The Rick Schwartz Domain and Traffic Blog RicksBlog.com...Home of the "Domain King"

Boycott Kentucky! Kentucky "Guv" Gone Wild.....

Good evening folks!! 

If I said we live in interesting times I would be minimizing the period we are in and the storm we are about to go thru. Things will no doubt get much worse before they get better. But I am happy to report that with all the challenges, the domain industry remains strong and domains remain a very safe investment.  

To keep it that way I am sure most of you are aware of the 141 domains that the governor of Kentucky has taken on himself to seize.
 
I think you may be interested in knowing that there is an effort online now to boycott the state of Kentucky and blocking commercial Internet traffic from flowing to the state in an effort to make the citizens revolt against the governors position. This really puts the entire net at risk and every citizen that owns their own domain name and associated business.  

The ramifications of what the Governor of Kentucky has done, if allowed to stand, would set a precedent that any municipality anywhere in the world can seize your domain for whatever reason they deem appropriate. The very essence of the Internet is under siege by a governor in a small state that thinks he has jurisdiction throughout the world.  

Jeffrey Reynolds Ph.D, owner of AmericanFlags.com and many others has set up a site at http://www.boycottkentucky.com in which he is bringing attention to the "Guv" and the companies and people in Kentucky that are going to be directly affected by this abuse of power.  

Please understand the seriousness of this issue. Make others aware. This is a situation where a win here by the Governor could forever change the landscape of the Internet. It would set a precedent that completely flies in the face of free enterprise and due process. If you are not aware of this situation, please read dnjournal.com & thedomains.com as both have been following this case along with many others for the past 30 days.

Thanks for your time!

Rick Schwartz

October 25th 2008 update
Just Karma? Florida Gators DESTROY Kentucky 63-5 in college football. Gov, give it up bro! Isn't one embarrassment enough?

Branding vs Branding vs Domainer

Morning Folks!!

What if I told you that this single post can make you a millionaire many times over? Well it will if you read carefully and fully get your head around this simple message. That's exactly what can happen. I have made a lot of posts in my time, but none are more important than the one you are about to read. So close the door and give me a focused 10 minutes and I think I can share something that will make your journey just a little sweeter and more rewarding.  To me it is the difference between a domain being worth $750 and $750,000 or $7.5M. The domain can be the same but the customers needs is different. Tapping into THAT need is the key. So if you focus on selling domains that is exactly what you will do. You will do what everyone else does. Buy for $100 and sell for $200. Sell for $300, Sell for $500. But how do you buy for $100 and sell for $1M? 

 

I heard the following phrase when I was 19 years old and it probably took me about 15 years to finally figure out what the hell it really meant. "When you see John Jones thru John Jones eyes, you will sell John Jones what John Jones buys." That is the first principle. This is the most important one as well. But this is only an add on to the purpose of this post. Just a bonus to make it more understandable.

 

So how do you put this in effect? You have to look at an end user thru an end users eyes. At TRAFFIC in late September, Brad Geisen did exactly that. As an end user he shared his John Jones story of obtaining foreclosure.com and Property.com. He originally was the guy on the other side of the email telling folks they were crazy to ask $5000 for something they registered for $7. We all know the type. Well here is how this guy evolved from a mindset like that to paying tens of millions for a domain name.

 

When you see the end user thru the end users eyes, you will sell the end user the domain he buys. So the story starts. It's so damn simple! It's so natural. It's untapped because until now it was difficult to articulate in a simple form WHY they would want the category killer domain. It took an end user to explain it and that is what he did.

 

Funny thing.....been into domains very early. Approaching 13 years. It took an end user to simplify what a great domain really means. If you missed TRAFFIC you missed some real words of wisdom from Brad Geisen of Foreclosure.com and the buyer of my Property.com domain name. He told us HIS story from the other side. How it cost him millions to brand a domain name with no end in sight to that branding. Here is his key thought about domains. The 1 over 2 simple theory.

 

NATURAL BRANDING

 

or

 

BUILD and CREATE BRANDING

 

This alone is worth the price of admission. Brad told us his story of spending millions and millions to advertise and brand with his original 3 word creative domain name. When he switched and used a fraction of those ad dollars to buy a category killer domain name, he transformed his business. The dollars he was using to brand was now freed up to do other acquisitions and grow his business in a more dramatic way. NATURAL BRANDING may be the simplest way to describe what a great domain brings to the table.

 

So it took an end user to make this old dog figure a way to articulate what a domain name does in a very quick manner and have folks understand. Have END USERS understand.

 

So a category killer domains gives you instant gravitas. Gives you instant recognition. And gives you something that saves many millions. in "Natural Branding." The elements and benefits associated with a natural branding domain name overwhelm anything that advertising can do. But it is when you do both that the result is something that can not be obtained with most creative domain names.

 

I have never sold a stick of candy in my life. I know nothing about the business. What I do know is elbowing my way to the table with Candy.com is going to be easier than with chewonmycandy.net. Advertising Candy.com is easier than the alternative. Match it with good content and you have a winner before you start. How much does it cost that first day for chewonmycandy.net to get his 1500 targeted folks looking for candy? So one way you pay up front for an asset that returns dividends in the form of natural visitors and appreciates in value at the same time. Folks, this is really the ultimate no brainer for business and what it proves is obvious.

 

 

My friend Warren Royal knew nothing about bobbleheads, but it seems that it is easier to learn their business owning bobbleheads.com than folks in the bobble head business who don't understand it and now will pay a penalty for them not getting it with a new competitor to contend with and what could be a giant new competitor. Oh you don't think so?

 

Well then take my buddy Jeff Reynolds. A few weeks after 9/11 he bought a domain name, AmericanFlags.com. That was a life changing purchase both for him and everyone else in the flag business. Jeff took the ball and from what I understand, he is the largest or one of the largest flag distributors in the country and beyond. So here is another real world example of an industry not figuring out and a domain investor coming along and being an uninvited player in their industry. Taking market share only because they have THE domain in that category. The invisible cost of not understanding your own business. Your own space as it relates to domain names.

 

These stories can be repeated all day long. Sahar with FuneralHomes.com. He never intended to be in the funeral business but had an idea and a natural branding domain name and has made his mark.

 

How many more stories are like that? The most famous one of course is by Barry Diller who bought Hotels.com and forever changed the landscape of that industry.

 

A great domain name allows you to suck and still stay in business. I equate it to the pizza stand on the boardwalk by the ocean. Each day a new group of people come and each day you serve your crummy pizza. The pizza sucks, but you are always busy. Busy because nobody knows it sucks cuz they are tourists and are not coming back and the only reason they came to you in the first place was that you had LOCATION! Location, location, location. So that sucky pizza guy will always make money because of his location. On the other hand if he had a good product he would not only tap into the tourist, but his pizza place would become a destination and he could grow and expand and open new locations. So while the sucky pizza guy will always make great money, he will never be able to do what the guy with the great pizza does. So when you marry a great domain with a great marketing plan and a great base idea, you have something that will grow and expand and that is what it is all about. Catching that lightening in a bottle. Impossible to do unless you know what to search for and capture.

 

Brad started with the next phrase. One I myself know well. One I decided in my 20's I would not have to use in life. He started his speech with the words and I will close my post with them, "If I knew then what I know now?" Then ask some questions. If Marriott or Hyatt or any other hotel chain knew then what they know now would they buy hotels.com? Would they all bid on it? What is the loss or gain that domain represents? There are still more questions than answers, but I hope this claws away at things just a little bit more. Gets us one step closer. Gets one more business to understand what the hell we are talking about and why it matters more to them than it does to us.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

PS: For those that really want an in depth understanding of the entire domain name channel and a great understanding of what it means to YOUR business, you can view a report authored by the folks at Fabulous.com, a public company in Australia. It is the most  objective report ever produced for the industry.

 

TRAFFIC New York in PRIME TIME!

Good Afternoon again folks!!

 

The vision came out to be a reality. Something good was cooking and the result was better than even I expected. Thanks everyone for making T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York 2008 perhaps the most memorable TRAFFIC ever. Ask anyone that attended TRAFFIC. It was quite the tale of two cities. Two economies. Two eras. Across the river they were in panic mode. They were in turmoil. All scratching their heads and wringing their hands. On the other side were 350 renegade domainers. Investors in this new century real estate partying like New Year's eve and feasting on delicacies many have never seen before. The spread we had was unparalleled at any wedding or Bar Mitzvah. Nobody has ever seen anything quite like it. There were reasons we did this.

When folks arrived many were very unsure of their futures. They were concerned. They were questioning this and that. We decided that we needed to FIX that FUNK. So we pulled out every stop. We had more lobster than one could eat. I promised shrimp the size of your fist and we had them even bigger. King crab legs nearly the length of your arm. Sushi stations, Just ask around what the opening night cocktail party looked like. Then we continued that level right thru the entire show. This changed the entire mind set of the industry. We stood there and realized how lucky we all were to be in this business. We counted our blessings and then things got in the proper perspective. The word was shhhhh, hush, don't tell anyone how well we are doing. But we are. That does not mean that our earnings may not have declined, but compared to the rest of the universe, we have no business having our minds not focused on domains and not the doom and gloom.

 

The auctions were solid and here is the secret formula. If auction houses want to sell a lot of domains, just have good domains at good prices and they will sell. That is exactly what occurred at TRAFFIC. The good domains with reasonable reserves sold. The others did not not. In a true recession, not even the good sell. But there was no question as bidding was lively on any domain of substance with a reserve targeted at domainers.

 

In total, over $4 million of domains changed hands. Not bad for an economy in meltdown mode. Domains once again will show their resilience in the face of collapse. Their safety when folks are looking for places to invest. Category killer domain names are as solid an investment as I can think of.

So congratulations to Moniker, who retained their crown. In the face of challenge Monte just refined what they did and the outcome was good for everyone. Congratulations to Rick Latona and his crew for entering the business with a BANG and putting it together in WEEKS! And Aftermarket.com which was just the first event of Thought Convergence's "Afternoon and evening" which consisted of the auction, cocktail party, dinner and wild after party. You all did a great job and we will build it from here. You did the industry proud! The competition created great energy and it was obvious throughout the show. Winners winners, all winners!

 

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz

Another whale of a deal. This time Widgets.com

Good Afternoon folks!

I'll have a huge announcement about Widgets.com in the next few
days/week. Kevin at BigTicketDomains.com has bagged another GIGANTIC
Corporate "End User" deal and the next piece for my long term strategy is about to be revealed.

This deal came about rather quickly and has the potential to evolve into something very powerful. It will become another milestone on what you can do with a powerful category killer domain name. Another "Ceiling" is about to be obliterated.

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz