Domainer's Gazette-Home

recently read some interesting news coming out the Momentous.ca camp..

seems, through their Rebel.com business unit, they’re gonna allow domain name owners to become their own registrar, essentially allowing domain holders to fully control the fate of their domain names, rather than entrusting their faith in a middleman registrar like Netsol, GoDaddy, or the ill fated RegisterFly.. (the RegisterFly business collapsed after hundred of complaints over lost or stolen domains and alleged executive fraud, and GoDaddy was embroiled in a PR fiasco back in Feb 07 when they cancelled the domain name FamilyAlbum.com due to a reported policy violation.)

Although this service is only being offered to domain name holders with portfolios of more than 10,000 domain names (ala the Almighty Domainers ), it’s a step in the right direction for all domainers, as I’m sure this service will bleed down to us in the coming months/years..

you can find the full story here

tried my best to acquire the domain MontanaWeb.com at Snapnames today, and couldn’t outbid either bonkerstwo or erikmt. I actually didn’t even get out the hundreds as they both bid this puppy into the thousands the day the auction began. As I expected, bonkerstwo came out on top, tossing a $7,600 bid to win.

I felt for erikmt, as he seemed to be the previous owner (I googled erik + montanaweb and saw a few pages come up with his name). Would have been interesting to see the site reborn..

now all we’ll see is yet another parked page..

As all these articles surface around the world of domaining, they tend to highlight one small segment of the domaining world - the segment I call the ‘Almighty Domainers’. These are the folks who’ve already “figured it out” so to speak, who entered the domain game years ago, saw tremendous value, and succeeded. In my opinion, though, there are actually 4 segments, or, 4 overall types of domainers. Here’s how I see it:

1. The Aloof Domainer
   This is how domainers tend to start out. The Aloof, at times, don’t even realize a domain is called a domain - Usually referring to it as the URL ‘thing’, or website address. Oftentimes, this crowd will own a handful of domains, and in rare cases, will own a 3 letter, or juicy dictionary term. In most cases, though, the Aloof is detached from the domaining community, and their domains tend to be undeveloped. At times, when the Almighty Domainer, and in some cases the Astute Domainer, look to expand their domain empire on the cheap, they’ll convince the Aloof to sell for well below market price.

   The aloof can be quite cagey though, and forward thinking, registering domains in developing segments well before the active community covers the market.

2. The Apprehensive Domainer
   This is a big step for a domainer. It’s when they realize the true existence of the domaining market/community, and how - if wise steps are taken - a business can be created. They’re quite the nervous lot, though, as they’re oftentimes investing their own cash and facing a somewhat unknown virtual business world. Being somewhat green to the industry, the Apprehensive Domainer faces a few challenges. 1st, how to identify quality domain names - based on name alone, or on potential traffic levels. And 2nd, how to monetize the domain name, either through developing, parking, or re-sale. The Apprehensive Domainer who succeeds, graduates, and becomes an Astute Domainer.
3. The Astute Domainer
   I compare the Astute Domainer to Neo at the end the first The Matrix movie, when he’s face to face with Agent Smith in the hallway, and begins to view the source code of the Matrix all around him. He understands how it all works, how it all fits together. Astute Domainers are like this. They’ve had early success, on a smaller scale, in domain name investments, or domain name monetization, and are slowly building their empire. They understand how it all works. They are, though, somewhat limited by investment capital, and - like Neo - are green in some aspects. Astute domainers typically fund their own acquisitions from revenue they generate each month, and perform rigorous analysis on domains to determine acquisition interest. Astute Domainers, at times, can be thorns in the side of Almighty Domainers, swooping in and acquiring mid-tier domains in an auction environment, identifying potential revenue streams Almighty Domainers might overlook. Astute Domainers also tend to develop their domains, more so than the Almighty crowd, who tend to park.
4. The Almighty Domainer
   These are the gorillas. The acquisition specialists who saw value in this business years ago, and are now reaping the benefits. Flush with cash, either from previous domain sales, or monthly domain parking revenue, they’re who we all strive to be. The domain name game is old hat to them, but they’re still highly addicted. For a domain name they truly covet, price is no consideration. They tend to find the most value in domain name auction houses like snapnames and tdnam, where they actively bid on a daily basis. They’re also a very friendly lot, sharing knowledge about the industry, example Frank Schilling, and helping, encouraging, and educating the Aloof, the Apprehensive, and Astute along their way in the domain name world.

So what level am I, you ask? I’d say I’m an entry level Astute Domainer. I’ve figured out a way to monetize domains and create a monthly revenue stream, but still nervous as my pockets aren’t as deep as some of my competitors. I tread very lightly, but when I do identify a valuable domain at auction, I’ll actively bid what it takes to acquire it.

I wonder how other domainers define themselves …

maybe I feel bad for YPN, having entered the contexual market so late. But as a, dare I say, underdog, I felt for them, and decided to throw them a bone and have them present ads for several of my sites, including a bed and breakfast site I run called Planet BnB.

Months went by, and I’d bite my tongue as I’d see ads on Planet BnB advertising apartment rentals. ‘Give them time’, I’d say, ‘they’ll figure out this targeting algo, then I’ll feel good that I was able to help them along in this learning process’.

But, after about 6 months, nothing changed. I pulled the plug on bnb about a week ago and went back to Goog.

oh sweet AdSense, immediately targeted, about a 300% spike in revenue, thank you.

YPN, get with it. I’m still running you on 8 other sites. Consider this a warning.

a quick non-domaining post..

I’m far from being a Wordpress expert, and from time to time, I dig around for tips or tricks to make Domainer’s Gazette easier for readers to digest and follow. This morning, I found myself on tubetorial.com, and the site provided so many great wordpress hints and tips, I felt inclined to mention them here ( just in case anyone out there wasn’t aware of their presence ) . Most specifically, their ‘7 Essential Wordpress Hacks‘ was incredibly helpful. Ive had a hard time understanding how to backup my database, and also activate the ’subscribe to comments’ plugin, and their video tutorials (all free) provided some great step by step explanation.

Looks like Netsol is further promoting their “SEO management services”, adding this new banner to the mix.

you know what I’d love to do? (but don’t have the cash..)

subscribe to one of these services, document the entire process, and post the entire history here for all to see.. If not me, Aaron Wall, Shoemoney, or Jim Boykin should do it..