Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

The $165,990 Domain Name Mistake

Last month, I watched with fascination and amazement as the domain name shoppers.com expired and was then purchased at auction on Pool.com.

While it was impressive what the expired domain name sold for - $166,000 (USD) - what really blew me away was that the original registrant (owner) of this domain name let it expire. That's right, instead of paying a mere $10-20 to renew this terrific generic domain name, they somehow let the domain expire and ultimately end up in the hands of one of the domain dropcatching services (Pool.com), who then put the name up for auction.

What was the original registrant of this domain name thinking? How the heck did they let this domain name expire? And what must it be like for them to discover after the fact that a domain name they could have renewed for a few dollars sold for a small fortune?

As far as I can tell, the expiry and subsequent purchase of this expired name followed the proper channels - nothing shady took place - but I am still very curious to know how anyone could let such an amazing name slip through their hands. (I don't know who the new owners of shoppers.com are, but the domain redirects to the site of etailer ShoppersChoice.com.)

I think there are some lessons to be learned here for any individual or business that owns a domain name or two.

First of all, for the domain names you intend to hang on to, are you sure you know when the domain names are coming up for renewal? Have you put the renewal date in your calendar to ensure you renew the domains in time?

And if you are planning to NOT renew a domain name, are you aware of the potential value of that domain name on the aftermarket? Rather than let it just drop, have you thought about pro-actively putting the domain name up for sale?

Most people only dream about owning domain names that would sell for six-figures, but that's no excuse for not paying close attention to these valuable assets. Had the original owners of shoppers.com followed this advice, they'd have avoided making a $165,990 mistake.

Sinful Domains: TRAFFIC West 2008

I'll be in 'Sin City' this week to attend and speak at the biggest domain name industry event of them all, TRAFFIC.

TRAFFIC West 2008 is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 18-20 and attracts about 500 of the top movers-and-shakers in the domain name industry.

I'm there in my official capacity as the General Manager of the Tucows Domain Portfolio. On Wednesday morning I'll be speaking on a panel about the positive and negative perceptions (and misconceptions) surrounding domain name investing. (Don't get me started...) Joining me on the panel will be Mike O'Conner, David and Michael Castello of Castello Cities Internet Network, Phil Corwin of the Internet Commerce Association, and Dan Warner from Fabulous.com.

I'm also charged up about Wednesday's live domain name auction since Tucows has several domain names up for auction. Let the bidding commence!

Why I'm Promoting the Social Media Telesummit

As you may have noticed, for the last few weeks I've been actively promoting my friend Leesa Barnes' upcoming Social Media Telesummit, which takes place February 20-29, 2008.

I've also been totally upfront about the fact that I'm one of Leesa's affiliate partners, which means I will receive a portion of the registration fees from referrals I send her way. (For the record, I plan to donate a portion of my cut to charity.)

A number of people have asked me why I am helping spread the word about the Social Media Telesummit, so I figured I'd answer that question on my blog.

First of all, I have tremendous admiration for Leesa Barnes. She's smart, funny, and totally committed to educating and inspiring people to use and benefit from the new media. She's taught me a lot over the last few years, and I've tried to return the favour as often as I can. That's why I signed on.

Second, I'm blown away by the depth and breadth of the speakers Leesa has lined up for the event. Paul Colligan, Sherman Hu, Kate Trgovac, Darren Barefoot, Julie Szabo, Jason Van Orden, Andy Wibbels ... and so many others as well. I'm sorry, but I don't know too many other events that offer a truly international roster of social media and Internet marketing experts like this one.

Third, I love the fact that this is a virtual event that anyone from anywhere can participate in. (Well, if they register for it, that is!) For me, personally, this makes the Social Media Telesummit very convenient as I can learn on my own time, at my own pace, and from the location of my choosing.

Finally, I got the chance to experiment with using social media to promote the event, most notably Facebook. If ever an event called for such an approach, it was this one. That, for me, has been the most rewarding part of this experience to date.

I do hope you register for, and participate in, the Social Media Telesummit. Even if you don't, at least now you know why I've been encouraging you to do so.

Scoring the Canadian Super Bowl URLs

I'm no sports fan, but the 42nd Super Bowl was an exciting event, and not just because of the antics on the field.

As I watched the Canadian feed of this much-watched event, I counted over 40 different URLs on display in the TV commercials run during the three-and-a-half hour broadcast.

Here's a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Canadian Super Bowl URLs:

The Good:

www.maplepictures.com

www.waramps.ca

www.telusmobility.com

www.mini.ca

www.nissan.ca

www.ironmanmovie.com

www.underarmour.com

www.ctv.ca

www.freshenergy.com - Guess who?

www.airmiles.ca

www.forthegreenergood.ca - Guess who?

www.apple.ca

www.newzealand.com

www.alarmforce.com

www.bestbuy.ca

www.doritos.ca

www.builtfordtough.ca

www.monster.ca

www.dodge.ca

www.vw.ca

www.mazda.ca

www.terasengas.com

www.disney.com

www.seeingandhearing.ca - Guess who?

www.spend.ca - Guess who?

www.forces.ca

The Bad:

www.nflcanada.com - What, they couldn't get NFL.ca? Sheesh!

www.siriuscanada.ca - Doesn't the .ca make "canada" redundant? sirius.ca would have been so much better...

www.manulifeincomeplus.com - Man that's a lot to have to type!

www.creditunionsofbc.com - Ditto!

www.cdic.ca - Well, it's not so much that this one is bad as much as it's boring.

www.10000bcmovie.com - This one's just begging to be mistyped! And the studio forgot to register the typo variations like 1000bcmovie.com. Typical.

The Ugly:

www.rogers.com/tellyourstory - Now that's awkward! Is that "tell yours, Tory" as in John Tory? ;+)

www.rogers.com/windowsmobile - That's a lot to type...

www.truehd.ca - Great domain name, but inconsistent with this company's URL strategy (see above)

www.disney.com/narnia - If you already own narnia.com, why use the slash version instead?

www.bcaa.com/tv - Hmmm, do you think they're measuring their TV spend?

www.ikea.ca/mattress - Yawn...

The MVP:

www.educate.com - Sweet! Guess who owns this killer domain name?

The Sore Loser:

www.nestle-bowlblitz.ca - Not only does this feature "the dash of death" but someone forgot to register the version of the domain without the dash. (Please tell me this wasn't the work of the agency I used to work at!)

Touchdown!

Domain Names Are the Stars of Tinseltown Conference

Last week I was in Hollywood, California attending and speaking at DOMAINfest 2008, one of the domain industry's two big conferences. Attendance was up this year with nearly 700 people attending from more than 25 countries. Many of the attendees were domainers (domain name investors) looking to buy, sell, and network.

I attended a number of sessions over the course of the event and thought I'd share a few highlights:

"Domain Names and the Law"

Domain name legal expert John Berryhill cautioned domain owners to be wary of vaguely worded purchase inquiries that don't explicitly offer to buy the domain; they could be lawyers representing trademark holders who are trolling with a different agenda (e.g. gathering info for a future legal claim against the unsuspecting domain owner).

Berryhill says, "The best trademark search tool is Google," as opposed to relying on official trademark databases.

"Domainers Town Hall with Frank Schilling"

This session was a Q&A with Frank Schilling, one the most famous and successful domainers in the world. Here are some choice quotes from Frank:

• "Domain names ARE the Internet."
• "There's no shelf life on domain names...domains are like Cognac" - on domain names as assets.
• Owners of even just ten domains will be the media companies of the future."

When asked, Frank said he owns about 370,000 domain names that are managed as a business by a small team of five, including himself and his wife.

"Understanding the Big Picture"

Monty Cahn from Moniker provided some insights into the overall strength of the domain industry. Cahn says 70% of Internet users are using direct navigation (typing a domain into the browser address window) to get to a site. He also predicts that aftermarket (previously-owned) domain name sales will be a $1 billion business in 2010. Cahn estimates that also by 2010, 240 million domain names will have been registered. For reference, that's about double the amount that are registered today.

(My Tucows colleague James Koole helped with this report.)

DOMAINfest 2008

I will be speaking at, and attending, DOMAINfest, January 21-23, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. DOMAINfest is the domain industry's other big industry event (along with TRAFFIC), and this will be my first time attending.

I will be participating in a panel discussion on January 22nd entitled "Branding for Gold, Balancing Hype and Reality." Joining me on the panel will be David Sams, Mike "Zappy" Zapolin, and Andy Miller.

I believe we're going to discuss and debate the 'brandability' of domain names. That should be a lively discussion.

I'm particularly looking forward to the SnapNames Live Auction since one of the many gems from the Tucows domain portfolio will be on auction.

For more information about the conference, visit the official DOMAINfest Website.

Does Your Domain Name Have a Dirty Secret?

When it comes to choosing a domain name for your business, it helps to have a 'dirty' mind. Otherwise you might end up being stuck with a domain name that will get you into trouble with word-based content filters.

That's right, if your domain name inadvertently contains a 'naughty' keyword or phrase, your entire Website may be blocked by content blocking filters still commonly used by large corporations, libraries, schools, and overprotective parents. Your site might also be hindered from showing up in some search engines, and some of the email messages you send from your domain could end up being blocked by spam filters.

Here are some fictitious examples of what at first appear to be innocent domain names:

• HireThisExCopper [dot-something]
• EssexWorld [dot-something]

Look closer, however, and you will notice that the first domain contains the word "sex" and the second contains the phrase "sex world." Both of these domains could end up running into trouble with filters, especially the second one.

And can you spot what's problematic with these domain names?

• ScanAlley [dot-something]
• CanalTours [dot-something]

Both contain the word "anal" which also poses a risk of running afoul of filters.

You get the idea...

So before deciding on your next domain name, be sure to scrutinize it carefully. Look for any and all 'troublesome' words and phrases. The last thing you want is to have your seemingly innocuous domain name misinterpreted by word-based content filters.

Drunken Sailors on a Deadline: How Not to Buy a Domain Name

One of the most interesting things I get to do in my role as General Manager, Domain Portfolio at Tucows is manage the sale of domain names that we own to third party buyers. Since joining the company, my team and I have dealt with countless inquiries from prospective domain name buyers looking to acquire a domain name from our portfolio. I've seen all sorts of approaches taken, some good, some not so good, and I wanted to share with you the story of one sale that we made because it's a textbook case of how NOT to buy a domain name.

One morning, we received an "urgent" email and series of phone calls from an agency wanting to purchase a particular domain name.

That was their first mistake.

They explained that they were looking to acquire this domain name on behalf of one of their clients and that they needed to close the deal with us by the end of the day. Apparently, they had shortlisted several different domain names for this client and urgently needed to be able to tell their client that same evening that they'd secured one of the domain names.

That was their second mistake.

When it came time for me to negotiate the price of the domain name with the agency, it quickly became apparent to me that I was dealing with people who were spending money that wasn't their own and - worse - could care less. Technically, of course, this was correct - the agency was buying the domain name on behalf of their client - but they obviously didn't care how much their client would have to pay for the domain name as long as it was within a loosely defined range.

That was their third, and biggest, mistake.

Needless to say, I negotiated the price up, way up. In fact, I got us TEN TIMES the amount I would have normally sold that particular domain name for had the agency not been so flippant about the whole affair. Since the agency was in a hurry to meet a deadline and were willing to spend their client's money like drunken sailors, I was happy to assist them in accomplishing their mission. ;+)

So, what lessons might be learned from this affair?

• Rushing a domain name purchase, perhaps because you've left it to the last minute (ad agencies and clients, are you listening?), will likely mean the buyer will end up paying more than they normally should.
• If you are using an intermediary to negotiate the purchase of a domain name on your behalf (which is not a bad idea, by the way), make sure your 'agent' is motivated to get you the best possible price. Ideally, they should treat the money that have to spend with as much, if not more, care than if it was their own.
• Finally, regardless of whether or not you work with an intermediary, establish a clearly defined price range (or at least a maximum figure) at the outset, otherwise you will weaken your negotiating ability and won't know when it's time to walk away from the deal.

In other words, when it comes to buying a domain name, don't be a drunken sailor on a deadline. But if you are, have I got a deal for you...

An Insider's Perspective on the Multi-Billion Dollar Domain Name Industry

As loyal readers of this blog will know, last month I was in Miami, Florida to attend the biggest domain name industry event of them all, TRAFFIC. While I was there, I recorded interviews with several of the domain name industry's major players. Upon my return, I turned these interviews into six special "road trip" versions of my Marketing Martini podcast, four of which have been released so far.

If you'd like a glimpse inside the rather secretive, multi-billion dollar domain name industry, I encourage you to give these episodes a listen. Here are a few highlights...

What's a live domain name auction? Find out from the man who runs the top one in the world.

In Episode #29 of Marketing Martini, I talked with Monte Cahn, Founder and CEO of Moniker.com, about the world's largest live domain name auction. It was only after the interview that I realized Monte also hosts his own podcast, Domain Masters. Such a small world!

Ever looked up the perfect domain name for your business only to discover it wasn't available to register? Don't give up hope just yet; a good domain could still be within reach.

In Episode #31 of Marketing Martini, I chatted with Peter Lamson of NameMedia about the "aftermarket" for domain names. In a stroke of accidental marketing brilliance on my part, this episode was released shortly after NameMedia filed to go public.

Did you know that buying a domain name is no longer the only way you can gain use of it?

In Episode #32 of Marketing Martini, I spoke with Jonathan Boswell of LeaseThis.com about the notion of domain name leasing. Jonathan was such an interesting interview subject that he inspired two episodes.

I have received such amazing feedback from listeners about this special "road trip" series of interviews that I wanted to bring the series to your attention. Enjoy!

Earn Your Black Belt in Domain Name Karate at BC AIM Direct Marketing Day 2007

I bought my first domain name over 12 years ago for $70 and sold it a few years later for $10,000. I guess I've been hooked on the magical allure of domain names ever since. In fact, that's one of the reasons I now work at Tucows, the largest domain name wholesaler in the world, where I get to think about domain names all day long.

If you'd like to learn how to protect your domain names, increase your website traffic, and outmaneuver your competitors, join me at the BC AIM Direct Marketing Day, November 8, 2007 in Vancouver, Canada.

I will be giving an informative yet fun presentation entitled "Domain Name Karate: The ‘Ancient’ Art of Maximizing and Defending Your Domain Names." I'll be demonstrating my secret Domain Name Karate moves like "The Quiet Warrior," "The Five Blades," and "The Peacock’s Feather." I might even be persuaded to share "The Green Volcano" with those in attendance, but only if I have a spotter.

Seriously, I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned about domain names over the last 12 years.

Of course, I'm not the only reason to attend BC AIM Direct Marketing Day. Other featured speakers include Stefan Tornquist from MarketingSherpa and Kyle MacDonald (a.k.a. the One Red Paperclip guy).

I hope you can make it. Visit http://www.bcaim.org/dmday for all the details.