Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit
The book that covers everything you need to know to be profitable in the domain name industry
Many people thought making money with domain names was a thing of the past. Not true!!
So how do you do it?
In my book, Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit, I go through a thorough overview of the domain name industry. Including references from domain resources and registrars, my book offers suggestions and advice as to how to deal with domain names. With over twenty years of experience with domain names and websites, I have direct knowledge of running a domain name business, whether it is a side business or a full-time effort. The book includes rules to follow and tips on subjects ranging from domain name auctions to trademark infringement. This book is a must-have for anybody looking to be profitable through the buying and selling of domain names.
What is in the book?
Domain Names:
To start with, I get into the details of domain names and IP addresses. If you want to have a business buying and selling domain names, it is best to know as much as you can about what it actually is you are selling. For example, can you be a successful car salesperson without knowing as much as you can learn about cars? Not likely.
For domain names, I cover what domain names are used for and what part of a URL is the domain name, what http(s) is, as well as http://www. You should know these basic details.
Also, you should know what a TLD is. If you don’t know the difference between “gTLD” and “new gTLD” as well as “ccTLD” and even “sTLD” and IDNs.
Do you know what the longest possible domain name is? How about the shortest? I cover the 3 one-letter .com domain names and why two-letter .com domain names have such high values.
For TLDs, I go deeper into the main common TLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .edu, .mil, .gov, etc. Why would a business looking for a domain name want a TLD? More specifically, why would they want a .com? And when would ccTLDs be a good option for a company?
I then cover the Domain Name System (DNS) in more detail – although not specifically required for those buying and selling domain names, there are times when knowing about DNS and name servers can come in handy.
Domain Name Registration:
The first thing to know about registering domain names is what rights you have – you are not “buying” a domain name so you do not own it. So what are you selling?
It is important to know who ICANN is, as well as the difference between a Registry and a Registrar, and even Resellers and Registrants. And with Registrants, where does your contact information get stored and what is shown in a Whois search?
What is the domain name lifecycle? What happens when you don’t renew a registration? And what is a grace period?
Value of Domain Names:
What makes a domain name valuable? It’s length? Whether it’s memorable? Is it a keyword? Is there a website already built on it? And why shouldn’t you use hyphens and numbers?
One of the most over-used words used when describing the value of a domain name is “premium.” What makes a domain name really a premium name?
You may also have heard the term “end user.” What might an end user think is important when choosing a domain name for their business?
When you are looking to buy a particular domain name, or already have some in your portfolio which you want to know how much they are worth, what can you do? From domain name appraisals, online resources, and your own experience, I cover values of domain names.
Buying Domain Names:
There is a chapter devoted entirely to buying domain names. From what makes a good name (.com!) to what to avoid (trademarks, clever names, etc.), the book includes buying tips and where you can register or buy different types of domain names.
Are you registering or buying domain names as an investment or a quick flip? And if you are buying from a third party, what makes a good negotiation strategy? I include some sample e-mails for different types of approaches when making an offer, as well as negotiating and counter-offer tips.
Domain Flipping:
There is a chapter in the book devoted to holding domain names for a relatively short amount of time as opposed to buying names as more of an investment. If you are a flipper, what sort of strategies are you going to have to identify good names, and what are your shorter-term goals?
And if you are working on domain flipping, how can you run your enterprise as a business? What do you want to accomplish? How will you set yourself up to differentiate yourself from other domainers? How much money do you have to invest and how will you make a profit?
Monetizing Domain Names:
When buying and selling domain names, there are other ways to make money besides just the selling of domains. I cover affiliate websites, PPC websites, domain parking, domain leasing, and website development.
Developing websites as a domainer is covered in more detail, from starting and creating a website to selling developed websites.
Selling Domain Names:
This chapter concentrates on selling. Anybody can say they are in the domain business – buy a few domains and you are a domainer. But it is actually selling domain names that really makes it a business.
So what is important when selling domain names? Setting your price and how you go about marketing your names is discussed.
Where might you sell domain names? I cover fixed price marketplaces, auctions, and how to set up your own website for your domain names.
The book also covers selling directly to end users. I include how to identify end users and sample outbound marketing approaches. And once you’ve made contact, how to negotiate as a seller, close a deal, and how to use an escrow service.
Risks Involved with Domain Names:
You may have thought buying and selling domain names is an easy way to make money. Not only is this false, but if you’re not careful, you could end up in both financial and legal trouble.
This chapter covers domain name values and liquidity and not getting yourself in too much of a financial hole. There are also legal risks, including cybersquatting, typosquatting, ‘cease and desist’ letters and the UDRP process.
Other risks include not receiving payments, domain name tasting, kiting and stealing, and the long term outlook on domain names.
Making Money Selling Domain Names:
My final chapter is all about being successful with domain names. From my top tips and rules to running a profitable domain name business, I include advice on managing your domain names, making a business plan and managing your time.
Where can you find good domain names and how can you build a good portfolio? I cover your first year starting your business and then when you are ready to “move on up” to higher-priced domain names.
Doesn’t all of this domain name information sound like it is worth more than hand-registering another domain name your may or may not sell?
We all want to make money. You wouldn’t be reading this just for fun. You are interested in domain names because there is profit to be made when buying and selling domain names.
But you need to know…
Many people think all of the money in domain name speculation was gone years ago – but nothing could be further from the truth!
Today and in the future, any time a new business comes online they know they must have a domain name and a website. The problem is most of the good domain names are already taken right?
Wrong!
The issue is most new small businesses just don’t know where to find the good domain names. They usually go to a site like GoDaddy and start typing in names.
But do business owners know the value of a really good domain name? Do they know how much their business can expand by having a website on a short, memorable, easy to spell name? So how can you, as a domain name investor, position yourself to not only have the right names in your portfolio, but also have them marketed so they can be found? And is that all you do … wait until a potential buyer contacts you? If you truly want to make money in this business, then you need to actively find potential end users and market your names directly to them.
So where do you find good domain names today?
Many people think all of the good domain names were taken years ago. But there are many websites that are now no longer active which were built on good domain names. Eventually, many of these names expire, and one of the best opportunities for domain name investors is to be in the position to scoop up or ‘catch’ the best expiring domain names.
You should also keep up with the overall domain name market. Would you rather register one hundred new domain names and try to sell them for $100 each to try and make a profit of $900; or instead, buy two really good domain names for $500 each and sell both of them for $2,000 each for a profit of $3,000?
And when you hand-register new domain names, how many of them to you think you are really going to sell? You might truly believe they are all good names, but the truth is most domainers only end up selling 5% of their names (at most) in any given year. Do you want to find yourself in the position of having hundreds of domain names in your portfolio which you can’t sell, then facing renewal fees?
That is why my book, “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit” is well-worth the $12.95 investment!
There are many ways to make money on the internet, or if you search around online that’s what a lot of people would like you to believe. And what do you find? A lot of websites pushing newsletters, articles or eBooks that you either have to buy or subscribe to.
And if you do fork over your money and get your hands on their information, are their ideas really all that they promised? Or is this information only re-hashed promises of other get-rich-quick online ideas that are already all over the internet?
I find most of these online schemes are based on years-old ideas that are no longer relevant. PPC websites? Dropshipping? Amazon FBA? Look, all of these take so much time and effort to build from scratch, it could take years to begin to see any sort of profit. If you start a new website and write good, relevant articles following good SEO practices … and the business model is based on Google Adsense … how long do you think it will be before you start to make any profit? The online “gurus” trying to get you to buy into their schemes make it sounds so easy. But instead, you find yourself six months into building a website, hours upon hours writing articles and posting on social media, only to find your Adsense account still earning only pennies per day. That is the reality of most new online website ventures.
But if you concentrate on buying and selling domain names, you have the real potential of making good money in a relatively short period of time. This model has so much more potential than starting new websites.
You don’t have to be an online expert, and you don’t have to be an experienced business person (although this certainly helps); you just have to know the right way to go about making money with domain names.
In my book, I give you the no-nonsense reality of buying and selling domain names as a business
I bought my first domain name in 1999. I’ve bought and sold domain names making profits, as well as developing and selling websites. I will admit that not everything I have done has been profitable. I have made mistakes along the way … but learned from them. And I have also learned that over the last twenty years, the markets and opportunities for both domain names and websites has changed. Particularly, over the last couple of years, I have learned some very important things about what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to making money. Some of these things were pretty obvious, while others really surprised me.
Did they surprise me because they were very risky or complex? No – in fact, it’s something much simpler. What I’ve learned is that finding a great way to make money online is only difficult if you don’t have the right information and the right guidance helping you along. Years-old ideas that are no longer relevant in today’s online business world are not going to make you money. Instead, you will spend hours and hours and hours of your time thinking this will lead to some huge money-making result when in reality you only end up losing money, making pennies or, if you are lucky, a few dollars every month. These are not the riches you dreamed about.
But with domain names, you can be your own boss, set your own hours, even own your own business, and you can make a lot of money while doing it!
Some of the no-nonsense advice I give in “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit” may sound like I don’t think the business is profitable. But I take this approach for one reason: the domain name business is not easy. That’s right. Like any successful business, you will need to put some time and effort into what you are doing, as well as some money as an investment. And you need to have the honest information as to where the potential pitfalls are. And yes, there are also risks in this business as well.
And as you read through the book, you might think I am advising you to not get into this business … but I am really telling you the exact opposite! If you don’t know what the risks are, and you don’t know the reality that most domainers go through, then I wouldn’t be giving you an honest overview of the domain name business.
How can you become a successful domain name investor?
The online world has grown exponentially over the last ten years, which means more and more people, businesses, and organizations are starting websites. If a business is not on the web then they are missing out on many potential customers. And to get on the web, they must have a domain name.
Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit
In my book, I give you advice and tips on how to put yourself in the position to have good domain names for these business owners.
The best domain names have these characteristics:
- Consist of one or two words: One-word domain names are all pretty much taken, but two word names can be a good place to start.
- Use search words: People search for particular things on the Internet. Get a domain name with some of those highly searched terms and it can be perceived as being more valuable.
- Multiple meanings: Words that have multiple marketing niches or meanings might be more marketable.
- .com: Stick with .com domain names – You may hear of others making profits with names in other extensions – but what you don’t hear about are the thousands upon thousands of domain names in other TLDs that are registered by domainers that never sell.
I give you these four tips as an example of what kinds of advice I give in my book. It’s not too hard or difficult – you simply need to learn to stay away from what won’t work and concentrate on what will work.
But you may have heard about other domain name schemes!
You may find others trying to sell eBooks or other get-rich-quick schemes for selling domain names. I have found most of these don’t work any more, or involve domains that now have such high values most investors cannot even touch them.
Short common English words: sure, everybody would like to have a domain name like cars.com in their portfolio … but only those with hundred of thousands of dollars (or even millions!) to invest can afford to buy these top premium names. And please, don’t even begin to think that a 20-letter name in a new TLD is even close to premium!
Numbers or LLLL .coms: there was an investment boom in these types of domain names years ago, and many investors made money. But most got into the game too late, bought domains for four or five hundred dollars which are now worth less than half. The truth is, following “Chinese premium” or other types of letter or number combinations is best done only by those that have direct experience and/or contacts with end users that will actually use these types of names.
Trademark names or typos: do not, do not, do not register domain names that are a well-known company name and/or trademarked name. The cyber-squatting days are long gone, and these types of names will only get you in trouble. And typos? Do you want to base a domain name business by registering focebook.com and trying to find someone to buy it because only one letter is off?
The truth is, you simply cannot begin a truly profitable domain name business thinking like this.
So how can you get started on the right track with a profitable domain name business?
Knowledge and information is key! That’s right, you should read all you can about domain names, whether it’s on an online forum or in this book.
But I will say, if you want an honest, no-nonsense approach from someone who has experienced buying and selling domain names, as well as buying and developing websites, then please consider buying my book.
Inside “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit” you will not only find great information about where to buy and how to sell Domain Names, but you will also learn about how to avoid risks with a no-nonsense approach
Order a copy of “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit” today so you start learning more about domain names and how to be successful!
The book, “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit,” is available on Amazon – please click on the book below to order your copy today:
Order “Buy and Sell Domain Names for Profit” Now!
To contact Kriss, you can send him an email at domainnamesprofit@gmail.com
Domain Names for Profit 