Attention is Money In The Domain Business by Keith DeBoer

We all know that Namepros has become the local community for Domain Investing and one of my favorite people over there is Keith DeBoer.  He has participated in the DomainShane community for years and he wrote a nice article promoting the Namepros domain marketplace that has evolved over the last year.  Contrary to the usual, I have not been paid to post Keith’s work but merely supporting someone who has supported us.  Emotionally, not financially. 

One of the great things about NamePros is its commission-free domain marketplace. Personally, I love the excitement of the auctions. But domain auctions can be tricky. There is a saying in the digital world: Attention is money. Without traffic, your auction is a flop. So here are my Tips and Tricks for driving traffic and getting the highest price for your domains at a NamePros auction.

TRAFFIC — You gotta have eyeballs on the page or you’re dead in the water.

• Publish on a Thursday; it’s the busiest day.

• On Fridays (only) you can list your auctions in the real-time domain chat area, up to 5 times in 24 hrs.

• Publish your auction at the same time a new blog is published as new blogs create a surge of traffic to the website.

• Put a link to your auction in your signature and be active on the forum with comments and engaging with posts.

• Sign up for a free promotional listing (one per 24 hrs).

• Create a concise and exciting auction title that will draw people to its listing page. This is very, very important! (And don’t forget to list at least one domain in the title.)

• Bump your auction every 24 hrs each day and list bidders with the @ symbol before their name to alert them that they have been outbid.

• Update the auction title as needed throughout your auction, e.g., “BIN Lowered!”

FORMAT — Create a page that is interesting and that invites viewers to read more and bid on your auction.

• Research shows people are much more likely to read a page of content if it’s colorful and contains images. Take some time to format and stylize your auction page.

• Give details about your domains. List the registrar, expiration dates, etc. Don’t make people ask for information. That’s a turn off. Give them all the information they need to make a bid right then and there.

• Give a description of your domain. What are its attributes? Educate and excite your viewers!

PRICING/TERMS — Set up procedures and terms that facilitate a frictionless flow of bids.

• A $1 starting bid draws a lot of people in and gets them invested in the auction. Domainers are turned off by high minimum bid requirements, so avoid them when possible.

• Set a maximum time for the highest bid to be exceeded before closing. In my experience, ending the auction 48 hours to 72 hours after the last bid seems to be the optimal amount of time.

• Specify the exact terms of the sale and include any limitations on transfer, payment methods, etc.

• Specify that you will be adding a Buy-It-Now (BIN) price later. Add the BIN to your listing near the end of the auction. BIN’s that are within 20% of the highest bid are often taken. Sometimes, they are taken by the highest bidder just to guarantee their purchase.

FOLLOW-UP — Don’t get sloppy at the end. This is the most crucial part of the sale.

• Congratulate and thank the buyer.

• Make the transfer in a timely way. If there are delays, provide prompt communication and an explanation.

• Give them a trade review. They’ll often reciprocate by leaving you a trade review as well.

• Ask if they are satisfied and whether there is anything else you can do for them. Customers will often buy again from the same domainer if they’ve had a good experience with them. Make them a repeat customer.

RESOURCES:

• http://omarandwill.com/why-namepros-auctions-are-freaking-awesome/

• http://flippa.com/blog/domain-name-sales-tips/

• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-tips-to-get-a-great-deal-selling-your-unused-domain-name/

• http://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2014/02/25/a-beginners-guide-to-domain-auctions/

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What are your tips and tricks for NamePros auctions? Let us know in the comment section below.