Morning Folks!!
The Domain Game has changed and if you take a small step back, you will clearly see it.
PPC was a very passive game and why not? The money was rolling in faster than most of us could spend it. So why work? It was a really nice run and it is far from over. However it is changing.
I send all of my PPC traffic to 4 companies that did not even exist before last year. InternetTraffic.com, VooDoo.com, DomainHolding.com and the ParkingPlace.com. I am testing out JuiceCow.com, Parklogic.com and others. I am ALWAYS testing. ALWAYS!!! Plus there are 2 or 3 new companies on the horizon.
If you took a step back you would see what I was saying. Se ALL these new generation companies are run by DOMAINERS!! They started these companies because our original partners were letting us down. That's the simple truth.
See there are 100,000 folks and more in the domain industry. However there are less than 500 domainers. Maybe 350. Then we could break that group down into sectors from there.
In 2007 I earned 100% of my revenue via PPC. Today my only goal is to keep reducing that percentage. Not because I want to, but because I can no longer afford to be passive. That is what motivated all those folks above to start their own businesses. One thing about those 350, they are some of the most resourceful people in all the world. People that are DECADES ahead of the masses. That comes with a price. It's called 'Patience'.
Now things are different. No longer do we have to explain what a domain name is. No longer do we have to defend the practice of investing in domain names. No longer are we laughed at by all those that were so much smarter than us but were on a path with an end. We are just at the beginning of our path.
In the days ahead I will start to tell you about sites I have been launching all year with various partners. Sites that are not PPC or mini sites but sites that can add value and build around.
There was really no reason to be aggressive until now. 'Patience' was the main element and now that is giving way to a reality I saw on Day #1 in domaining.
I am currently leasing many domains as businesses with an exit plan. I plan to add one new one this week with one partner and add several with another. They outperform PPC and it has a growth potential which was not available before. The sites are simple. Look for leads to match with folks that need and want the business. 1+1=2. Not fancy, but effective.
What do I get for a leased domains? Anywhere from $500-$1500 per month depending on the item they sell. So at the high end it is $18k per year for a worldwide presence. Some think that is high. I don't. If you can't make the $18k/year and loads more, then don't waste your time or mine. Open a store in your local mall or on Main Street. You will burn through $18k before your doors ever open. You will pay rent of more than $18k for eternity. I have a formula that addresses what happens when the domain is developed and there is a success. An exit plan that allows the developer to share in OUR success. But if you are an under achiver and their idea or business can't make at a minimum of $50-$100 a day, why waste the time? I want guys with plans to make $1000/day and more. That understands what he needs to do. Most of the bar set way too low.
The more deals I have, the easier it is to repeat. Other domainers are doing other types of deals and they too are QUIETLY being aggressive in a manner that is paying dividends. Traffic has value. You need to start with some traffic. You can double one, but you can't do much doubling zero.
So the industry has a new face coming and it looks more and more like domainers and domaining again. I have said for many years that we would all be pulled into different directions and different orbits. Now you can see that happening. But make no mistake, the domain industry is still their gravitational strong point. Their natural point of interaction because they can still see the same things and dreams that few have ever known.
The Domain Industry will continue to change and morph and do lots of things. Unfortunately, that 350-500 core domainers will probably never grow and only consolidate in time. Expansion for that group is OVER! New speculators will continue to come in waves of new folks as the new extensions come to be. Will any join the upper group? Probably? I don't know. We will have to see. If they do, it would likely be from the same pool of 350-500 I am talking about.
Adversity is the seed of success. The thing that turns comfort and passive into passion and aggressiveness. If you are reading this, you are the lucky ones that are working just a little harder. Giving just a little more. Not looking at a calendar or a clock but looking at what needs to be done and accomplished.
You work on Sundays and holidays. You work from dawn to dusk. Work is who and what you are. But you also play and enjoy and do.
20 year plan. This is going to be like a soft landing on the moon. It is ALL coming together and I can now see it from my backyard! We are in the gravitational pull of that plan. There is no mistaking it. A generation reduced to a decade and then 5 years and when you get past 3 years you begin to count things in MONTHS!! Right now still 3 years and 3 months from that landing. But the orbit is now. The planning for the touch down is now. 3 years 3 months means only 90 days away from month counting. Long ways from a generation ago! Soon to be just 36 months from a vision to a perfect reality using hsitory as my guide.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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