Sweetmantra: Domain Name Strategy

Why I Paid $1,500 to Rescue Oliver Stone's Domain Name

I make my living as a domain name buyer broker helping entrepreneurs acquire their dream domain names, but in my spare time I like to help people solve their domain name problems, even if they aren't aware of the problem in the first place.

One way I help is by rescuing expired domains from a treacherous fate. For instance, over the last decade I've rescued domain names for artists, musicians, actors and other people and causes I admire, including Freddie Mercury, Phil Collins, and 'Darth Vader'.

Most of my pro bono domain rescue projects I do in a low-key manner and don't discuss publicly. I have decided to share the details of my recent rescue of OliverStone.com, however, because there's a valuable lesson in this about the perils of letting others own your personal domain name.

Oliver Stone's “Natural Born Killers”

 
In January 2012, according to a report in Domain Name Journal, filmmaker Oliver Stone (or someone representing him) purchased OliverStone.com from a domain speculator for $6,000 USD. Later that same year, The Oliver Stone Experience, a Website devoted to the filmmaker's life and work, was launched on the domain.

Mr. Stone's domain name was registered to, and managed (badly, as it turns out) by media conglomerate Universal City Studios. Someone at Universal dropped the ball and let the OliverStone.com domain expire on October 16, 2016. This took Oliver Stone's Website offline for over a month. Had I not intervened, this valuable domain name, and its accompanying Website, could have ended up being lost in cyberspace.

Regardless of whether you’re an Oscar-winning film director or a member of the general public, having your important domain names registered in the name of a third party instead of your name is inherently risky. If that third party fails to renew your domain name, as was the case here, it can be difficult or impossible for you to retrieve the domain name since, legally and technically, you are not the owner and never were.

The expired domain OliverStone.com eventually ended up in auction at a domain marketplace where, thanks to a tip from domain name investor and blogger Elliot Silver, I purchased it for about $1,500 USD on November 24, 2016, which coincidentally happened to be Thanksgiving Day in the United States. A few hours later, the domain was safely in my possession and I reinstated the original domain name servers, thereby bringing Mr. Stone’s Website back online.

I then contacted Oliver Stone directly to make arrangements to transfer ownership of the domain name back to him. The domain is now in Mr. Stone’s possession, and he reimbursed me for my $1,508 hard cost.

By now you may be wondering why I spent $1,500 to buy this domain name and return it to Oliver Stone.

Here’s the thing. I'm a lifelong film fanatic, a former film critic, and I worked as a producer and director in the film industry for many years. I've long admired Oliver Stone's work, especially his fearlessness at tackling controversial subjects. I didn't want this 19 year-old domain to fall into the wrong hands because Universal City Studios had failed to properly safeguard Mr. Stone’s domain. At best, Oliver Stone (or Universal) would have been forced to buy the domain name – yet again – off another domain speculator. At worst, the domain could have been held hostage for years and never returned to its rightful owner.

I also wanted to make sure Oliver Stone's Website was reinstated as quickly as possible so that his bold voice could continue to be heard the world over.

Happy Thanksgiving, Oliver.

P.S. Some of my favourite Oliver Stone films are Wall Street, Platoon, Natural Born Killers, JFK, and Born on the Fourth of July. His most recent film is Snowden, which I was privileged to see recently here in Canada. Snowden is arguably Stone's most important film because it bravely explores the controversial and timely story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Sadly, this film was not picked up for US distribution by any of the major Hollywood studios, so I encourage you to seek it out. It deserves to reach a wider audience, especially in the United States.

New gTLDs – Aren’t We Forgetting Something? (My DOMAINfest Asia 2016 keynote)

Last month I gave a devil’s advocate keynote talk about the new TLDs at DOMAINfest Asia in Hong Kong. Since my talk didn’t get me thrown into Hong Kong harbour, as I feared it might, I thought it would be worth sharing my talk with a wider audience via my blog. The following is an abbreviated adaptation of that talk.

 

(photo courtesy of Jothan Frakes)

What constitutes "success" in the new TLD program? And how could this could be measured?

Many people have strong opinions on this topic. And so they should. I propose we look at the new TLDs through the eyes of end user registrants. That’s a perspective we don’t hear much about, and we don’t talk about, as much as I think we should. I will conclude this article with some suggested – and alternative – metrics to gauge the true success of new TLDs.

But first, a bit of background.

I make my living as a domain buyer broker helping entrepreneurs acquire their dream domain names. Prior to this I spent over 15 years working in marketing and advertising. I love domain names and naming, but I always have my marketer’s hat on. This means I am always thinking about the customer, the consumer, the end user.

When it comes to domain names, I’m TLD agnostic. I will help my clients acquire any TLD domain they want.

Here’s a fact that may surprise you: I often ask my clients if they’re aware of the new TLDs (they usually aren’t), and I’m usually the one who recommends they consider a new TLD domain.

So, as regards the new TLD program, I'm an enthusiast.

When the new TLD program was first announced, I was excited and optimistic.

This was the largest namespace change in the history of the Internet.

We could see some amazing technological innovation.

We could see some very creative naming options and uses.

Physical and virtual communities could use these new names to define themselves.

And brands could have greater control of their own namespace.

I believed the new TLDs could have enormous potential if we as an industry brought them to market in the right way.

Unfortunately, and despite some notable exceptions, I don’t think that’s what’s happened yet. As an industry, I think we lost our way a bit with the new TLDs. In the excitement to launch this bold new namespace, some participants forgot something very important: the consumer. And by consumer I am talking about the end-user buyers of these new TLDs, not domainers (domain speculators).

Don’t get me wrong: I love domainers. I buy domains from them all the time on behalf of my end-user clients. And domainers are an important part of the domain name ecosystem.

But the long-term viability of new TLDs depends on more than just domainers. It depends on consumers becoming aware of these new TLDs, and it depends on consumers registering these new TLDs, and it depends on consumers using these new TLDs.

Somehow, sadly, a number of industry players appear to have forgotten what it’s like to be one of those consumers.

And the reason I say that is that many aspects of the new TLD program don’t seem to consider how consumers think about and purchase and use domain names. The process of buying a new TLD domain is not always consumer-friendly.

How do I know this? Because consumers – end-user buyers – tell me this all the time.

So let’s spend a moment looking at the new TLDs from the point of view of a consumer. Let’s forget about the domainer point of view. Let’s forget about the registry point of view. And let’s forget about the registrar point of view.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a consumer. In fact, let’s give this consumer a name. Let’s call him “Adam.”

Adam is a middle-class, white collar business guy. Adam has a day job at an accounting firm. He also has a bit of an entrepreneurial streak and would someday like to start his own music lesson business. Adam knows that he’ll need a business name and matching domain name for his new venture.

Adam is a lucky guy: He lives in 2016, a world where he has a choice of hundreds of new TLD domains to choose from.

We will assume that Adam has already heard about an exciting new TLD called .Banjo. This will be the perfect TLD for his music-related venture.

Let’s also assume that .Banjo is now in its General Availability phase.

Today is Adam’s big day. Today’s the day Adam has decided to name his new business “Flying Banjo”, and so off he goes to his favourite registrar to register Flying.banjo.

Adam is so excited because all he’s been hearing about for the past few months is how this expanding universe of domains beyond .com will give him the opportunity to get his dream domain name.

But when Adam goes to his registrar to try to register the domain, he discovers that Flying.banjo is not available to register and is, in fact, one of the so-called “premium” domains being held back by the registry. The domain Adam was expecting to be able to buy for $20 is actually priced at $5,000.

Adam is confused. Adam is upset. Adam is wondering what happened to all the choice and availability he had been promised – by our industry – with these new TLDs?

I call this the False Promise of Availability. And it’s the first major disappointment for consumers with the new TLD program.

I’m a businessman. I get it. Registries need to make a profit. So I understand why many new TLD registries decided to hold back a portion of their inventory as premium domains. But Adam doesn’t understand this. Adam feels like he has been stiffed.

Nevertheless, Adam’s a good sport. He’s really motivated to get a .banjo domain, so he’s somehow talked himself into investing way more than $20 to buy his .banjo domain. He’s decided to buy a premium .banjo domain for $1,000. So Adam whips out his credit card and starts to register the domain name.

Unfortunately, when Adam tries to complete his purchase at the registrar, he learns that in order for him to get his .banjo domain he needs to prove to the registry that he knows how to play the banjo. Yup, Adam has just found out that this new TLD has special registration requirements.

I call this the Roadblock of Ridiculousness, and it’s another major disappointment for consumers with the new TLD program. Registries should be bending over backwards to make it easy for new customers like Adam to purchase their domains, not throw up unnecessary obstacles to adoption.

(I understand why a handful of new TLDs like .bank need to enforce certain registration requirements. But for most new TLDs with restrictions this has only caused huge problems to adoption. It’s no wonder that so many of the new TLDs that had restrictive registration requirements are now backpedalling on those requirements.)

Thankfully, our good friend Adam is a persistent fellow and he manages to gather the necessary paperwork and provides it to his registrar and – lo and behold – Adam is now the proud new owner of LearnToPlay.banjo.

Adam is so excited. He hires a designer to start working on logo ideas. He starts planning his Learn to Play Banjo Website. He starts writing copy. Everything is going according to plan.

But several more horrible things could happen to Adam’s new domain name in the coming weeks, months, and years.

First, Adam’s new domain name might get clawed back by the registry.

We all know this has happened to consumers, and regardless of the “reasons” given, and regardless of whether the fault lay with the registry or the registrar, this is a terrible way to treat early-adopter customers like Adam.

Thankfully for Adam, his domain isn’t clawed back. But Adam still has a nasty surprise waiting in store for him.

Adam paid $1,000 for his premium .banjo domain name, so he’s expecting to be able to renew it for $20, which is what most .banjo registrations and renewals are priced at and is what consumers are used to. Why is that? Because we as an industry have conditioned consumers to this pattern over the last two decades.

Unfortunately for Adam, he doesn’t realize that his premium .banjo domain comes with a premium renewal price. 12 months later, Adam is shocked to discover he needs to fork over another $1,000 to merely renew his domain name.

So… How would you feel if you were Adam? Do you think he’s got a right to be angry? Frustrated? Disappointed?

I think he does. Because he’s been forgotten.

I think Adam is owed an apology. I think all of us in the domain industry need to remember Adam if we’re involved in making decisions about how we will market, price, and distribute new TLD domains.

Bottom line: Never forget the consumer. Never forget Adam.

I could mention a whole bunch of other irritants and obstacles that consumers have told me they face with the new TLD program, but I don’t want to dwell on the negative.

Instead, let’s turn our attention to defining success with the new TLDs. Because I am a marketer at heart, consumers like Adam figure prominently in how I think we should measure the success.

To me this is quite simple, especially if we keep the consumer in our mind the entire time.

Here are some metrics I think we should use – or aspire to use – to measure success of the new TLDs:

• what percentage of the new TLD domains are renewed every year
• how many new TLD domains are developed into actual websites (and not parked)
• how many domains are used as the primary domain by the owner and not forwarded to another legacy TLD domain
• how many new TLD domains are showing up in print ads or TV commercials or on billboards
• how many of the top 10,000 most trafficked Websites are using a new TLD domain

I think these metrics will give all of us a much clearer picture of whether or not the new TLDs are a success – with the stakeholders that matter the most.

In closing, and in case you doubted it, I love this industry. It’s made up of smart and hardworking people who have lots of great ideas and are doing some very cool things.

I’d like to single out Jeff Sass and Colin Campbell of .CLUB who have done a phenomenal job of bringing their new TLD to market in a consumer-friendly manner. I’d also like to congratulate the entire DONUTS team for doing a great job educating consumers about the benefits of all new TLDs, not just the many strings that DONUTS has brought to market. I also think Radix has done a better than average job bringing its new TLDs to market in a consumer-friendly fashion.

As I stated at the beginning, I love the new TLDs. But I think in all the excitement of the new TLD program, some of our other industry friends forgot the consumer, forgot the Adam’s of this world, and lost their way.

All of us in this industry can get back on the right track with the new TLDs – if we focus on the consumer and measure the right things.

Why Choosing the Wrong Domain Name is Like Burning Money

I often get asked if it really matters to a company’s bottom line whether or not they have a better domain name. While there are quite a few intangible (and therefore debatable) reasons why a higher quality domain name is beneficial, such as the company being perceived as having ‘market leadership’ because of their intuitive domain name, here’s a very concrete example of why a better domain will actually save you a lot of money. And for the record, “better” doesn’t necessarily mean a .com domain; this advice applies equally to domains in other TLDS, new or old.

When I’m on a road trip in my car I like to listen to satellite radio. One of my favourite channels, CNN Headline News, features commercials for an eclectic variety of products and services. Almost all of the commercials end with a ‘call-to-action’ of some kind, and usually that call-to-action is to invite listeners to dial a toll-free number or visit a Website.

I’ve heard hundreds of commercials during my road trips, and I’d estimate that one-third of the Website addresses featured in these commercials use problematic domain names that are not intuitive at all and quite literally fail the Radio Test. What’s the Radio Test you ask? It’s a measure of the intuitive nature of a domain name and focuses on whether or not someone who only hears the domain name (versus seeing it) will know how to correctly spell it. So, for example, the domain WritePanda.com (while not a bad name and domain in general) would fail the radio test because people might not know whether to type “Write” or “Right”.

Now keep in mind these are 30-second commercials and the advertisers are paying thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars a week for their commercials to run. In the commercials featuring the problematic domain names, the announcer usually has to spend five or more seconds explaining how to spell the unintuitive domain name. So, using WritePanda.com as our example, the end of the commercial features the announcer saying something like, “To learn more, visit Write Panda dot com, that’s W-R-I-T-E panda dot com.”

Let’s do the math. Five seconds out of a 30-second commercial is 16.7% of the total commercial time wasted explaining an awkward domain name, time that could have been used for something more productive like describing the product or service. If an advertiser is spending $5,000 a month on radio ads, and that’s a modest budget by typical advertising standards, that advertiser is wasting $835 a month explaining their problematic domain name to listeners. That’s over $10,000 a year from their advertising budget that's going up in flames because of someone’s decision to choose and use an awkward domain name.

And you know the craziest part of all of this? Most of the domains these advertisers use are quirky, two and three-word .com domains where the better, radio-friendly version of the domain could probably have been purchased for under $5,000. I honestly get the impression that for many of these advertisers someone in their marketing department had the choice of spending $2,000-3,000 on a better domain name or registering an awkward domain name for $15 and they chose the awkward domain because the better domain name was considered ‘too expensive’.

Well guess what? They might have ‘saved’ three grand on the domain purchase, but their short-sighted decision is actually costing them thousands of dollars (or more) a year in wasted radio airtime.

If you intend to advertise your Website on the radio and you pick a domain name that fails the Radio Test, you’ve just depleted the potential effectiveness of your media budget by nearly 20%. When you think about it that way, that better quality domain name isn’t so ‘expensive’ after all.

Here’s a handy rule of thumb to remember: If you have to explain your domain name to someone when telling it to them in person or over the phone, that’s not a good domain name to use for radio advertising -- and probably not a good domain name in general.

12 Ways to Protect Your Valuable Domain Names

Sadly, not a month goes by where I am not contacted by a friend or colleague who is in a panic because they've "lost" their important domain name. Losing access to your domain name (and associated Website and email) can, of course, have catastrophic results, but this doesn't have to happen to you. Most of the time my friends or colleagues are convinced that nefarious third parties (e.g., their domain registrar, "domain hijackers", etc.) are responsible for this unfortunate situation, however in almost every case the responsibility rests with them. In my humble opinion, 99.9% of the "lost" domain scenarios could have been prevented had the owner of the domain followed some or all of the following advice:

1. Ensure the email address associated with the WHOIS record is correct.
   I'd say this is the number one reason people "lose" their domain names. They register a domain name using an email address that they subsequently abandon. The registrar sends renewal notices to that defunct email address, and since the owner never receives those notices, the domain expires. It is your responsibility to make sure this email address is current and functioning. Do a WHOIS lookup at SmartWHOIS and check to see what email address is associated with your domain. If it is not correct, contact your domain registrar (also listed in the WHOIS) to update your information.
2. Never use an email address that is tied to the domain name in question.
   This is a classic mistake. Do not use an email address that matches the domain name, e.g., if your domain name is fluffy.com, do not use an email address like [email protected] for the domain registration because if that domain name expires you won't have access to that email address to manage the renewal of the domain name.
3. Make sure you are listed as the legal owner of the domain name.
   Are you sure you are the legal owner of the domain name? Many people are surprised to discover that the actual owner ("Registrant") is not them but a third party, such as a friend, family member, employee, Web designer, or Web hosting company that may have registered the domain name on your behalf. That can lead to some major problems, especially if you and the third party have a falling out. Since renewal notices and other important communication about the domain name are sent to the Registrant, it is important that you and your contact information is listed there. To check who is listed as the legal owner of your domain name, do a WHOIS lookup. If your information is not listed there, contact your domain registrar (also listed in the WHOIS) to arrange for an update.
4. Figure out when your domain is set to expire.
   Once again, using the WHOIS record, check to see what "Renewal" date is listed. This is your domain's expiry date and you must renew your domain name before then. In fact, it is advisable that you renew your domain name at least a month prior to the expiry date just to allow ample time for any hiccups that might occur along the way.
5. Configure an automatic reminder to renew your domain name.
   Using your electronic calendar, day planner, or PDA, setup an alert to remind you to renew your domain name well in advance of the expiry date. Do not rely on your domain registrar to do this for you; at the end of the day, this is your responsibility.
6. Set the domain name to auto-renew.
   Most domain registrars allow you to configure the domain to automatically renew, as long as you enable this with them and provide the registrar with some form of payment method, such as your credit card or PayPal account. Then, usually a few weeks before expiry, the domain is automatically renewed.
7. If you use auto-renew, make sure the payment method on file is valid.
   A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a friend who lost their domain name because they had set their domain up for auto-renew but had not kept the credit card information with their registrar up-to-date. When the registrar tried to auto-renew the domain, the transaction failed because their credit card had expired. So make sure that whatever payment method you have on file with your registrar is current and functional.
8. Renew the domain name for more than one year.
   Although domain names have to be renewed at least once a year, most domain registrars allow you to make multi-year renewals. If the domain in question is one that you have built a business on, or expect to use and/or keep for many years, you might as well renew the domain now for up to 10 years. This is a small investment to make for overall peace of mind.
9. Get to know your domain name registrar.
   Your domain name is registered with a registrar, and they are the folks to turn to for help configuring or renewing your domain name. If you are not sure who your registrar is, do a WHOIS search to determine the name of your registrar and get their contact info. Their email, phone, and Website will likely be listed under "Technical Contact". A common mistake that people make is confusing their domain registrar with their Web hosting company. They are not always the same company, and it is important to know the difference.
10. Confirm that your domain registrar will send you several expiration notices via email.
    Although it is mandated by ICANN, there may be some domain registrars who do not do a very good job of notifying their customers that their domain name has expired. Contact your registrar to find out when and how they will notify you of your domain's expiration. While you are speaking to them, ask them to let you know what email address they will be sending these notifications from so that you can "whitelist" that address in your spam filter. You want to make sure that these important renewal notifications do not get filtered into your spam folder by mistake.
11. Renew your domain name before it expires.
    Admittedly this may seem rather obvious, but when you get the reminder message - you know, the one you configured yourself - to renew your domain name, take action right away. Call your registrar or visit their Website to renew your domain name. In most instances, it only takes a few minutes to renew your domain name using a credit card, and the cost is usually only in the $15-20 range.
12. Verify that your renewal has been completed.
    Wait 24 hours after renewing, then check the WHOIS record again to make sure your domain name's expiry date has been updated to reflect your recent renewal. Even if your registrar sends you an email or receipt confirming that the renewal was completed, make sure you check the WHOIS record yourself just to make sure. If I sound paranoid, it is because I have seen renewals fail for various reasons, so it always pays to double-check.

By following the advice above, you will vastly increase the odds of never losing one of your valuable domain names. As I noted at the beginning, most of the domains that are lost are due to negligence or human error on the part of the former owner, not the diabolical work of hackers or domain hijackers.

Finally, if you do end up in the situation where one of your domain names has expired by mistake or something fishy appears to be going on, act quickly because time is of the essence. Contact your domain registrar right away because sometimes a difference of a few hours can make all the difference when it comes to rescuing a domain name. In most cases, with expired domains, you will have about 30 days to rescue the domain name (and sometime even longer), but don't take that for granted. Act fast the moment you think you have lost the domain name, and start by contacting your domain registrar.

Why It's a Wrap for my Movie Domain Name Website

Like many of the ventures I have launched over the years, the idea for Hollywoozy, my site where I would review movie domain names, came to me out of the blue.

At the time, I thought it would be both fun and educational to use movie domain names (the good and the bad) as a springboard to discuss what makes a good marketing domain name.

I also wanted to create an outlet to share my amusement and frustration with the idiotic domain names chosen by the marketers of movies.

I feel that I accomplished both those objectives, and the reaction to Hollywoozy has been very positive.

Since launching the site, I have had the opportunity to discuss movie domain names with studio executives, filmmakers, marketing folks, and intellectual property lawyers. In doing so, I gained a deeper understanding of why most Hollywood movies end up with less-than-ideal domain names. It was an eye-opening experience.

Here are some of the reasons why movie domains are the way they are (and won't likely change anytime soon):

1. Since the bulk of a typical Hollywood movie's marketing dollars are spent on traditional, offline media (mainly television and print), the online marketing component is given low priority, little attention, and relatively tiny budgets. Finding and obtaining the best domain name is not seen as a priority, and any money spent on purchasing the domain name(s) will come out of the already squeezed budget for the movie's Website.

2. Many movie marketers refuse to deal with domain investors who might already own the ideal domain name. It's become almost a matter of principle that Hollywood would rather pay $10 and register a brand new but inferior movie domain name than pay someone else $500 for a much better domain name. Hollywood feels it has been 'burned' too often by cybersquatters (or what Hollywood perceives as cybersquatters) and wants nothing to do with even the legitimate domain resale market.

3. Because the online marketing of a movie is treated as a low priority, there is little to no measurement done, which means there are few opportunities for the powers to be to learn how having a better domain name would impact their overall success.

4. Since the main focus of Hollywood movie marketing is to generate buzz and put bums in seats for the movie's opening weekend, most of the marketing activities are geared towards that tiny window of time. Having a better domain name is not seen as having much of an impact on this either.

5. The studios don't really care that they don't have the perfect domain name. They figure that because they will be spending millions to market whatever domain name they do have, they will still get tons of traffic to the movie's Website. And they also figure that the search engines and popular movie portals like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb will also drive organic traffic as well.

Having learned all of this, I have decided it is pointless of me to keep making fun of Hollywood and its often silly choice of movie domain names. If anything, I've become very forgiving of Hollywood and its domain name foibles. I know the domain names are lame. You know the domain names are lame. And, yes, Hollywood knows the domain names are lame as well.

Since this situation isn't likely to ever change, and since I have a long list of ideas for other ventures I want to turn into reality, there will be no more updates to Hollywoozy.

I've had a ball creating and updating Hollywoozy, I've loved the discussions and learning and relationships that have flowed out of it, and I hope its visitors enjoyed reading it.

Cut.

Print.

That's a wrap.

My Five Most Popular Blog Articles

I'm on holiday the next little while so I thought I'd share some links to five of the all-time most popular articles I have ever written for my blog:

• 10 Twitter Tips for Professionals

• 10 Facebook Tips for Professionals

• Does Someone Want to Buy Your Domain Name?

• 12 Questions You Must Ask Before Doing SEO

• Ten Must-Have iPhone Apps for Marketers

Apparently blog posts with numbers in the title do very well. ;+)

I hope you enjoy these, and I look forward to resuming writing again later this Summer.

Domain Name Disputes: Honey or Vinegar?

One of the more unusual aspects of my job as General Manager of a large portfolio of premium domain names is that I see all the "poison pen" letters from lawyers representing clients who believe (usually incorrectly, I should add) they are legally entitled to a domain name that we own. Since we own over 100,000 domain names, we get quite a few of these letters every week!

I make sure that we respond to each and every one of these inquiries, and now that I've seen and dealt with hundreds of these letters I wanted to make a suggestion to the marketing community at large:

"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Admittedly, I didn't come up with this age-old concept, but I'd like to remind people that you will have better luck resolving a dispute - any dispute - by playing nice than by being hostile.

For instance, the next time you think that someone owns a domain name that you think you are legally entitled to, don't make your first move a "nasty lawyer's letter."

Instead, just reach out to the current owner with a courteous phone call or email (which you can get from checking the public WHOIS records) and let them know you have some questions or concerns. You might discover that the current owner is a lot nicer than you think, is not a hardened criminal, and is more than willing to negotiate in good faith. You might even learn that the original basis for your complaint is flawed and that - surprise, surprise - you aren't legally entitled to the domain name after all.

Not only will you save yourself the time, hassle, and significant expense of going the legal route (fighting a domain name dispute can cost many thousands of dollars), but you will begin the dialogue on a positive and constructive basis, not an adversarial one.

I go out of my way to help the small minority of folks who approach me nicely and are willing to listen to and consider our side of the story. Between us, we can usually resolve the situation within a few days. Unfortunately, I can count these "honey" folks on the fingers of one hand.

I'm not so sympathetic towards the "vinegar" folks - those who courier me six-inch thick stacks of legal documents that make all sorts of false accusations, ridiculous demands, and set unrealistic timelines for a response. (One law firm did this to me, quite deliberately, on Christmas Eve, two years in a row.) Sadly, these "poison pen" letters make up the vast majority of inquiries I receive. Sure, we respond to them as well, but I'm not going to cut them any slack or do them any favours. Why should I?

In the end, this boils down to one simple suggestion: be nice. ;+)

(A version of this post originally appeared on the Canadian Marketing Blog.)

10 Twitter Tips for Professionals

After the unexpected popularity of my article 10 Facebook Tips for Professionals, I figured I would follow it up with some tips for the micro-blogging platform known as Twitter.

Although Twitter has been around since 2006, it's only recently started to generate interest from the public at large. One of the things I like the most about Twitter is that it is an open platform and the uses for it are limited only by people's imagination. Every day I discover new and creative ways that people are using Twitter, some good, some bad. As with any new medium, there are and will continue to be growing pains as we all figure out what the ground rules are and how best to use this new tool. I, for one, still consider myself to be in my 'kindergarten' years with Twitter, however I have learned a few tips and tricks along the way that I am happy to share with you:

I hereby present my list of 10 Twitter tips for business professionals who want to get the most out of Twitter without making too many newbie mistakes:

1. Use your real and (length permitting) full name as your Twitter ID and Display Name - Don't start Twittering using some cutesy or cryptic alias; that just makes it hard for people to find you and figure out who you really are. If you can, avoid using an underscore in your Twitter ID: JaneSmith is way more professional than Jane_Smith and is also easier for people who are using mobile devices to type. And capitalize the first letter of your first and last name; it makes them easier to read.

2. Make sure you upload a photo of yourself right away - If you don't include a photo of yourself as part of your Twitter account, you will limit the number of followers you will get. And use a real photo, not an illustration, avatar, or your company's logo. People want to have a relationship with you, not an illustration. Choose a recent colour or black and white headshot of yourself, and make sure the photo is tasteful. For best results, the image should be a JPEG sized about 128 by 128 pixels, but remember that it will be displayed in much smaller sizes on different Twitter clients, including small screens on mobile devices, so make sure it is legible even when tiny.

3. Include a compelling and accurate description of yourself in your Twitter account - People will refer to this when deciding if they want to follow you. Make sure you include pertinent information such as the name of the company you work for, your job title, a brief description of what you do, and a link to your corporate Website or blog. Remember to keep search engines in mind and feature keywords that are relevant to your profession in your description. This will make it easier for new people to find you via Twitter search.

4. Choose a professional looking Twitter profile design, or create your own - The Twitter account settings allow you to choose from a number of simple design templates for your profile. I recommend that you pick one that best (or at least better) aligns with your professional brand, or tinker with the colour schemes until you get something that works. If you really want to present a slick image, get a custom Twitter background design created for you. There are numerous free and affordable paid Twitter background design services. One of the ones I have used and can recommend is Twitbacks.

5. Understand the important difference between a public reply and a Direct Message (DM) - When you reply to someone that you are following, using the "@BillSweetman" syntax, everyone following you and them can see your conversation, and a permanent public record is made of the exchange. A Direct Message, using the "D BillSweetman" syntax, is strictly between you and that one other recipient (although in order for this to work both recipient and sender have to be following one another). Confuse the two and you could end up in an embarrassing situation.

6. Be judicious about Re-Tweeting - Twitter is about sharing, however if all you are doing is continually re-tweeting other people's posts instead of contributing your own original content, this will soon begin to grate on your followers. After all, if your followers really cared about what someone else was Twittering about, they'd follow them.

7. Watch your P's and Q's - Twitter is a public forum, and your posts are archived forever. While it is always advisable to avoid getting into a war of words with someone, Twitter is the worst possible place to have a dustup since everyone has a ringside seat. Sadly, that hasn't stopped some folks from getting into some very nasty, and very public, Twitter fights. Try to avoid making the same mistake.

8. Be careful about mixing business with pleasure - Consider creating two separate Twitter accounts, one for business use and one for personal use. If you tie your personal email address and a more 'casual' photo to your personal Twitter account, your friends and family will easily be able to figure out which is the right account to follow.

9. Follow but don't expect to be followed - While you are free to follow anyone on Twitter that you so choose, don't expect them to follow you back. Not everyone wants to follow hundreds or thousands of people, and just because you followed them doesn't mean they are obliged to follow you, nor should you be upset if they don't.

10. Don't try to "market" on Twitter; try to "share" instead - Just because Twitter allows you to post promotional messages 24/7 doesn't mean that anyone is interested in that kind of content. If you want to attract and keep followers, focus on contributing items of value. Let them know about something you just heard or discovered. Solicit feedback on a project or ask a question. Sing the praises of a product or person. Recommend other people they should follow. Or provide an update on what you are working on right now. Think sharing, not shouting.

Despite the feverish tone of the recent media hoopla around Twitter, I am very bullish about the future of Twitter. We've hardly scratched the surface of its potential. Twitter was originally dismissed by many as a quirky geek distraction (I admit to being one of those skeptics), but it is rapidly emerging as a flexible communication platform for both business and personal use. I hope my 10 Twitter tips will help you take better advantage of this new medium. And if you want to follow me on Twitter, my Twitter ID is BillSweetman. Good luck, and happy Tweeting!

Discover "Minivertising" at 2009 CMA National Convention

Forget about thinking big. You need to think small!

That's the rallying cry for a presentation I am giving at the Canadian Marketing Association's National Convention in Toronto on April 28, 2009.

The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) has invited me to present my newest talk, "Minivertising", at Canada's largest marketing conference. This national convention is held each spring in a different city and welcomes thousands of attendees.

Here are the details:

"Minivertising" – The Big Future in Targeting a Tiny Niche
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Register for the conference

Forget about thinking big. You need to think small! Until recently, it was expensive if not impossible to market to a highly segmented target audience. Not any longer. Discover how marketers and entrepreneurs can use social media and emerging Web tools for affordable and effective mini-targeting. No matter what the size of your company is, you can learn how to become a dominant player in a profitable niche.

If you’re a marketer, you will learn how to use the principles of minivertising to generate interest for your client’s products and services, no matter how constrained their budgets are. If you are an entrepreneur or business executive, you’ll discover affordable and measurable ways to attract highly motivated customers to you, almost overnight.

For more information and to register, visit the CMA National Convention Website.

I hope to see you there.

P.S. Here is a link to the list of Minivertising Resources.

Twitter IDs are the New Domain Names

It's 2009, so I would hope by now that any marketer reading this article online understands the importance of securing your company's brands as domain names. In other words, Acme Furniture should own and control the domain name acmefurniture.com (and, if it's a Canadian company, acmefurniture.ca as well) even if you don't yet have a Web site.

My question for you today is, "Have you done the same for Twitter?"

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that is growing in popularity at an astonishing rate. The purpose of this article is not to explain or promote the benefits of Twitter; that topic has been covered by others.

What I want you to understand today is that Twitter IDs (or "user names" or "handles") are the equivalent of domain names.

For instance, the Twitter ID for my personal brand, Bill Sweetman, is @billsweetman (which corresponds to the URL http://www.twitter.com/billsweetman).

Even if you don't understand Twitter or don't think it has a role to play in your company's marketing efforts today, I strongly urge you to still secure your Twitter ID now.

In my case, I do all my Tweeting (as its called) as @billsweetman but I made sure that I registered all my other professional brands as Twitter IDs so that when and if I want to use Twitter for those other brands I already have the most intuitive Twitter ID.

I predict that over the next few years, millions of dollars will be spent by companies buying, selling, and fighting over Twitter IDs. I have already seen a number of nasty legal spats develop, and I have personally brokered the sale of several Twitter IDs already. And this is only the very beginning...

If you are Acme Furniture, you should make sure you get your hands on @acmefurniture right away. Since there is no fee to register a Twitter ID, you have no excuse not to do this. Simply head on over to http://www.twitter.com and sign up for a free account.

Don't be the person who in a year or two is having to explain to their company President why you didn't secure the company name as a Twitter ID. Take two minutes and do it today.

One final tip: Twitter will eventually suspend an account if it has not been used for six months, so make sure you post something once a month just to keep your account active and not risk losing your valuable Twitter ID.