Webwork - 1:05 pm on Jun 13, 2007 (gmt 0)

I acquired a number of domains anticipating a time when the cost of development and operation would drop and also when I'd have more time to attend to their development. I acquired what I called at the time "logical domain names" - which concept is now popularly known as "type-in domains" - and I acquired them for all the now obvious reasons including potential type-in traffic of generic domains, domain transparancy of purpose, reduced domain branding costs, and no-effort memorability of generic domains.

Just like I've got a garage full of woodworking tools, waiting for the day when I have more time to build something, I've got an account full of decent domain names waiting for the day when I have more time to build something on them. Pending that time I've got most of them parked and, if in the future I don't have all the time in the world to develop every one of them I can now turn to companies that offer - as a service - to build websites on decent domains.

Who would have figured?

I did, as well as many of my cohorts, because the business opportunity and business development/operations parallels between virtual real estate - domains - and real real estate were easy to discern for many folks, now collectively known as domainers. For example, just as there are landowners who lease their real property instead of selling it and there are real estate developers who will build buildings on land they lease - which buildings they then lease, these same models are now emerging online.

So far as people "sitting on domains" I have to say that in 2007 very few folks are "sitting on domains". To continue with the real estate analogy people "sitting on prime real estate" strike deals with vendors, allowing them to park their carts and hawk their wares on "prime undeveloped lots". Where? Mostly on high vehicular traffic highway corner lots, ones that show great mercantile promise by the volume of cars that pass by. To me those carts or vendors parked on the high traffic highway intersections are the equivalent of domain parking pages. Parking or smallish Adsense websites are just a stage in the development process. When the right moment or opportunity comes along a building will go up at the intersection just like a more robust website will be built. In that context the folks who disparage parked domains would be like folks who pass an undeveloped lot on a highway, one with a vendor's cart or a few billboards on it, and yell at the landowner "Hey, don't you know there's better things to do with this lot? I could do a better job than you're doing now!" I'm sure the clueless landowner will appreciate the insight and input, just about as much as the domain holder.

What's the point? The point is that you - the prospective domain buyer - need to reframe your thinking if you are going to succeed in interacting with domain holders. Really. If you harbor frustration or resentment it just won't work. Recontextualize. Respect the intelligence of the foresight or move on down the highway. You are not ready to negotiate.

Folks who hold decent domains today are themselves, more often than not, more interested in development than sale. Parking is just an interim measure. If they are ever going to sell it will likely be after a period of development - for fun, profit, self-expression, satisfaction of curiousity, and dozens of other reasons. Stop assuming that a parked domain means that it's for sale or held only for speculative purpose.

Generic type-in domain traffic has proven its value. The systems for delivering targeted advertisements to those domains has improved in the past few years. Therefore, the folks that hold domains now a) are better able fund their holdings, so they don't "need to sell" to you or anyone else to cover renewal costs; b) have a traffic/PPC data stream to prove the inherent value of their holdings, so they're less likely to sell; and, c) see that the world is waking up to the value of direct navigation, including the value of well qualified leads, and are therefore prepared to sit back to let that process - the awakening - firmly take hold. While the awakening takes place increased PPC bids for better domains/traffic and better appreciation in the marketplace for the "converted lead value" of that traffic (end-user buyers of that traffic are waking up) is the payoff - so there's no rush to accept the first offer that comes along.

For those of you who are frustrated by a lack of response to your "Is your domain Example.com for sale" emails there are many many reasons why you aren't getting a response and many of those reasons are quite rational - despite your belief that the first or foremost "rational response" would be to reply to your "Is Example.com for sale" email. My advice to the frustrated is to start by respecting the intelligence of the people with whom you are attempting to conduct business. Don't express any frustration. Don't make offers as if your offer demonstrates that you somehow "know better" than the current domain holder.

IF you really want to do business by email or phone then here's a winning formula: Decide what you are prepared to pay for the opportunity to build on a better domain, suck up your guts and send an email with a subject line that reads like this:"Offer of $$$,$$$ for Example.com" . . and keep your email body equally tight. IF the domain holder is vulnerable to money - if it's not an inseparable relationship - the approach I am suggesting that you use IS THE ONE best caculated to work.

How do I know this? Because I and most domain holders I know receive endless unsophisticated contacts or spam from people - most likely other domainers - hunting for knucklehead domain owners. Therefore, when it comes to receiving your well intentioned "Is your domain for sale" email, I and most domainers I know won't want to even begin to think about opening the email, much less replying, even much more less placing a value in response to your inquiry. In other words, given years of unproductive contacts, we think "Why waste the time?", forgetting that selling really isn't on our minds in the first place. And, if there are some domains in our portfolios that we might consider selling to fund other projects and when an email doesn't look like spam you - the prospective purchaser - are an unknown, including unknown as to your bona fides, including your ability to pay. So, you don't get past the filters we've set in our minds. Your email - as structured - suggests that you are simply the next clueless inquirer.

If you want to know what works it's quite simple: Make an offer, from the very outset, that makes economic sense to you, put a time limit on it, and then walk away, to go in search of any other target that interests you.

If you are a business operator don't use a gmail or hotmail address. It just doesn't work. We're not that stupid. Really. 99 out of 100 domainers - holding quality domains - will not be duped by the anonymous approach. Sophisticated domainers will more likely be put off by the action of using generic email addresses and also be put off by the assumption implicit in the hiding action. If you are BIG CORP or acting on behalf of BIG CORP please be grown up about doing business and use the corporate email address. Unless you are dealing with a knucklehead domainer the BIG CORP address only shows what are have the capacity to pay, not that you have the intent or willingness or stupidity to pay an inflated market price.

Really, folks, in the case of beter domains you need to get over the fear if you are even going to get down to the business of negotiating the purchase of a better domain from a sophisticated domainer.

And the longer you wait to get down to business the more sophisticated the sophisticated domainers are getting. Hopefully. ;)

[edited by: Webwork at 5:20 pm (utc) on June 14, 2007]