Archives for 2012

Domain Buying Strategies

By Alex Mandossian

Buying domains can be a very emotional process. To easily avoid making bad buying decisions in the heat of the moment, research your buys and develop a domain buying strategy before you initiate a purchase.

In Domaining 101, the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada offer four tips when buying domains:

1. Be ready to walk away. Domaining is definitely a buyers market – which puts you in a strong negotiating position. There are always more sellers than buyers. And there will always be more domains you can buy if your current deal doesn’t pan out.

This may feel uncomfortable at first, because we’re used to paying sellers’ prices without question. But buying a domain isn’t like buying a gallon of milk. Domains are not commodity items, so you have the power to make an offer. Do your homework and know what is fair and profitable for you. If the seller turns your offer down, start hunting for a similar domain that you can buy instead.

2. Do your homework. When buying domains, you’ll want to know [Read more…]

Monetizing Domains with Good Content

By Alex Mandossian

Successful domainers know there are two primary ways to monetize websites: Advertising and direct sales. Good content plays a key role in both strategies.

With the advertising model, content is used to attract and keep visitors at your site. The content is provided for free, and other companies or individuals pay to advertise on your site.

Advertising revenue comes in four forms. Cost per click (CPC) pays you every time a visitor clicks an ad. Cost per impression (CPM) pays you every time a certain number of people see an ad posted on your site.

With lead generation advertising, you get paid for each lead your site generates, and with cost per action (CPA) ads, you get paid [Read more…]

Picking Domains to Develop

By Alex Mandossian

Just as with real estate, developing an online “property” is a fast and easy way to increase the value of your domains. But not all domains are created equal – or are worth developing.

According to the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada, there are several factors to consider when deciding whether to invest time, money and resources in developing a domain. Here are five questions to ask yourself as you evaluate the development potential of your domains:

“Does this domain exactly match a popular search phrase?” Domains that match popular keyword phrases are good choices for two reasons. First, Google scans domain names when determining search engine results page placement. If your domain includes exact-match keywords, it will help to boost the domain’s ranking.

Second, exact-match keyword domain names are easier to remember than other domain names. Use the Google Keyword Research Tool to check the popularity of keywords related to your domain.

“Can I deliver what visitors want?” Visitors need [Read more…]

Domain Selling Strategies

By Alex Mandossian

To maximize your domaining profits, it’s critical to sell at the right time and for the right price. A clear selling strategy will help you make good decisions, so you don’t turn off legitimate buyers or sell your domains for too little.

In Domaining 101, the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada offer several tips for getting top dollar for your domain.

Price it right. As a general rule, you should set your price at 5-10 times what you have paid for the domain or 4-7 times the current monthly revenue. In other words, the routine buy/sell strategy is to buy domains at 10% of what your selling price is. Amazing, huh?!

Be sure that your asking price will make up for all expenses you’ll incur with the sale, including renewal or Paypal fees, as well as [Read more…]

How to Sell Your Domains

By Alex Mandossian

Selling domains is one way to make money as a domainer. Some domain sales will be straightforward to negotiate. Others will make you second-guess yourself, wondering whether you could have made more money. Keep reading for proven tips to making domain selling easy and painless.

According to the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada, a good rule of thumb is selling for 2 to 3 times what you paid for the domain.

You can usually sell domain names in the same places you buy them, such as listing and auction sites. (Click here to see a list of five places where you can buy domains.)

A key question to consider is do you want to make money quickly or is it more important for you to sell for top dollar?

If you want to sell quickly, target investors. Just like you, other domainers are looking for good-quality domains they can buy at a decent price, then resell for more money. Another domain investor may be willing to pay you enough to turn a profit, then invest the time and energy developing the domain into a greater value.

If you are focused on getting top-dollar for your domain, selling to an [Read more…]

5 Places to Buy Domains

By Alex Mandossian

Are you ready to start “domaining” – buying and selling domains to make a profit? Then you have to buy some domains. Here are the five types of places you can go to buy domains.

Domain backorder services. According to the domain trading experts at Protrada, 36 million domain names expire each year, and domain backorder sites are where you can snatch them up. A backorder service lets you place an order that goes through only if the domain expires. You set the price you’d be willing to pay if the domain becomes available. If no one else orders, it’s yours. If multiple people order, it goes into an auction.
Domain auction services. Multiple potential buyers will bid on a domain, and the highest bidder wins. Reputable services allow buyers and sellers to leave feedback, similar to Ebay.com.
Domain listing services. In its free e-book, Domaining 101, Protrada recommends that new domainers stay away from this source, explaining that backorder services and auction services offer [Read more…]

8 Tips for Choosing a Good Domain Name

By Alex Mandossian

If you’re interested in domain trading as business model, one of the most important things to know is how to evaluate the quality of a domain. The domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada recommend looking at 8 key characteristics.

1. Does it have the right domain extension? The domain extension (also called the “top level domain” or TLD) is what appears after the “dot” — .com, .org, .biz and so on.

A .com domain name is the most valuable. The reason is that people tend to default to the .com version of domain names when they don’t know for sure which URL to enter. Websites that have TLDs other than .com lose an average of 10 percent of their traffic to .com defaults.

2. Does it contain relevant keywords? Domains that consist of exact-match keywords are valuable because Google gives such pages a ranking advantage. They also are easier to remember than other domain names.

3. Is the niche popular? Choose domain names that target [Read more…]

How to Make Money Online with Domaining

By Alex Mandossian

Most people think that making money online involves selling a product or service via a website. But there’s another way to make money 24/7 from anywhere in the world, even while you’re working your day job. It’s called “domaining,” and it’s a legitimate, highly effective internet-based investment strategy.

To understand how this money-making strategy works, let’s first define what a domain actually is.

A domain is the proper name for a web address. It doesn’t refer to the content; instead, it refers to the name. When you think of AlexMandossian.com, you may think of all of the blog posts I’ve shared over the years. But the domain itself is simply the name, AlexMandossian.com.

In their excellent free e-book, “Domaining 101,” the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada make the important distinction that there is [Read more…]

9 Ingredients for Powerful Order Pages

By Alex Mandossian

When web site visitors get to the order page, many marketers think, “I’ve got ‘em!” But going to the order page merely demonstrates that a suspect is now a prospect. You can’t celebrate the sale until they click the “buy” button – and what you do on your order page can dramatically influence their decision.

Here are 9 tips for creating more powerful order pages:

1. Make your online order pages like offline direct mail coupons. Many online marketers make the mistake of including only billing information on their order pages. But this focuses the visitor’s attention on how much money is being spent.

Instead, take a cue from offline marketers who include coupons in their direct mail offers. Summarize the offer in your reader’s voice [Read more…]

Shatter Writer’s Block in 250 Words

By Alex Mandossian

Writer’s block makes copywriting the bane of many entrepreneurs’ existence. If you find yourself freezing at the keyboard, especially under the pressure of a looming deadline, try my favorite technique: Crafting a five-part, 250-word executive summary about the project.

I organize my executive summaries around Gary Bencivenga’s Persuasion Formula:

Have an urgent problem.
Make a unique promise.
Use unquestionable proof.
Offer a user-friendly proposition.

When writing your executive summary, start by asking, “What is the urgent problem?” Write down what you know about your prospects’ pet peeves, pains, predicaments, joys, admirations, and hopes. These details will build rapport and help prospects grasp that you understand their situation.

Next is the solution. Explain what is possible for your prospects so they can visualize how things will be once their problems are solved.

The third question to answer is, “Why are they stuck?” Explain to your readers why they are stuck with their problem and have not yet found a good enough solution. [Read more…]

Archives for 2012

Domain Buying Strategies

Monetizing Domains with Good Content

Picking Domains to Develop

Domain Selling Strategies

How to Sell Your Domains

5 Places to Buy Domains

8 Tips for Choosing a Good Domain Name

How to Make Money Online with Domaining

9 Ingredients for Powerful Order Pages

Shatter Writer’s Block in 250 Words

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