketplace – (.IN) Indian domains

Commission Based Marketplaces

1. Sedo (10% commission)
2. Bido Auctions (8% commission)
3. Afternic (10-20% commission)
4. SnapNames (20% commission)
5. GoDaddy Premium Listings (Requires domains at GoDaddy, 30% commission)
6. Pool.com (10% commission)
7. Aftermarket.com (10% commission)
8. BrandStack Domains (15% commission)

If you decide to promote across multiple forums and marketplaces, be sure to manage your domains properly by removing old listings. Best of luck with your domain sales!

What are your favorite free places to list domains for sale? Please share a link in the comments below if I have left out a popular resource.

30 Free Places to List Your Domains For Sale DotSauce Magazine

[Image: Rick Audet, Sir Millard Mulch, October 17, 2006 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution]

How will your domain name stand out in a crowd of billions?

Here are ten reasons why your domain name won’t sell with recommendations for what not to do when marketing. I will cover how to overcome some barriers to a successful sale and some ways of breaking the ice with potential buyers.

1. Asking price is inflated. An unrealistic asking price is probably the most common reason for failing to sell a domain name. DomainConsultant recently published a detailed domain pricing guide featuring solid formulas for valuation that should prove useful to those selling premium quality domain names. Research similar keyword sales through NameBio, DNSalePrice and DNJournal to make a comparisons and avoid being laughed at.

2. Identity or legitimacy is in question. Security and fraud is always a major concern when dealing with digital goods. Are you able to offer a reputable escrow service to facilitate a secure sale and ownership transfer? You should always conduct business professionally with a clear understanding of who is selling the domain. This can be accomplished by personal email correspondence, displaying your business or personal website and phone number and having a non-private Whois registration data on your domains.

3. Not accepting offers. With no option to submit an offer available, a buyer will assume you are not willing to negotiate.  A contact form or email address will do the job. You can also mention in the sales copy that reasonable offers are welcome and will be considered. This can be a great way to bring in leads who may be interested in the domain at a later date.

4. No description of domain value. I think it is very important to share the potential of your domain to those interested. In my beginner’s guide to selling domains, I point out in the first two steps that sellers should visualize potential. Write how the domain could be used as a business or service or how it could be monetized. The vision makes it easier for a buyer to justify his purchase and for you to justify the asking price.

5. Has no value to begin with. As the video above demonstrates, the reality is that a domain registration fee does not guarantee there will be any resale value. If the words in your domain don’t make much sense, such as combinations that are never used in spoken English or made up words, then there is a chance your domain has no value at all. While it is possible to register interesting and desirable brand names, most quirky domain names have no intrinsic value and draw little interest from buyers.

6. Lack of supporting data. Last year I wrote about using domain stats and media when advertising your domain for sales. This includes data such as domain age, search results numbers, term popularity, traffic and other important metrics of the keywords in your domains. This information is important to buyers and instills confidence that your domain is a good investment. You can find a wealth of pertinent information from Estibot, the Google AdWords keyword tool and other SEO tools.

7. Wrong time to sell. In one of my earlier and personal favorite articles here on DotSauce, I describe some tips for investing in domains. One particular tip reminds domainers that you shouldn’t sell your fruit until it’s ripe. Domains are always increasing in value and the future looks bright. It may be time to hold on to a particular name and wait for the world to catch up to the latest trends. This is particularly relevant for future concepts, emerging technologies and predictive domaining.

8. Marketing to the wrong audiences. On the internet we tend to migrate within circles of like-minded people on forums, social networks and website communities. Sometimes the best thing to do is break out of your comfort zone and dive into unexplored websites that are relevant to your domain name. The lists below show examples of the options in targeting resellers or potential end user sales.

9. Poor marketing practices. It’s a great idea to get the word out about your domain for sale to many people, but sometimes it can go overboard. You don’t want to be considered a spammer as you will lose business and credibility immediately. Learn to write clean, readable and compelling sales copy without the hype. Overuse of words like “premium,” or “generic,” dollar signs, CAPS and exclamation points are all things to avoid. Make sure the important domain details are the focus.

10. Better domains available for less. Those interested in purchasing a domain for their business or personal use may have some keyword ideas in mind and will be shopping around. If you haven’t properly valuated your domains then there is a chance another seller will undercut your name for a more reasonable price. Be sure to check out the competition on any marketplace or sales venue to remain competitive.

Successful domain sales comes down to having a quality, desirable domain name and investing time into learning the best practices in marketing, communication and negotiations. I hope you are able to use what insight you have gained to make better sales and marketing decisions and steer clear of any obstacles that may be turning buyers away.

Top 10 Reasons Your Domain Name Won’t Sell DotSauce Magazine

It is wonderful to be able to work with updated designs that take advantage of the useful features of the WordPress 3.0 update. Menu editing, advanced widgets, plugins and the featured image manager make for a lot of time saving. Don’t worry though, I will still be found hacking away in my text editor for many customizations and featured areas of the site.

This update will also enable me to spend more time writing editorials, news and resources for domain investors and related industry professionals.

My goal for 2011 is to provide incomparable value to domainers. Value in terms of domain sales revenue, value for you time, value in education, resources and industry trends. The next major update to DotSauce will be a key part of realizing that goal and it will be going live soon.

TweetSocial For Sale

This weekend I will be gathering information for the sale of my Twitter forum community that was established in February of 2009. The site, TweetSocial.com recently reached over 3000 members and continues to grow daily with an average of 75 unique visitors per day that come organically from key terms on Google. Traffic can be doubled or tripled anytime Twitter updates are sent out to 6000+ followers, which I have been doing occasionally. The site additionally features a comprehensive directory of Twitter applications and resources that provides unique content and great way of drive traffic.

I have not had sufficient time to invest in marketing and monetizing the website, so I will be listing it for sale on Flippa soon. Please contact me if you would like to make an offer to purchase TweetSocial or have any questions.

Proceeds from the sale of TweetSocial will go towards improving DotSauce’s image and features in 2011. The income will be heavily invested in providing value to domainers with an exciting new project currently under development.

New Email Newsletter

In December, I launched a revamped email newsletter design and delivery. Each major article is mailed to subscribers in a very attractive graphic format that will soon feature additional resourceful content. You can view the newsletter archive and subscribe here.

You’ll want to stay in-the-know for the next big announcement and, as always, new articles and resources from DotSauce Magazine. Thank you for your support over the years! Please let me know what you think of the new look.

Fresh New Look for DotSauce Magazine, Twitter Forum for Sale and Other Exciting News DotSauce Magazine

Domain industry websites can sometimes be confusing during the learning period. Dozens of options and features associated with managing domains can overwhelm. These video guides aim to make the process simple and straightforward by leading you through key areas of the listing process.

How To Sell Domains on Sedo

The first video features the industry leading marketplace, Sedo.com. Sedo is an international domain name marketplace and holds the title for the largest inventory and most heavily trafficked website.

Listing domains on Sedo is a great starting point for getting exposure to your sale, so let’s get started…

View in Full-screen HD to read text and links. Domains shown are examples.

Transcript

Hello -

Today I will be showing you how to list domains for sale on the most popular domain marketplace, Sedo.com

Sedo recently updated their domain management control panel, so this may be important information to review for both new and experienced domain sellers.

Step 1. After registering for an account, sign in and click “My Sedo” then “Add Domains”

If this is your first time at Sedo, you will need to complete the member certification process before attempting to buy or sell.

Step 2. Enter a list of domains you would like to sell, one domain on each line.

To keep the tutorial brief, I am going to add two domains to my account.

Step 3. Check the box next to the user agreement which states that you are the rightful owner of the domains and that Sedo will take a 10% commission on completed sales.

Step 4. On this page you will define the category, listing type and price of your domain.

It is generally regarded as a best practice to define a fixed price for your domain. I would not recommend setting a minimum offer – having an individual interested at any price is a good thing.

As you can see, Sedo is pretty smart at guessing a domain name category, but you can click the category title to change it.

Step 5. Sedo will now offer you the option to park your domains by setting the nameservers, though you are not obligated to do so. Parking can earn a small amount of revenue from clicks on advertisements and enables you to track traffic statistics.

Your domains may not appear on the site for a few hours or until ownership has been verified by Sedo’s systems.

Once ownership has been verified you can access Domain Management to make changes to your listings.

And that concludes the simple process of listing domains for sale on Sedo.com, stay tuned to DotSauce Magazine for more on selling domains and best practices at the top industry marketplaces.

Sedo Domain Management

This official video provides an overview of recent updates to Sedo’s domain management control panel.

More on Domain Sales

You may also be interested in reading this guide on selling domains. And if you’re looking for some quality domains to add to your portfolio and start selling, learn more about expired domains.

I wish you the best of luck with your sales on Sedo. If you have any questions about Sedo or domain sales in general, please join the community at the DotSauce Q&A Forum and ask away.

The next videos in the series will reveal more great places to list your domains for sale. So be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for updates.

How To List Domains For Sale on Sedo (Video Tutorial) DotSauce Magazine

DotSauce readers have an exclusive opportunity to purchase one or more high quality .com domains for just $99 each.

Popular Keywords

• $99 – AnniversaryEvent.com
• $99 – ComputerHeat.com
• $99 – RegistryCheckup.com
• $99 – HaikuForum.com
• $99 – ScientificDefinition.com
• $99 – GrowLettuce.com
• $99 – CaptionGame.com

You can click on each domain to read about it and review the original asking prices.

Internet

• $99 – DownloadFeed.com
• Sold – DesignerMonthly.com
• $99 – RSSRevolution.com
• $99 – ScriptPortfolio.com
• $99 – MembershipBlogs.com

Brands

• $99 – KartRaceway.com
• $99 – WeldMasters.com
• $99 – GrantsExpert.com
• $99 – Logolio.com
• $99 – Cozers.com
• $99 – Hapse.com
• $99 – Dydas.com
• $99 – CarpeNomen.com (Seize the Name)
• $99 – CentEvent.com
• $99 – SaleDuJour.com (Sale of the Day)

Products

• $99 – WhiteningCoupons.com
• $99 – BaroqueGuitar.com
• $99 – CinchSacks.com
• $99 – ChargeableBattery.com
• $99 – ClearanceMens.com

All of these domains have a lot of potential to earn back your small investment and then some. Work some development magic on the keyword domains to create a cash machine, or resell quality brand names to small business for big profit.

Bulk Discounts

• Get 2 domains for $178 (10% OFF)
• Get 3 domains for $252 (15% OFF)
• Get 4 domains for $317 (20% OFF)
• Get 5 domains for $371 (25% OFF)

Claim Your Names

Please contact me with your interest to purchase domains or with any questions. Sales will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. Thank you for visiting.

$99 .Com Domain Names Blowout – Amazing Deals Reduced Up to 75% DotSauce Magazine

I want to make sure aspiring domainers walk away with a clear understanding of domain ownership transfers and other common tasks associated with domaining.

Changing ownership of your domain name on GoDaddy is pretty simple. With hundreds of sales completed under their management, I have the process down to a science and almost never encounter any confusion from new owners.

Step 1. Get account details from the new owner

You will need two pieces of information from the new domain owner to begin a change of ownership.

1. Account username or ID#
2. Email address associated with the account

Communicate with the buyer to provide these details. If they do not have an account with GoDaddy you can instruct them to create one for free. No purchase is required to create an account.

Step 2. Access your domain manager

From GoDaddy.com you can access you domain manager by clicking the “My Account” tab (top right) and then click the “Domain Manager” link which will open in a new window.

Step 3. Select the domain you would like to transfer

Click the check-box next to the domain which is ready to change ownership. The buttons at the top of your manager will become highlighted. You can then click the “Account Change” icon.

Step 4. Enter new account information

Type in the customer number and email address provided in Step 1.

You will typically want to select the option to “Use details from specified customer account” so that their name will be associated with the domain and not yours. Sometimes this option will not work if the new owner has not setup their account information.

Congratulations, you’ve just transfered a domain to it’s new owner. You may also be interested in reading my guide on How To Sell Domain Names.

Accepting a Domain Ownership Transfer

The process is also quite simple for those accepting a domain transfer.

Within the GoDaddy Domain Manger you will notice green navigation tabs at the top of the page. Move your mouse over the “Domains” tab and select the “Pending Account Changes” link.

From this page you will be able to quickly accept any domains that are pending ownership transfer.

Transfering Ownership to a Different Registrar

The new owner may request to transfer a domain to a different registrar. They will typically have to pay a transfer fee and initiate the process themselves.

There are two things to remember when transferring to a different registrar.

1. The domain will need to be unlocked
2. The new owner will need the unique authorization code (also called an EPP or security key)

Both of these options can be found by clicking on the domain in question from your Domain Manager and reviewing it’s information page. You can see these features highlighted in the image below.

Check your email regularly for a notice from the new registrar. You will need to click a link within that email to approve the domain ownership transfer.

Any questions?

Domain transfers can sometimes be a tricky business, especially when a registrar doesn’t want to cooperate. Fortunately, GoDaddy has one of the best systems for ownership changes.

The DotSauce Q&A Forum is available to answer any questions you might have related to domain names. Our community of domain investors and developers would be happy to help with any problems you may be encountering.

Transfer Domain Ownership on GoDaddy: A Simple Guide DotSauce Magazine

Building a domain portfolio website can be an extremely valuable resource for making domain sales.

As you read through my reviews of these 5 new domain portfolio websites, you will discover that there are many different variations in Domaining business style and marketing methods. These are all nice domain portfolio websites that can be effective in their own unique way.

Dandy Domains – This website represents an excellently designed and well-thought out Domaining business. Dandy Domains features testimonials from satisfied customers, bold call to actions and helpful visual cues. Upon visiting the website you can tell a lot of time and effort has gone into the business model. This reflects the fact that this company has probably been in the industry for many years.

The search form is very clean and features options to filter domain criteria, categories and price ranges. Dandy Domains has several articles about the company and domain industry practices.

Premium domains feature their own full page of content and a welcoming and simple contact form. Taking the time to do this can bring about valuable targeted search traffic to each domain sale page.

dnwired – This portfolio has been designed to look ultra professional.

While i’m not sure about the neon green font, the graphics do have an appealing touch. The multi-column layout lends the eye to move about the site in a orderly and thorough manner.

The dnwired site features some innovative service offerings. How about a free 5 page WordPress starter website with every domain purchase? That includes a logo design, hosting and consultation. They additionally have a page with extended and full web development packages.

You can make an offer on domains listed for sale at dnwired, but the buy-it-now prices are seemingly out of reach for most small business. Domains are priced well in excess of $10k unfortunately.

Domains New Media – This portfolio is laid out very well because it’s powered by WordPress. Even though it is a commonly used blog layout, the site features a lot of great content and a blog which is well suited for the platform.

This very large portfolio of high quality domain names is owned by industry veteran Skip Hoagland. Skip is the visionary behind numerous high profile geo-destinations such as Atlanta.com and MyrtleBeach.com.

The site features several top key niche categories with a simple alphabetized list of the domain portfolio. Each name is linked to a parked page, so you will need to use the contact form to inquire about domain purchases.

DomainNameSales.com – Frank Schilling’s new portfolio website has been around for many months now, but I couldn’t leave it off the list. This portfolio immediately represents a nod to category defining domain names.

Frank has returned to occasional blogging under this new domain. His editorials are always good for inspiration, educating on the value of domains and really seeing through the clouds towards the big landscape picture of our industry.

Frank’s portfolio receives dozens of purchase inquiries per day as detailed on the “Recent Action” page. The full portfolio is not actually listed. Interested parties will need to complete a keyword search to find targeted domains, but they are sure to be amazed by the results.

Many.co – I believe I discovered this large portfolio of one-word .CO domains through one of my Facebook contacts. While this portfolio is in Chinese, I wanted to feature it to show how effective and easy it can be to get a fully featured domain portfolio online.

In this case, Many.co is using the free DNSPortfolio script and has customized the design to a nice orange and silver color scheme. They have additionally used an eye-catching graphic set to feature some of the best domains.

Building Your Portfolio Website

I hope you learned a thing or two about the inner workings of a domain name portfolio website. Take the elements that work best for you to build your own marketplace and customer following.

These domain portfolio examples prove that good content, regular updates, a little love and innovation can go a long way towards building a nice web presence for your domain sales.

If you have any questions about setting up your own domain portfolio website, don’t hesitate to ask the DotSauce Q&A Forum community.

5 Refreshing New Domain Name Portfolio Websites DotSauce Magazine

I hope that the Bido.com we used to know and love will live up to it’s past success, but I have my doubts.

Original founder, Sahar Sarid recently announced that Bido has been sold to an undisclosed company who is now in the process of re-launching the domain auction service. A familiar name will also be back, Jarred Cohen is taking the lead in managing and operating Bido.

I believe there are three important things Bido must address if they wish to sustain business for the long-term.

1. Domain Quality

One of the few qualms the domain community had with Bido was the lack of quality domains. Domains can be listed for free to be entered into a voting process where 10 votes will send a domain to auction. Sellers can also opt to send a domain directly to auction for 1 Bido credit ($8.88).

Bido could address this issue by providing incentives to domain sellers whose names reach 10 votes. They could also reach out to experienced Domainers to ask if they would be interested in submitting quality domains for auction.

2. Blogging / Community Connection

Sahar Sarid took advantage of his large network of friends and associates in the industry by blogging at Conceptualist.com. A quick search on Google shows that there are no less than 848 blog entries mentioning Bido. He literally posted almost everyday.

Do you think the new Bido blog will compare to Sahar’s passionate marketing? These blog posts probably drove the majority of traffic to Bido and were an essential part of it’s success.

3. Advertising

At one time Bido sponsored many of the leading domain industry publications, including this one. They placed their interactive “Closing Soon” widget in prime locations and showed that they supported the industry and were actively promoting auctions.

Without traffic and brand awareness there will be less interest, less mentions from bloggers and less bids.

Do take note that this time around, there is competition.

Welcome Back

Bido can overcome these hurdles during their return if they put in the effort.  I am happy to see they are back and wish the new owners and Jarred the best during this revival.

Will you eventually list domains for sale with Bido? What are your concerns about their return? Please leave a comment below.

Bido Domain Auctions Are Back, But Will They Succeed? DotSauce Magazine

In this article I will share a simple, six-step process for selling domains. This quick guide should be useful to experienced and aspiring domain investors as well as those looking to sell their first domain.

The six-steps below will break down some important tips and techniques for evaluating your domains, finding potential buyers, and gaining exposure to your sales.

1. Visualize Potential

This first step is the most crucial and should be done before you register or purchase a domain. What good is a domain name with no potential?

You should have quality keywords that are relevant to a product or service. Alternatively you can find a quality name that would be attractive when used for small business, startup or personal branding.

I often recommend the keyword route as these domains have added search engine optimization benefits. I believe keyword domains are easier to research, valuate, acquire and sell.

2. Appraise Liquid Value

Evaluate the popularity of the keywords in your domain by doing a phrase search on Google. For example, of your domain was HotSauce.com do a phrase search for “hot sauce” (quotes included). Take note of how many pages of results and how many advertisers are targeting your domain’s keywords. These metrics can lend clues to the value of your domain.

Compare similar domain sales and empathize with a potential buyer. What would you realistically pay for the domain if you found it offered for sale? If you can understand the real liquid value of your domain it will make it so much easier to make a sale quickly.

3. Share Your Vision

If your domain has real potential that we determined in the first step of the domain sales process, we want to share that vision with anyone willing to read. Take a few minutes to write a paragraph or two about the value of your domain as you see it.

You can write about who the domain would be perfect for or how it could be used to make money. Write your real vision for a developed website using the name. It’s great to get potential buyers excited about the possibilities.

A few minutes of copy-writing can be re-purposed throughout the lifetime of the domain. It’s extremely useful for use on auction websites, forum posts, social updates, your for sale page and more. It can also be beneficial to use rich media and data that supports your domain.

4. Turn Your Domain On

There are three ways to effectively get the proverbial wheels of your domain in motion.

• Park – Check out some of the top domain companies for parking services and other monetization solutions.
• Develop – Install WordPress or you favorite CMS and create blogs posts, pages, articles, etc. Use AdSense and affiliate programs to generate passive revenue. Developing a domain in this simple way can add a small, but potentially significant increase in the value of your domain.
• Forward – Send visitors to a page detailing information on the domain for sale or directly to a marketplace auction.

Whatever you choose, the most important element is a method of contacting you. Make sure a contact form is present or easily found. You can’t rely on a person looking up your domain’s WHOIS details as many do not know this is even possible.

How To Sell Domain Names: A Beginner’s Guide DotSauce Magazine