Dabbling in domains
I’ve been researching the wild world of domaining in recent months with an eye toward dipping my toe in the water and seeing what happens. I’ve been using the free tools over at Domain Tools and reading several related blogs like Frank Schilling and Dominik Mueller. In fact, this recent auction results post from Dominik should give you an idea of the potential that exists in this field. As you can see, generic words and phrases are all the rage and the prices are staggering if you’re just finding out about it now.
Yes, domaining is going mainstream in a big way these days and I’m looking to capture a small piece of the action. Last night I bought ten domains through GoDaddy purely as an investment. I already owned about half a dozen assorted domains including the one you’re reading and a few that I plan to develop, but this is the first time I bought for the sole purpose of domaining. This particular batch of domains has a common theme and it’s something that happens in April. That should be a big enough hint for everyone.
So my strategy right now is to hold them until about February and then get a sense of what they’re worth. I may choose to auction some or all of them at that time or just hold them for another year. Between now and then, I’m researching the various domain parking services looking for the best fit. Yeah, I’m perfectly capable of building ad-supported sites on these domains myself, but my time is valuable these days so I’m going to leave that aspect of things to the pros.
One thing I love about domaining is that individual domains with good potential can be bought for a few bucks from a registrar. I also appreciate that brainstorming, trend spotting, and just plain language skills are critical to making good purchases. It’s hard work and takes some time and imagination, but it’s also fun.
It kind of strikes me as the 21st century equivalent of panning for gold. The equipment and techniques are a lot more sophisticated, but the process is very similar. We’ll see if I actually find anything valuable.
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Panning for gold is right!