The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Morning Folks!!

Timing is everything. I wrote the following post Sunday before the aeiou.com announcement. It relates to another recent post when I
DARED to ask the question, “Are minisites Dead?” This post goes on to talk way more than minisites. Fasten your seat belts. I should be pissing off many on this one.

Now remember, I wrote this a few hours before the announcement that I knew nothing of.

Mini Site companies all the rage?? Then Where are They?

If mini sites are so hot and the alternative to straight PPC
you would think they would want to have some exposure at TRAFFIC. The only one
there on display will be Rick Latona’s AEIOU.COM. But where is the competition?
Where is the choice? Where is you guys???

Just a little aha moment for me. The first thing I would ask
is why not go to the show in which PPC rules and your target is taking business
from them? So what say you guys? Why are domainers going to New York, looking
to develop, and the guys that can help them do that are sitting on the
sidelines?? Sorry, but I just don’t get it.

I know if there were 5 guys selling mini sites and
developing larger projects that I would sit and talk with each one and see how
they could help me. So I am surprised that this marketing opportunity is being
lost and I think domainers will start looking beyond mini sites as a result.
JMO.

(That was the post I wrote on Sunday and was going to post yesterday but had other fish to fry. Now a bit more)

So with the closing of aeiou.com I will ask again.........

Are Minisites dead? I think first you have to ask if they
were actually ever alive? Did they ever work? I think it can be a starting
point. Bit really not much more. The results many times pointed to are category
killer domains that would have success if you put a naked clown and an “Enter
Button”.

I think we know the fate of the mini site. My suggestion
would be this. Change the focus to mini BUSINESSES. A business has to be
started on a profitable foundation and idea. It does not have to be
complicated, complex, heavy. It needs a game plan and THEN build a site around
the game plan. We have sites looking for businesses. It is ass backwards. You
can’t do zillions of them. You just got to start going down the list and
isolate your empire. One business at a time based on your category of traffic assuming you have traffic. Some may take 5 minutes to create.
Some 5 days. Some 5 weeks. And if you hit something, 5 years.

How do you know the difference between a 'Mini site' and a 'Mini Business'.....easy, something I learned from Shaun Pilfold. It has a CASH REGISTER! You collect money. Maybe in a mini business you can use the cash register of a partner. But traffic needs to be talked to, sold to and then led to a cash register not a link to somebody else unless they are paying you more than you can make yourself.

And lastly just a note about traffic. Some say they don't have any. I would tell them one thing, stop buying crappy domains and you would have traffic. No traffic? Why are you even looking at these domains in this economy if you have no traffic unless you are at the stage it does not matter and then this part of the post would not apply to you anyway as you already know? You will never have traffic with a plan like that. Get rid of the liabilities. Get rid of them. Don't even worry about selling them. Get rid of them all in bulk and buy one gem. 10 gems. Crap is crap forever and a day past that. It is nothing more than styrofoam in a garbage dump. Not to insult anyone but let me give you a visual of the guy with really crappy domains. Imagine that vagabond in your town with the supermarket cart full of his worldly possessions. It's all junk, but it is all he has. So I feel bad for him, I feel bad for folks if they are in this category. The ONLY thing I can offer those souls is a roadmap to where they would like to go. But they can't climb the mountain if they refuse to abandon the supermarket cart.

PPC companies should not be too gleeful. Just ONE NEW ALTERNATIVE and the next title could be 'Is PPC Dead?' I could see the entire sector being wiped out like a house of cards. Don't get upset with me guys. We love you. But you too see your vulnerability. You too see the dangers and perils that a new solution could bring to an already weak and suffering sector. Of course the guys sending you the traffic are suffering more. They don't have the ability of adjusting the bottom line if the bills are a bit heavy that month. But if I were you and domainers didn't care, then I would do the same. So I see both sides. But there is a tipping point. If that tips the wrong way, game over. Record profits from Google on the top and record lows for payouts at the bottom. Must just be coincidence!

Hey, these are tough times. Tough times deserve tough talk. The face of this industry is changing. No balls, no glory.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

CORRECTION: WhyPark.com will be exhibiting at TRAFFIC. I guess they win just for showing up.

Morning Folks!!

The road to hell is paved with good intentioned
people. Everyone generally enters an agreement with honorable intentions. But
even the best of intentions lead to failure the great majority of time once
lawyers get involved or business heads south. So the contract is the only thing that protects you and
if that contract is not rock solid, clear and concise, it is worthless. If the
contract does not protect the domain owner from unforeseen peril, it is
worthless and eventually you will have a really good chance of losing your
domain without the other party fulfilling their obligations. I have seen that
happen too many times to count and no way would I become a victim of that. The power to walk away from a bad contract is the greatest power in business.

Our lawyers couldn't agree on terms that would
protect the interests of both parties (Especially mine) and so I had to pull
the plug on the deal earlier this month. I was not going to sign a contract
that did not state EXACTLY the procedure for return of the domain in case of
default. That did not have a FAIL SAFE built in like I do on the Candy.com deal. In that deal it was easy to accomplish. It should be easy. In this deal, it sank
the ship and I refused to go along for the ride. And why should I?? BYE BYE! NEXT!

So there it is. Unfortunate but may be a blessing
in disguise. As you can see we are working hard on Property.com and will be
introducing Sub-domains and other long term strategies as we move forward.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

An Industry of Rookies Get Tested. The title says
it all. Some will earn their wings, more will crash and burn. These are facts.
We are a young industry made up of folks in which this is their very first
business. They are thrust into it and sometimes not prepared for the tough
realities of life. No domainer jumps up and says: “My house was just foreclosed
on.” However do you really doubt no domainer has met that fate or will soon?

This is when you earn your wings or you crash and
burn. Look at my earlier posts this year. Pull back on the throttle and your
days are numbered. You are crossing a GRAND canyon. Why would anyone pull back
on the throttle? Give it every ounce of thrust you can. It’s the only way to
make it to the other side.

I talk from experience as I have shared this story
many times. In 1992 or 1993 my back was up against the wall. The economy was
bad. My business was once again on the ropes. I had no safety net this time.
Would I charge $10,000 on my credit card? $10,000 that I did not have and add
to the debt I had already accumulated? Would I go half way around the world to
Seoul, Taiwan and Hong Kong? Would I stay in the best hotels that I had no way
of affording because if I stayed in a dump that I could afford, would anyone
take me seriously? I wrestled with that decision for weeks, maybe months. I
finally decided there was no other avenue and I had to go for broke.

I went for 10 days. I worked all day each day from
5AM to Midnight. From Midnight to 3am I would do the research and have faxes
sent. There was no email at that time. At least email used on a daily basis. I
would passout for 2 hours and then on again.

In Taiwan I met a man named Peter. I told him I was
on my way to Hong Kong to see somebody. He told me instead of seeing him, go
see “Ben”. So I took his advice and met with “Ben” in the hotel room I could
not afford for over 3 hours. We shared the exact same war story. We were a
kindred spirit a world away. We were born within days of each other. We were on
the same wave length. That conversation, Peter, that trip, that go for broker
deal changed my life and I have NEVER looked back other than to appreciate
where I came from and how hard it was to get here and how much fun I had doing
it.

Reach DEEP my friends. You would be amazed what you
can accomplish when your back is up against the wall. The opportunity you can
create. The fire you can make with SHEER WILL!

Truly amazing and that is what is so cool about
recessions and being challenged. Once you reach that deep just ONE TIME, then
you KNOW you can reach DEEEEEEP whenever you really need to.

Pull back on the throttle?? Are you kidding? No you
are not. Sadly you are not. You are a rookie. Rookies pull back, pros give it
all they got. Which one are YOU?

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

Here is your Report Card for 2009. Now this does
not work on new business as a new business is growing by definition. This is
for businesses 3-5 years or older.

During a recession if you
can manage to “Flat line” no growth……You are doing GREAT!

During a recession if you can manage to just lose
10% year over year.....You are doing GREAT!

During a recession if you can manage to just lose
15% year over year.....You are doing Pretty Good!

During a recession if you can manage to just lose
20% year over year.....You are doing about average!

During a recession if you lose 25% year over year.....You are under great stress!

During a recession if you lose 30% year over year.....You are under great stress and scrambling to stay
alive and pay the bills.

During a recession if you lose 35%-40% year over
year.....You are GREAT TROUBLE!

During a recession if you lose 50% year over year.....You are probably out of business.

Of course this all depends on overhead. Fixed
costs. Employees. The more you have of each, the more trouble you are in.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

How long can you fill a balloon with air before it
explodes? The answer depends how big the balloon is. Some think the dollar is
in trouble. It may be in trouble because some want it that way. But if it were
really in trouble, answer me this: Why is everyone trying to get their hands on
the almighty dollar like never before?

Personally I think we are at a tipping point. We
have yet to tip, but we are at the point. I believe forces close to home are
trying to destroy the dollar. They may succeed, maybe not. Like everything else
it is a market and a pendulum. However when you screw with the market, you
screw with the pendulum that works naturally and flawlessly if you don’t mess
with it.

That said, we have messed with it. The pendulum is
no longer relevant. The pendulum is now in control of magnetic political forces
and not its’ natural state.

So then we get to my favorite subject, NUMBERS.
That disqualifies most people as most people are not numbers people. What would
happen to you and your family if you are married, have 4 kids, 8 months behind
in your mortgage, $100,000 in Credit card bills that the interest alone is
$2500/month and then your wife gets pregnant? Do you think you would spend more
or pull back? Go out to eat every night with the kids or make meatloaf at home?
Buy 2 new cars or keep driving the one that is in the garage and still working?
Whatever the decisions are, we all know the right one. But if you are
irresponsible, if you don’t care, if you want to put the burden on someone
else, then book a vacation as well and invite your family to stay. If you want
to make it worse, go to the casino for a night. Let’s gamble everything!

There is a recipe to make this balloon pop. First
is a false hope of optimism. Hooray the stock market is at 10,000!! It’s still
down 30%. But I think it will hit 9000 again before you see 11,000. Things on the street are not good. Talk
to your barber. Talk to the restaurant owner. Talk to the guy about to get
foreclosed on. Talk to the nearly 20% that don’t have a full time and steady
job. Talk to the folks that 90 days after their unemployment benefits stop.
(You’ll have to wait a few months for this one, but it is the tsunami that is
about to hit)

That fallout is coming. It could be avoided, but there
is no will to do so where it counts. Like gas on a fire this has the potential
to explode in our face. The folks building this bomb will be LONG GONE when
that baby explodes. Don’t believe a word I am saying. Just do the math. Don’t
listen to bullshit, do the math. Let the numbers tell you who lies and who
tells the truth. Numbers don’t lie, PEOPLE LIE! Politicians lie! Agendas lie!
Companies lie! Banks lie! Wall Street lies! Lawyers lie! Defendants lie! So
when you know everyone is lying, what do you do? What can you do? Maybe
nothing. But the very least you can do is call them what they are…..LIARS! THIEVES!
THUGS!

When does the balloon pop? How much more can be
added? Infinite? I don’t think so.http://usdebtclock.org/

What does this have to do with domains??
Everything. If your house burns down it affects your business, your future and
every aspect of your life. For those rooting for the downfall of the dollar, don't cut your nose to spite your face. It may not burn your house down, but the dream of your summer home may be gone forever just in case you think you have no skin in the game.

Brush up on your Chinese.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am on record all over the place stating that 2009 will be a
record year for domain sales. I believe that the conditions will make it
actually blow the doors off of pervious years. We won’t know until January, but
I want to be crystal clear in what I see. I mean BLOW THE DOORS OFF!

Now, as for the TRAFFIC auctions, I was hoping to quietly
look at a couple of domains. Let me be on record as saying there is some major
gem in there. There are some bargains in there. I believe at least one domain
will go for over 7 figures.

What everyone thought would be a lack luster auction in New
York is going to turn into a battle royale. Two good companies each with some
major headlining domains. Like in cards, we are about to see where the power is
in the industry. Not as far as the
auction companies, but as far as the domainers bidding. I think we will walk
away with some real HUGE deals. REAL excitement. Folks will be coming out of
their chairs on a few of the names that will go up. Wanna know why?? Low
reserves = higher selling prices. High reserves scare people off. The auction
process is one that needs to be trusted. The bidding is likely to be the most
active in several years.

I anticipate a battle for Rio.com. That baby is going to fly
over 7 figures. I would imagine this is going to be the single biggest bidding
war we have ever seen for any domain in the history of our auctions. That is
what I see. I don’t think anyone reading this would not value Rio.com higher
than $1M. I expect many folks to be bidding on this. I would advise those interested to team up if they hold any
chance of walking away with this domain.

So what do you say? What will Rio.com go for? The closest guess gets a free ticket to TRAFFIC 2010 in South Beach that we will be announcing in New York. Will be the first one registered for the event.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I think the #1 flaw folks make is not making good
SMALL decisions. I believe life is about decisions. Nothing else. Good
decisions = good life, good things and the residue is luck and your proper destiny. Bad
decisions = not so good life, not so good things, and the reside is BAD LUCK
and an uncertain negative destiny.

But I also believe that the smallest decisions are
just as big and just as important as the big ones. A decision is a decision. A
good decision always does no harm and sometimes pays dividends. A bad decision always causes pain. You may
not see it right then, but sure as stepping in shit in a dog park, you are
gonna have something happen that is unexpected and not in your favor at some point in the future. So EVERY
decision is important. EVERY decision counts to the final end. The tiniest
decision can have the most major impact. A Tiny piece of sand in a ball bearing can bring the largest machine to a screetching and painful halt. People may even say you are making a
big deal of something tiny. But
those are the MASSES that don’t understand. The higher you get on the ladder,
the less folks understand because most folks accept and embrace mediocrity. They
do this every time they make a decision without considering ALL the aspects and
consequences of that decision. ALL. If they don't, they are 'Mentally lazy' and 'Inconsiderate of others'. They are just lazy because once you train
yourself to do this it takes a split second in most cases. Maybe a few seconds.
Maybe a minute. The harder the decision, the more time and care you need to
apply. Some decisions can take years. Marriage for example. But life is made up of tiny decisions,
small decisions, sometimes with great impact if you hurt somebody’s feelings
with your lack of thought and consideration. That is what a decision is.
Besides what it does for you, how does it affect others. The unfortunate part is MOST people don’t
think the small decisions count. That is like having a boat and saying you don’t
care about 1001 small leaks. But it only takes a few small leaks to sink a
ship. To make you life not as good as it could or should be. But YOU are the
only one that can control that process. Do it with great care and you will get
great things. Not every time and don’t expect to see it right then. The impact
of any of your decisions are not usually seen right away. The decision to fly
back from Los Angeles that night has had an impact to this very day. One
decision. One moment. Lasting a lifetime. One decision. So the point is, don’t
be afraid to make decisions. Just make the best one you can make at the time
and the way you do that is considering all the options, all the fallout, all
the consequences and finally, all the benefits.

So when I see folks that don’t understand these
things, I know they will always be their worst enemy. Nothing I can do or
anyone can do to inflict more pain on an ongoing basis. Bad decisions are what
prisons are made up of. Some were just stupid bad decisions. Most were
intentional bad decisions.

Life is air, water, food and decisions. What does this have to do with domains? Are you really sitting there and asking a question like that??
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!

So after I wrote
thatpost this morning I decided I was going to find the GREAT Gratz. I both succeeded
and failed. I found the Great Gratz, but he was on the other side. He died in
2003. I found that out when I tracked down his son. I searched several places
and finally found a phone number to his youngest son. Last time I saw him he
was 12, I was about 30. So I called the number. I got the right one on the
first try. I told the secretary my name and that I was a very old friend of his
dads. I told him who I was and to my surpise, he remembered me. Vividly as a
matter of fact. But then he told me his dad died in 2003 of lung cancer. It’s a
bit hard to write this right now. It may have happened 6 years ago but for me it
was 6 minutes ago. So I am a bit blurry eyed. But I still want to write this
while it is fresh and I can. I
waited just a bit too long to call.

Anyway, we had a
really good conversation and shared a few stories and memories and it was just
great to see him doing so well. I wanted him and his family to know what an influence he had in my life and I still draw strength from him. But that would be expected if you were around
the Great Gratz growing up. He was flawed just like the rest of us but he was
the best at what he did. He could chew you up and spit you out before you even knew you were bleeding. Gentle like a bear. Rip you apart like a bear. So RIP my friend. Thank you of your wisdom. Sorry it
took so long to say goodbye. I know where you are so I’ll be sure to bring an
air conditioner when I join ya. ;-)

And 'D' when I get out west next time, I am coming to see you and share some great GRATZ stories.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I write this blog for you. The reader, the surfer, the
pioneer, the lost, the searchers, anyone looking for just a little more. I also
write this blog for myself. I enjoy putting my thoughts on paper. I guess that
is a last century term. Putting thoughts on paper. I guess now just filing
thoughts for the future and the past. I blogged before there was a name for it.
It started in 1996. I made a post each and every morning and what was unusual
at that time was that I actually used my own name.

ButOwen keeps finding stuff I wrote years ago. Yesterday he
found one and it is one of the most basic of posts and thoughts to me back a
decade ago when there was no domain industry and so few saw what I did.

I do have some of my oldest posts locked away in one of my
computers. I talked numbers and facts and dollars and futures and pasts and
everything in between. When I started this blog it was an attempt to get my
thoughts out there in a more formal method and be able to keep track of them,
be on record and then see how things actually unfold.

The following is perhaps one of my best pieces. Short,
sweet, to the point and accurate in a day a decade ago that few saw what we do.

'The reason I say this is there are so many facets of a
domain name. It has the face value. It has the value with the mineral rights in
the form of traffic. It is a collectible like stamps, coins, art, baseball
cards. They are real estate on a scale never known before. They are power in a
way that has yet to be fully exploited. They are TV stations. They are
magazines. They are soap boxes. They are an advantage on many fronts. They are
a permanent direct mail piece. They are almost anything you want them to be and
so much more. You are an instant broadcaster able to compete with the likes of
NBC, ABC, BBC, and all the rest. Your domain can create a situation to capture
more eyeballs than all the TV stations put together.'~~ Rick Schwartz 1999

When I envisioned
the Internet, I envisioned a new media that would or could give every person a soapbox and a megaphone that could and would equal the most powerful. Soapbox.com
was one domainI really wanted. As you will see one of TRAFFIC’S past speakers
owns it now.

So I hope the folks that did not see the wisdom of having Steve Forbes, Ben Stein, Barbara Corcoran, (And there were many) I hope these folks will reserve judgement until they see what unfolds and THEN question the wisdom of having Rick Sanchez join a great list of TRAFFIC speakers. Each one offering us a little something. Each time we left with more than we came. If you understand this post than you will understand where we are going with this. If you can't grasp the notion that the trick is turning social media into profitable commercial media, then I guess we will have to agree to disagree until you figure out at the show and agree. :-)

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz