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!
Within a year most folks won't know which way is up or down when it comes to domain investing. The voices will be all over the place and eventually you may want to put your hands over your ears and walk away. But walk to where?
Well, my advice in this coming year when confusion sets in is to come right here and read my posts and let me help you untangle the knot of confusion.
To that end you might want a get a current list of all extensions and see how many of each are registered. Then you have to discount each and every defensive domain. They mean nothing to anyone but the registries. They are not really part of the eco system because of their use or non use.
So don't be fooled by misleading this and that. Stuff that has no influence in value or need. Self serving press releases that will basically make a lot of stuff up. So when you do read these releases, read between the lines. There are going to be thousands of them to come. Many thousands. Our minds could not even absorb what is coming and then actually separate what is truly meaningful.
700 rocks. How many are precious and have long-lasting value? That is what we are about to learn.
Every extension has an infinite amount of combinations and names and that is only with trademarks. There is no limit regardless of what you hear. Just look at this story by Berkens. There is an infinite amount of domains in each and every extension. Every lawyer in the world should come to the domain industry because there is an infinite amount of work and billing. So more than anything else, it will likely open up trademarks to more abuse than ever before. Profiting on those trademarks.
It's gonna be fun tho as we all watch this clusterf*ck unfold. Like 700 different soap operas. And everyone reading this should benefit from it no matter how badly this was all thought out. 70o and who will dominate? Who will die on the vine. Consolidation is already in full force. Every domainer that does not have a domain portfolio to support themselves will eventually find jobs in these companies as domain experts. So that is just one of the things that will unfold and will be very visible.
So when you are exhausted and confused, this is the place to come to untangle the mess that is coming. You may or may not agree with my writings. 90% chance you won't agree. Maybe higher. Scares the crap outta me when too many agree. But it will be VERY hard to disagree with the questions I ask, the pitfalls I point out and the numbers that some will try to use to fool.
We each have an opinion about what is to come. If you really want to know, watch what they do don't listen to what they say.
The Big .CON Becomes the Big .Gamble and that brings into play winners and losers. Those that will make .money and those that will lose .money.
To many it is obvious that this is poised to have a lot of losers. But only losers focus strictly on the losers. There WILL be winners. I expect most if not all will be surprised by the headwinds they face and the challenges we as investors and marketers KNOW they will have to deal with.
"This is sht and this is gold. Now you know everything." From the movie "The Jerk" with Steve Martin. That's domaining. Shit and Gold.
The marketplace is going to pick those winners. It won't pick the losers. They will die on the vine all by themselves.
Folks, this is the fun part. It takes 20 years to get to the fun part. History taught me that. Life taught me that. I think the extensions poised to do the best may be the ones around for a while. This breathes new life in .TV, .US, .info, .Org, .Me, and maybe even a .biz.
Funny how I am the out of touch one when it comes to some. But I deal in what is and in facts and many of them are using the unknown and hopes as a way to compete with a market that already EXISTS as opposed to one that MIGHT materialize. Some are always chasing shiny objects like dogs chasing a car. So with 1900 and an unlimited amount of dogs the first question you would ask is which one could really breakaway and be meaningful? None? 1? 10? 100? 1000? Which ones? Any?
There may be some limited gold in each of those. Maybe not. Flipping quick may be the best bet if .mobi, .xxx, .biz, .whatever are any historical examples.
.Travel has been trying to break out for a long time, their window of opportunity is in jeopardy as I see it. They have had a hard time getting this thing going when there was virtually no competition, how does it work now when 1900 others join him?
I have bought into many .whatevers. I have several hundred. But they don't pay the bills. They ARE the bills! But each year I weigh the new information and see how each domain fits into the future. Some I keep investing and some get cut loose. I would have been much better off flipping these domains, but flipping is not my game. Holding long-term is. I think .whatever is a flipping game and those that buy into the hype are your marks. I mean customers.
And with dozens or maybe hundreds of companies flailing to stay alive, there will be employment opportunities the likes of which this industry has never seen before. Lawsuits will be flying for many years to come just as the dust is starting to settle over .com land. A few MAJOR .whatever losses can expose another weakness that .whatever may have to face as folks get "Cute" about picking new names and infringe on others. It's all coming.
The calm before the storm. 1900 barkers barking. Some may know what they are barking about. Most won't. But they will have to spend money marketing or they will not break through all the noise. Like I said, MANY will die on the vine. Some will die because their .crap extension just stinks and has no commercial or social value. Some will die because their marketing sucks. Some will die because they have no marketing plan at all. But most will die because they will be buried before they even start. Smothered to death by the shear size and magnitude of what is coming and the timing that comes with it.
So while I see many failures, I also see so many ways to make money as things unfold. Those with cash will have investment opportunities. Those that have advertising space and visitors will have advertisers. In time those advertisers will be many more than the advertising outlets and things like that drive prices and profits back up.
So while we have been at ebb tide for a very long time, that period is coming to an end and it dovetails perfectly as the economy starts regaining some of its umph. That's why I see things improving and possibly improving dramatically. Quickly. Strongly.
So while FEAR seems to be the driving force in this industry today, I only see opportunity in the unknown of what is to come. It .whatever craps out, .com goes thru the roof. If an extension breaks out, we all get to do what we know all over again. So where exactly is the downside other than confusion? Heads we win, tails we win. And if the coin lands on the side, we win. And if the coin gets lost, we win.
Need, want, desire. Those that keep that in mind are going to have a better time dealing with reality than those that want to ignore it. And you can have all 3 and still have a disaster. Like going on a blind date. The need, want and desire are all there, then the person walks in and need, want, desire headed out the back door.
I really think the BIG gamble comes down to whether the new gTLD's will Distinguish a BRAND or isolate that BRAND. And that question MOSTLY applies to .BRANDS. Now that gamble for them is not huge and companies will always find inventive ways to use a .Apple or a .Dell. But many of the brands will keep their .BRAND on a shelf for potential future use or even internal use.
So they can distinguish themselves as .Apple but there could be a downside as well as it could isolate them. But I don't think so. I like .BRAND. I just have very mixed reservations about .WHATEVER as this is the real .CRAP shoot. Plus we already have some substantial evidence as far as success and values when compared to .com. The confusion factor. They are FORCED to switch back to .com as you can read here!
This is NOT opinion. This is EVIDENCE and as business people we MUST know the difference between opinion, sales and propaganda or it is costly if not dire.
When ANY company loses 35%-61% of their marketing efforts on CONFUSION, they can either change course QUICKLY or go out of business. BOTH of these companies did just that. They had to read the numbers and watch their eyes bleed!
Personally I think the biggest winners will be .TV, .ME, and one or two other extensions that had MANY years to take off with much less competition. That is an opinion. But there is also growing evidence. .TV is a natural but after some 15 years it is just now gaining some traction. But .TV means something. ME means something as we live in a world of Me's.
So from an investing standpoint it is quite different and I HOPE you have YOUR 20 year plan.
But whether we see great successes or great failures this is the point where things move in a very big way. These new gTLD's will provide the fuel I see to go where I believe this ship is going. That is an opinion. But it is based in FACTS and EVIDENCE. It is based on watching things very closely for a very long time. It is based on history. And our job is to just keep score and see what picture it paints. It won't paint that picture in 2013. But by the end of next year we will have a BOATLOAD of new information. Be skeptical. Most will be hype and deals done with friends and family or ones where no money exchanges hands.
The idiots and morons always IGNORE my main point. Because if they actually had to argue the MAIN POINT, they would go down in defeat in the opening round. They have no answer to my main point and they will never have an answer that will hold water. So they have to distract your attention.
This is the story of Wantable.CO buying Wantable.COM for a number of reasons. Led by CONFUSION! Not Confucius idiots and morons. CONFUSION! But ahh, you are so confused!
You can listen to all types of information. Most is biased. I am not immune. So when REALITY surfaces, that speaks 1000x louder than all the nonsense in between. So open your ears. Deal with FACTS!
STOP IGNORING THE MAIN POINT OF MY ARGUMENT!
Last year Mr. Johnson explained a 61% loss using the O.co domain name in lieu of Overstock.com. This year it is Wantable.co story that emerged on Mike Berkens Blog. Seems Wantable.co went out and bought Wantable.COM via Sedo for $47,000. Am amount that Sedo was supposed to remain confidential.
The story closes with 'It looks like a huge success story for the .Co registry.'
Well not so fast Mr. Berkens my good friend. This is in fact a good story for .com and not such good news for .co. However, the POINT in all this is something I have repeatedly stated since this debate began and left the following comment on Mike's blog: Ya know, the POINT I always try to make and the idiots and morons just gloss over like the 2000LB Gorilla isn't even there. It's there baby and here is another PUBLIC sighting!
'This is the ONLY way to brand a non .com.
Bravo!!
You MUST have the .com and THEN you can promote and brand ANY extension you like.
It does NOT work in reverse!'
So I have nothing against .co or .info or .crap or .whatever. My ONLY issue is that being CUTE without owning the DOT COM is not only the WORST business decision one can make, but I can get on stage for 3 HOURS or more and go over reason after reason after reason that you MUST have the .com version of the domain IF you promote a non .com.
So simple even a bean counter should embrace it!
But later after my comment the BUYER of Wantable.COM chimed in on the reasons. STRAIGHT from the horses mouth. These are his reasons. What he learned and discovered. HE FIXED IT!!! THAT is how you do business and I want to congratulate Jalem Getz for being a SMART BUSINESS MAN!! For figuring it out. For not going down with the ship. For recognizing certain TRUTHS because it COST HIM MONEY and lost business. He FIXED the gaping leak. Well done CAPTAIN!!!
Sorry, I am doing this 18 years. Not having the .com version of your domain going forward is moronic and costly. Look at all the folks that started as a .net and you will find that more than 75% of COMPANIES THAT COUNT have acquired their .com version.
So these words along with Mr. Johnson's words will stand taller than all the BULLSHIT we are about to be spewed at to us.
'Hello everyone, my name is Jalem Getz and I’m the president of Wantable, inc. I thought I might add some clarity to why we purchased the .com. I simply want to share our story since I’ve been an Internet entrepreneur for a long time and have always appreciated it when others gave me candid and honest information. Obviously my opinions and experiences are in the vacuum of our business and don’t necessarily apply to other companies.
First: Sedo violated our NDA by disclosing the purchase price. And, to make it worse they got the number wrong.
We actually leased the .com domain 9 months ago when we launched our website wantable.co. It has always redirected to the .co. Leasing the domain gave us the freedom to build a business around the .co but have the option to use the .com when and if there was consumer confusion.
What we learned: the .co is confusing to a small segment of consumers, it is also more likely to get marked as spam by Facebook and email providers. We experienced each of these issues first hand and while none were insurmountable it was clearly an issue.
Why we purchased the .com and what we plan on doing: we purchased the domain this past week, a full 3 months before our lease expires because we feel by owning the .com we can re-brand as “Wantable” and not need to include the .com or .co extension. Expect to see our website running on the .com extension within the month.
While I’m a big fan of the .co movement, and currently advise a few .co companies, I feel if given the option a company should operate under the .com before the .co extension of their brand.
I hope this adds some color to our reasoning and the information is useful to those interested.'
So folks, swallow HORSE SHIT or take it from the horses mouth! Stop ignoring facts and evidence. These companies have no agenda but building a profitable business. They shared their findings.
The Bottom line is .whatever is GREAT, but with out owning the .com, you are likely to FAIL because of confusion. And even if you don't fail, you will stunt your growth, work harder for less business and you FAIL as the CEO from not allowing this to happen to your respective companies. So be cute, but be AWARE! Because you don't have to agree with me and when you find out I was right you will be long gone!
And if you still can't figure this one out, just send IRS DOUBLE the taxes today because that is how much REAL business you are losing each year and eventually you can add 'FINAL RETURN' as your companies fail if you don't LEARN!
Shortly after the LadyGodiva.com suit between Campbell's and yours truly and when I had first met Howard, I had another interesting conflict with another very large company.
In those days, domain owners just rolled over. Not me. I was going to be the mouse that roared because the Internet as a medium was meant to even the playing field and these SOB's were going to have to deal with the new reality.
I do not look for or pick these fights, but I relish them when they come. I relish them because it is these wins that protects my other domains and yours too!
'Hi Howard!!
In response to Lilly’s offer……I am confused by their lack of
understanding. Please ask them the following question:
If I am willing to spend 6 figures each on two separate
actions involving Lilly Industries to KEEP goofoff.com…….are they absolutely
insane and out of touch with reality to think that an offer like that is
reasonable???
I would have loved to see the mental process, if any,
involved to come to this? How ridiculous
and silly can a company that has been around 134 years look? I just don’t get it.
Let alone that the annual profit on goofoff.com is many times more than that!!
As I have said in several public forums this year……there are
companies of the last 100 years and companies of the next 100 years.
Please make it CLEAR to Lilly Industries that I am in this
for the duration. If they INSIST in publicly showing that THIS is the type of
outfit they are……they have a LOT more to lose than I do. Don’t let them
underestimate my resolve in this matter. Now not only am I dealing with a Corporate
Bully…….I now find myself dealing with Corporate IDIOTS!!
I want both of my days in court. I want the WORLD to see
this for what it is. I want my peers to understand what a terrible thing Lilly
and others are doing. If they want to settle, tell them to backoff and act in a
responsible way that you would expect such a corporation like Lilly Industries
to act.
Tell them I have taken SEVERAL polls and when asked if folks
were confused between Lilly, Ely Lilly and Lilly Industries, 500 out of 500 were
totally confused. When asked about goof off the paint remover and goofoff the
time waster, not a single person was confused.
I don’t want to be nasty and I sure did not look for this
fight……but the ONLY confusion here is on the part of 1 of those Lilly’s because
I still don’t have a clue of who’s who.
I have repeatedly said no to interviews with television and
radio in regards to this matter. On January 2, 2000, if not before, I am going
to begin to accept those invites. If this continues I want the world to know
what I know about the arrogance, ignorance, stupidity of Lilly Industries.'
They did not get any smarter over the years and came back at a 2nd bite at the apple. Here is where that is now. All Goofoff.com traffic goes to my blog post and all is ON THE RECORD FOR THE RECORD!!!
You are about to see a full court press from every registrar out there. Yesterday you saw Godaddy.NOTHING. They have a lot at stake here. If .crap, craps out....then what? So imagine all the dollars that are going to be spent trying to brainwash people that inferior is superior. That's gonna be some trick. Tulips anyone?
But that has nothing to do with this post and not sure why I even went down this road. Maybe just as a warning not to swallow the bait as tempting as it might be.
Have you ever thought there might be a “monopoly” on “.com” domain names because most of the best of them are owned and not being “used” as you see it?
Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly and maybe you'll see more of what Danny Welsh saw when he had the 'ha!' moment that matched my own 'ah' many years ago. Ah+Ha = Ah-ha! Get it? BTW, I’m genuinely sorry your customers email me every day when they want to buy from your established company. But you can’t say I didn’t tell you it would happen…and all this unpleasantness could have been avoided if you just hadn’t RUSHED to make thewww.wrong.choice :(
-
Rick Schwartz
By Danny Welsh
JointVentures.com
There's no '.com monopoly' and there is no shortage of extremely valuable .com domain names available for your business idea. If you believe that, you’re wrong. So what happened and why can't you buy the eRealEstate property you've got your eye on?
Read this blog and you’d understand why it’s YOUR fault you were asleep at the wheel for all those years and now are about to CRASH head-first into a future others predicted, transparently TOLD you would happen, and you went forward with driving a www.domain.crappy vehicle anyway.
It’s just timing and circumstances and human nature that has proven to turn the exchange of cash for one $100 bet many years before into an asset such as1019.com or Queen.com, while all attempts to copy and sell, buy, market/promote or make money with a 'good enough' alternative for either has proven a risky gamble with SIGNIFICANT consequences. Just ask the fine folks at Ebid.net how many calls and emails their customer service handles weekly because their customers are confused.
We're not even sure it'd be legal for us to read the “confusion email” from their customers who don't even know what “.net” IS and regularly email someone that doesn’t exist to an @ebid.com email address no one marketed to them…when they want to buy or need support of some kind from ebid.com.
So once we realize it happens, we don't want to read sensitive information. But if you think hundreds upon hundreds of customers and prospects don't regularly email @Ebid.com email addresses --many times with credit card numbers, orders, personal information etc-- then you're in fantasy land that nothing more than a simple AUTORESPONDER EMAIL TEMPLATE I set up saying 'Sorry, wrong number!' would expose in a SHATTERING EXPLOSION that would have Rick Schwartz and Danny Welsh and getting this huge problem you've been ignoring handled NOW an URGENT and IMPORTANT topic of conversation at every executive meeting in your company starting...RIGHT NOW.
Rick Schwartz TOLD companies like that it would happen and they built their online company on sand anyway, sand that might simply WASH AWAY as their profits ERODE handed off one customer at a time to a competing auction company that does the same thing Rick Schwartz knew a company in the future would WANT to do because he had their 'Big Idea' years before they did when he staked his claim on the eBid.com eRealEstate property perfectly suited for an online auction company.
That doesn't make him a bad guy.
It makes him a bit of a sage, but even the most uncanny predictors of the future are rarely believed until that future unfolds.
Well, that future Rick predicted in 1993 is here....NOW
If your business wants to be 'good enough' for years, you can do that for an $8.99 gamble and register any old www.domain.crap such as a '.net' domain name.
If you want to be perceived as a market leader in MINUTES, protect your company from future leaks and failure...you can do that too.
Here's the part you need to understand if you followed the 'due diligence' bread crumbs we've left out for you to educate yourself on why doing business with us is a good idea...the same ones that led you without us in most cases spending a single PENNY for you to be right here, right now alonngside your customers AND competitors.
If you want
PRODUCT.com or
SERVICE.com or
SOCIAL.com or
###.com or
ABCD.com
Then simply bring your checkbook and your big ideas because the guy who can make that happen for you ain't selling for nickels when there are millions to be made with the RIGHT buyer of their eRealEstate asset...ESPECIALLY with a flood of www.domain.imitations about to flood the market and make the confusion even WORSE.
Choice is each business owner's to make for themselves!
Gamble? (.net)
Invest? (.com)
Dicey? (.co)
Proven Sales Increase? (.com)
Who had YOUR 'big idea' first?
This is a fork in the road, Mr. Business Owner.
Which path do you want to take?
I know which path -I- chose to partner with and lease eRealEstate from domain owners among the '500' and while the path is not yet completely paved, the price and terms have been more than fair so far.
And the mountain to climb gets easier the moment you choose an ALLY who has already had your big idea (or something like it) and been to the top and can talk you through getting there too.
The guy's extending a hand of friendship...and if you don't take it and your competitor does...
Who is to blame?
Not the Rick Schwartz I know better everyday and am coming to trust as among the greatest allies I ever thought I might have the good fortune to meet.
Want to go to the top of your niche?
Then the first step up the mountain is to make Rick an offer he can't refuse...
Want some examples of really bad locations? Confusing locations? Cute but confusing and so they are nothing at all? Just a little of what is to come. Who you will share the stage with. Who will make the smart guys a ton of money. You can't make this stuff up and I am sure a few will stroll in here and tell me this or that. Let me start slapping my knee right now before they even speak.
They don't pass the radio test. They fail the radio test. They don't pass the word of mouth test. They fail that one as well. The ONLY test they pass is the one that creates a 'State of confusion.'
Hey it's the weekend. Maybe I will uncover a hornets nest of domainers that think this is the way. This is the future. All I can say to them, be on time Monday morning.
These guys have the right arguments, just armed with the wrong names. That means they will always work harder for less.
JesusSav.es and InGodWeTru.st are Among the Hot New Domain Names Now Being Offered Exclusively at WeFollowJesus.org
Guys, all I can say is this nails it. When I say we've turned the corner and the mainstream is being attracted far faster than they ever could have been chased, this is what happens. The waiting and the 20 year plan is shifting on a tipping point as we speak. This is so exciting! Let me have Danny Welsh, my partner with JointVentures.com share a a few things with you in his series of posts that will articulate and then demonstrate what we see unfolding before our very eyes and it is happening RIGHT NOW!....
Rick Schwartz
By Danny Welsh
What's it mean when you can extract more money per MONTH in leasing income from a domain name than all the money the domain name has made in the last DECADE parked?
What's it mean when you can extract more money per MONTH in leasing income from a domain name than all the money the domain name cost in registration fees over a DECADE of waiting?
What's it mean when the company you're negotiating with is grateful for the opportunity to run with their idea and pay only $1000/mo to try out using an asset instead of gambling $1,000,000 to acquire an asset they believe is incredibly valuable but aren't quite as sure as you are HOW valuable?
It means, the times...they are a changing. No longer can someone come along and try to tell you that your best domain names are somehow worth a multiple of what they earn 'parked' in the lowest common denominator of monetization. No longer do you have to wonder when the mainstream will 'get it' just how influential the domain community has made itself...one $100 or $8.99 bet on the future at a time over the course of now almost 2 decades.
The sales resistance for domain leasing is getting smaller by the day.
The alternatives to the best .com domain names all have flaws that anyone SERIOUS about their business is going to see when you point it out to them. The evidence is just not debatable anymore, and has been carefully compiled by investors like Rick Schwartz and many others with real numbers over more than 18 years.
And if any company is dumb enough despite all evidence to build a thriving business on a .net or .co or a dashed domain or whatever, DESPITE our complete transparency about what traffic leakage is that they can expect...you can rest easy knowing one day as they succeed more and more they'll be knocking at your door hat in hand...all the while you have a silent partner driving confusion traffic to your .com making you money while you sleep.
But the domains for leasing have to be the BEST. They don't need to be Candy.com value, but it needs to have MEANING.And they have to give a company a shot at building a GREAT domain into a GREATER business, with all the advantages that me and you and Rick all know are there, unexploited in a parked domain earning as little as $100 per year. Like a tiger in a cage, capable of destroying all challengers, just as soon as you remove the iron bars.
I want to publicly thank our JointVentures.com clients for ARMING us with an amazing group of domain names.
After reviewing tens of thousands of submissions...maybe 30,000+, and 95% of those totally unsuitable according to Rick's criteria at this time...we have endeavored to choose the 300 third party domain names that I believed I could market and tell the value proposition to end users, and that Rick believed he can help negotiate into a sweet deal.
As of this minute, we have exclusively signed to represent I believe _______##_______ premium assets we can take to the marketplace and show an entrepreneurial community of investors has come together to make a STATEMENT to Corporate America that those assets will be exchanged only for a fair price including residuals,make a STATEMENT to Madison Avenue advertising agencies on the opportunity they missed forever, and make a STATEMENT to small business on the opportunity they still have to align their company with one of if not THE best generic domain names for their category and have the wind at their back forever.
We have no time to waste, a team to continue building, and many kinks to work out as we scale a process that was created FOR RICK SCHWARTZ so that we can serve dozens of others and be a good steward of the trust many have placed in us to kick ass and take names in 2013. Right now, implementing those scaling procedures is my #1 priority just as soon as I rest and recover a few days from the busiest 3 weeks I can remember in some time.
Over the year you'll be hearing all about our marketing tests and what's worked...and what has not.
That's right, folks. I think it's going to be interesting to build a business with the best minds--
and let's be real here...also the biggest mouths ;) -- in an entire industry watching.
Maybe a little stressful, for some, but I know that pressure makes diamonds. I'll accept that reality and you know damn well it ain't gonna lose Rick Schwartz any sleep.
We may even hire a few folks as sales brokers that want to go on the journey with us, from right here among this blog's readership. Diamonds in the rough that love domains as much as we do, and in today's economy will know a GREAT opportunity when they see it in front of their f@ce.
But with that part about 'full transparency' said and understood....I do have three small requests to make from folks as we go about 2013, and I sincerely hope you'll agree.
1. Give me the same chance Rick gave me to earn his respect and trust
(believe me it was not easy).
2. If you see something, say something
(we have already implemented a dozen ideas or more input by the readers of this blog, with a number filed away for use when we're ready).
3. Expect to see and here more of me here on RicksBlog in the last and next couple weeks than the next couple months. Starting February 1, the phase shifts and the message and focus returns where I want it to be for me and for Rick Schwartz...on the CEO, marketing executive and/or start-up entrepreneur increasingly seeing the great domain name they are interested in using weaved into the JointVentures.com lease and/or profit-share value proposition and thinking to themselves 'this is a hell of a deal'.
I hope you'll do the respectful thing in #1, see the benefit for yourself and your peers in #2, and recognize that for #3...well
As Rick says 'Danny and I will demonstrate with DEALS why the solution for ME is also the solution for YOU!'
My most important business goal for 2013 is not small, but it is not impossible. It's to demonstrate that Rick's solution is the solution for 'the 500.'
And to do so emphatically
not with words alone but deals.
That won't give me much time to joust with folks on a blog.
But as a 2 year reader I do plan to become more active on this forum and I'd like each of you 'regulars' to know that I appreciate the warm welcome you've given me and my ideas.
Being more active, however, means engaging with the people who matter, cheering anyone that wants to participate in what we are doing in spirit but not in letter with a 'mirroring' plan that will pave public acceptance of these types of deals more and more...and for the most part ignoring the jerks that offer no real value to anyone.
Is that fair or is that fair?
Have a great week!-----
I think it was about 9th grade that we learned about 'Equations' and 'Geometry'. I was always good in basic math. The only class I ever flunked was 'Trigonometry' in my senior year of high school. Lucky for me 'Trig' proved useless in life and not even sure they teach that anymore. That was before electronic handheld calculators were invented and instead of a slide rule, you had to figure it all out. I studied my ass off and the finals came and I froze. It all went bye-bye. Didn't remember a thing. But at 17 I knew this was a buch of useless crap that I would never use and if I di have the need to the answers were quite quickly available even back then.
Geometry comes in handy. I have but one major use. The triangle or Pyramid and figuring out the most important thngs to address in any mission. Identify the top and your chance of success was nearly assured. I discuss this in depth with this post.
That brings me to equations. Could be the most important tool in my toolbox. In math an equation as to be perfect and precise. In business it just has to be close. Equations for me take a split second on virtually any subject. I get the information, weigh it, give things weight and then come to a decision. It can take anywhere from that split second or two to days, weeks and longer. Considering every possibility and attributing the proper weight to it. Some are so heavily one sided that there is no decision. But there are always many that are wrapped up in confusion instead of clearly seeing an equation to determine your next move.
Your next move IS mathematical. The balance is either in your favor or against you. Either way, you MUST know going into something whether you need to give more or less. How much gas to give the throttle based on the equation you have at hand.
I may have lost some of you. But it is clear to me and sometimes much more difficult to articulate a way of approach as I try and explain the equation that is the captain of my ship. Percentages play a huge role in all this and you derive a percentage by doing an equation or just listing all the pros and cons and then forming an equation.
So if you are not familiar with equations it makes it oh so much harder to make the right decisions. Much harder to see how each priority is also vital to getting things right. You can start at the top of a pyramid or the bottm corners. If you start at the bottom, you will likely work way too hard and waste precious time. When your equation points out the top of the pyramid, you are automatically at 33%-50% of the entire journey. When you start in the bottom corners, you are focusing on the 2%-5%. That stuff usually fills in itself when you get the other higher pieces in place. The last row that takes ALL the time when you start THERE, takes NO TIME when you FINISH there. A winning way to proceed vs a losing way to proceed. 100% clear when you understand equations.
The domain sector has never been hotter except few in the industry believe that. I think they get discouraged easily. Some fold at the hint of adversity. This week you watched an avalanche of new extensions born and coming to market with so many behind them I can't even count. Each trying to duplicate history. Some will succeed. Some. But they won't succeed from just being there. They will have to do something new, dynamic, exciting just as a bare minimum to make an impact.
Look at all the money they are throwing at OUR industry. BILLIONS!! Who cares if they make it or not when BILLIONS are floating around. We have history to draw from. They have 'Late to the game syndrome' to draw from. Type in traffic is a natural event and does not translate to everything.
I am going to keep talking about type in traffic because without it, without human nature being interested in it, collapse is going to be the keyword for 70%. Nobody gives a shit will be the keyword for 25% and 5% will have some interest. Maybe. They will ALL reinforce and increase the value of .com.
800 numbers get type in traffic. Then came 888, 877, 855. 800 numbers still get type in traffic. 888 gets some tye ins....maybe 5%-10% of 800 if that. The reason why? It is easy to press 888 3 times in a row. 877 and 855 get virtually no type in traffic. Same human nature at play here folks.
Ass.com got about 1 million visitors in 2012. Ass.net got 15,000. Less than 2% of the .com. The .org got even less. Care to guess for .mobi? .xxx? .whatever x 1500 new .whatevers.
These are not emotions. These are raw numbers and folks have to deal with numbers. Tyoe-ins are the foundation that so few believe. Type-ins shows interest or there would be no reason to do it.
Now like I said there is money to be made here. But there is also a lot of money to lose as well. This is almost going to be like the 'Apprentice'. 1500 new folks will be handed aprons and their job is to create the next .com. Not the next 'Oil well' but the next fuel! That is what makes this so crazy. They would have to invent new fuel for a success.
The more they embrace the new extensions the more the .com will be worth. So while they are not getting type ins we are getting increased type ins because of confusion.
Speaking of confusion, I was looking over my top 20 domains in the last month or 2. Quite a few new entries came out of nowhere. $0 to over $1000/month on 3 different domains. $0 to $500 on another. That's just what I remember off the top of my head. That increase in revenue and traffic is a DIRECT RESULT OF WORK BEING DONE BY OTHER COMPANIES!!!!
They ALL have non .com extensions or have confusing domain names and 'I' am the beneficiary! I don't want 1500 extensions. I want 15,000. The more the merrier. I have silent partners that don't even know they are partners and the money I make is PURE profit with NO WORK while they are busting their ass because they don't get it. $1000 to ME represents how much to THEM????
The problem is they can't control human behavior. They make marketing mistakes that make me or the competitor lots of money. Saveme.com is the tip of the iceberg. So the 'Second coming' is going to make those with patience very wealthy. I know where the path leads them because numbers don't lie. Leaks in a ship don't lie.
If you own the .com of a new .whatever you have a domain worth MILLIONS before you even wake up. In success or failure for THEM, is a GUARANTEED success for you. Type in traffic is alive and well. The core domain investor has type in traffic. Those that have no type in traffic or don't want to bother hearing about it are in a different game. On a different field. We just intersect daily.
I have always been on record saying there are infinite ways to make money with domain names. Type ins are just one way. The easiest way. The way that gives you the most options. The way that paves the way to the future. The future that is unfolding now. Clarity on the Internet as far as who the leaders are. Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, etc. Many that were not here when many of us started this journey. This epic, life changing journey.
But the Kudos go to Mr. Johnson. He was bold enough to just give us the numbers. The most important numbers anyone reading this saw in the past year. When we hear of the future calamities, it could have all been avoided by heeding Mr. Johnson. He ain't making this stuff up.
That said I am going to find all types of ways to EXPLOIT .whatever. Even in a total success, the headwinds of so many at the same time doing anything might be insurmountable. What if 1500 hamburger stands opened on Broadway tomorrow. Could they all exist and make money? All in the same place at the same time and without even mentioning Mr. Johnson because many will not get that far.
I don't see .whatever as a threat like so many do. Quite the opposite. I have described the opportunity that comes in success or failure. We win. Regret lasts a lifetime. Think twice before you do anything because the future will show that the best days are still in front of us. Don't second guess yourselves after coming this far.
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