This post is a six-step process covering everything you need to know about selling domain names. The guide will be helpful to experienced and aspiring domain investors, including those who are about to sell their first domain.
It will highlight valuable tips and methods for assessing your domains, identifying prospective buyers and getting visibility for your sales.
Think of the internet as a huge property market and the domains as valuable real estate to be bought and sold. There are reports of domain names costing as much as millions of dollars. So if you play your game well, you might be one of the lucky investors. Your domain names sale will first of all start with finding names on registrars like Freeparking Domain Names.
- Visualise Potential
This is the first, most important step, and it must be done before you register or buy a domain. What’s the point of buying a domain if it has no potential? Like an investor in the property market, you must recognise the hidden value of the property before you buy it. Likewise, the domain name market. Could it be a name sector that is currently on the rise? Perhaps businesses in that niche are only becoming more popular online, and entrepreneurs will soon realise the value of that domain name.
Sometimes, a domain name becomes valuable as a result of its simplicity and creativity, in relation to the business service. As an investor, develop quality keywords that are significant to a product or service. Alternatively, you can discover a valuable domain name that would be desirable to small or mid-sized businesses (SMB), upcoming ones or individuals interested in personal branding.
It is most advisable to use keywords in generating domain names because of their search engine benefits. Keyword domains are also easier to research, evaluate, purchase and sell.
- Appraise liquid value
As a property market investor, specific attractions and possible signs of urban development indicate how valuable an area may soon be. Assess the popularity of some keywords in your domain by conducting a phrase search on any search engine. For instance, if your domain was funkyrazors.com, type the phrase “funky razors” (include quotes) into Google and study the results. Look out for how many result pages appear and the number of advertisers targeting the keywords for that domain. These metrics can provide clues to how valuable your domain might be.
Compare the sales of other similar domain names and empathise with a prospective buyer. If it were you, what would you be willing to pay for your domain? If you can determine the actual liquid value of your domain, you could quickly make a sale.
- Share your vision
If you have identified the value of your domain, as stated in the first step of the sales process, share your vision with a potential buyer. Take some time to write one or two paragraphs about the perceived value of your domain. You can state what business the domain will be suitable for, or how it could be used to make income. Write your idea for a functional website using the domain name. Make your potential buyers see the benefits of your vision, get them excited about the opportunities available.
You can get a copywriter (or yourself) to spend a few minutes developing actionable steps throughout each life-stage of the domain. This is particularly helpful if you are going to be selling the domain at an auction website. It will also be useful on web forums, social updates, your personals sales page and similar platforms.
Tip: use rich media and information that promotes your domain, perhaps an infographic format.
- Switch on your domain
There are 3 ways to switch on your domain effectively.
- Park: This is when you register your domain name without a distinctive association of the domain with any services such as a business website or blog. By parking your domain, you are reserving it for future use- or for sale in this case- and securing it from the possibility of cyberquatting. Check with popular domain companies for their parking services.
- Develop: Install a CMS, for instance WordPress, and write blog posts, news material or the vision for your domain name. You could use AdSense and affiliate marketing programs to earn passive income. Developing your domain can increase it value albeit small.
- Forward: This sets your domain in such a way that it re-directs visitors to a page with detailed information about its sale or to an auction website.
Whichever option you choose, the most important thing to add is a means for prospective buyers to contact you. Ensure that a contact form is visible on the page. Not everybody is aware of WHOis and they may end up going elsewhere.
- Sell to potential end users
Sometimes you could sell a domain, only for the buyer to turn around and resell it. To avoid this, spend some extra time seeking out marketing domains because they contain real end-users. People who buy domain names for purposes of reselling it (domainers) don’t see the value in it, the way an end-user would. There are automated ways to sell your domain to real end-users.
- Transfer domain ownership immediately
Immediately when a potential buyer indicates interest in buying your domain, there are a few things you must do. One of them is to respond quickly. Accept the offer and request payment be made. The second thing to do is ask the buy to respond with their registrar’s account details, so that ownership transfer can be effected.
When you complete both actions — payment request and ownership transfer — you inspire the buyer with confidence. This has the effect of faster payment and seamless transaction.
Start selling
Now that you are familiar with the selling process, seek some domain deals that are promising and begin selling. You will find it an interesting challenge with likely rewards.
Selling domain names is an active process, work on directing traffic to your domain sales page when you can. If you want quick results, leverage social media and blogs to engage prospective buyers.