Elie Eweka
Established Member
- Impact
- 158
As of May 18, 2023, the word "Psyop" was registered in about 57 domain extensions. A day later, Namebio.com reported the sale of Psyop.org for $14,888. This report led to a spike in the number of extensions that "Psyop" was registered. Fast forward to June 6, 2023. "Psyop" is now registered in more than 119 extensions. In the crypto-sphere, "Psyop" is a token based on the Binance Coin blockchain.
Several domain investors own large domain portfolio, that ranges from 3,000 to 200,000 domain names. For every domain name reported sold, there are at least 100 domain names that will never receive an offer. Whether you a new or veteran domain investor, it is tempting to jump on the Bandwagon when we read about domain names like Casino.de selling for $625,060 or Beauty.cc selling for $1 million. According to Verisign, as of December 2020, there are 350 million registered domain names. Sadly, most of these domain names will not sell in our lifetime. What is a domain name? Here is my elevator definition of a domain name. A domain name is that unique address used for accessing your favorite websites.
Now that we have defined what a domain name is and how many domain names are currently registered. Let us get straight to “Rags to Riches: Introduction to Domain Investing. In this interactive writing, I will be covering several sub-topics that include: How to raise money to start your domain investing. How to determine what makes a good domain name. Where to register or buy these domain names. Where to list your domain names for sale. How to price your domain names. How to market your domain name to potential buyers. How to get paid after you sell a domain name. What you need to know about UDRP.
What Is Domain Investing?
Domain name investing activities include purchases of newly minted digital assets (domain names), ultra-premium assets (high-value domain names), or the sale of digital assets for profit or loss. It is possible to experience negative cash flow from investing in domain names. One of the challenges associated with a domain name is that it cannot be liquidated instantly like stocks. Domain investing takes work, costs money, is time-consuming, frustrating, unpredictable, and not always rewarding.
Some of the most critical skills needed in order to become a successful domain investor is patience. The ability to show restraint when tempted to invest in speculative trends. Having the discipline to learn about every facet of the domain investing lifecycle rather than focusing only on the acquisition of a domain name. Simply put, domain investing means buying domain names and then selling them for more or less than what you paid to acquire the name.
Who Is Domain Investor?
A domain investor is anyone who searches for domains that meet their investment criteria, buys the names, and then sell the domains to other domain investors, business, or individuals who want to use the domains for a business website or project. A successful domain name investor is someone who has invested their time and resources to acquire knowledge about what type of domain name to buy, when to sell it, and who the buyers are. A successful investor is someone who has invested their time and resources in developing a healthy relationship with other domain investors, brokers, legal practitioners in the field of the domain, domain registrars, secondary marketplace operators, bloggers, publishers, policymakers, and reputable domain associations.
Initial Capital Investment
Without the initial cash investment, you cannot buy any domain name, let alone sell it later. I acquired my first domain name for $70. The money came from selling used books on Amazon. Back in the early 2000s domain name registration was $70 for two years. However, in 2023, you can register a domain name for as low as $9.87 at one of many domain registrars approved by ICANN. Assuming you do not have the fund to start investing in domain names. There are several options available to you. Of course, how you fund your domain investing depends on what part of the world you live in.
The first step in domain investing is to secure your initial investment capital. There are several ways to fund your initial domain acquisition. However, here are twelve practical ways to fund your initial domain investing. 1. Save until you have enough to start investing. 2. If you are good at marketing, you should consider reaching out to a reputable domain broker and see if you can help them secure a buyer for a domain. If the name sells, I am sure you be rewarded. 3. You could ask your family members to invest in your domain business. 4. You and your close friends can decide to put money together for your initial acquisitions. 5. You could start a GoFundMe campaign and encourage your family members and friends to give as little as $5.
Other options: 6. selling personal items that you are willing to part with. For example, sell your used books on Amazon. 7. You could get a part-time job just for a few weeks. Caution, the next few funding sources are not recommended but are options. 8. You could use your credit card to acquire your first few domain names. 9. You could apply for a non-secured line of credit from your local bank. 10. You could consider taking a small personal loan from your local lender (not recommended). 11. Based on your area of expertise you could organize an online seminar and charge attendees a small fee for the e-materials. 12. Be creative and look for other legal ways to fund your domain investing. Raising money for your domain investing could take up to 3 months to accomplish. Please remember, domain name investing is risky.
Congratulation on successfully securing the funds that you need to start investing. However, before you buy your first domain name there are a few housekeeping rules that you need to be aware of. There is a good probability you will not succeed. Therefore do not invest money that you are not willing to lose.
Know Your Audience
It is important that you know who your targeted audience is. For example, a lot of domain investors invest in domain names that are geo companies' focus. While there are investors that focus on all types of domain names and I call these types of investors, “Generalists.” Some domain investors only invest in .com names, while there are does who have found success in investing in ccTLD and gTLD names. Moreover, there are domain investors that only invest in domain names that target individuals or small businesses that sell products on social media platforms. If your plan is to invest in domain names that appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, here are some interesting data about Gen Alpha.
According to Currency Marketing, "Gen Alpha is the first digital-first generation – 65% of kids 8 to 11 own or have access to a mobile phone. And, 80% of parents of children under 11 say their kids watch YouTube…."The GoHenry Youth Economy Report," showing that in 2020 alone, the annual spending for American kids and teens was approximately $24 billion, or $450 each. Much of the money goes on gaming, retail, tech, fashion, and food."
In my view, Gen Z and Gen Alpha would not mind spending $99 to $299 on a domain name that they plan to use for selling Kicks or Crocs on their social media store. If your domain marketing strategy is to sell domain names to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it will be smart to learn about keywords or phrases that appeal to them. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are more likely to use a good domain name to drive traffic to their Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube page. If they own keywords that appeal to their customers, they could register this word in any domain extensions and then point to their social media page.
What are TLD, ccTLD, and gTLD?
A TLD, short for top-level domain, is the last part of a domain name – the part that comes after the final dot. The most common example is .com, .net, .org, .xyz, .edu or .gov. A ccTLD, short for a country code top-level domain. It is a type of top-level domain used to refer to a specific country, territory, or sovereign state. An example of ccTLD is .us, .uk, .ng, .ca, .it, .cn, and hundreds of others. Lastly, gTLD, short for generic top-level domain is a top-level domain category that is easily recognized by a suffix attached to a domain name. An example of gTLD, include .group, .church, .supply, .cloud, .tech, etc. All TLD, .ccTLD, and gTLD are approved by ICANN with the exception of .crypto, .wallet, .x, blockchain, etc.
Challenges Ahead
In my view, the two most challenging parts of domain investing are buying and selling. Here is what I mean. If you invest in the wrong domain name, there is a 99% chance that the domain name may never sell. Thus, it is imperative that you know what you are doing. I like to invest in 1 or 2-word names with universal spelling. I like domain names that a 12-year-old would not have any problem pronouncing or domain name that makes sense to an 18-year-old. It is critical that you invest in domain names that customers want, not what you want. You cannot go wrong with the right research and learning about different sectors that you are passionate about.
Finding Inspiration
A lot of domain investors primary target is the United State marketplace. I live in the United States so I like using online resources that are US-based. Some of the websites that I use when researching and studying business names are YellowPages, TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Inc, Forbes, and many others. I like to study the names of successful companies to find out why they choose that name for their company or product. I also like to read articles and blogs published by naming or branding agencies. I like to use GoDaddy, Namebio, DN Journal, and Sedo publicly reported sales. I use this information to review names that were recently acquired in different regions of the world. I also like to study the types of brandable names listed on brandable marketplaces like BrandBucket, SquadHelp, and BrandPa.
If you are a new domain investor, I will strongly suggest that you find a good mentor within the domain industry or outside the industry. Mentors are great people to share your idea with or solicit their feedback about domain names. In my case, I seek my spouse's opinion on a domain name. The reason I like bouncing ideas off my spouse is that she represents customers who have limited knowledge of domain names. If my spouse likes a name, I will do further research on the name. Before I click on the buy button, I will ask myself the following questions. "Are you willing to wait 5 to 10 years to sell this name? Are you willing to lose money on this domain name? If my answer is yes to both questions, I will buy the domain name.
Part two of RAGS TO RICHES will be part of my next book titled “Evolution.”
Personal Testimonials
On August 28, 2022, I registered LawmanSecurity.com for $7.99. I then teamed up with a domain investor from India that I met through Twitter. He did some outreach to a buyer in Texas. Within 28 days of registering the domain name, it sold for $800. During the .xyz gold rush, I paid $0.99 for Medallions.xyz. Within 8 months, I sold Medallions.xyz at Dan.com for $1,000. In October 2022, I registered EvilDaddy.com for $8.99. I listed the name on Dan.com. 7 months later a domain broker reached out to Dan.com broker with a $750 offer. I told the Dan.com broker that I will accept the offer if the deal closed within 24 hours. Luckily for me, the buyer agreed to my terms and we closed the deal within 48 hours of the initial email from the Dan.com broker.
What advice will you give to Gen Z or Gen Alpha who is thinking about investing in domain names? What resources will you recommend to anyone who is thinking about becoming a domain name investor?
Several domain investors own large domain portfolio, that ranges from 3,000 to 200,000 domain names. For every domain name reported sold, there are at least 100 domain names that will never receive an offer. Whether you a new or veteran domain investor, it is tempting to jump on the Bandwagon when we read about domain names like Casino.de selling for $625,060 or Beauty.cc selling for $1 million. According to Verisign, as of December 2020, there are 350 million registered domain names. Sadly, most of these domain names will not sell in our lifetime. What is a domain name? Here is my elevator definition of a domain name. A domain name is that unique address used for accessing your favorite websites.
Now that we have defined what a domain name is and how many domain names are currently registered. Let us get straight to “Rags to Riches: Introduction to Domain Investing. In this interactive writing, I will be covering several sub-topics that include: How to raise money to start your domain investing. How to determine what makes a good domain name. Where to register or buy these domain names. Where to list your domain names for sale. How to price your domain names. How to market your domain name to potential buyers. How to get paid after you sell a domain name. What you need to know about UDRP.
What Is Domain Investing?
Domain name investing activities include purchases of newly minted digital assets (domain names), ultra-premium assets (high-value domain names), or the sale of digital assets for profit or loss. It is possible to experience negative cash flow from investing in domain names. One of the challenges associated with a domain name is that it cannot be liquidated instantly like stocks. Domain investing takes work, costs money, is time-consuming, frustrating, unpredictable, and not always rewarding.
Some of the most critical skills needed in order to become a successful domain investor is patience. The ability to show restraint when tempted to invest in speculative trends. Having the discipline to learn about every facet of the domain investing lifecycle rather than focusing only on the acquisition of a domain name. Simply put, domain investing means buying domain names and then selling them for more or less than what you paid to acquire the name.
Who Is Domain Investor?
A domain investor is anyone who searches for domains that meet their investment criteria, buys the names, and then sell the domains to other domain investors, business, or individuals who want to use the domains for a business website or project. A successful domain name investor is someone who has invested their time and resources to acquire knowledge about what type of domain name to buy, when to sell it, and who the buyers are. A successful investor is someone who has invested their time and resources in developing a healthy relationship with other domain investors, brokers, legal practitioners in the field of the domain, domain registrars, secondary marketplace operators, bloggers, publishers, policymakers, and reputable domain associations.
Initial Capital Investment
Without the initial cash investment, you cannot buy any domain name, let alone sell it later. I acquired my first domain name for $70. The money came from selling used books on Amazon. Back in the early 2000s domain name registration was $70 for two years. However, in 2023, you can register a domain name for as low as $9.87 at one of many domain registrars approved by ICANN. Assuming you do not have the fund to start investing in domain names. There are several options available to you. Of course, how you fund your domain investing depends on what part of the world you live in.
The first step in domain investing is to secure your initial investment capital. There are several ways to fund your initial domain acquisition. However, here are twelve practical ways to fund your initial domain investing. 1. Save until you have enough to start investing. 2. If you are good at marketing, you should consider reaching out to a reputable domain broker and see if you can help them secure a buyer for a domain. If the name sells, I am sure you be rewarded. 3. You could ask your family members to invest in your domain business. 4. You and your close friends can decide to put money together for your initial acquisitions. 5. You could start a GoFundMe campaign and encourage your family members and friends to give as little as $5.
Other options: 6. selling personal items that you are willing to part with. For example, sell your used books on Amazon. 7. You could get a part-time job just for a few weeks. Caution, the next few funding sources are not recommended but are options. 8. You could use your credit card to acquire your first few domain names. 9. You could apply for a non-secured line of credit from your local bank. 10. You could consider taking a small personal loan from your local lender (not recommended). 11. Based on your area of expertise you could organize an online seminar and charge attendees a small fee for the e-materials. 12. Be creative and look for other legal ways to fund your domain investing. Raising money for your domain investing could take up to 3 months to accomplish. Please remember, domain name investing is risky.
Congratulation on successfully securing the funds that you need to start investing. However, before you buy your first domain name there are a few housekeeping rules that you need to be aware of. There is a good probability you will not succeed. Therefore do not invest money that you are not willing to lose.
Know Your Audience
It is important that you know who your targeted audience is. For example, a lot of domain investors invest in domain names that are geo companies' focus. While there are investors that focus on all types of domain names and I call these types of investors, “Generalists.” Some domain investors only invest in .com names, while there are does who have found success in investing in ccTLD and gTLD names. Moreover, there are domain investors that only invest in domain names that target individuals or small businesses that sell products on social media platforms. If your plan is to invest in domain names that appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, here are some interesting data about Gen Alpha.
According to Currency Marketing, "Gen Alpha is the first digital-first generation – 65% of kids 8 to 11 own or have access to a mobile phone. And, 80% of parents of children under 11 say their kids watch YouTube…."The GoHenry Youth Economy Report," showing that in 2020 alone, the annual spending for American kids and teens was approximately $24 billion, or $450 each. Much of the money goes on gaming, retail, tech, fashion, and food."
In my view, Gen Z and Gen Alpha would not mind spending $99 to $299 on a domain name that they plan to use for selling Kicks or Crocs on their social media store. If your domain marketing strategy is to sell domain names to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it will be smart to learn about keywords or phrases that appeal to them. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are more likely to use a good domain name to drive traffic to their Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube page. If they own keywords that appeal to their customers, they could register this word in any domain extensions and then point to their social media page.
What are TLD, ccTLD, and gTLD?
A TLD, short for top-level domain, is the last part of a domain name – the part that comes after the final dot. The most common example is .com, .net, .org, .xyz, .edu or .gov. A ccTLD, short for a country code top-level domain. It is a type of top-level domain used to refer to a specific country, territory, or sovereign state. An example of ccTLD is .us, .uk, .ng, .ca, .it, .cn, and hundreds of others. Lastly, gTLD, short for generic top-level domain is a top-level domain category that is easily recognized by a suffix attached to a domain name. An example of gTLD, include .group, .church, .supply, .cloud, .tech, etc. All TLD, .ccTLD, and gTLD are approved by ICANN with the exception of .crypto, .wallet, .x, blockchain, etc.
Challenges Ahead
In my view, the two most challenging parts of domain investing are buying and selling. Here is what I mean. If you invest in the wrong domain name, there is a 99% chance that the domain name may never sell. Thus, it is imperative that you know what you are doing. I like to invest in 1 or 2-word names with universal spelling. I like domain names that a 12-year-old would not have any problem pronouncing or domain name that makes sense to an 18-year-old. It is critical that you invest in domain names that customers want, not what you want. You cannot go wrong with the right research and learning about different sectors that you are passionate about.
Finding Inspiration
A lot of domain investors primary target is the United State marketplace. I live in the United States so I like using online resources that are US-based. Some of the websites that I use when researching and studying business names are YellowPages, TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Inc, Forbes, and many others. I like to study the names of successful companies to find out why they choose that name for their company or product. I also like to read articles and blogs published by naming or branding agencies. I like to use GoDaddy, Namebio, DN Journal, and Sedo publicly reported sales. I use this information to review names that were recently acquired in different regions of the world. I also like to study the types of brandable names listed on brandable marketplaces like BrandBucket, SquadHelp, and BrandPa.
If you are a new domain investor, I will strongly suggest that you find a good mentor within the domain industry or outside the industry. Mentors are great people to share your idea with or solicit their feedback about domain names. In my case, I seek my spouse's opinion on a domain name. The reason I like bouncing ideas off my spouse is that she represents customers who have limited knowledge of domain names. If my spouse likes a name, I will do further research on the name. Before I click on the buy button, I will ask myself the following questions. "Are you willing to wait 5 to 10 years to sell this name? Are you willing to lose money on this domain name? If my answer is yes to both questions, I will buy the domain name.
Part two of RAGS TO RICHES will be part of my next book titled “Evolution.”
Personal Testimonials
On August 28, 2022, I registered LawmanSecurity.com for $7.99. I then teamed up with a domain investor from India that I met through Twitter. He did some outreach to a buyer in Texas. Within 28 days of registering the domain name, it sold for $800. During the .xyz gold rush, I paid $0.99 for Medallions.xyz. Within 8 months, I sold Medallions.xyz at Dan.com for $1,000. In October 2022, I registered EvilDaddy.com for $8.99. I listed the name on Dan.com. 7 months later a domain broker reached out to Dan.com broker with a $750 offer. I told the Dan.com broker that I will accept the offer if the deal closed within 24 hours. Luckily for me, the buyer agreed to my terms and we closed the deal within 48 hours of the initial email from the Dan.com broker.
What advice will you give to Gen Z or Gen Alpha who is thinking about investing in domain names? What resources will you recommend to anyone who is thinking about becoming a domain name investor?
