In the DomainSherpa.com review that aired yesterday, I talked about a domain I recently sold SweatSeal.com. While it might not be the best name in the world I picked it up on the drop because I thought it was something. Just at a glance it looked liked a product that blocked or locked in sweat.
While a lot of domainers might wonder why I would register this domain, a company was already seeking funding to launch a product with the same name. I don’t know if they’re the ones that bought it, but what I do know is that I wasn’t the only one who thought the name had value and when it all shakes down it sold for a lot more money than I paid for it.
Shane talks about it all the time and this is so true, pick names that a company would use and want. It’s not an exact science, it’s more of an art and a skill, but it’s something that can be developed. The first thing to do is stop thinking like a domainer and start thinking like a business owner, product developer, branding expert or marketer.
The recent interview on DNW.com with Michael Krell of BrandBucket.com reminded me of this point. Brandable domains are an art not a science and unlike traditional domaining there are no metrics to measure. While Sweat Seal isn’t a generic brandable, it’s a brand describing a single product. It’s descriptive, short, easy to say, easy to spell and easy to remember.
The other thing to keep in mind is that everyone will get it wrong some percentage of the time, probably MOST of the time. The great thing about domains is that you don’t have to get it right every time, in fact to make money you really only have to get it right a very small percentage of the time.
Thinking like a someone naming their company rather than a domainer isn’t that hard. I hit on most of the main things to consider above, but just to review: The name should be easy to remember, easy to say, easy to spell, short as possible, the less syllables the better, and should be able to be envisioned as a brand, on a billboard, as a product or a marketing slogan.
It also should be priced in a range optimized for the industry that it might be targeting. If I’m selling a great name that would work well for a small town coffee shop, it will never sell if I over price it, (well it probably won’t sell either way). Small town coffee shops aren’t money making machines. Maybe they’d pay a few hundred but I doubt they’d ever pay thousands. If the industry a particular name is targeting, or at least lends itself, deals with something more lucrative than overpriced latte you can probably ask for a higher price.
One thing to remember if you’re getting frustrated not selling names, is that not all good or decent names will ever sell. I say this as a reminder that just because your name doesn’t sell it doesn’t mean that it’s bad. I think if it meets the criteria listed above it’s probably a decent name, so don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t sell.
I referenced timing the other day and I’ll say it again, timing is an mostly uncontrollable variable, with the caveat being exposure. If the timing isn’t right for the buyer and seller’s planets to align a name will never sell, but the more exposure you give a name the more chances you have for that alignment to occur. Since we’re using a planet analogy, think of your domains exposure in relation to a telescope. If you give buyers a telescope to look through, focused on your planet or at least the general area of your planet, they’re more likely to see your planet than they would just staring up at the sky.
I think if you practice these concepts you’ll do well with domains.
One more thing as a side note: I’m not judging anyone here because I used to have the same thoughts. The idea was that if I backorder a domain at dropcatch they’re gonna steal my name and register it for huge domains. While it’s easy to have these conspiratorial notions, i’ve ended up coming to the conclusion that it’s probably pretty crazy maybe even arrogant of me to think that the Reberry brothers are sitting behind their desks waiting for me to add backorders to dropcatch so they can steal them.
Lol, I mean come on, I imagine them sitting there just waiting for me to hit submit so they can have their team scour my list, searching for good names that their team, their software backed by millions of domains and thousands of registrar accreditations couldn’t find themselves.
Or if I take the day off from domains, I imagine them storming around the office, pulling out their hair, shouting at the ceiling, wailing and gnashing their teeth, screaming, “DAMN IT JOSH! WHY!? Why didn’t you order anything today?!! Hey! Jeff what the hell are we gonna do now?!”
I can tell you that by successfully backordering almost 2K names at dropcatch in the last few months that they don’t do this.
If you still think that they’re going to steal your gems with a creation date in the 90’s,that only you have on your radar, you can backorder them at 13:44 eastern time just to make them scurry. The names show up in your cart as they are caught, so keep an eye on your cart just to make nothing disappears. 🙂
Domains of the day: 2 no bid names for domainer type sites, NameMill.com which I think is great, a place where names are created, shaped or refined, and NameSquatter.com which I like less, but it would be fun to sell domains to people calling you a squatter from this site.
- Main List NameJet Flippa/Sedo
- LLLL.com’s LLL, CCC, 5L Other LLLL’s
- Short Brandables Numbers One Worders Vape, Vegan, VR
- Snap Names/Dropcatch NamePros Godaddy Value BIN
Main List
The No Bid List
AlwaysWelcome.com A friendly inviting name
AssholePuppy.com A dog training site
AthletePass.com Could be lots of things, tutoring for athletes so they pass their classes, a site about good study habits while playing sports, Maybe Pass is used as in all access pass.
BasicYou.com The essentials
BattleSurvival.com Learn how to stay alive in battle
BuildInfluence.com Grow your influence so people do the things you want them to do.
BuyMyCourse.com Lot’s of places to sell courses, build your own site to sell it
CoolRoot.com I like root domains usually, this one seems cool
DebtDeleted.com Just wipe it all out, a year of Jubilee. Only comes once every 50 years
DragonMarket.com Buy and sell dragons
EndlessWell.com Never runs out of water or oil
FactSpin.com Not really lying, just taking the truth and turning it upside down
FeelLite.com A drug that tricks you into thinking you don’t need to diet.
Fitnessmatic.com Fitness on autopilot
Fuseable.com Able to stick together
HolyArk.com The ark of the covenant, Indiana Jones found it, I saw him do it.
ImDoingLife.com Don’t just live, do life
ImpactForever.com Do something that will have lasting affects
JamaicanWine.com I assume they can grow grapes in Jamaica
MegaAppeal.com Something that people will like very much
MenstrualMagic.com No idea what it does, but it makes it magical
MergeStream.com Takes 2 or more streams and melds them together
PurpleProfit.com 2 P’s and a money site of some sort
RoboCleanse.com Get cleaned by a robot or Auto cleaning
RocketDetox.com Very quick and explosive detox
SkinTechnician.com A dermatologist that’s not a Doctor
Stackologist.com A person that studies stacks?
TechEarn.com Make money with your Tech skills
Trendda.com Trend with an added “D”
UltimateDentist.com Even if you’re not a very good dentist you can trick customers with this name
WorkerGrid.com Track your workers
YouAlone.com A site for meeting challenges that you alone can accomplish. Or a site for sensitive information, “Hey, You Alone?”
Names With Bids
More Names With No Bids
Namejet
WallTech.com
djpower.com
xl3.com
AnimalBasics.com
OurTrust.com
MetroLoft.com
AtomicPilot.com
iactivate.com
CircuitPulse.com
ViewJournal.com
Flippa/SEDO
Save Money With Daddy Bulk Domain Registration
Your LLLL.coms of The Day
fjkc.com
viry.com
epym.com
uuaf.com
aozt.com
lxav.com
xqik.com
xvlb.com
LLLL’s that End Users Might use someday
phxx.net
gcns.net
phrf.net
hqnk.net
pgbs.net
hkcn.org
eeuk.org
Gunz.us
bexe.net
LLL’s, CCC’s, 5L’s
Brandables
Ablano.com
Ajent.com
Arizoma.com
Baucy.com
Blotic.com
Cogey.com
Coltana.com
Dreppa.com
Edegy.com
Emyzo.com
Fernel.com
Fiziek.com
Freath.com
Funzella.com
Hawad.com
Iyozo.com
Jozoe.com
Kajany.com
Kenky.com
Kezet.com
Kizog.com
Kladeo.com
Korog.com
Koroky.com
Koyba.com
Kuezo.com
Lonexo.com
Loollo.com
Marvak.com
Mytoc.com
Nezli.com
Nopoe.com
Paxod.com
Smitly.com
Soundli.com
Sumady.com
Vetrek.com
Vforth.com
Vocini.com
Vuebo.com
Wavax.com
Zondia.com
Zumology.com
Zuzemo.com
MORE Short Brand Dot Coms HERE
Some Numbers
212616.com
368.co
809808.com
494978.com
00dw.com
09ac.com
44cj.com
nh87.com
527d.com
One Worders and Other TLD’s
Carryout.org
Cranks.org
Diarrhea.me
Enhanced.biz
Lockup.me
Sneer.cc
Zippy.us
Vape, Weed and Vegan Names and VR
FireMarijuana.com
Ganjaria.com
Snap Names/DropCatch
NamePros
ZodiacApp.com
HolidayBaby.com
Untheatrical.com
RaceTrading.com
DroneHangers.com
TargetedRanking.com
ChristianServices.net
ValleyHealthCareStaffing.com
CurvedTablet.com
AmericanOfficeSystems.com
PublicStatistics.org
AirfareUpgrades.com
Entertaintube.com
CrazyDealers.com
PennyStockTradingSoftware.com
Godaddy Value BIN
Godaddy Value BIN
Have a name at auction and need more exposure? Send me an email. We Charge $10 per name per day. We may be able to help. If you have an auction you want to promote, email us for details.*All names chosen by us, Shane and Josh . (ie you click through and purchase a name you like) or an occasional paid listing. Everything we say is based on our own research or is opinion. Do your own due diligence. That means look it up yourself if you don’t think the stats or our opinion is correct. We hand choose the names but we are paid to make this list by both the auction houses, individuals that are auctioning names, and Godaddy affiliate links. Keep that in mind and only buy names that YOU think are good
The highlight of my Tuesdays and Saturdays is to see what you’re going to do with my picture each day. I almost spit out my coffee this morning. Well done
Josh- great advice and an even greater picture!
Mike
I think the real issue is that there is no real way of knowing who/what data is being used and how. Company owners certainly might have strong policy in place discouraging use of data (domain lists). but at the end of the day it is super easy for any individual owner or staff to use our data. To say either that they don’t .. or that they do .. is speculation in both cases.
It very likely is done by some in some way .. but also likely isn’t as rampant as some would have you believe. Either way it’s the cost/risk of doing business so to speak .. kinda like how we’re stuck using the painfully problamatic GoDaddy website because they control such a large portion of expiring domains .. we just have to put up with it.
Somehow you and Shane seem to get most of the top names from my daily list … I suspect you’re both part of some Domain Psychic Magician Cult who use your evil powers to read our personal domain watch lists from our minds through our computer screen when we visit DSAD!