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

Morning Folks!!

Nearly 17 years ago I factored in a lot of things when looking at domains, the evolution, the eventual industry that would be born, the fact that it was worldwide. Most importantly I saw that it gave opportunity to everyone no matter where in the world you were and even if you were handicapped (and I was) you could make a living. A good living. One without barriers or ceilings. One without travel.

But the one thing I never factored in was the domainer vs domainer factor. I always thought we would use those oars to get to the future. I never envisioned that so many of the oars were not in the water but using to combat other domainers. That's wasting time and progress and makes us all look like a bunch of unruly pirates on an old ship.

The vitriol today is not what it once was at the peak. That's a good thing. But I always imagine what it would be like if it were eliminated. Human nature is such that it won't happen. I guess I am kinda pissed at myself for not seeing this and factoring it in early on. I just wrongly thought that folks would focus on their business and growing it and sharing their experiences. All oars in the water.

So I think that was my single biggest mistake/miscalculation in all this and I really should have known being a student of Human Nature. I just always expected business people of our caliber would have gotten to the point of separating business personalities to personal personalities. Some just play better with others than others. I certainly don't have the best 'Social skills'. It's just not how I am wired.

I'll give you an example. Monday is my favorite day of the week. It's a 'Business Day' and I look forward to it. On the other hand I would say most folks might say 'Friday' is their favorite day of the week. See the difference. Now I do like Friday, but I am more comfortable on a Monday. I am just more business than social.

Maybe it was from all the schools I went to as a kid. Not easy making new friends over and over and over again. Illustrated by my last 3 semesters of High School were not only at 3 different schools, but was 3000 miles from the other, leaving a girlfriend, job and a familiar east coast way of life and then after those 3 semesters going to College and doing it all over again. The worst of it was easily the first semester of my senior year. Prom? What's that? Pretty hard to go to the Prom when you have only been in a school a few weeks.

I guess you can say I am 'Socially Challenged' at times. My guiding light and best Friends have always been 'Numbers'. Through all those years and all the schools, the only true constant was numbers. Numbers went with me wherever I would go. They were always the same in a sea of changing faces and places. They never let me down. (Except on test scores lol)

Oh well enough of this. My oar back in the water where it needs to be.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Next Friday August 31st prices go up $200 per ticket from $1595 to $1795 and then $1995 at the door. Now is the time to decide to come to Florida in just 6 weeks and 6 days from today. Decision time. Register TODAY!

Besides the price savings by registering now, we have also updated our website to tell a story to end users. We take them on a tour to help educate them about traffic and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. You will be seeing a lot of new faces and companies from outside the domain channel that are coming armed with opportunity and new ways to make old money. Companies inside the space have new offerings as well. Opportunity comes when you are proactive. When adversity motivates you as opposed to fear paralyzing you. Which bus are you getting on?

I want to thank Danny Pryor who has worked with me day in and day out to get this site just right. I hope you will take a few minutes and see what we are up to. A website is never done, it just evolves and I think you will agree it has finally evolved to a new level.

Nominations are all in and the voting will start soon. Keep an eye on your email this week for further instructions.

We are working on some exciting things for the auction and I hope to tell you about that part soon. We are still taking submissions. I have received many thousands and so far have only picked 10 domains that will definitely be in the live auction with another 10 under consideration. Thanks for your submissions. Just because your domain was not selected does not mean I don think it was good. It is measured by the other submissions and the one question I ask is 'Will/can that domain sell for the reserve price asked. So 3 groups. Yes, No and maybe. Since this is not our main business and we don't have any numbers to beat by some spreadsheet and overhead, I will simply select the domains I think will sell and will be widespread interest in. Whether we end up at 10 domains, 25 domains, 50 or 100 domains, the criteria is 'Will/Can it sell for the reserve price asked?'

You can now follow along as we once again build the schedule before your very eyes. Each and every day something will be added to make the show just a little better. It won't be complete until just before the show. I am purposely waiting even longer to put the agenda together this year to make sure each and every topic and panel is worthy of your time and you take away something solid that you can go home and employ.

Lastly, the hotel is now about 2/3 full. Saturday night October 6th looks like the one night we may be squeezed on rooms. So if you are coming in early for the cabana networking, time to make that reservation. If you have not been to the cabana networking, all I can say is that it is worth the price of admission all by itself.

That's it for now. Again, watch your email for your 'OFFICIAL TRAFFIC BALLOT' that will be sent out very soon.

Rick Schwartz
Howard Neu

Morning Folks!!

As I stated in my last blog post the focus is finally starting to be sales and profit as opposed to how many folks come to your website. Would you rather have 500,000 visitors or 5 sales? In MY world it is not even close. Give me the 5 sales. Y'all can waste your time with the other 499,995.

The simple fact that we are even having a discussion about this and MANY won't even agree with me show just how messed up the web is and how far we have to go.

We always talk about the 'End User' as if we can wave a wand and have them show up and 'Get it'. They will show up, but it will be on their timetable. One that will take 20 years! That's the point of a 20 year plan. It takes a generation for the world to evolve. So if you think it is sooner and expect things to happen faster and on your timetable, you live in a world of anxiety, frustration and disapointment and that is the recipe for a disaster because the decisions you make are made out of emotions that skew things.

As we move forward, the sharp folks KNOW it is all about sales. All about profit. All about steady growth. So I beleive they are ready. They are ripe. They are receptive.

So how do you reach these end users? Well one way is to actually talk to the end user. In or newest version of the TargetedTraffic.com webiste I state the following:

'Our Domain Names create in excess of 20 Million visitors every single day of the year, almost all by 'Direct Navigation' or 'Type Ins' to the browser bar. It is the most potent traffic you can get. It is real eyeballs with an intent for something specific. Today they go to Yahoo! and Google for PENNIES only to be sold back to you for DOLLARS!'

There is a sleeping giant out there and it is time to wake him/her up and educate them so they see what WE see! When they see, the game changes.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

If you have a domain getting 350 daily type ins for example you have a business. 350 is just a number to us. But go downtown today where ever you are and count how many customers go in a store in any given DAY. FEW stores are likely to get 350 customers in a day. MOST won't get 350 customers in a week!! Don't believe me? Then you have never been in retail. Then you have never had to work on a commission only basis. Sell nothing....eat nothing.

Yes, big box stores and McDonald's etc will get the 350 customers and then some. But go count and see how long it takes. Still a number of hours and still a number of sales in those hours.

It is unfortunate that most retailers have not been able to harness the power online. They accept 350 customers online walking in and buying nothing but would they be stupid enough to allow 350 customers to come in the store, make no sales and not ask why??

I am finally seeing the focus change to sales and profits on the Internet. Boy has this been a SLOW process. But it is finally here. Investor money is drying up and now startups are finally going to have to resort to sales. That my friends is the evolution I have been waiting for. Sales. Sales. It's all about sales and now that folks are starting to get that point, things will change fast and furiously. Fast for me anyways. 3 years is fast. We are less than that and we have already entered the 'Gravitational Pull'.

Go get 1 million likes or 1 sale. Which has more value? Which buys food? We took a huge detour and gamble with 'Social' media. But what about 'Commercial' media? What about trackable sales? What about new clients and new business and repeat business?

Social is 'Word of mouth' and it is very important. But 'Word of mouth' is a bi-product of doing things right. You don't start with 'Word of Mouth', you start off with sales that CREATE 'Word of mouth'. Most online have it ASS BACKWARDS and it is absurd!!

We are also on the verge of finding out it just may not work. Facebook now 50% of the IPO and still has yet to find the bottom. Blah blah,blah comes AFTER the sale!

So a word to all startups......SELL SOMETHING!

Until then.....Like us on Facebook!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Buying TIME is a great way to make money. That is the basis for Real Estate and the great wealth it has created for centuries. Low down payment and pay an affordable amount over time. That allowed tens of millions to buy homes that they otherwise could not afford to buy.

The GREAT Real Estate 'Flippers' sign a contract to buy a piece of Real Estate and sell that piece of paper before they even get to the bank. It costs them nothing and they walk away with many thousands. So that is how you make money with NO MONEY! This is a common tactic for the most successful in any business. They deal in paper not property! We can do the same.

It's so simple. Go buy a home in your area TODAY! All are subject to financing, terms and inspection. That gives you 30 days for free in most cases. But even with a 15% downstroke and going through with the deal is leverage beyond most other things. Stocks you can get 50% margin. But real estate has always been attractive because of the numbers and the time involved to flip with improvements or just finding an interested buyer.

So do you buy a $7500 domain with your $7500 or do you buy a $50,000 name for the same dollar layout? If you know what you are doing, it can be quite a jump start as I described above. It's just one way to hit BIG without risking as much as you would normally have to risk. It really is all about buying TIME!

I am keenly aware of the mood out there and with our new partnerships with Escrow.com announced earlier this week and Zenscrow.com domain financing, we are looking to do faster after auction transactions and give you more buying power at the same time. Leverage your knowledge into DOLLARS!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Everything in life seems to circle back to human nature. We spend a lifetime trying to control our emotions. A lifetime learning how to react. How to behave. How to adjust. How to get along with others. How to win and how to lose. Harnessing our emotions and our energy and having them work together is not an easy thing.

The Worst Enemy of the Domain Industry is not understanding cycles and history and sales and human nature and that all boils down to inexperience. There are many seasoned veterans of business in domaining. Most are doing just fine. They ain't sweating at all. But there is also the 'First Timers' that have built great businesses when things were going well but have yet to learn how to handle adversity.

Sorry, it shows. Large organizations struggle because of short term thinking, limited budgets, dwindling income streams, high overheads and that translates into fear and fear leads to paralysis which is the very last thing you would do in an emergency. But that is inexperience showing.

History repeats itself. There are patterns and waves and when it rains folks think it will never stop and things will never dry off.

I recalibrate things every day. But if I did not factor in the history and cycles to look back upon I could never calibrate effectively. Adversity is really forced opportunity. It's so damn simple and so hard for so many to get their heads around.

Progress is forced! You have to force progress. Progress happens when your back is up against the wall not while you are sitting in comfort. Adversity is the CORE of success and that progress!!! It's not the enemy! It's the window of opportunity that few see or understand or take advantage of. Why? Because it has never been presented to them in the way I just did.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The power we have collectively is something that besides not being harnessed, is not even defined. As an industry we have tens of millions of visitors visiting OUR domain names every single day of the year. And if it is not tens of milllions daily, then it is more, not less.

But regardless of the exact number, they represent the single most potent traffic in the world. Now I refer ONLY to type in traffic. SEO traffic is not considered in this group and is really never the subject of what I see as traffic or what I write about.

How many Daily Unique Visitors go through InternetTraffic.com, Sedo.com, Voodoo.com, Parklogic.com, DomainHoldings.com, DomainParking.com, Above.com, TrafficZ.com, etc. combined just for starters?

So how is your guess of how many million/tens of millions visitors as an industry do we contribute to the Internet on a daily basis?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Eveing Folks!!

Exactly 8 weeks from today the T.R.A.F.F.I.C auction will take place. Tonight I am releasing the first 5 that I have picked to be in the auction to give you an idea of what I am looking for and just how serious you are going to have to be if you want to sell.

I am in no rush to select domains. I am not looking to lock up domains for inventory. That is not our business. My only job is to bring great domains that will sell. Domains that will gather wide interest. Domains that mean something. I explained it all in this post.

I also have 5 names on a secondary list. These are really nice domains but I am still sleeeping on. Considering. Balancing. The only thing I want to do is sell as close to 100% of the inventory as I can. That can only happen one way. Great domains at great prices.

So here are my first 5 selections for the Live Auction:

Lot #101 Tumors.com (No Reserve)
Lot #102 Fibre.com ($1 Reserve)
Lot #103 3dMovie.com (Aggressively Priced)
Lot #104 DesPlaines.com ($1000 Reserve)
Lot #105 (Awaiting Signed Contract)
Lot#106 gtldforum.com (No Reserve)

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Perseverance!!

I think the last time I saw despair online and specific to the domain industry was before there was a domain industry. Maybe around 2000 when things crashed. Then around 2003. At that time it was serious! The net was the enemy to brick and mortar and they tried to kill it. Put a dagger through the heart if they could! It is not as serious today, however a widespread amount of domainers are in despair, scared, questioning every move and most likely their bills are more than their income.

The LAST thing to do is give up on your valuable domain names. Stop listening to all the bullshit spewed by every guy and his sister about this or that. IF you have good and solid domains, take a deep breath, you will be fine. Things are going to change.

In business and in life it is all about overhead. Do you have a spreadsheet that lists EVERY SINGLE recurring and non recurring expense? Do you know EXACTLY how much it costs you to wake up in the morning? What's your 'Number'? If you don't have your 'Number'.....you are without the tools to navigate through what has been going on and what is yet to come.

So on one hand you have the financial burden as payouts are lower and on the other hand you have umpteen thousand extensions coming your way. Extensions that have little relevance in your life even tho some are jumping overboard. They are likely not to have any meaning for 5-10-20 years in a success!! If at all.

What makes things worse right now, is that the last 2 weeks of July and the first 2 weeks of August is when then entire world is on vacation. Just a fact folks! That is the heart of the summer holiday time. What makes it even worse is the Olympics is very distracting so it works as a double whammy. Sprinkle on some political and financial fear and you have what we have.

August 15th is when things starting to change each and every year. Why? 3 words. Back to School. So vacation turns into focus on getting the kids ready for the school year and it takes until mid September before the business minds come back to play.

So you add all these things up and add to that a soft economy that folks are scared may unravel, gas prices back on the rise, taxes about to skyrocket, an election with unknown results, a civil war in Syria, Egypt still not settled, Iran and Israel a spark away from launching WW3. Then add the 40 things I did not mention.

I have written earlier this summer that the next few months will be the most uncertain and unsettled times in many of our lifetimes. But Iook past that mess assuming we get survive December 21st I think it is.

So I see very unsettling times for now. But when I look past this mess and to next August 9th, I see much calmer seas. I see a reshuffling of what has value and what is considered a liability.

Cash, Gold, Diamonds, Oil, Real Estate, Com. Investment quality .Com. Income generating .Com. You can build an empire around one .com domain name. They have yet to connect the single most important DOT! The overhead of 1000 stores vs the overhead with one .com. Some will open stores because of their .com and some will be closing stores because of their .com.

In the history of the world, there has never seen anything like .com. Nothing in history had billions of folks building .com. Good luck repeating that! To lose faith in .com now is like giving up at the Olympics. I did not see Phelps give up after that huge loss. So to lose faith in what you believe in because it is going to be challenged by 1500 wannabees is just hysterics from where I sit.

Step back and look at the dynamics. We had a false start last spring. Things looked like they were about to get better and people reacted and then we found out it was a mirage and things sunk again. When things sink, folks go out of business and those in business are mostly concerned with preserving it as opposed to expanding it. So when things turn in the right direction, you will see more new businesses, better funded businesses and a general expansion as opposed to the contraction we are seeing now.

What is the cost of renting/building/owning a real world store with all the overhead? That's the value of any domain in demand in my book. And .com just reinforces your brand no matter what that brand is.

In despair? Then figure a way to 'Poll Vault' mentally and financially over the next 5-6 months and you will see what I see. Just make it that far and you will see clarity.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!

First please keep in mind that we only have 2 hours or less and maybe 100-125 slots. Maybe less depending on what we are confident will be of interest and sell.

A slot can be one domain or a group of domains.

If I have 100 slots and sell 100 domains at $100 each that is a gross of $10K
If I have 100 slots and sell 100 domains at $1000 each that is a gross of $100K
If I Have 100 slots and sell 100 domains at $5000 each that is a gross of $500K
If I have 100 slots and sell 100 domains at $10,000 each that is a gross of $1M
If I have 100 slots and sell 100 domains at $20,000 each that is a gross of $2M

So I approach it this way. I put domains in 3 groups plus the Guaranteed Placement

1. Not considered. (Domains with little to no value or mean nothing)


2. Considered. (Domains that mean something and have a price in line with the market)


3. Automatically in (Absolutely going to sell and bring in a few thousand)

So once I eliminate the domains that are not going to be in the auction and have chosen the ones that are definitely going to be in the auction, I have a really nice list of domains I will consider.

Does a “No Reserve” have a better chance than a domain for $5000 reserve? It may. But not in all cases. I am going to balance the chances of a sale with the volume of that sale. So a domain with no reserve that is going to sell for $100 is really not going to be in our auction.

At this point I have 6 domains that fall into category #3. Those 6 domains will be posted on the TargetedTraffic.com Website as early as today once the contracts are all signed. Once folks see the quality of just these few and the prices attached, will encourage an entire new wave of entries.

So I want to thank guys like Adam Dicker who is putting a one word domain in the auction with no reserve because he understands what an auction is and how to create interest. The game is having as many domainers target your domain before they ever walk into the room.

Now let me take some time to talk about #2 that affects many of you. You have submitted some GREAT domain names. Very impressive and your pricing has been very competitive. My job is to sell 100% of all the domains that are in the auction. 100%. Aim for the sky. That is what I am aiming for. We all know anything over 50% is really a good outcome, but I am still aiming for 100% and I am pretty confident, given what has already been submitted, that this is doable. Now of course I can only control the “Guaranteed Placements” to some degree. But even those must have some chance of actually selling.

Once I get through my picks and assuming there are any open slots left, I am going to reach out to a few friends to help me pick the remaining domains and check over the ones I have picked.

Credibility is built and I am going to be as transparent as I can in this process as I was last year. We are not an auction company. We are not brokers. We are not registrars. We simply put a special auction together once a year and twice next year because we have an audience that enjoys it as part of the show. It is part business, part social and part entertainment. That equals a good time because of our very qualified audience. Because our audience buys for the long haul. Because FUN for US is getting a GREAT domain at a GREAT price!

The reason there are so many good domains out there other than the economy is many of us have culled through our lists over the past year and some just don’t fit in our future plans. Some very nice ONE WORD and MEANINGFUL domains that may be oddballs or in an area we just don't focus on. That is what we are getting. ALL will sell. No question. Some have reserves. But the prices are inline and these guys are smart enough to pay attention to what actually makes an auction. A majority of the bidders coming in the room will want to bid on these domains and THAT is what makes an auction.

I am taking 100% responsibility for this auction. It’s all on me. I have stated my goals. A bit lofty of course. But the two things folks seem to look at is percentage of domains that sell and the total volume of those sales. Because of the economy, volume may not be as high as we would like. That means we MUST hit it out of the park when it comes to the percentage sold. That directly correlates with how exciting it is and having a fun time.

More importantly it will be a real barometer on the industry because there will be premium names and there will be bargains. LOTS of bargains. Those with cash are going to be buying. When I list my first few domains you will see what I expect and what you can expect as well.

I am also considering one more option. I have several domains that have been submitted that are GREAT! However they are not cheap or I am just not sure if they will bring the reserves. They may or may not make the final cut in the live auction. So for those domains, we are offering to list them on the TargetedTraffic.com website and give them some exposure prior to the auction with the understanding it may not make the final cut but we will do what we can to either sell or gather the interest to make it to the auction. I won’t be listing 100’s of domains. So far there are about 5 domains that I would classify in this group.

So that is where it stands after our first 48 hours. Last year was not easy to get good domains at prices that would sell. This year that is not the problem. I am aiming for 100%. I am sure some will put me down if we end up at 75%-80% and even for aiming so high to begin with. So even more motive for me to nail that 100%. And it won't be 100% with $100 names. Not even $1000 names. Most names will fall in the $5000-$10,000-$25,000 category. A PREMIUM auction that actually has PREMIUM domains and does not look like a drop list or a list with end user prices!

If you have not heard from me yet, don't fret. I will be contacting those today or tomorrow that I think have a real shot at selling. If I don't contact you, I appreciate your submission and in most cases it will be because it just won't do what we need. The Industry needs a winner in October and that is EXACTLY what we will do! If you submitted a true premium and not selected, it will be a reserve pricing issue and don't hesitate to rethink and lower the reserve. It is not my job to tell you to sell something for less. It is my job to set the criteria and hope you can assist me in my goal of 100% sales.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

PS: Submissions will remain open until the slots are filled and you will be able to see how we are doing on our website starting tomorrow when the site offically opens with a new updated feel and easier way to navigate our pages.