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

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

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

Branding & Domain Names

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

Online Business

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

Web Development & SEO

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

Marketing & Social Media

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

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

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

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

These conferences are extremely valuable to industry professionals. This is an opportunity to attend a popular search and social meetup in 2011 for free. Experience first-hand training, keynote speeches and networking; boost your SEO and social media knowledge and rub shoulders with industry leaders.

Conference Crashin’ Time

SEOmoz is giving away 2 tickets to each of the following conferences in a random drawing.

• MozCon - Seattle, WA – July 25th – 27th, 2011
• SES - San Francisco, CA – August 15th – 19th, 2011
• Social Media Summit - San Francisco, CA – August 15th – 16th, 2011
• Wappow Search and Social Hawaii! – September 26th – 29th, 2011
• SearchExchange - Charlotte, NC – October 3rd – 5th, 2011
• Conversion Conference East – NYC, NY – October 19th – 20th, 2011
• Distilled PRO Seminar - London, UK – October 24th – 25th, 2011

Enter to Win

For your chance to win, simply signup for a free SEOmoz PRO trial by June 29th at midnight.

That’s not much time to enter the giveaway. So, check out SEOmoz PRO tools now with no obligation to purchase and a sweet chance at a free conference pass.

Friendly Reminder

DotSauce is hosting a slightly more modest giveaway that ends on Jun 30th. You can enter to win a free design package from Logo.com after checking out the latest web development special.

Conference Crasher Giveaway from SEOmoz DotSauce Magazine

I take great pleasure in curating and sharing the most valuable articles, editorials and resources related to domaining, online business, marketing, web development and SEO. I hope you’ve had a chance to use and pass these resources on to your following.

It’s been some time since the last Twitter link roundup. I had considered discontinuing that post series, but the content shared in May is definitely worth a second look even if you did happen to catch the updates on the DotSauce Facebook page or the @DotSauce Twitter feed.

Domaining

Domain name industry news, articles and resources from DotSauce and around the web.

Small Business & Startups

Big collection of inspiration, editorials and resources for small business and entrepreneurs.

Marketing

Powerful techniques and tips for the constantly evolving world of online marketing.

Web Development & SEO

The latest in website development, design, management and optimization.

Like what you see? To stay up-to-date with our online business resources, follow @DotSauce or Like DotSauce on Facebook to receive ALL the updates. Thanks for connecting!

Domaining and Online Business Link Roundup from May 2011 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

There are dozens of popular outlets and opportunities for small businesses to take advantage of in online marketing today. SEO, SEM, social and B2B networks, Google Places, newsletters, fan pages, blogging and many more elements make up a new way of doing business online.

Web Equity Infographic

I am thrilled to share this great infographic by Google maps and local search expert Mike Blumenthal. It summarizes the most beneficial practices in search and social marketing and places domains strongly at the core.

I came across an article featuring Mike’s infographic on the Small Business Trends blog while browsing the new DotSauce News: Business feeds.

Importance of Domain Name

Mike places the domain right alongside the business name itself. This is great confirmation for the importance of a domain name from a respected local search professional. Mike’s description for the core elements of web equity is as follows.

“A business name, a phone number and a domain that NEVER change are at the core of a SMBs online identity. Name, phone and domain; these elements are the glue that allows for both branding, and for the value of that branding to come back to the business. Pick them well and make every effort to retain them forever.”

Mike also mentions in the introduction that all the elements and online marketing tools should work to reinforce and build upon the core of your business; your name and your domain.

Do you think domain names get enough credit as a part of online marketing? What elements from Mike’s chart are you focusing on the most? Please share your thoughts in the comment area below.

If you enjoyed Mike’s Web Equity infographic and agree that domains are important part of online marketing, please share this post with your fellow small business owners.

Domain Names at The Core of Online Marketing (Infographic) DotSauce Magazine

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

[Header image by Flickr user Matt Gibson]

Step 1. Marketing

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

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

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

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

Step 2. Empathy

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

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

Step 3. Communication

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wide and Unique Coverage

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

• Business
• Domaining
• Marketing
• SEO
• Web Development

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

Advanced Site Features

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Google is expected to be in the final stages of development and may be showing off a preview at the SXSW conference today. Update: Google has said they will not announce anything. ReadWriteWeb learned from those suspected to be working on the project that it may not be under development currently after-all.

Update Jun 29: Google Circles is now in private beta testing and has been dubbed Google+ (Google Plus). The team was working in stealth mode afterall. Well played. You can view this Google+ demo to get an early look.

[Image: Michael Chen, Circles, February 26, 2006 via Flickr Creative Commons]

Social circles are how our real lives are structured; close friends, family, co-workers, and dozens of special groups and interests.

Where Facebook groups and Twitter lists have failed, Google Circles may be able to rope-in a massive audience of users seeking a more personal, organized network with more freedom of expression.

I originally published this story on my personal website when rumors of Google’s interest in a social network product came about last year. The project name has had several iterations from Google Me to Loop and now I believe it may be finalized as Google Circles.

The lead user experience researcher for Google, Paul Adams published a very interesting presentation (embedded below) that points out the fundamental flaws of Facebook’s social network experience.

Instead of one mass list of friends, our true social networks are segmented into various groups of people. Social groups sound like an excellent idea that would be widely adopted. A little competition will do the social industry good and spur innovation that much faster.

There isn’t anyone better suited to take on Facebook than Google. However, I don’t see what is to stop Facebook from implementing similar grouping features.

I can’t help but cheer on Google Circles as Facebook’s tactics for world domination are continually shown as less than honorable. I also can’t wait to be empowered to share unique and relevant content to many diverse social circles.

Google Circles should prove to be a great communication medium for personal and business networking and marketing. The question is, will you be in or out of the circle? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Google Circles: A Major New Social Network 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

[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

[Header Image: Famzoo, From Cash To Digital, August 10, 2010 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution]

Today, PayPal has announced the micropayments solution is now live and available to merchants, game developers and any creative looking to sell digital content online. The fee structure is reasonably low at 5% + $0.05 per transaction under $12.

For information on how to get started accepting micropayments, visit PayPal for digital goods.

The PayPal for digital goods solution opens a lightbox layer (shown below) on-site. This style of checkout was previously only available to merchant services subscribers. Now it will be easy for anyone to set up a two-click checkout for digital products and services.

Effective, fast and seamless micropayments will bring about new global trends in digital commerce. Here are some ideas on how to monetize websites with PayPal micropayments for digital goods and services.

Sell Content

1. Whitepapers - This traditional paid-for digital good is often given away in exchange for email subscription. Now publishers may seek to charge small fees in addition to subscriptions or as an alternative as sign-up rates decline.

2. Code Snippets – These little bits of text can give huge changes and improvements for web developers. Code snippets often give valuable hacks, tips, tricks and optimizations for popular software.

3. Software – I think software developers will be some of the first to adopt a micropayment solutions.

4. eBooks – Another no-brainer; eBooks are a great candidate for this solution and sales should increase much as micropayment options are made widely available.

5. Premium Blog Posts – These would be similar in concept to white-papers, but possibly on a more regular basis for certain niches. They would be included within the RSS feed for more exposure, but restricted to customers only.

Sell Services

6. Social Interactions – You could charge for any number of social network actions. Sell access to your Twitter stream. Offer to share interesting updates or articles for a small fee.

7. Live Chat Support - Recall that pay-phone operator asking you to insert $.25 to continue your call? Yea, that concept could easily be converted to online support now.

8. Text Links – For sites that are into blogrolls and allowing their readers to promote themselves, micropayments could be implemented for this service.

9. Newsletter Subscription – While traditionally free, word of paid-for premium email newsletters is slowly being spread. It’s really not so far-fetched, as a good newsletter can often provide as much value as a newspaper or magazine.

10. Membership Site - Virtually anything you can think of to put online can be placed behind a membership site. What do you have to share and teach? Charge a small fee for instant access.

Digital Goods

11. Community / Game Credits – Blogs, forums, applications are now including communities and game-like rewards systems to entice and engage website visitors and members. If the features take off, you could easily begin selling digital goods and features within the community.

12. Photos and Graphics – Another valuable resource often shared freely on the web that is just waiting to be monetized with micropayments.

13. Podcasts / Video Tutorials – These types of media are known to be of premium value across the web. Even with billions of YouTube videos to contend with, high quality productions with unique content are an easy sale.

14. Music – Artists, producers, DJ’s and other audiophiles will now be able to open up shop and sell their sounds direct to fans. Micropayments may just bring the band website back in style.

15. File Downloads – Whatever your file types are, exclusive downloads are an alluring product and will become more so as they become simple to buy and instantly download.

Micropayments should prove to be a great addition to an internet entrepreneurs’ arsenal. How do you plan to use PayPal micropayments? Please share your ideas in the comments below.

If you found this article interesting, be sure to follow up with another recent DotSauce Magazine feature on 20 ways to make money blogging in 2011.

15 Ways to Monetize The Web With PayPal Micropayments DotSauce Magazine

In an age of social networking, having a big list of followers, friends and fans is also beneficial. However, Twitter and Facebook essentially run on real-time, so your audience will only see brief messages occasionally. That is the unfortunate, yet necessary nature of the social stream.

Email is different and all-together more valuable than social marketing, because it reaches people in a place that is highly important to them at a time that is convenient.

Now there is no excuse for not having an email list to make more sales and drive traffic to your domain name portfolio website, blog or business.

Just a few months ago, MailChimp introduced freemium email newsletter services for small accounts and has just announced today an increase in the limit for free accounts to 2000 subscribers.

You can sign up for free here. They are  bringing on thousands of new users daily, so be patient with their website server for the moment.

I will say that I personally use AWeber to manage the DotSauce newsletter and email lists for my other websites, because of the more advanced features and tools.

I have become accustomed to Aweber, but MailChimp is a perfectly capable service with most of the same features and many other neat tools. I actually use MailChimp’s Google Analytics plugin for WordPress which mashes up data from Google Analytics, MailChimp and WordPress post data.

Give it a try and begin building your list of regular customers, clients, fellow domainers, businessmen and entrepreneurs for example. You may also want to target a particular niche. It is important to offer some value in exchange for subscriptions; exclusive offers, discounts, coupons, resources, news, or information. For some great advice on getting started, you will be interested to read the latest from Copyblogger on how to get more email subscribers.

I hope you enjoy the fun and innovative MailChimp experience and are able to grow your email newsletter beyond 2000 subscribers! The pricing at that point is just pennies per email and surely worth every one.

Please consider subscribing to the DotSauce newsletter for more domaining and online business resources.

No Excuse for Not Having an Email List, MailChimp Goes Free for Up To 2000 Subscribers DotSauce Magazine

I’ve also previously shared some resources and ideas you can use to predict and profit from the future today. However, in this article I am going to be writing about the world of tomorrow.

[Header Image: Jason DeRusha, Sam Loves To Blog, April 23, 2008 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution]

QR-Codes and similar technologies for gathering and sending information from images are just now emerging. You can make your own right now and begin living this dream once you have contacts owning devices with a QR-Code reader.

Once these technologies become mainstream, I envision a world of enthusiastic affiliate marketers both professional and part-time, because it will be so easy. Those who do not refer friends, family and associates to their favorite products will miss out on the opportunity to earn a substantial amount of money for very little time invested.

Example 1: Grandma Has a Tablet Computer

Grandma will have a paper-thin, light-weight tablet computer with a front and rear facing camera for video calls and snapping photos.

You print a stunning coupon advertisement that represents a coded link to a website URL embedded with your affiliate ID. Paper is still good for milling-over purchase decisions and posting on the GE All-in-one Kitchen kiosk. Grandma simply takes a snapshot of your coupon to be directed to the latest online sale.

Large affiliate networks enable virtually anyone with a website to sell thousands of products. By 2030, you’ll probably be able to earn a small commission for Grandma’s weekly virtual visit to the grocery store and immediate delivery service.

Example 2: Winter Olympics 2030

Imagine your friend is about to go on a family trip to the 2030 Winter Olympics under the Dallas, Texas city-dome and needs a handful of round-trip airline tickets fast. Take out your mobile device, have them capture and navigate to a sweet deal that also earns you a sizable commission.

Consider offering an instant split of the commission for your friend’s courtesy in using your referral. Credits in virtual hand, all parties are happy.

Example 3: Inventor Entrepreneur’s Dream

You are off to sell the latest product you’ve spent the last week developing on your super-computer along with the assistance of your friendly household AI. The free virtual modeling software and pricey, but must-have 3d printer went a long way towards the creation of your dream startup business. You embed a cheap RFID tag identifying your affiliate and a smart NFC chip so anyone can purchase your product with a wave of their mobile device, wherever the affiliate goes.

Share the great news with all your friends on the social network flavors of the decade and give them the opportunity to earn a commission on any sales.

Example 4: The Super Blogger

You’ve been blogging since 2012 and have built up a following of several hundred-thousand enthusiastic fans and virtual friends in the Facebook metaverse. You share great content and write interesting articles about the latest standards in interactive web design trends, supplemented with live video coverage of events with the HD video camera embedded in your glasses.

Every so often you have the opportunity to review and promote high quality products and services to a massive audience. Devoted followers will refer their network to your article review. Affiliate marketing will likely become the top revenue producer alongside direct advertising sales. The super blogger provides a needed service to readers in discovering the best products and services in a niche while living out their passion. Those articles you wrote in 2015 generating weekly commissions will come in handy when the biggest industry conference is hosted in the latest space hotel.

I Look Forward To…

The market in affiliate marketing is going to get much bigger. Not only will there be billions more people, but we will be able to speak to anyone through live-translation applications on mobile devices. A truly global economy will emerge.

This beta technology was just launched earlier this month by Google. It is presently working with 15 languages and is available on Android devices. Here is a demo of the prototype recorded some months ago.

Live Translation

Virtual Currency

The adoption of virtual currency is another trend that will lend many benefits and open a wider customer base to affiliates. We don’t deal with cash, but if you’ll swipe your phone here you can earn 1% back with PayPal, free Groupon bucks or Facebook credits.

More Transparency

I would be thrilled to find more transparency from all affiliate networks and individual retailers. This would come in the form of live analytics, more accurate referral tracking and more frequent payments.

Something I haven’t seen before in many retail settings is an option to manually declare a referrer upon signup. This would be for situations where offering a direct affiliate link is not viable. This would earn you a lifetime of recurring commissions for any purchases made. Such a program would be very attractive to affiliates and would draw the benefits of a virtual army of marketers selling their products.

The Future is Bright

There is a lot to look forward to for everyone involved in online business. I believe the future of affiliate marketing is particularly bright. You can get started today with my guide on 20 ways to make money blogging in 2011.

What do you envision life as an affiliate marketer to be like in 2030? Please share your thoughts in the comments below and consider sharing this article if you enjoyed the short trip to 2030. Thanks!

Affiliate Marketing In 2030 DotSauce Magazine

The naming suggestions Dharmesh featured in his article include many important things to be considered such as:

• Avoiding trademarks
• Unambiguous when spoken
• Checking social profile availability
• Using important keywords
• Proper capitalization
• Seeking out timeless instead of trendy

I have been impressed with these and other straightforward recommendations for picking a great name and making it work as a strong brand online. Search Engine Watch recently reminded us that having keywords in your domain and staying with .Com are vitally important for SEO and a friendly URL structure.

I have also been disappointed with some nonchalant advice I have read lately, teaching some startup founders that your name isn’t really that big of a deal. I really don’t like to see poor branding advice alongside such great suggestions. It’s not the first time I have come across the sentiment that “your domain doesn’t really matter, just get started.” I think this attitude stems from laziness and lack of understanding of the domain industry and the aftermarket.

I work with and research domain names everyday, so I have a clear understanding of how powerful or detrimental the domain name choice can be for a startup.

Yes, your domain name can make or break your business. Maybe I should add this to my list of domain name myths. I will admit, there are lots of successful startups with funny domains (Google, Blekko, Reddit), domain hacks (Bit.ly) or domains that are traditionally thought of as inconvenient or odd. These websites tend to be heavily focused on technology or are solely web based applications. It becomes much more important to have a high quality, usable brand name if you are establishing a brick and mortar business, a lifetime business identity or a business with associated product or service names–physical or digital.

Don’t focus on trying to create a made up brand because all the good ones are taken, even most short two-word options. What you can do is focus on keywords. As I mentioned previously, it’s very beneficial to use real keywords and it may be much easier to find an available domain through this route.

Everything may seem to be working with haphazardly chosen, made up words or a trendy domain name. Those who choose these types of domains are missing out on opportunities for new customers and return visitors and are poised for an uphill struggle with their marketing efforts.

Is it wise to rely on web based promotion alone? You can get visitors from those clicking on your shortened links, emails and any backlinks you establish. Google will eventually show you mercy and you might even rank for some terms important to your business. However, a poor domain lends itself to many things that can have a negative impact on your business.

• Brand recognition and memorability – This affects return visitors and repeat customers.
• Type-in visitors – This is hard to measure, but more significant than most know.
• Pronounceable and concise – How will people talk about your business? Word of mouth, sharing and writing about a business could be hindered.
• Credibility – Maybe I’m bias, but some poor quality names are not taken seriously.

It comes down to being able to recognize a quality domain from one which may be limited by these poor traits. Unfortunately, this is not something that you can learn over-night. Knowing it is not easy should motivate you to spend more time researching potential brand names.

Look for private portfolios of excellent domains, expired or expiring domains and popular domain marketplaces. Premium quality domains found on the aftermarket are a better branding option than any domain you may try to register yourself. Quality .Com domains are worth investing in as they will continue to increase in value and will give your business a respected image and significant advantages.

Tips for Naming Your Business and Why Your Domain is a Big Deal DotSauce Magazine

I’m not writing this to get you to convert to Google Chrome, but I am going to tempt you with a collection of amazingly useful new applications and extensions that can be found in the new Chrome Web App Store. Enjoy!

[Image: Ian Manrue, Wrenches, February 28, 2009 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.]

Web Development

Window Resizer – Quickly change the size of your actual browser window to see how your website looks at common screen resolutions.

Web Developer Tools – This is identical to the web developer toolbar that is so popular for Firefox users. Featuring an assortment of useful web dev tools.

Development & Code Search – Provides quick access to documentation for popular programming languages.

IE Tab – As the name implies, launch a tab running Internet Explorer inside chrome to see how your website looks for those poor souls.

Sight – Automatically highlights code syntax when source of websites is viewed in the browser.

Pastebin – Quickly store or retrieve text or code from a secure or public location on Pastebin.com

MeasureIt! – Determine the pixel width and height on any element of a page.

Speed Tracer – This official Google plugin really puts your website performance to the test and provides valuable information for improving load times.

csscan – Quickly view the CSS properties of any element on a page.

Blogging

Create Link – Allows you to copy the current page URL and title as a fully formatted HTML hyperlink or customize your own link structure.

SEO SERP – Check the search ranking performance of multiple websites against particular keyword term or phrase.

SEO Site Tools – A comprehensive suite of tools for researching and analyzing SEO and social performance of any website.

Pixlr Grabber – Useful for taking a full or partial screen capture of any website and instantly enables crop and editing.

Word Count – Watch what you’re writing. This app counts the words and characters within a selection.

RSS Subscription – Amazingly, Chrome does not automatically recognize RSS feeds. This application remedies the problem and helps you quickly subscribe to the feed of any blog.

Social Media Marketing

Session Manager – Enables you to save individual sets of tabs to open anytime you want. Use this to quickly open a set of important websites or for repetitive tasks that require multiple windows.

Personalized Web – This powerful application allows you to mold the web to work for you. Modify the code of any site to your liking.

iMacros – Automate repetitive tasks with ease with this advanced application. Record and playback actions to make your PC do the grunt work.

Stay Focused – Limit the amount of time you spend on time-wasting sites or manage your marketing efforts by making sure you cover all the bases before you run out of time.

Proxlet Tweet Filter – An amazing new web application layer for Twitter.com that enables useful features such as filtering your twitter stream, hashtags, and blocking annoying Twitter applications.

Thank you for browsing this list of tools for website development, blogging and social marketing. What are your favorite items from the Chrome Web App store? Let us know which tools you can’t live without.

If you found these Chrome applications useful and know someone else who might, please consider sharing this post.

Chrome Web App Store’s Useful New Tools for Web Developers, Bloggers and Marketers DotSauce Magazine

Credit for the boom is given mainly to a rise in international search volume. The United States is expected to see a 12% yearly growth in total search queries, while international market queries will grow by 19% yearly.

Search advertisements are expected to contribute 70% of the total online ad market in the U.S. this year.

Similar reports are also coming in from eMarketer analysts who are projecting a record breaking increase in ad spending that will top $40 billion in 2014. It is said to be recovering more rapidly than the overall economy.

The graphic below shows an overview of the current paid-search market.

Google’s paid-search network encompasses spending on AdWords, publishers’ sites using AdSense, Google custom search, AdSense for Domains, YouTube and other networks.

The JP Morgan report, entitled Nothing But Net: 2011, also references an interesting third-party study performed by Microsoft’s Atlas Solutions. In the study, comparisons were made between clicks on display ads and clicks on search advertisements. Users who clicked on both display ads and search ads convert 22% better than search alone and 400% better than those who only clicked on display ads.

The effectiveness of search ad campaigns is no longer in question. More big brands and small businesses are expected to flock to search and social advertising in 2011.

Do you think we will begin to see good PPC revenue again for parked domain names? It looks promising as search queries continue to rise. Can we count on Google and other networks to be transparent and pass on a fair share of the revenue? Please share your thoughts in the comments area below.

PPC Expected to Make a Comeback DotSauce Magazine

Gone Social

I have taken advantage of a growing network of domain investors, web developers and entrepreneurs through popular social networking outlets. Thank you so much to all the dedicated fans and followers who keep updated and share your favorite articles.

Each post on DotSauce Magazine has a purpose and the goal is to impart knowledge to the best of my ability or share valuable resources and news. I used to blog nearly everyday, but since making the switch to this style of publication I have not looked back.

Search Dominance

Google has looked favorably on my search engine optimization efforts and the content that comes with a well-rounded article featuring external resources, images and keyword savvy phrasing.

Hundreds of daily unique visitors stumble upon DotSauce Magazine looking for insight into the mysterious world of domain names, web development, marketing and online business. I’ve got love for my regular readers, but these are the people I want to reach the most. Many industry veterans like Rick Schwartz, Ron Jackson, Frank Schilling and Rob Sequin have preached over the years that we will not get anywhere without educating the public. It is something I am just as passionate about as buying and selling domain names.

Top 10 of 2010

Here are the top 10 domain industry articles and editorials from DotSauce Magazine in 2010.

1. 55% of Search Queries Are 3+ Words, 70% Have No Exact Match – Shocking news from Google leads me to believe that three-word domains are coming into their prime and can be used to tremendous SEO benefit.
2. Premium TLDs: Not All Domain Extensions Are Created Equal – As excitement for newly proposed domain extensions ramps up, I explain why I think only a select few TLDs are the cream of the crop.
3. Right Brain Domaining – Inspired by a great read, I write how creativity is an essential part of domaining success.
4. 12 Useful Browser Bookmarklets For Domain Name and SEO Research – This collection of handy browser tools for researching domains and SEO turned out to be very popular.
5. Using Rich Media and Fresh Data To Market Your Domains For Sale – This how-to article details how you can use images, statistics and facts about your domains to sell them easier.
6. A Brief History of the Internet and A Look At .COM Success Barriers – In this article I share some insight into the creation of the web and how pricing, knowledge and common sense are important factors for domain industry success.
7. How To Market Your Domain Name To Get More Visitors – This new editorial describes best practices for formating and tips for getting the most eyes possible on your domain name.
8. How To Sell Domain Names: A Beginner’s Guide – Simple to follow instructions and getting back to the basics for domain sales success.
9. Top 100 Domain Tools, Resources and Websites – A huge roundup of the most popular websites and companies in the domain name industry.
10. Top 10 Myths About Domain Names – In the most popular article of the year, I take off the gloves and knock-out some common myths and misconceptions of our industry.

You may also be interested in browsing more articles on domains or the numerous marketing, web development and SEO articles featured on DotSauce in 2010.

Happy New Year!

I hope you enjoyed these articles and editorials and found them useful for your domain business.

Please continue to follow DotSauce Magazine for exciting new updates and features that will be coming with the new year.

Best of 2010: Domaining Articles and Tutorials DotSauce Magazine

Not only does a blog help establish your identity and lend credit to your expertise, it can drive traffic to your business and help pay the bills.

In this article I will describe some of the best ways available today to make money blogging.

Business Services

These scripts and plugins can enhance your website with powerful new features.

1. Job Board – A job board is a simple software solution that functions like a directory and a classifieds system rolled into one. There are numerous solutions for WordPress and other CMS systems you might be using.

Additionally, some major job search networks such as Simply Hired have affiliate programs which can be implemented on your blog through various means.

2. Classifieds – Another great feature to add to a blog is a classifieds system. Essentially enable your visitors to post short advertisements for their own products and services. This could potentially be the focal point of a blog. Classifieds can work well for a local website or a popular niche segment.

3. Paid Directory – Who says a blog can’t be a directory too? New options are becoming available to add directory features of varying feature sets to blogs. Alternatively, you can use a feature rich platform like PHP Link Directory in addition to your blog CMS.

4. WP Auctions – With WP Auctions you can embed a fully featured auction platform into your blog. This could be relevant to some publications and unique products that are right for auction style sales.

Banner Advertising

Sell graphic advertising positions in your header, sidebar, below or within blog posts.

5. BuySellAds - This is one of the top networks for direct ad sales, particularly in the technology and web/graphic design industries. The directory of sites on the BuySellAds network continues to grow with nearly 3,000 blogs on board. Publishers can apply to setup a profile for their website.

The service will cost 25% of your revenue, but you set the rates. The real value is that thousands of advertisers purchase banners seamlessly through the network website.

6. Google AdSense – This is often the only option for new publications, but can provide some added revenue to established blogs. Google’s network works on a Pay-Per-Click system in which advertisers bid for targeted placement.

Some clicks may only pay out pennies, while highly relevant content for products and services can sometimes bring in clicks of up to a few dollars each. You will need to rake in at least $100 in earnings before receiving a check, so be prepared to stick it out if you decide to invest time implementing AdSense.

One way established blogs can earn revenue from AdSense is by adding the code to older articles that are receiving high search traffic.

7. OIO Publisher – If you do have an established blog bringing in any amount of regular traffic, it’s time to start looking to sell advertising directly to interested businesses and related websites. The OIO-Publisher plugin for WordPress makes for an easy solution to managing direct ad sales.

Affiliate Networks

Connect with the best networks to earn commissions on top selling products related to your content.

8. Share-A-Sale –  This rising player in the affiliate business offers you access to over 3000 retailers in all major categories.

9. PepperJam Network – Another great network with high quality products and services.

10. Commission Junction – The industry leading network represents thousands of the top brands and businesses.

11. Google Affiliate Network – Google recently launched their own affiliate network and now represents hundreds of retailers in dozens of categories.

Affiliate programs offer you the opportunity to sell products that will be widely recognized and possibly already used by your website visitors.

You have the option of making referrals by adding links within related article content, emails, status updates. You can also feature graphic banners for affiliate programs to fill unsold ad space.

Sell Your Products

An excellent way to bring in the big bucks is to dedicate time to creating your own products.

12. Membership Site – Create a subscription based members only area of your site. This can be accomplished using new WordPress plugins, discussion forum software like vBulletin. The most advanced and feature rich option is AMember, which can connect to almost all blog and CMS platforms.

13. Write an eBook – Writing a book on your topic of choice is a long-time standard for making money with your blog. If you are an expert on a subject, it could pay off very well to publish the sum of your knowledge in an enticing digital download. Remember, once you’ve completed the work of marketing your eBook has just begun.

14. Sell Access to Your Tweets – This new concept has just emerged and could become a trend in coming years as more people are accepting of pay walls for premium content. The model has proven to be a success for some stock advisors, celebrities and other experts.

15. WP e-Commerce – This software is the most popular storefront solution available for WordPress. This enables you top open up shop directly from your WordPress dashboard and begin taking orders for your products and services.

16. Downloads – Digital goods are big business. You can sell information, white papers, photos, art, data, and much more. A wise way to deliver downloads is to mange them with an email subscription service. This way you can build a list of your customers or readers and additionally have the download automatically delivered when the subscription is confirmed.

My email marketing and delivery service of choice is AWeber. You can also use scripts, services and various plugins like Ecwid to charge a fee for file downloads.

Bonus! Sell Domain Names – Join the new DotSauce Domain Club to discover how you can build a portfolio of quality .com keyword domains to resell for considerable profits.

Sell Yourself

No, not in Vegas. Offer your technical knowledge and skills at a reasonable rate.

17. Donations - Hook up with PayPal and create a unique donation button to add to your website permanently or within a special blog post. There is no harm in asking for a little support and you may find your loyal readers more than happy to support you.

18. Consultation – Another way to sell your expertise is by offering it on a personal basis with private consultation. Explain how you can help an individual or business achieve success. Include a well formated contact form for interested parties to contact you directly from your blog.

19. Your Services – What can you do to work from your computer? Millions of freelancers are working from home everyday. With some skills on your side, you could be earning added revenue by promoting these services to your blog readers.

Graphic design, writing, web development, programming, marketing, SEO, all that interesting stuff you learned to make your blog better can be put to good use.

20. Sell Your Website – When the time finally comes that you need to move on from your project you may consider selling your blog. The good news is that if you have been putting any of the other methods of making money into practice then there is a chance your blog is quite valuable.

Flippa is the leading website sales marketplace. Post comprehensive auction details including proof of traffic and revenue for the best results.

Happy Blogging!

All these resources and ways to make money have been of particular interest to me personally. I hope you have found them useful as well. I wish you the best on your quest for blogging success in 2011.

I’m sure there are many other great options and companies available to help you earn profits while blogging. Please share your tools of choice in the comments below and pass this article on to aspiring pro bloggers.

20 Ways to Make Money Blogging in 2011 DotSauce Magazine

In this article I will share some techniques and tips for properly formating and sharing your domain name. Your domain name can be a valuable marketing tool. Continue reading to see how.

[Image: Daniel Morris, Busy, October 21, 2006 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike]

Advertisements

Marketers should make efforts to use good textual design and capitalization for readability when including their domain name in advertising materials.

An attractive font, typically sans-serif, should be used along with good character spacing and large size for readability.

The beginning of a URL (http://www.) should not be included in ad copy because it distracts from the domain name. It is better to have the keywords read first. The domain extension should prove enough for consumers to recognize a URL.

• Large, attractive font
• Remove http://www.
• Capitalize each word in the domain
• Make it a focal point, if not the center of attention

It is also important to practice the same techniques when marketing your website with Google AdWords and other text and link based advertising. There have been case studies (PDF) proving that generic domain names with relevant keywords receive more clicks.

Logo Design

If you are using your domain name as your brand then it should be represented well in your logo design. This is particularly important if you do not use a .com domain name, which is the most widely recognized and is often assumed.

I believe that businesses which display the full domain name within their logo design, such as Amazon.com and Diapers.com, have a great advantage in direct navigation traffic. That is those visitors who type the domain name directly into their browsers regularly.

Direct navigation traffic can come in from many sources such as business cards, banners, flyers, letterhead, and word of mouth. It is often undervalued because it is hard to track, but represents a lot of opportunity for new leads and repeat visits.

Twitter Profile

Every person on Twitter has the opportunity to display their full domain name alongside their biography. With the new site design, the characters of the URL are not restricted, but it may still be advisable to remove the www. portion of your URL so that your domain name can be read immediately.

This will also make sure that your domain can be seen clearly on all Twitter clients including mobile, which still restrict the character count of your website address.

A clearly visible domain name with relevant keywords will bring in more clicks on Twitter. This is particularly effective when following like-minded people. Your URL is included within the new follower email notice sent by Twitter.

Facebook Profile

On Facebook we can feature multiple website URLs within our profile info page, but I wouldn’t recommend going overboard. Too many choices can be a turn off. Only include your most important web properties. Your first link is likely the one that will receive the most clicks.

Did you know? You can also add a clickable link to the about box directly below your profile or fan page photo. Simply include http:// before your domain and it will automatically become a hyperlink. Unfortunately, the link text is still black and does not feature the typical underline. So, what I do is additionally write “Please visit my blog…” or “Click ->” for further instruction.

Web Copy

When sharing your link around the web, be it comments on blogs, forum posts, articles or blog rolls, you should first think about how you want your domain represented. One of the foundations of SEO is having targeted keywords within link anchor text. So, in some cases it may be best to leave out your domain extension in preference of your keyword phrase.

You should never use full URLs when writing web copy, unless that is the only way to place a link on a certain platform. Use HTML to create a link to your website using keywords, as in these examples:

• <a href=”http://www.dotsauce.com/”>DotSauce Domain News</a>
• <a href=”http://forum.dotsauce.com/”>Domain Name Questions</a>

Be sure to use a variety of anchor text keywords and phrases over time.

Sub-Domains

Your domain has infinite possibilities in both folders and sub-domains. You can control what is left of the dot.

One of the most important things to remember regarding sub-domains is that you should decide whether you will include the www or go without. Once you have chosen, stick with it and encourage others to use the same method for linking to you. You can then define your URL display preference at Google Webmaster Tools. Doing so avoids any chance of content being indexed multiple times.

Sub-domains should be as concise as possible, preferably using just one word. Adding unique areas of content and resources on sub-domains can strengthen your brand and reach on search engines.

URL Shortener

URL shortners are somewhat of a trend right now as many popular publications look to capitalize on the masses of traffic being driven by social status updates.

Instead of promoting the domain of the shortening service when links are shared you can instantly have your brand recognized and credited.

To create your own URL shortener you can use a WordPress plugin or subscribe to a service (Bit.ly Pro) to manage your URL shortener and stats.

Email Address

Would you rather promote GMail or your own business name? Not only is it professional to have your own domain as an email address, it’s also easy and virtually free if you have an active web hosting account.

I recommend setting up an email on your domain that forwards to your GMail address. You can then configure GMail to use your default reply-to address. This way your real GMail address will be hidden and secure. Your branded email address will appear seamlessly to those you email.

To do this in GMail, go to Settings (top right) > Accounts & Import > and click the “Send mail from another address” button.

Email Signature

This is some of the best free marketing your domain name will ever get and you may not be taking advantage of it. For email signatures, make sure to include the http:// portion of your URL so that all email clients will convert it to a hyperlink.

Below your salutation and name, type out your full URL and feel free to use proper capitalization of words for readability. You can additionally add a line or two of text describing your website or business.

In Summary

To sum up these techniques, when marketing your domain names you should strive to

• Be professional
• Be readable
• Be clickable
• Be proactive

Work on these points and your domain name will help to deliver more traffic to your website.

How do you market your domain name?

If you have any website marketing tips of your own to contribute, please leave a comment below. We would love to hear how you gain visitors or how you use your domain as your brand.

Thank you so much for reading. Please consider sharing this article if you found it useful.

How To Market Your Domain Name To Get More Visitors DotSauce Magazine

In one response, Google writes that the number of times an article is shared on Twitter is used as a signal in both organic search rankings and Google News.

Both Bing and Google mention that they calculate some form of social authority for use in live search and limited situations within ordinary web search.

Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz has just published his reaction to the news, describing exactly how social media may impact search engine rankings and SEO strategy.

The SEO metrics of tomorrow may well include social data such as:

• Timing – Is this an automated Tweet or something of more value?
• Diversity – How many people shared this link and are they important?
• Engagement – How many clicks, likes and retweets?
• Social Authority – How many followers and friends?
• Relevance – Sharing randomness or sticking to a topic?

Rand excitedly predicts this may bring about the end of web spam as we know it. How so? Few people will follow or friend a profile that is not authentic or is being used for advertising purposes.

Social media has become an integral part of marketing and is now extending it’s reach into the powerhouses of the web.

For the best chances of success in gaining maximum exposure across Google and Bing, it will become increasingly important to be active on Twitter and Facebook.

Publishers and marketers should make it a goal to grow a large following, add social media buttons to your website and adopt other proven social media strategies.

Have you noticed social media providing a boost to your SEO efforts? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Google and Bing Confirm Social Media Impacts Search Rankings DotSauce Magazine

The contest will pit around 20 web developers against each other with the goal of earning the most income without spending any money on advertising or using your existing networks. There is a $2000 prize pool for those who are able to prove the most income earned within 4 months.

My plan is to develop a blog community about fitted hats on my domain Fitted.co. I can’t link to the site due to contest rules, so you’ll have to type it in to have a look. What you see now is just a few hours progress.

In this article, I will describe the main focal points for the project.

SEO

I chose this domain because of it’s potential as a popular and profitable niche. I plan to put my SEO skills into action as soon as possible to attain top search results positioning for key terms. The competition seems to be minimal, so I am hopeful that I will be able to succeed in tapping into search traffic within the 4 month time frame.

Affiliate Commissions

I plan to write short articles about specific fitted hat designs and feature discounts of popular products from retailers which I have become affiliated with through Commission Junction. Some of the retailers have high network earnings. Fitted hats are additionally popular on eBay.

Direct Advertising

There are a few similar blogs and they all seem to have no shortage of retailers interested in advertising to fitted hat enthusiasts. This could potentially be the main source of income if I am able to drive enough traffic to the site.

Social Media

I will establish a presence on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks with the goal of converting those interested in fitted hats to subscribing to my email newsletter or directly clicking-through on my affiliate products. I also plan to host contests and provide incentives for those interested to follow or “like” Fitted.co.

Your Suggestions, Please!

I would appreciate any suggestions from my readers on how else I could promote and earn profits for Fitted.co in this short time frame. Remember, I am not allowed to spend any money on the project. Please leave a comment below with your suggestions.

It should be interesting to hear others’ ideas on how to profit from a brand new website. I would be thrilled with the possibility of selling a related digital product that did not require an upfront investment, though I’m not sure it’s possible.

Thank you in advance for your ideas!

How Would You Earn The Most Money Possible In 4 Months? 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

Welcome to the third edition of the @DotSauce Twitter link roundup where I share a selection of tweets that represent some of the top news and resources related to the domain industry, web development, WordPress, online marketing, social media and more.

I encourage you to click through and read the articles and resources that interest you most. Feel free to share them with your own following. ReTweets are greatly appreciated.

Domain Names

This roundup features news of interest from the domain industry, the latest from DotSauce Magazine and other unique takes on domain names.

Web Development

Lots of great WordPress resources and a couple great articles on new web technologies and techniques.

Marketing

Several must-read articles and valuable resources for boosting online business and improving your presence on social networks.

More Links Like These

Check out the previous updates Link Roundup #1 and Link Roundup #2 and follow @DotSauce on Twitter for the most up to date resources.

Your Tweets Featured Here

I’m going to do something new for the next link roundup and include selected tweets from other domainers and web professionals.

If you have tweeted an exceptional resource or article that would fit right in the DotSauce roundup, please send it my way!

Simply follow @DotSauce and send me a reply note. I will follow you back and check out your tweets. I will also send you a reply if you are featured in the next roundup.

Twitter Link Roundup #3 – Domain Names, Marketing, Web Development DotSauce Magazine

In this article I will share the tools and resources I use to take brief glimpses into the future. Using these tools, you too can gain insight into trends and make predictions about the course of your own industry.

Followed by the 10 resources I describe 6 ways you can take advantage of the data for potential profit. Enjoy!

1. Recorded Future

An amazing new service is now providing free updates on future events and trends related to any industry or topic. This brief video introduction to Recorded Future explains how you can use the service to learn about the future.

Select as many topics or as you wish and you will receive an email update for each topic either daily or weekly.

The emails feature a visual overview of the volume and scope of future events and a listing of article references.

2. Twitter

The media has embraced Twitter as an amazing source of breaking news accross the globe. If something big is happening tomorrow, it’s probably already being talked about on Twitter.

Twitter’s real-time nature makes for a great place to watch out for what’s new, emerging and promising. A visit to TweetMeme can show you what people are reading and sharing. There are also many apps and services for monitoring trends. What The Trend displays crowdsourced data on why things are trending.

Other useful services include TweetDeck which now is live streaming capable, TweetTabs live monitoring and TrendsMap local trends.

Use Twitter Lists to follow the news-makers, influencers and curators and #Hashtags to tap into global conversations.

3. Technical Researchers

Many wonderful organizations are working to analyze trends and data so that we might better understand society and the internet.

Here are some great places to start for the latest research on the internet and online business.

• Pew Internet
• GigaOM
• eMarketer
• Morgan Stanley
• Jacob Nielson
• VeriSign

4. Futurists

I am a fan of Ray Kurzweil for his far reaching vision of the future (or it could be the sci-fi geek in me). His talks on the singularity event of exponential technological development make me thrilled to live in such an age of growth.

Futurists can also be a unique source of information for business in the short term. They use extensive experiences, public polling, deductive reasoning and other scientific studies to make predictions.

One futurist recently enlightened us that newspapers as we know them will be gone by 2022, to be replaced by crowdsourced journalism. This makes me excited to be on at center stage as the world discovers blogs and other homegrown online media.

5. Trend Hunters

I like to leave things to the experts in many situations. Trend hunting is no different.

The following examples are well-respected for staying on top of the latest in technology, media and more. Try to find the go-to sources for your niche.

• TrendWatching Briefs
• WIRED Epicenter
• ArsTechnica
• Current TV
• AllTop
• TED
• TechCrunch
• The Cool Hunter
• eBay’s Inside Source

6. Website Traffic

Arguably one of the best ways to predict the future is by viewing the trends in website traffic. This data can be found at Compete and Alexa.

Jacques Mattheij recently predicted that Facebook will overtake Google in the next 18 months using website traffic estimates.

7. Looxii Social Monitoring

While I have not had a chance to fully try out this curiously named service (I’m guessing they were going for ‘look see’), it does seem very promising as a social media monitoring tool.

With Looxii you can monitor up to 2 keywords for free and have reports emailed to you daily. The reports contain data of mentions and trends across blogs, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

8. PostRank Labs

The team at PostRank, which I have previously praised for their innovative new services, are showing no signs of slowing down.

PostRank Labs features a suite of amazing tools such as social trends, blog widgets, even a engagement analytics plugin for your Google Reader.

Their newest tool allows you to compare social engagement across 3 different domains.

9. Google AdWords & Insights

Advertisers bidding on keywords at Google want to know which terms will be most beneficial to them. The world’s best search engine has gone to great lengths to provide amazingly useful data for just that purpose.

Fire up the Google AdWords Keyword tool and you will see a small graph at the right of each row which represents the local search volume.

This data is particularly useful for web publishers and businesses looking to increase the effectiveness of their search optimization efforts.

Google Insights provides a one-year forecast, comparisons and notable news for multiple terms.

Lastly, I have something for you to watch out for. Google has recently acquired Metaweb and Freebase, a massive public database of virtually all types of data.

10. Bookmarking Data

I have noticed a few things having kept an eye on Delicious popular bookmarks off and on over the course of many months. Invisible trends and influences moving through the blogosphere, often at the highest levels on the most popular publications.

TechCrunch articles will cause spin-offs, one blog will counter with it’s own arguments, a popular piece (The Web Is Dead) may cause the whole internet to share their opinion. We’re all connected much more than you might think.

Other places to find out what people are reading and sharing include Reddit, Digg, Hacker News, and LikeButton.me.

6 Ways You Can Profit From Future Research

After checking out the above tools, you might be asking yourself, “How do I profit from knowing about the future?” Unfortunately, there are no lottery ticket numbers or sports scores to be had.

This is going to take some initiative and time invested, but the rewards can be great. Here are some ways I’ve come up with that you can use this information for profit.

1. Buy domain names of future products and services

As an example, I purchased HTML5Framework.com during the coding standard’s debut on the web. If I had decided to research this earlier, I could have registered countless other valuable HTML5 domain names.

Another example, RecycledFood.com; the business of turning food waste into energy and other products is growing rapidly. I registered this for a small fee and it may now be worth quite a bit.

2. Start a blog about a trending or emerging category

The sooner you begin publishing content the better, because the blogs of today may be some of the leading publications of tomorrow.

A prime example of this would be social media blogs. They are now some of the most heavily trafficked destinations on the web. One of the most popular, Social Media Examiner launched just 1 year ago and has already grown into a million dollar publication.

3. Invest in companies which show future potential

I enjoyed the following bit of information from Paul Graham, founder of startup incubator Y Combinator during a talk on the future of software and startups.

Hackers are a leading indicator of what people will be using in the future.

4. Get a head start on marketing products

Not many people know that Google TV is launching in the fall this year. I have been writing about it and sharing updates on this destined game-changer for several months now. This simple act of writing a post will give my site more authority and relevance for later coverage.

When it comes to web content and affiliate marketing, those who act first often come out as the winners as far as search rankings and eventual commission earnings.

5. Become an early adopter

Sharing all the latest news, resources and tools with your network is a great social media strategy. It also helps you learn the pulse of your industry and catalog all it’s resources.

6. Launch a startup or build the next big app

I just read this interesting bit of information recently on TechCrunch. There is a ton of opportunity for those who run ahead of the pack.

One company that has been overlooked as a potential platform for other startups to build a business on remains YouTube, which Google acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006.

Thank you for taking the time to review these tools and resources for predicting the future and my ideas for profiting from future predictions.  If you would like to suggest further resources or share your thoughts on this topic please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

There is a world of interesting data out there with many secrets yet to be discovered and it is only going to get better.

10 Tools You Can Use to Predict and Profit From the Future DotSauce Magazine

SEO – You start with a quality domain name and it is widely known that good keywords are extremely beneficial.

Branding – Your domain name is your brand. Often times a brand name and associated domain name are interchangeable by customers and users.

PPC / SEM – There have been studies showing the benefits of call to action and product keyword domains in advertisements.

Social Media – America’s favorite past-time continues to grow. There is always a feature on social media sites for promoting a website URL.

Domain names are not going anywhere and will continue to increase in popularity, number and importance for internet marketing in the coming years.

Sphinn Prominently Features a Domaining Category

I’d like to introduce Sphinn, the most popular internet marketing news hub. Sphinn was launched in 2007 by the people at Search Engine Land and is now visited daily by thousands of visitors. The Sphinn community is comprised of those experienced or learning about SEO and other ways to improve their online web presence.

I use Sphinn occasionally and have submitted articles that received good results. I’ve always noticed the Domaining category and have been saddened by it’s lack of use.

Sphinn: Domaining Popular – Most of the stories are from 2008 and while good, were not published by industry experts.

Sphinn: Domaining Upcoming – No stories submitted in past 72 hours (or who-knows-when).

Can we bring the Domaining category back to life?

Join Sphinn to help promote our industry!

I have been thinking of proposing this for awhile and I believe now is the time to take action. We have been preaching to the choir for far too long. We need to reach out to all the related industries and educate anyone willing to listen about the true value of quality domain names.

Soon, I am going to begin submitting quality domain news and editorials to Sphinn.

I encourage you to bookmark the Domaining Upcoming category (linked above) and assist me in voting for your favorite new stories.

Take a second to join Sphinn to be able to vote and submit content. Let’s have our presence be noticed!

Beyond Sphinn

Twitter ReTweets – If you come across or have written a domaining related article or important news item, please send me a direct message on Twitter and I will share it with my followers.

Facebook Likes and Shares – These features have proved to be very effective methods of sharing quality content with all of your friends.

LinkedIn – Up and coming groups on Domaining and marketing are now becoming quite active and effective means of promotion.

Ping.fm – Enables broadcasting of updates to all of your social networks.

Digg / Reddit - Similar to Sphinn, these social news hubs feature many categories that may be relevant to Domaining and can provide serious exposure if voted up.

Did you know? It only takes 15 to 30 bookmarks for a link to be featured on the Delicious popular page to be seen by thousands of internet professionals.

We can effectively promote the domain name industry by adopting simple, but powerful social marketing techniques.

Please let me know if you plan on participating. You can connect with me on my Sphinn profile or leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Did You Know? Popular Marketing Website Features Unused Domaining Category DotSauce Magazine

Daniel H. Pink describes a transition from the Information Age to a new Conceptual Age in his bestselling book “A Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future.”

So, what exactly does the Conceptual Age entail?

1. Society is becoming overwhelmed by abundance. We have everything we need at our fingertips and it’s cheap.
2. Information Age jobs are increasingly transitioning to Asia. For example each year, India’s colleges and universities produce 350,000 engineering grads.
3. Products, services and manufacturing are becoming automated, taking out the human element all together.

The good news? Domaining is fairly conceptual. We need to be creative, forward thinking and understand the big picture of the internet because we are it’s foundation.

• Can someone overseas do it cheaper? No.
• Can a computer do it faster? No.
• Am I offering something that satisfies the nonmaterial, transcendent desires of an abundant age? Yes.

Daniel Pink offers six aptitudes on which professional success will increasingly depend on as we move into the Conceptual Age. Here I am going to share my thoughts on each one of these traits and how we can apply them to the business of buying, selling and monetizing domain names.

Design – A true right brain ability, yet still something that can be learned! I don’t proclaim to be a designer myself, but I am proficient with certain aspects of web style, trends and usability. Domainers can use design to drastically improve their online presence. The design of your blog, domain portfolio or business website is something that should be visually appealing and very user friendly. We can also use design to make more sales and more money.

Story – Domainers need to be able to tell a story when marketing their domain for sale. Like any good writer you should do some research and get your facts right. We can do this by searching for similar domains and how they are being used. We can also build our story by gathering important domain metrics and analytics to provide insight into value.

Symphony – Or the ability to detect patterns and understand the big picture. Do not be misled by automation in the domain industry! Many tools and services will spit out domains using some algorithm, others will provide automated domain valuations. An experienced domainer has insight into the industry as a whole. Start by keeping tabs on the latest domain sales. If you can understand the relationships between events, solve problems, and develop your intuition, you can become a visionary entrepreneur.

Empathy – This is extremely important when applied to domaining, especially when it comes to pricing your domains for sale and marketing. Empathy means to understand what another person is feeling, to imagine yourself in their position. Usability experts are extremely empathic. They understand that the majority of web users have limited navigation skills and short attention spans, so they accommodate with extraordinary results. Learn to place yourself in the position of a potential buyer for your domain when pricing, marketing, negotiating sales.

Play – What do the best web startups and industry giants have in common? Their employees are having fun. They have developed a great work environment and that attitude is also shown in how the company represents itself. Humor can capture attention and provide a much needed change of pace. Go ahead, laugh it up. By the way, if you haven’t looked around lately, games are going to be a big part of the future.

Meaning – This is the quintessential attribute of the domain game. Without meaning our domain names would be worthless strings of characters. What exactly are you selling? A domain name should not simply be some keywords or a brand, but rather an experience, a vision or calling for someone to develop their own web presence. Take some time to discover meaning in your portfolio or before registering your next domain.

If you found these points insightful, I highly recommend you read Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind to learn more about improving these abilities. The Conceptual Age is upon us now, so brush up on your creative skills for web success.

Please consider sharing this article with your network. As always, comments are welcome. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you put your right brain to work.

Want to know more about domaining? Ask a question on the all new DotSauce Forum.

Right Brain Domaining DotSauce Magazine

We will be using a simple browser tool and a cool new web application, but will leave the most important tasks to your experienced eye.

Round up your good keyword domains, set some reasonable prices (show a little empathy) and get ready to make some sales.

1. Search Google for your domain’s keywords and other highly relevant keywords

The most ideal potential end users will come from using your exact match keywords. Take the keywords from your domain and search for them using quotations.

To use the domain I’m marketing now as an example, for GrowLettuce,com I searched for the phrases “grow lettuce”, how to grow lettuce and grow lettuce indoors.

2. Take note of the results and paid advertisers and select the best potential leads

You will want to avoid some corporations and informational portals like Wikipedia in preference of individuals or businesses. Scan for individuals with an inferior domain on the same topic and businesses that sell products and services related to your domain.

Don’t stop on page 1. The people who need your domain the most will likely be found deeper within search results.

3. Open each lead in your browser and use the DomainTools bookmarklet

This simple tool gives you 1-click access to a site owner’s contact information. Simply drag the link to your browser toolbar in a convientent location and click it while  viewing a potential lead’s website.

Bookmarklet: DomainTools (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)

You can find this and other useful browser bookmarklets here on DotSauce.

4. Create an account with Tout, a new email marketing app

I’ve was recently introduced to the Tout app and have really enjoyed my experience with it so far. Tout allows you to create email templates for any messages you would like to send out.

Here is a quick video demonstration showing what Tout can do:

When you’re ready to start sending out emails, click “Pitch” and enter the recipients name and email address.

Tout Premium services enable you to track the performance of your templates by logging email open rates and click through data.

5. Setup a unique email template for each domain sale

I initially created a generic template for all domain sales, but found that composing a new template for each domain would yield the best results. Take a moment to customize the message, include your domains’ keywords and the domain itself.

Here is an example of a template I have setup for a domain:

I would love to get your thoughts on this technique. If you have any suggestions for automating domain sales marketing, improving this method, or if you try it out yourself please let me know by leaving a comment below.

How To Automate End User Domain Sales Marketing DotSauce Magazine