The Domain King's® thoughts on domain names, web traffic, increasing web sales, success, life, and plain-old Business & Marketing 101. Nothing happens until a sale is made!
After a 10-year hiatus, I will be forming an exploratory committee next week with the hopes of having a 20-year TRAFFIC reunion during the week of October, 21, 2024 in South Florida.
This has truly been an epic week for me, like none other. Two 7-figure domain sales and a third and very public deal will be announced early next week.
In 2003, the Men .com sale gave me the credibility to hold the first TRAFFIC conference. Exactly 20 years later, nearly to the day, my announcement next week of a $6 Million deal will give me the credibility for the next phase.
TRAFFIC 2004 was the show that started an industry. Most of the industies long lasting relationships began and were forged at our life-changing shows. In our 10-year run we did 28 shows in 4 cointinents and brought domains to the attention of many for the very first time. Stay tuned for further updates!
Branding is about consistency. Branding is about repetition. And ultimately branding is about sales. No sales, no brand.
More and more I see morons that make advertisements and commercials, and I don’t even know what the hell they’re advertising. It’s so subliminal you can’t even figure it out unless you’re paying close attention.
Let’s start with abbreviating their own name is as bad as it can get unless that’s the name that they’re known by. Cannot be lazy when it comes to your brand. They must repeat it at every opportunity. That’s why you don’t abbreviate. Leave that to others.
Not having their website on a commercial is suicide. Then again, it’s an affirmation that people all automatically know it’s a .DOTCOM. They know it’s CompanyName .com. But regardless, it should be spoken and plastered everywhere throughout the commercial.
Their domain aka brand should be on that commercial nearly 100% of the time. Boldly. And it should be pronounced and announced multiple times. There should be not one single piece of literature or page that is printed that doesn’t have their website domain name on it. Not one.
The bottom line is companies and their employees can’t be lazy when it comes to branding. And that’s what it is. People are just lazy. That’s why they abbreviate things. It’s from laziness.
There’s one commercial I’ve watched probably for two years and I can’t remember their website because they have the focus on something else. Luckily, they have the domain name that corresponds with their misdirection. The company is Loan Cannon. That’s not the name of the company but that’s the focus of their commercial and that’s the only thing I can remember after two or three years. Loan Cannon. I swear to you folks that if you had a gun to my head right now, I have no idea what their company name is or what their real domain is. I have seen the commercial HUNDREDS of times.
As I mentioned, they do have the corresponding domain LoanCannon .com. So there is some genius there, but it is a convoluted way of doing things. All I know is one thing, Loan Cannon is a better brand than whatever the hell they’re brand really is which I can’t remember. DUH!
You know it’s good to emulate Apple and the big dogs. But at the same time, you can’t sit at the same kewl table and pull off what they pull off. Apple can run a commercial at the end just to have their logo and that’s pretty strong. But if you’re in an up-and-coming company that won’t work. That dog won’t hunt. It’s dumb as shit.
And then, of course, we get to the rebrand, which so far has been pretty stupid if you ask me. I seldom see a rebrand that I say wow. I often see rebrands and say what the hell were they thinking?
What does a rebrand mean? It indicates that they failed the first time around. That’s what it means. It means they didn’t make a good decision on the most important decision made as a business. That’s a big fail in my book.
But here’s the silver lining for domain investors. Since these folks did such a terrible job naming their companies to begin with, the ones that survive will all eventually upgrade to better domain names.
That’s what I love about Domain Investing. All roads lead to better domains. Whether it’s rebranding, a new company, or a new product, domains are and continue to be the center of the universe. Not NFTs, Not crypto that are 1-dimensional, not income producing and can't build an empire on. Not anything other than great, multifaceted, multi functional DOTCOM domain names. Also known as your WORLD HEADQUARTERS and your BRAND!! The epicenter of all commerce and income. GOT THAT??
And as I have stated repeatedly, everything I write about domains ONLY APPLY TO DOTCOM DOMAINS. They DO NOT apply to ANY other extension. EVER!The DOTCOM franchise is the biggest, largest and most valuable franchise in the history of the world. Wrap your head around that, understand it, and embrace it. Only fools ignore. Sorry. It's expensive to be foolish.
We are in the epicenter of the Internet itself, and just like a hurricane that’s small in size but it’s strong and powerful and that is what we represent. We are a hurricane and a force to be reckoned with. It’s slow-moving but unmistakable. Just look where we have come from, and where we are, and maybe then you can understand me and understand where we are going.
The true value of a domain name is still in its infancy. Nobody reading this today will be alive when domains reach their full value. Nobody!
I wear a lot of hats, and I have developed a lot of talents over the years. Not artistic. Couldn’t draw much more than a stick figure. But when it comes to business, I can paint like Picasso.
I am an Angel Investor Extraordinaire!
I give individuals and businesses worldwide an on-ramp and a long runway so their business can take off and have great success as they compete with over 200 Million other websites all trying to attract attention and amplify who they are and what product or service they are providing.
My leases start at $1000-$3000 a month.
I allow them to control a very High-Profile, Multi-Million Dollar Domain name with minimum out-of-pocket expense during the first year or two. That gives them ample time for take-off as they head down the runway of success.
If they’re neither wise nor intelligent enough to take advantage of an offer and opportunity like that, I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with them. NEXT!
If a business person is unwilling to take a calculated risk of $12,000-$36,000 for a multi-million dollar domain that could be life-changing, I don’t wanna waste a moment with them.
I deal with winners and people with dreams based on reality. I create custom formulas to help them obtain those dreams and aspirations like few can.
In my eyes, I have this vision and have compared Domains to two things: Popcorn and blades of grass growing on a future lawn.
Popcorn because we just have no idea which domain name will pop next. NONE!! Just like you have no idea which corn kernel will pop next. It’s impossible to say. It’s impossible to predict.
My other comparison is to a new lawn. You start with dirt, feed it with grass seeds and the grass pops up one blade of grass at a time. Then, they become patches of green. There are still patches of dirt, but then the patches of green expand and eventually they take over most of the dirt. And that’s what domain sales look like as the Internet expands The blades of grass grow, and they fill in that lawn until you have a beautiful golf course turf. But that doesn’t happen overnight. That takes decades when we are talking about Intersectional Domains.
Looking at things properly puts you in the proper place to understand that Patience is truly the key to Domain investing. If you are into forced sales, that is the definition of getting the lowest price.
Domains are like Cinderella's shoes. There’s really only one great fit, and your job is to have the patience, the ability, and the wherewithal to recognize it when it comes by.
That size 9 foot won’t fit well to a size 5 shoe. So stop forcing bad sales and learn what the game is really about. Patience and the right fit, assuming that you focused on domains with value. If you put rocks or pigeon shit in the popcorn, it won’t pop, even if they look the same.
The most important lesson I have learned about buying or investing in ANYTHING is; I’d rather overpay for wonderful than get a bargain on shit.
It’s safer and cheaper to buy quality. It’s a safety net. It’s smart. You can do it any way you want, but no way works better than the right way.
One is independent even in the worst of times, and one is desperate even in the best of times. It's imperative that investors understand that.
You can always find someone to buy your wonderful. Not so easy to find someone to buy your pigeon shit. Not sure why so many have a hard time getting their head around something as simple as this. It’s the simple line between success and failure and it is your choice or your excuse!
Domain investing and domain flipping are basically two different businesses. Two different ways of thinking. Two different approaches. And the results are usually quite different.
One is selling seaside mansions. The other is selling partially usable mobile homes.
Those who sell mansions don’t talk about hold times they invest knowing the value is always there. They are more interested in finding the right buyer; for that to happen, the right buyer has to find them!
I invest in desirable domains. And I ask the question, can they build their World Headquarters and their Brand and their Dream on that domain? If the answer is "No", it is not a desireable domain. It is Pigeon Shit. Simple.
I don’t believe in replaceable inventory. I believe in unique and meaningful assets that can be life-changing.
I realize I will be in the minority because I’m only joined with less than 500 other people worldwide in an industry that may have hundreds of thousands in it by this time and growing every day.
The vast majority don’t have a clue, and just follow the fool in front of them.
A day trader is a complete opposite of a long-term investor on the stock exchange. The day trader works his ass off and is under constant pressure. He can get burned at any moment and lose it all.
The long-term investor is on cruise control. They are measured and buy solid assets, and they don’t worry about it. They are more interested in being on their yacht where they can continue to think and continue to make good decisions.
It’s the story of the tortoise and the hare all over again. I will always be the tortoise in my actions, but I will be the hare in my thinking and realization.
It takes CEOs, COOs, and Harvard grads six meetings to end up with indecision vs. my process which takes less than six seconds with a good decision and 2 to 3 hours with a better decision. And a day or two to sleep on it for the perfect decision.
Folks that think long-term make good decisions. They think differently than short-term thinkers who make sporadic decisions and get sporadic results.
You must understand the difference in that type of thinking and how it affects everything they do, say and touch.
I am not saying it is wrong. I am saying, it’s a different thought process. It’s a different value system. It’s a different way of looking at the universe. And they will always be at odds.
You may start out as a short termer, but if you progress and do it right, you should end up as a long-termer. That should be the goal. But that seems to be the resistance.
It may just be indicative of the times we live in. What used to be common sense is now common ignorance married with uncommon arrogance. Definitely worth repeating and understanding.
Tens of thousands of domainers and the majority of the population overall fit in that pool..
Boys to men. They are failing miserably on the journey.
Here is a perfect example. This week a study came out naming Harvard as the WORST University for Free Speech!! Just another reason I don’t respect Harvard grads these days. The University is supposed to open your mind. This may as will be a canning factory to close your mind. Pay $250k, get a degree and come out indoctrinated, stupid and closed minded! What a deal!! Sad!!
I always believed in the 80/20 rule but in this era, it is more like the 90/10 rule. Maybe even a 95/5 rule.
Probability versus Possibility. That is where most domainers and inexperienced folks go off the deep end. They’re in the “Anything is possible crowd.” The first problem is that the failure rate of 90%++ is ignored and not even factored in, so they have a 90% chance of getting it wrong from the getgo. They are 100% dreamers.
You’ll always have unrealistic dreamers focusing on possibility, but that has nothing to do with probability. Probabilities are based on percentages of one thing happening vs. the other. But not wishful thinking. This is not something anyone can ignore.
"The everything is possible crowd" versus what probably will happen or what’s the more likely and probable outcome. One will almost always outweigh the other if you do your due dilligence. Usually overwhelmingly!
One is emotionally driven (which is why they lash out) by shiny object syndrome, wishful thinking, and hoping, (which is why they are wrong almost all the time), and the other is unemotional because it is logically driven by facts and history, math, experience, and common sense. Sorry, but hoping is not a good business strategy now or ever!
Great domains are the most valuable Real Estate in the world. Is there any skyscraper worth more than Apple .com?
NO!!
As a matter of fact, if you add up the total value of the 15 most valuable buildings in the world it comes out to a fraction of Apple .com I would venture to say that if you added up the value of every single hotel in Las Vegas, you still wouldn’t have the value of Apple .com
Look at things differently, and you will see different things. And if people think you’re crazy, you are in very good company throughout history.
Do not underestimate the value of a truly Great dotCOM Domain just because people have not discovered gravity.
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