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!
In case you missed it, I have been doing daily video podcasts on Twitter and folks seem to like the content. I just tackle different subjects in short 2 minute clips. I have published 10 podcasts since April 30th.
I like the written word because it gives me more time to think and use the best words to explain my thoughts. But sometimes video helps to soften the delivery. There will be times that the videos will be tough and maybe even go after wrongdoers by name and company. I won't hold back. As always, I just tell it like it is. You can take it or leave it. I think the passion comes thru in a more level way.
I am still working on getting the clips to show on the blog, but to help things get started and without further delay, I will list my 10 clips here in order of publication.
In my first 10 days these videos have had 100,000 views, 512 likes and 114 retweets. It's really good content if I do say so myself! I think you will enjoy and if you do, I will keep cranking them out.
I will explain the purpose and the motivation but you have to watch to find out. You will see the real me in action and what makes me tick. I may surprise a few of you!
I look at a startup as a Dual-Decathlon with the obstacles and challenges that must be met before you even get to the actual Decathlon itself.
Sorry, but almost every startup I see flunks right out of the gate. It’s like taking a math test so they got a 33 and they think they’re cruising. Your single biggest and most everlasting decision is the name of your company. There is none bigger.
Most importantly any good or service needs to be market tested. So if you haven’t tested sales you’re probably going to flunk.
Oh, you want to keep it a secret. But with that, you might be wasting valuable TIME. Sorry secrets don’t last, first-movers do!
I have been involved in a number of startups in my life and you know how much time they spent on naming,? Not enough! It was horrible. It was something that they want to get over with fast, not something that they wanted to be thoughtful about. They never took enough time to truly discuss alternatives. The first name was what they picked each time.
So once you have your name the next most important thing is your website name. Your domain name. We all know how bad startups do when it comes to that! So maybe start with the domain name. If you are having a newborn, choose one with an available name. Same with business. Find the domain first or you flunk again unless you get an exact match.
There are only a few jobs in business thinking planning and doing. Pretty simple. But most DO, then they THINK then they PLAN how to fix the calamity they themselves created by rushing and not thinking. They FAIL!
Do you want me to tell you how many businesses start with DO with the power thing and then they can do cleanup mode. And that cost money. To recoup money that you just pissed away is your profit.
Don’t minimize ANY pitfalls. Must be magnified AND amplified. MUST BE!!!! Can't stress this enough. It's part of my "Back Pocket Stories" (It's on my twitter feed)
So, if you are a startup these are mistakes that will likely put you out of business before you even start. YOU are the only ones that don't know it!
That's why failure is so so so easy to spot. You can't bowl a 300 game or even a 200 game if your first 6 frames go in the gutter. You championship bid was over long before that. lol
Startups need to smarten up and be smartups or they will not survive long in the wild. They will be eaten alive by mistakes and leaks and doing w/o thinking. They always say they will do it right: "Next time"!
Hey Domain investors, aren’t you sick of getting used and abused? Whether it's ICANN as Konstantinos wrote about yesterday or is registries, registrars, auction houses, Mechanical Valuations, PPC companies, Google, Yahoo or anyone else, DOMAIN INVESTORS will always get the shaft. Ya know why? Because they can, and we aren't organized. Like I have said there is NO DOMAIN INDUSTRY! There are just thousands of soloist renegades that can't see past today. They party like drunken sailors regardless of the leaks on the ship and the threat at hand.
You know what the worst part is?? We are the ones that enriched these people. We are the ones that helped grow their companies and gave them the power they have. We are the ones that have been taken advantage of at every stage.
We are not the bad guys. We are not cybersquatters. We are the capitalists that create wealth and opportunity for us and others. We are the people that invest our time energy and money into something selfish, but that’s what opportunity is all about. But this selfish opportunity is very widespread. It's a worldwide opportunity. Why don’t they look at a person in Nigeria that had perhaps no chance at a decent life and he’s making his fortune on the Internet. With domain names. With many domain names. It’s a passport out of the wilderness and into the mainstream. Why would anyone mess with that??
The Internet has probably lifted more people out of poverty than every governmental program in history combined!! It's so obvious. Why mess with that??
The Internet and domain names have been the greatest equalizer the world has ever known. Never before in world history have so many benefited so quickly. As bad as things are there has never been more opportunity worldwide than there is at this very moment. NEVER!!
As domain investors we created an ecosystem that many companies have made a lot of money with. I believe without what we did as investors and risk takers the entire picture would have looked quite a bit different than it is now. We made people very rich!!
Now, unfortunately, there’s a lot of bad apples in what we do that go over the line and abuse the privilege of what they have. Like I have said many times, some people can be put in a diamond mine full of diamonds for free and they’re still steal something or do something that’s not right or otherwise abuse something that shouldn’t be abused.
I am proud to be a domain investor. I’ve never ever been ashamed of it for a moment. I did something that was taught to me all of my life: become successful. And many of us have found that same success. And of course in time they would want to take that success away from us. They did that in American history, it’s nothing new. They've been doing it in Europe for centuries. Governments seize land that it wants. That's valuable.
Of course this will be happening with domains I saw that. the day I got online. I’m just shocked and surprised that it took a quarter of a century. Thank goodness for that!
But that’s also why I’ve been very conservative with domaining. To me, it's like "Musical Chairs". The music will eventually stop. Those that are overextended will be destroyed.
See what happens, you are flying along and then SMACK! You are dead meat. You owe a lot of $$. You had a fantastic year. But then after the income stops, the tax man cometh. Many have been destroyed cuz the good year was followed by a terrible year and they can never dig out of that tax debt and what they owe on cars, mortgages and toys.
So expect to get it up the arse as time goes by and prepare. We did have a lawsuit at one time that may have prevented this fiasco, but it was not supported and eventually we had to give in. That's what happens when an industry has no organization and has no purpose. And it's even worse when there is no industry to fight back and make their case.
The price of pigeon shit farming is about to go up so maybe time to focus on prime domains. Remember, 10 really good domains make you a domain investor. 1000 silly names, will make you go broke and you are a pigeon shit farmer. The only good thing, farmers will ALL be washed away!
I got into this when domains were $100 a pop. If they go back to $100 so be it! All I know is for $10 you can be worldwide in a moment and change your destiny forever! It's the greatest bargain the world has ever known. It's the greatest opportunity the world has ever known. It's just amazing!
BUT!
In my STRONG opinion, ICANN is a corrupt racketeering organization. It's a crime syndicate that advances interests of a few insiders at the expense of the masses and the general good. They have abused their power and their role.
Racketeering refers to crimes committed through extortion or coercion. A racketeer attempts to obtain money or property from another person, usually through intimidation or force. The term is typically associated with organized crime. The law defines 35 different offenses that constitute racketeering in the U.S.
I think ICANN and each member should be investigated FULLY and I would go back to the origins of the new gTLD program. The demolition derby of corruption. ICANN leaders profited from their conflicts of interest, and they never did it for the purpose they were chartered to do. They abused their leadership roles and profited PERSONALLY many millions of dollars. To me, that is corruption at the worst!
Is ICANN Corrupt??? Many think so! Count me in that camp!
Perhaps The most compact but most qualified domainer show ever is surpassing all expectations!!
The appetite for a professional domain show is more than I ever anticipated. And to add to that they have to come to Asheville. Definitely a place not on the beaten track. You have to make an extra effort to get there. That’s what it’s all about. A commitment to make something happen. A commitment to have some success in whatever form it takes. When you have the right ingredients and you have the right people, great things happen. When you have skin in the game, you actually force it!
I can now say this is the most potent group of domain investors in many years and perhaps ever.
They say you can’t go back to the future? Nonsense! This will end up being as a time marked as TRAFFIC 2004 and armed with 15 YEARS of knowledge and progress, maybe even more important.
The main topic will be "Acceleration" and how we accelerate the use and understanding of Domain names. How to take advantage of our assets in OUR lifetime.
When it’s over it will be compared to some of the historical events that we all refer back to in our history of domaining. Collectively we own billions of dollars in Internet assets and tens of millions of domain names.
Again, we keep the noise out and the business in. Break bread, compare notes, shake up the world. There’s nobody better to rock the domain world than the Top domain investors in the world.
We are talking some of the top investors in the world now plus the sponsorships of Fabulous Directnic and GoDaddy. Making this a true landmark event.
They will ask were you at Ricks Asheville meet-up in 2019? And interestingly enough the overlap of people that attended TRAFFIC 2004 is remarkable. The same people saw something special back then and they see that same special thing now!!
We can all feel it. What’s going to happen in Asheville is going to be eventful. News will emerge, partnerships will be forged, and new companies will be born. More news than the big shows which have had no news because everyone is running, running running. My model slows everyone down so there is actually time to do business.
So those coming to Asheville, please come with high goals and high expectations even if there’s not a thing you can articulate about it right now. The energy that will happen when you take domain investors that now have combined hundreds of years of experience will be interesting. So, expect to experience something bigger and better than ever before.
Have faith in the ability of high-powered Type-A personalities put together in the most relaxed and wonderful atmosphere will come away doing something of significance. And if not it’s going to be a hell of time anyhow. A memorable time that none of us will ever forget. That I can promise you. That you can take to the bank. That’s going to be a reality no matter if only 6 showed up
Now as we approach 70 attendees the breakdown goes something like this
50 Domain Investors
15 spouses
4 Sponsor Associates
There is but ONE TICKET left at $399 as I write this. Then 6 tickets at $599.
Then we are SOLD OUT!!
Then: You can apply for a ticket. Must add value to qualify.
When you come you will immediately see the difference. I keep the NOISE out and the BUSINESS in! Time wasters have many events to choose from. This isn't one of them!
There won't be dozens of folks on stage making promises they will never keep or telling you why they have the next big thing. We will have domainers share thier stories and their dreams.
Just back to basics before this industry got hijacked!
Again, this is a "Dutch Treat" event. Those that acted early got rewarded. There are NO DISCOUNTS! There are NO FREE TICKETS! Please don't even ask!
I was asked about why different ticket price levels?
It means we have more options for expansion of more/better meals and/or events. You are watching an evolution from start to finish. If 6 people showed up we would have 1 dinner and be done. As it grows, we get to evolve into something more dynamic w/o losing the purpose.
It's part of marketing and creating a successful event. Just because something is not for profit does not mean you shoestring everything on the cheap. It means you raise the money and you spend it all. The more you raise, the more you can do! We are going to have an exceptional event with exceptional business men and women and we wull make history!
This has been a dream for well over 15 years! They said it would never work. They said nobody would ever show up in Asheville. Not only are the showing up, they are coming from all over the world!
ON February 8th with this post, the dream started to be put in motion. I had no venue however I picked out the ONLY place I would hold the event back in 2004. Once I made that post I cont5acted the hotel and within the same week, we had a signed contract!
So my biggest job now is to control the size of this gathering without turning qualified investors away.
I also want to give Michael Berkens a special thanks for allowing me to bounce ideas off of him including having the show in Asheville, to begin with! I only expected a dinner with 6-18 folks at most! WOW!
So, we won't be the biggest, but Asheville will damn well be the BEST show ever focusing on DOMAIN INVESTORS and our futures.
Hard to imagine that we are less than 100 days away from August!
Today I caught a domainer that I believe outright lied, but at a minimum mislead. All in an effort to pump up GTLD's which is in collapse mode.
This happens ALL-DAY long!! I am sick of it! So I am going to post the Twitter thread and you can see for yourself and decide. Did he lie? Did he mislead? Or is that perfectly ok with you?
Just make sure you mulitply it by all the others doing the same CRAP! That influences others under false pretenses. PUMP and DUMP!!
It started with this quote that I challenged.
"I owned one of the best gtlds it was bought by one world's 40 biggest legal firms So it must have good"
My Response:
"Perfect Example of someone spouting stuff won't give us the domain name won't give us the price. It's just nonsense! Give us the details or it doesn't exist."
He is on twitter now trying to explain himself. Trying to say
So folks, stop swallowing their .horsesh*t! They are lying thru their teeth. They are in collapse mode. Out of 500 extensions, only a handful has daily gains and HUNDREDS have daily losses.
I fight hard when I make a sale to make sure it is released publicly. It's important for my future sales, it's important for my portfolio and it is important for everyone. Just like Real Estate, that info is vital to the growth and increasing values of all domains.
But many domainers and companies actually HIDE behind NDA's, and it is time to stop! They pound their chest when it is convenient and HIDE behind an NDA when it is not. That's nonsense. There is no reason for MOST, and I can prove it right here, right now.
You can still give bulk info w/o violating an NDA & HELP EVERYONE! Help yourself. Help the industry. Help promote progress and what we all do! Suppressing sales data hurts everyone!!
"I sold 10 domains last year for a total $230k"
"We sold 220 domain names in April for a total of 2.93MM"
Stop hiding sales data when you don't have to! Time to DEMAND all info or give none at all!! There are NO EXCUSES unless you search for one and it won't be valid!
Now domainers must pressure companies to start releasing this information in BULK and stop with half-news which is no news!
Sorry, but this NDA nonsense has gone way too far for way too long. Stop swallowing partial information and then thinking you have the whole picture. It's misleading at best!
I am appealing to all companies in the domain industry that CAN do this, DO THIS! Help You, help us, help our futures.
There is a reason I have been posting for 23 years. We have generational assets that will outlive every single one of us. OUR JOB is to accelerate that period so we can take advantage of what we have in OUR LIFETIME!!! That is the main reason I have been doing this and I guess it pisses me off when those companies much larger than me with a much bigger megaphone to amplify domains and their power and value, DON'T! Frankly, it sickens me! Sorry, but it is how I feel.
The NDA NONSENSE is stunting our progress and our growth overall. Please rethink and report in bulk which can be done 99% of the time w/o any violation whatsoever. There is no valid reason not to.
Compare that to what some have done with the fake valuations and the destruction THAT is doing! It's DESTROYING values not increasing them!
SICKENING!
To those companies that do it the right way, I applaud you. To those that don't, you should be. I am appealing to you to change your policies without delay!
I have seen some GTLD collapses as we see HUNDREDS of new GTLD's that are dying on the vine. But I have never seen a meltdown like .Boston. Arguably one of the stronger Geo GTLD's. Seems all geo's are in trouble. .Taipei, .Miami, .Vegas etc. All, DEAD EXTENSIONS still walking!
.Boston has 13,588 domains of which 9603 or over 70% are dropping. Of the 3953 still in the zone file, 3011 are parked. Leaving just 900 domains that may or may not be parked and registry holdbacks. Another so-called domain investor getting hammered with losses! WAKE UP FOOLS!
Just remember the ONLY ONES that lost money on nGTLD's were Domain Investors. Foolish domain investors just like the fools that pushed IDN's for 15 years and thought they were geniuses and looked down at everyone for not buying into THEIR crap. Not a single actual full-time domain investor has made a REAL living from them. Not a one!
The real collapse has yet to come. Stay tuned as the black hole of domaining continues to dominate GTLD's. I have been here every step of the way warning about this but many millions of dollars that were formerly in the pockets of Domain Investors (know-nothing domain investors) now belong to the registries. It's their money now. WAKE UP!!! You got fooled. You got taken. You listened to the wrong people geniuses! They sold you a bill of goods and now many of you are BROKE or are about to be.
The real collapse has yet to come. Stay tuned as the black hole of domaining continues to dominate GTLD's. I have been here every step of the way warning about this but many millions of dollars that were formerly in the pockets of Domain Investors (know-nothing domain investors) now belong to the registries. It's their money now. WAKE UP!!! You got fooled. You got taken. You listened to the wrong people geniuses! They sold you a bill of goods and now many of you are BROKE or are about to be.
Hey, Geniuses!! This is what GTLD's look like in a spellchecker! WAKE UP! Your emails, sensitive emails, will go to others, maybe your competition.
A big congrats to Paul Nicks who found something interesting Friday evening that had not been discovered until then and it is pretty big news!!
Paul Nicks VP & GM for GoDaddy's Aftermarket
So, I was posting pictures on Twitter of folks as they registered for the first TRAFFIC 15 years ago in 2004 in which we also held the first domain auction. As you see below, it is on a whiteboard and done by hand.
But look closely behind Joe and, you can actually see the domain names that were in the auction. That is where eagle eye, Paul Nicks of Godaddy discovered Leesa.com on the board which is now a major mattress company online. It was up for auction. Nobody bid on it but somewhere along the history of domains that domain has ROOTS! I am hoping some domain sleuth can dig even deeper and find more!
What Domaining is all about. Seeing and digging a little deeper.
Paul and Joe are just 2 of the 36 attendees that have already bought their "Early Birdy" tickets. I am not sure at what point I will cut it off. There are 50 tickets at $295 and then the level goes to $395 but at that point, I will have to limit seating and make the last group of seats by invitation only. So just a heads up. It's not unlimited nor do I want it unlimited. Sorry, it can't get too big and still work as I envision and have the most value to those that attend. Someone even suggested having 2 separate meetups, one week apart. That may be a little much but who knows!
Bring yer spouse/GF or both 2 Asheville!
If they attend Cocktail Party, Luncheon or anything w/ food and/or liquor they need to buy a ticket. They are invited to join you on the Ghost Tour or the Beer Brewery tour as those are ala carte tickets. But if they want to be part of the event, it is dutch-treat, they gotta pay too. Sorry. No exceptions.
This is the public list of those attending. Feel free to announce yourself. 5 more signups since the posting. Some very impressive names but not for me to make public without their permission. They are coming from coast to coast and 5 countries.
Registering is time sensitive. If you are SERIOUS about coming, DECIDE NOW!
I will keep this short and sweet. Give me 30 minutes and I will change your destiny just as I have in the past. If you already listened to my podcast with Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire.com, you can skip this unless you want another great pep talk!.
Why come to Asheville? I'll give you reasons! Why be a domain investor? I'll give you examples.
Need a little Domainer reinforcement? I will do that too. I am the #1 proponent of Domains in the world. No brag, just FACT!
Please note, there is a 10 second delay before interview starts which is just after the 5 minute mark. 5:18
So when I found the 2004 picture of me in front of the Grove Park Inn yesterday I started to reflect on the similarities and differences between TRAFFIC 2004 and the Asheville Meetup. Let me share some thoughts with you.
For one thing, I had never produced a trade show before nor had I ever been on stage in front of people of which I was terrified. I never fed 135 people 3 or 4 meals each or put a menu together. I never did a host of things that now I have done 28 times. But I always rise to the occasion no matter what it is in life. I even surprise and impress myself sometimes.
TRAFFIC 2004-2007 were sensational events by all accounts. The success of TRAFFIC had a very specific recipe and to be honest, it was lost when the interests of domain investors took a back seat to the needs of sponsors and others. My original recipe was no more.
In 2014 it was time to get out of the way of the GTLD trainwreck. Sometimes it just makes sense to sit it out. Get out of harm's way and allow the dust to settle. Once the dust settles, and folks are clear-eyed once again, the original need want and desire remain and come back with a fury. Meanwhile, there is nobody in the industry on the record like I am when it comes to gTLDs.. Literally, HUNDREDS of posts articulating and exposing the pitfalls. They poisoned a thriving industry and NOW it's time to recover!
TRAFFIC 2004 was unique because it brought so many people together for the first time face to face. Before that, we had interacted on "Ricks Board" for 4 years since 2000. Relationships that were forged 15-20 years ago have endured the test of time. The trail never changed, I just had to sit and wait 5 years for a failure that should have been recognized in 5 minutes!
I have created intersections that have been life-changing. Bringing people together that have something in common and would have never met without bending destiny just a tiny little bit. That's the way I give back. It's the way I change people's life. Many that I have never met nor will I ever meet. But I have some street cred after 20 some years of consistency.
What's different now is the fact that besides knowing each other over a long period of time we are now armed with so much more knowledge and understanding. The universe itself has changed so much. They have gotten so much more sophisticated as well.
My recipe always included slowing things down. Take folks out of their everyday frenzy of activities, calls, and appointments and allow very smart and very creative people do what they do best. Be smart and creative with each other and at the same time receiving an energy transfusion that lasts a very long time. It reinforces our belief in ourselves and our assets.
When you come back and taste the original recipe and the show done for the original reason you will know in the first moments that it's like coming home to have your favorite dish and how mouth-watering delicious it is.
This time we are a self-funded, not for profit get together that is going to provide something special, fun and unique and still do 3 days of business and have a group of high power players without the noise. As a soloist, I don't need to make a profit or make a living from a show. My personal motives are different. I need to accelerate the future. Especially after a horrible 5 year detour.
This idea I had 15-20 years ago was shared for the first time on February 8th. I ran it by Berkens on the 7th. Told him about my dream and my idea. Host hotel contacted and had signed the contract on February 21st. The first business day was just last Monday the 25th. On Tuesday the 26th we exhausted the first block of rooms I contracted for and added more. Thanks for the confidence. It means alot.
So at this point, we have more actual domain investors paid and registered than came to either of the last 2 TRAFFIC shows. Mostly high-level investors. A number of them with great portfolios but have never been to any show. It's their TRAFFIC 2004 for sure. And that is in just 4 days for an event 5 months away. WOW!
As I posted early on if it were just Berkens, Messer and Schwartz it would have been a great time. But to be joined now with dozens of other truly professional domain investors and many more to come is going to be so much better.
When I tossed out a number to Berkens early on he asked how many domainers coming would be good and what you hope to expect. I said 18-36. But when I posted the idea and folks were excited about it, I signed the contract based on 60 attendees.
We will likely blow past 60 and am now planning for 130. Once we sell 130 tickets, I will close registration, and I will crunch some numbers. There are 60 tickets at $295, and there are 70 tickets at $395. I want everyone there for $295. But I am planning and financing this a long way in advance, and you still need to have a reason and sense of urgency to sign up.
That brings me to the next thing. Once you register, getting your hotel room is very important. This is the first week of August and easily their single busiest week of the year. This little town and great digs are going to redefine "Vibrant" for you. But please make your reservations now! The hotel does not mind waiting and getting another $200/night more per room. They know from experience that they will be sold out.
Rooms are still $349 but I expect the next round of rooms to be raised to $399 which is still much less than the lowest rate of $479 I can find right now. As we get closer to the summer, I would expect rates to be between $599-$699 until they sell out. If you get an error message, it means the second block of rooms have been sold out. Please drop me a line if that happens.
Also, airlines. The 2 major hubs other than some direct flights to Asheville are Atlanta and Charlotte. It is best to fly in early in the day if possible. Summer can get backed up in the afternoon plus pm thunderstorms and I don't want anyone to miss the incredible opening cocktail party that is going to mark the start of a new era in domain investing. Come in a day early but don't miss it!
As I announced on Twitter, the Ghost tour has been booked, and our guide is no slouch. We are going to have the one and only Christian MacLeod! He is a pro-paranormal investigator who has been in the NYTimes, on Coast to Coast AM national radio, ABC news affiliate, etc; and, he is the current Master of the Masonic Lodge.
Fabulous.com/Directnic.com have stepped up to sponsor the Friday lunch. Thanks, guys! Could not have picked a better Inaguaral sponsor! Going back to the future!
I do have a few openings for other things like tours or busses, a possible breakfast, but I think it is essential to be selective given what I have learned. While attendance is open, sponsorships are going to be restricted. And to answer your burning question, the answer is "No." No, this event will have no gTLD sponsors. They are welcome to attend, but sponsorships would be like me selling out at this stage and at this time.
Looking into the future! Want to see what I see?
All I can say is this is a labor of love. I do what I do in the months before the event and then get out of the way once the show starts. It's your show. As I started before the show came to fruition, I don't even want to touch the money. I will finance and fund it, I will organize it, I will guarantee the contract, I will do all the grunt work. But I don't want to make a business of it. Using Eventbrite helps me do that. I elected not to get a check from them until after the event is over. That keeps the bookkeeping much simpler.
If anyone has any dietary restrictions, please let me know, and I will make arrangements. That said, come hungry because there is some delicious food coming your way.
When you take a detour and, you end up in the wrong place, in my world, you go back to the starting point and try a different path. In this case, a tried and true path that works. So we will take out the noise, take out the gTLD's, take out their sponsorships and get back to the BUSINESS of domain name investing!!!
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