Last week I tried something new, it was a simple idea, write a post asking for readers to submit domains that met a specific criteria. I had no idea if the concept would work or not but as always I thought, “let’s give it a shot!” 118 Comments later it now holds the record for my most-read, most-commented, and longest time-on-site per visitor, oh and of course it was a lot of fun.

I spent a lot of time this weekend analyzing the submissions and I’m happy to say I’ve picked a winner. What name did I pick? Watch the video below and find out!

If you guessed yesterday that this was the domain I was going to buy, congratulations to you too, you’ve won a free copy of my book!

Hello and welcome to a brand-new feature on my blog. First let me say, I know that I come-out with new features all the time and some stick and others don’t. That’s life, sometimes your ideas really resonate with an audience, others don’t. If people like this and watch it every week I’ll keep going. Of course if nobody watches and most people think it’s a waste, I won’t – at the end of the day it is all about you!

So enjoy my first weekly domain news update and please let me know what you think and if you’d like to see this happen every week.

Oh and yes I know that I failed to do this one in under five minutes, the goal will be to be about a minute shorter going forward

I had a great email conversation with one of my blog readers who agreed to let me share his story with the rest of you. Many of my readers reach-out to me for advice and as you know if you’ve emailed me before, I respond to each and every email I receive. Last week a reader sent me a very interesting email, he said that about a year ago he realized he was doing too many things, so he decided to focus on doing just one thing, the problem was, he wasn’t making any money.

The direction he was going was good, and focus is absolutely a good thing, if you’re focusing on the right things. His story is probably quite similar to many of you which is why I thought it would be a good one to share.

So let’s rewind to two years ago when the reader first got started in Domaining. He said he began the same way so many of us do, hand-registering tons of domains thinking that if juts a few sold for big bucks he’d strike it rich. Then, also like many of us, he found-out that pretty much everything he registered was garbage, he didn’t take the time to learn anything about what makes a domain valuable and ended-up with a nice domain collection, but not many investments.

Along with registering domains he was trying to build some out, park others, and sell others to end-users. He spent around 20 hours a week and made about $500/month leading to a very disappointing pay of $6.25/hour – yikes! So he decided it was time for a change and time to get more focused.

First he let all the junk he had registered drop, this was a good move. Then he decided to focus on only one thing, with the goal of doing one thing right, and then expanding to doing more. Seeing all the great opportunities in the expired domain market he started buying expired domains. This was his sole focus, once again he was spending 20 hours a week, but now laser-focused on buying expired names and selling them to end-users.

A few months later he had spent about $10,000 on expired domains and sold about $1,000 worth of domains. He didn’t get it, all the expired domains he was buying had multiple bidders, other people wanted the domains, yet he wasn’t making enough sales and was spending a lot more than he was making. Here’s the big problem, while he was focused, he wasn’t focused on the right thing. Yes, buying and selling expired domains can be a very profitable venture, if you take the time to do the research with each and every name.

This was the problem. While he was focused on doing just one thing, he wasn’t focused on doing it right. Instead he thought, “if other people are bidding on a domain, it must be worth at least 2x what he paid.” This simple assumption left him $10,000 in the hole while he was watching other Domainers make a killing flipping expired domains. What was he doing wrong?

I took a look at the domains he had bought, while there were some decent names in there, most were not a great fit for an end-user. He was more focused than ever, but by not focusing on the right things like doing the research, speaking to other people in the space, networking at conference and learning from others, he was actually repeating many of the same mistakes he made early-on.

It turns-out that I was the first person he had ever reached-out to, up until last week every assumption he had about flipping domains had come from, well, his own assumptions, rather than advice from people who make money doing it. We put-together a game-plan, I connected him with a mentor who is an expert in flipping domains (not me, this is not my expertise), I pointed him towards some great articles, and I recommended that he attend a conference like TRAFFIC to get the chance to network with and learn from other Domainers.

In just one week I have already seem him make some very positive changes to his strategy. He’s still focused on doing this one thing, but now he’s doing it right, or at least much better than before (this does take more than a week to learn!).

If this sounds anything like you, take a step back and ask yourself the all-important question. Are you making money doing what you’re doing, and if not, are you making any changes? Doing the wrong thing over and over doesn’t mean that eventually you’ll stumble on the right thing. At the end of the day if what you’re doing isn’t working, find someone who has done it and ask them for help. It is connecting with mentors, people who have done what you want to do that makes all the difference.

There are more opportunities to make money in the Domaining industry than ever before, and heck, we’re still just getting started. If what you’re doing isn’t working, don’t blame the industry, blame yourself, but do something to change what you’re doing, and do it now. There are plenty of people like me in the industry who are more than happy to help you get started or point you in the right direction and a conference, while seemingly expensive, is actually one of the smallest investments you could ever make.

So don’t live in a bubble, get out there, connect with other people, learn, grow, and share with others. Whatever you do, don’t waste your own time, because time is more valuable than anything that money can buy.

(Photo Credit)

Domainers talk a lot about how important it is to own your brand’s .COM, an they’re right, but the reason why it’s so important goes beyond traffic. Yes, if you tell someone that you work for “XYZ Corp” they’re probably going to go to XYZCorp.com first. If you own the .NET, .ORG or any other TLD you might lose the traffic. However, if it’s someone that is doing business with you, they’ll instantly see they are at the wrong site and do a Google search to find your actual domain name. Sure it’s an extra step for them but if you’ve sold them on your product, it’s unlikely they’re going to suddenly switch to a different brand.

Still, this can add-up over time and if you’re running radio or magazine ads, you are definitely missing-out on some traffic. However let’s go back to the typical situation a company finds themselves in. You fly out to meet with a company in person, have a meeting, maybe dinner too and leave with a handshake and a smile, done deal.

Now the person you met with sends you an email with their opening orders and all that confidential information you need in order to process their payment. This is where not owning your .COM can really hurt you. Suppose you own XYZCorp.net, your client may go to XYZCorp.com and find it’s not your site, do a Google search and fine your site, no problem. What you’re not thinking about is that the opening order that means so much to you (along with all that confidential information) went to yourname@xyzcorp.com, rather than you.

This is a big problem. To really illustrate the problem, I’ll share an example. I acquired a one-word .COM about a year ago for about $1,200 on a Go Daddy drop. When I bought the name I created a catch-all account for email that came to the domain. Two days later I was receiving over ten emails a day from all kinds of people. I owned the .COM so any other brand that used that name (or even a similar name) had their clients sending emails to me.

Soon, Fortune 100 companies were emailing me, not realizing that I am not the company they are looking for, I just own the .COM. Now just to be clear here, I was not Trademark squatting. Before I buy any name I check the Trademark database to make sure the generic that I’m buying is really as generic as I think it is. It was clean and legal to own fair and square, yet I was receiving emails every single day destined for other companies.

The point here is simple, yet very important for companies big and small. Not owning your brand’s .COM means a lot more than missing-out on valuable traffic. It also means that you’re missing-out on incredibly valuable emails. While your clients realize instantly if their on the wrong website, they often never know if their email went to the wrong place. Own your .COM, own your brand, period.

Now I want to hear from you! Have you bought a domain that gets a ton of traffic and email that was meant to go to another brand? Have emails coming your way meant for someone else? Comment and let your voice be heard!

I’m back with my second video this week! Today I wanted to cover three of the common misconceptions about Domaining. If you’re just getting started in the Domaining world this should dispel some of the common myths and hopefully get you moving on the right track. Enjoy!

Lately I’ve been trying to secure what I call “The Trifecta” when I’m buying a brand. When I say Trifecta, what I mean is owning the brand’s .COM, along with corresponding exact-match Twitter and Facebook accounts. Just like most people will look for a company on their brand name .COM, they also look for a company’s Twitter and Facebook account the same way.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen brands miss-out on some great Retweets and customer interaction all because they had a weird Twitter handle. Think about it, when people hear your brand name and then tweet about you, they usually just guess your handle assuming that if you’re a real brand, you have your brand’s name on Twitter.

The Trifecta is important to me for the same reason that a .COM is, if you want people to easily find your brand online and you don’t want to lose traffic to someone else, then owning your brand’s Twitter and Facebook handles is important. Of course, just like .COMs being taken, your brand may already be spoken for on Twitter, Facebook, or both.

When it comes to Facebook there’s not much you can do outside of contacting the owner and seeing if they have any interest in parting with their account. The problem is that if someone has already built-up a list of friends, etc. this may be quite challenging to do. Twitter on the other hand offers quite a bit more hope, especially when the person who owns your brand name on Twitter isn’t doing anything with the account.

There are two ways you can get the Twitter handle that corresponds to your brand, the first is if the account is inactive. Twitter defines an inactive account as follows:

To keep your account active, be sure to log in and Tweet (i.e., post an update) within 6 months of your last update. Accounts may be permanently removed due to prolonged inactivity. (Twitter)

The second way to get your Twitter handle is if you have a Trademark on your brand name and thus, just like in the Domaining world, someone is squatting on your name. Twitter considers a Trademark Violation to be:

Using a company or business name, logo, or other trademark-protected materials in a manner that may mislead or confuse others with regard to its brand or business affiliation may be considered a trademark policy violation. (Twitter)

In my opinion, having your exact-match Twitter handle is more important than your Facebook username (or pagename) so I’d go after this one the most. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen incorrect company Twitter handles references in a Tweet. When this happens the traffic from the mention goes to whoever owns your brand’s name on Twitter. This is the same as if you own a .NET or .ORG and advertise on the radio or in a magazine, some percentage of people will go to your name .COM, the same thing happens on Twitter.

So if you’re building a brand online, yes, .COM is king and it is important to have your brand’s .COM, but don’t forget about Twitter and Facebook. At the end of the day it’s all about traffic and both Twitter and Facebook represent incredible traffic sources, having your brand’s exact-match domain and Twitter and Facebook handles is the best way to make sure people can easily find your brand online, and ensure that you get all that wonderful traffic that you deserve.

The following is a guest post by Kevin Fink, the Senior Recovery agent atDomainTheft.org. Kevin has been working hard since we launched working with domain owners every single day and successfully recovering names for businesses small and large! 

Yesterday I spoke about the types of theft reports we get where there really is nothing we can do, where it’s really the owner’s misstep (as in the case of an expiring domain), and just plain, bad luck (having your email account hacked).

But sadly, there is another – far more troubling – trend that has appeared: domains being hijacked by shady business partners, web developers or designers gone rogue, or worst of all…sneaky registrars and hosting companies.

The statute of limitations on opening a case with us is supposed to be 30 days, but we’re getting dozens of inquiries from thefts that have occurred as long as a few years ago – and the prevalent theme with each of these is: a former designer, developer, friend, business partner…deciding to hold the domain hostage. 

Say someone starts a business and asks one of these said people to maintain the accounts; well, if there is a falling-out, guess what is used as leverage? The domain; and because these people were usually entrusted with the account credentials, this becomes a total gray area.

In these cases, as far as the actual owner is concerned, the domain is “stolen” and the alleged-thief is taking control of a name unlawfully – but it devolves into this legal-gray-area because…they had been given account access at some point.

It boils down to a simple case of someone being mistrustful. It’s a shame these instances are abundant, and even worse that we can do so little about them.

As a recovery agent, my only course of action is reaching out to these now-current “owners,” in hopes we can start a dialogue. But legal action outside our jurisdiction may be the only thing left for the original owner to use as recourse.

Now let’s talk about shady registrars and hosting companies. I have spoken to clients who were simply not given renewal notices by the registrar (which absorbed the name once expired), or alleged occurrences of a name being lifted from the account – simple as that. Of course, there are hosting companies and registrars, many unaccredited, and some legit, who go defunct – and where do all their names go when that happens?

(crickets)

This is an emerging problem, and in each case I have dealt with, the registrar feigns ignorance or confusion, while the owner ponders legal action.

As domains become more commonplace in our world and instances of theft increase, the honest truth is that we’re not going to be able to curb these trends of abuse by ourselves – we will need transparency from accredited registrars, hosting companies, and other regulatory bodies that are supposed to cater to the people.

And hopefully, the emergence of partnerships between multiple law enforcement agencies will shed some light on how best to go about dealing with these matters in the future. The best part about being a recovery agent is seeing a domain go back into the hands of its owner. We have had some great cases where a simple email from us has scared the thief into returning the name or even the discussion of our involvement by the owner is enough to get the name back. This is one of the best feelings in the world and as you would expect, the owners are incredibly happy and relieved to have their names back.

While we are limited in how far we can go with each case, we do everything we can within our own legal right to provide our time and expertise to people for free, every single day. One of the exciting features we hope to offer in the future is a verification for registrars and other companies that offer domain names – it is through these partnerships that we hope to foster education and understanding that will only serve to strengthen the relationship between domain owners and these larger conglomerates.

Until then, as such in life, be careful who you entrust sensitive information to and if a domain of yours is every stolen, know that I’ll be here to help!

Francois announced Dofo.com this year, a cool tool that allows Domainers to access all of their research and evaluation tools in one place. I’ve been using it since launch and have to say it really is saving me time. Basically Dofo takes all of the sites that Domainers visit and makes them easily accessible from a handy sidebar. This is not one of those where I’m going to exaggerate and call it a “Game Changer,” because I don’t think it is.

Instead I’ll say that Dofo does absolutely save Domainers time and it is something that I’m using on a daily basis now. Before I would have to have a million tabs open in my browser when I was doing domain research, now there’s just one. It’s slick, easy-to-use, and has just about every service you could ever want to use all in one place. Want to see it in action? Just check-out my first look video below:

The following is a guest post by Kevin Fink, the Senior Recovery agent at DomainTheft.org. Kevin has been working hard since we launched working with domain owners every single day and successfully recovering names for businesses small and large! 

Ok, here’s a little secret of mine, one of my many professional fantasies is to work for the FBI or the CIA. I’m a pretty stellar detective; I read people well and usually know when there’s dirt to uncover. 

When Morgan asked me to be a Domain Recovery Agent for DomainTheft.org, I jumped at the chance. As the world’s first verifiable domain recovery resource, I realize how valuable an asset this is to the domaining community, and I am honored to be involved.

So what exactly is the role of a Domain Recovery agent?

I am essentially the liaison between each client (original domain owner), and the alleged thief. As I would soon come to learn, a “thief” can take on many different identities…

The first step in the recovery process is verifying claims that are routed through DomainTheft.org’s contact form. The WhoIs information only provides so much information: any changes to the DNS, nameservers, drops or IP addresses. But it is merely a first step in uncovering clues. 

Verification concludes upon receiving identification from the original owner, as well as proof of purchase or renewal of the domain in question.

Once our client is verified as the original owner, we then reach out to the alleged thief to attempt to verify the theft. This is more of a formality, as it’s fairly obvious no thief would write us back to admit their crime, unless perhaps they felt they acquired it above-board. We send out five messages to the alleged thief, and if no response is received, we list the domain as “STOLEN” in the Domain Theft database. 

Clients can opt to privatize this publication but most are happy for the exposure, even if closing the case extends past our jurisdiction.

The first swath of reports were difficult to confirm. Requesting pertinent and sensitive information to verify identity of the owner usually yields one of two things: an enthusiastic response, with all necessary documents for proof of ownership – and usually a viable story describing the theft – or…silence.

I did hear from one individual who was very uneasy about sending us proof of ownership, because he feared identity theft on top of his already crippling domain theft. This is of course understood. While domains have been around almost 20 years, domain theft is not a mainstream thing. It should be noted that we are working on future partnerships with various law enforcement agencies – so hopefully, between the lot of us, we can curb domain theft even further.

But just as in the case of rising identity theft and other digital hijinks, there are some disturbing trends as to the kind of domain theft I have been made aware of. There are most definitely recurring themes. The most benign, and surprising, among them: the failure of domain owners in realizing that their name must be renewed annually. The name drops, disappears from their account, usually to be picked-up on the aftermarket or by a squatter, only to be held for an exorbitant ransom.

The first batch of cases mostly dealt with those simply not understanding the process. I would ask for proof of renewal to ensure I was dealing with the rightful owner, and I either wouldn’t hear back at all, or would get a message back synonymous to a hand-slap to their forehead. This trend really drives home the notion that domain ownership is still a fairly new and misunderstood concept for many people.

We’ve had other clients who have simply had their email accounts hacked – which would be a disaster of epic proportions for most of us tech savvy individuals. In this instance, their password was changed before they could alter the logins at their registrar; all domains were lost.

In a benign case of what amounts more to domain “loss,” take, for example, my own experience as a project manager. In my outside work, for one of the clients I am developing a site for, I have assumed control of his hosting info, to setup and modify the site. This is upon his request, as he is less-facile with web stuff and prefers me to be in charge. But…what if something happened to me, or if I just disappeared? My client would have a difficult time getting his account back in his hands.

So there you have it! A look-into what it’s like being a Domain Recovery Agent, in part two of my post I’ll cover some of the thefts we have seen and of course the best part of it all, the domains safely returned to their rightful owners.

Today Protrada CEO Troy Rushton took the stage in San Jose, and introduced an audience of nearly 8,000 people to Domain Investing. Hours later Donal Trump took the stage, needless to say, this is a big deal and it’s going to help all of us and our industry as a whole! Troy’s presentation is part of the National Achievers Congress which features major speakers like Robert Kiyosaki, Anthony Robbins, and Donald Trump.

In case you missed it, Protrada that has been working incredibly hard building one of the most complete Domain Investing platforms I’ve ever seen. The user experience is incredible and they allow you to easily manage the flow from acquisition, to development, and finally to resale. Their website building platform allows investors to plug-in their own monetization options too which I think is pretty darn cool.

A platform like this is what will make it much easier for new investors to get started in the space. Rather than having to learn the interfaces of dozens of different sites, users can buy, develop and sell domains directly from Protrada. I think this has been an area of incredible disconnect between our industry and the consumer. It needs to be easy, and making something easy, is actually hard, luckily Protrada was up to the task and delivered.

Today more people were exposed to Domain Investing on a single day than probably any other time in history. I think people like Troy Rushton and Marc Ostrofsky are making incredible progress in explaining to people what we do and why Domain Investing is so exciting. Next week I’ll be taking the stage in San Francisco, I can’t wait, the time has finally come, it’s time to show the whole world what we do and grow our industry!