I have been making daily posts for more than a decade. Long
before the 'Blog' came to be. So I have no deep passion to continue
to do that. However I do want to get some of what I have shared privately
with other domain owners out to a larger and more general audience. It was hard
enough to convince domain owners that 'Type in'' traffic was a
very valuable commodity and it had direct connection with the value of a domain
name. I think I have done a good job here comparing that traffic to
'Mineral rights' like an oil well. I am trying to melt things down to
some simple foundations. The first being to have folks understand how bad they
screwed up by missing this multi billion dollar business that is STILL under
the radar.
If I encounter folks that STILL can't grasp how valuable and
important that a domain like Hotels.com is and still sees no value in having
thousands of NEW customers lined up each and every day at their business, well,
do you think I am going to waste my TIME with THEM?? At least come to the point
where you smack your palm on your head and say 'OH!!!' If you can't
do that......don't waste time here. Follow the plan of etoys.com. They spent
tens of millions in advertising and their GENIUSES in their IT department
FAILED to have the traffic folks were typing in directly to the browser bar get to their site. It was
Thanksgiving Day 1999 I think. Commercial after commercial. etoys.com all day
long. So I typed 'Etoys.com' into the browser bar. Guess what?? I get
a 404 error!!!! Why?? Because the GENIUSES in IT could not get into the minds
of a customer watching a commercial and figure out that they won't type in http://www.etoys.com.
So they lost a HUGE amount of the customers and to this MOMENT, they don't even
know. Why do I bring this up? Well besides losing hundreds of thousands in the
stock, it illustrates why Internet ONE collapsed. Tech guys ran marketing
because marketing guys were clueless and they had to depend on folks that had
no clue about marketing. Add that to the flawed impression based ads and you
had the makings of a collapse.
So now I rambled a bit. But it connects to something I said
last week that needs to be understood. 'The single biggest cost website
owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being lost.' I often say, and
I truly believe, that more sales are being lost on the net than actually being
made on the net. Read more about it on my April 17th post 'Truth to
power.'
So now that I have defined a couple things let me get back
to the purpose of this blog post. This is a blog that I know domain owners will
appreciate. But as much as I like you guys, it isn't for you directly. It is
for the masses in the corporate world that don't get it. It is for the masses
in the investment community that are missing one of the easiest way to grow
money with the lowest entry fees of any commodity ever. It is for the guy on
Main Street that
has 5 customers a day walking thru his doors that can easily be transformed to
thousands if they knew the path. It is for domain owners to point to so that
others may have a quick understanding of what a GREAT domain name represents.
Then taking it a step further.
I hope folks will use these limited posts to help folks
grasp the power of domain names. It can be overwhelming and complex at times.
My job is to simplify how folks look at domains and the importance they have.
Besides the outright business of a domain name it is also becoming
a status symbol, a collectible and a statement.
What once was a game played by a few dozen people is now a
thriving industry that is supported worldwide and now has a dozen or more trade
shows each year. The premiere event is T.R.A.F.F.I.C. which is the largest and
is by invitation only. This just illustrates why domain names are in such
demand and why prices of this commodity has gone up faster than ANY other
commodity EVER KNOWN to mankind. Besides .com there are some 330 country codes
plus other extensions and new ones coming. So the opportunity is not over. On
the other hand each day that passes makes entry more difficult unless you come
with a thick wallet. It is not uncommon for a domain purchased for $100 in 1996
to sell for $100,000 just a few years later.
People will be leaving comments on posts here for many years
to come. The debate may be heated at times, but the blog today with 15
posts in April 2007 will be more active a year from now with limited posts.
Consider this ground zero for the great domain debate. The debate is really
over. The story has been written, but there are about 6 billion folks that
still need to understand and embrace.
Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz
Charley
Rick,
Would you consider investing in new domain extensions? If yes, would it be lll & nnn ‘s or generic names ?
Charley
Basicity
“The single biggest cost website owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being lost.”
It’s the second time I’ve read this quote on your blog and it sinks in deeper with each reading. It’s such a great quote and I think you should start with it on each blog entry from now on. Cheers.
Andy
Just for your info…the insiders of etoys.com made millions and millions of dollars…maybe the company went bankrupt…that doesnt meet the insiders went bankrupt…they made millions in the stock market with etoys.com
Wise
RS,
PURPOSE OF RSBLOG.COM
WHAT IS LEFT FOR YOU NOW THAT”The debate is really over. The story has been written”. and once the 6 billion folks that still need to understand and embrace it do? I BELEIVE THAT THIS IS JUST THE START OF WILL FOLLOW IN THE YEARS TO COME GIVEN THE ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES WITH THE SUPER HIGHWAY OF INFORMATION.
YOU NEED TO KEEP THE GREAT POSTS COMING. DON”T MAKE US WAIT SO LONG FOR THE NEXT GREAT THOUGHT. I WILL SEE YOU @ T-R-A-F-F-I-C even if I have to be a waiter @ the party – (NOT). I WILL BE THERE ONE OF THESE DAYS.
WISE
Domainer's Gazette
Seems it’ll take a bit longer for all the old school marketers (ie. billboard, radio, tv advertisers) to fully grasp the power of domain names, and their ability to convert.
Kevin
The old corporate guard likes complexity and expensive barriers to entry. It’s been the wall protecting their cash machine monopolies for decades.
Used to be, only 3 powerful TV Networks and their arrogant cast of nightly news journalists and your next morning’s city newspaper was the way to get news everyday, and to think it was about as fresh as”yesterday’s milk”. Could the average joe become a broadcaster to the masses? Not in anyone’s wildest dreams back then.
But look at the world now. It’s a whole new game. Simple and cheap are the new keywords to becoming a world known news journalist. Heck you don’t even need a fancy webcam and computer anymore, a pocket cell phone with a simple text message send to YouTube for broadcasting worldwide instantly will do the job.
Simple and cheap. You see that working all over the Net. Well at least some of us do. Many are still locked into the old guard way of thinking that things need to be complex to succeed and protect”turf”.
Domains are simple and cheap. That’s what I like about them the most. You can still get a powerful domain for just the registration fee. The doors are still wide open folks. As Bob Barker says”Come on down!” The game has no expensive barriers, as good domains can still be found for just a few dollars and with a simple development plan you can make money.
99% of little homemade sites don’t make big money, but they can and do”make money” and that’s the key. If you can get a domain and a little landing site making you just one quarter per day, YES just one quarter per day, you’ll make your money back on your domain purchase in 1 month. Think about that!! One quarter per day is all you need to get your full domain investment capital back in one month. After that it’s a free gravy train ride.
Now you certainly aren’t going to get fabulously wealthy on a quarter per day, but if you start with one domain, follow that ROI plan, and then get two domains, then three, before long you’ll have an entire portfolio of diversified domains each earning you a small amount of money each month and when you add up all those quarters from hundreds and thousands of domains working 24/7 for you with type-in and search traffic you’ll be kicking yourself saying why didn’t I start doing this back in ’97 when the game began.
So forget the big corporate monoliths that don’t get it and don’t like bending over to pick up quarters. It’s simple and cheap to get into this business. Anyone with even half a brain can do it. And if you have a full brain you can really make a mint.
But keep it simple! That’s the key.
As famed NFL coach Vince Lombardi used to say, some coaches and players make the strategies of football way too complex. It’s a simple game, there’s really only two important things to it, blocking and tackling.
Go For It!
wise
To All Bloggers and Domainers:
RICK speaks the truth about investing”NOW” in a domain if not in a portfolio of domains before all that is left of the good domain names are gone and unaffordable. I have about 250 domains which is just a very very very small amount in the overall picture of domains. I went from a few clicks to a few thousand in months but have not found the exact formula of making the most of the clicks. BUT YOU ONLY NEED ONE DOMAIN TO MAKE IT. This year will be the year when some of my domains come to life. I had them just SITTING WITHOUT A PURPOSE before I READ THE KINGS BLOG. His blogs remind me of what can happen and what will happen. Learn from his blogs and take some time to visit and STUDY HIS SITE.
GO TO http://WWW.EREALESTATE.COM
to learn more about RICK’S projects and to get current information about his developed domains.
THE DOMAINS ARE THE UNIVERSE!
Chris Desouza
Rick
Your blog is very enlightening, however I know what this business is all about. Hype Hype it up till corporate America gets it. but if Reit or Buydomains wants your name, they don’t wanna pay more than a $100 or $500 for a name they may ask for $20k.
Yes, domain names and good ones are valuable. But, the crap money folks are paying at these auctions won’t fetch $200 at a forum lasting where supposedly all the experts hang out.
If domain names are that valuable, then it should be valuable across the board and not just because Moniker picked them to be important.
Chris
Chris N.
The problem, is today to come with a big wallet to be able to begin at a decent level.
But i think, if you’re good enough in recognising good domains from bad ones, the ccTLD market can be a good alternative or a parallel path to the .COM one.
The indian CO.IN market is underevalued, the .DE and CO.UK are already big, but some opportunities still exists, like on the .COM area.
Check out also the domain name forums, some ppl there sell some jewels at incredible prices, good .COM names or some premium ccTLDs. (just for info, RentalHouse.com sold on DNforum.com for $72K)
Chris N.
http://GetDomains.info
GetDomains .info
The purpose of RicksBlog.com
Seems its the last post of Rick on his blog, RicksBlog.com for some time at least, he wants to let it be place where people will leave their thinkings and their comments during several years, to become a famous domain place; but mo…
Mindwrecker
Hi, Im working on my doctorate in marketing and I think this blog rules, and your description of eToys is dead on. Millions is spent every day on”branding” and here we have generic names like Hotels.com where the brand is already half way built before the business is even open, yet Wall Street does not understand this concept.
$100,000 M.B.A.???