Working from home is a new normal, especially during this pandemic.
Coronavirus has put everything on hold employees of small or big companies are all working from home.
Offline businesses are also going online because people are not going out as they used to, and they prefer shopping online from their homes.
From the travel industry to any other industry, all took a hit; many lost jobs and businesses got shut down.
But there is old saying life is all about the next step. What matters is how you react when your back is against the wall, and the year 2020 has taught us this lesson.
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Things will get better, and everything will back to normal, but the coronavirus has taught us a hard lesson not to take everything for granted; nothing is permanent. Whether you are doing a job or running a business, if you don’t improvise and adapt quickly, you will struggle when things get more challenging.
Enough of philosophy. I’m not a philosopher so let’s move on to the main subject of how you can work from home and sell domains to make a passive income for yourself in 2022.
What Is A Domain Name?
It is the first tap in the URL or the web address between the protocol symbol (HTTP:/). Any website address’s domain name is the combination of the latter two parts – ‘domain’ + ‘extension.’ In www.google.com, “google.com” is the domain name.
Domain names are available in many different extensions. The most popular and common one is .com. There are many other options like .org, .net, .co, .info, .io, and more.
Country code – CCTLD’s. ccTLD are country specific domain names that end with the country code extension like .us, .in, .uk, .ca and more.
For more thorough details, please click here Different Types of Domain Names
How To Register A Domain Name?
There are quite a few registrars out there, but the most popular ones are Godaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, Domain.com.
They all are the registrar where you can search for a name and register it by paying $8-$12 depending on how much they charge. They all have different registration fees with not much margin.
You can visit any of these registrar websites and enter your name if it’s available; you can register the name.
You will need to pay an annual fee to register a domain name. When the registration period expires, you will be given the option to renew. If you don’t, the domain name will expire and get deleted from your account.
Now, let’s discuss why you should become a domain investor?
When a new year starts, many people make new resolutions and look for another source of income to make money online, and in my opinion, selling domains should be on the top of your to-do list.
Here’s why: Domains are like virtual real estate, and .com is the prime location where you can build something amazing. As I mentioned above, everyone is going online, which means demand for domain names has increased, and a domain name is a pilar where the online business stands and grows.
No age or income barrier: whether you are in your twenties or forties, it doesn’t matter; you can start making money by selling domains and that too by the comfort of your home; all you need is:
- Laptop/Computer
- Internet
- little money to invest
Now, I’m sure most of you reading this post are already having a laptop/computer and internet connection, so I’m not going to waste your time discussing laptops or the internet. Let’s talk about how much money you need to kick start your domainer journey.
Not much, to be honest. Let me give you my example. When I joined this domain industry in March 2020, I only had around $200 to invest, and luckily for me, I was able to buy the right domain name from auction for $194, and I sold that name for $600.
That $194 helped me achieve around $35k in domain sales till December 2020. If I add my ebook Domain Outbound Marketing earning my income from March 2020 to December 2020 is a little over $40k in the domain industry.
This is not bad, in my opinion, and I still haven’t completed my first year yet.
If you want to know more about how I did, I recommend buying my ebook Domain Outbound Marketing. It’s a step-by-step process and has everything you need to get better at selling domains via outbound marketing.
The domain industry is not a big industry like Digital marketing; it’s a small industry but growing rapidly, and every day I see lots of new domainers coming in.
If you think there is no opportunity left in domaining and all the good names are taken, you are wrong. I did it, and I know many other domainers who are new to this industry are killing it and making good money by selling domains.
Where To Find Domains?
Here is the most popular website where you can find the list of expired domains ExpiredDomains.net
An expired domain is one that the owner has failed to renew. Every day over 100k domains gets expired. This can be for several reasons. Perhaps they forgot to renew it. Maybe their payment method or credit card didn’t go through.
There is an old saying one person’s trash is another one’s treasure, and that’s how you get your hands on these expired domains.
ExpiredDomains.net, now for a domainer like me, this is not just a website; it’s a gold mine.
Let me explain to you why:
This website is like a one-shop stop. You can not only find expired or pending delete domains on this website, but you can also go through different domain marketplace like Godaddy, Flippa, Namejet, Dropcatch, and more.
As I mentioned earlier, every day, over 100k domains get expired, and expireddomains.net upload the list every single day.
You can either use the filters to look for the names you think are good or download the list in a CSV file and do your research.
Use this link to know more about how you can use expireddomains.net.
You can also buy the domains by participating in auctions, but if you are new and on a limited budget, I recommend starting with expireddomains.net and doing practice as much you can by using filters.
List of popular domain auctions website
Avoid this if you are new.
Hand registration: it means registering a domain name that no one else has registered, and it is currently available. If you are new, I would strongly advise you not to do a hand registration.
Now, I’m not trying to say you can’t sell a brand new registered name for a high price; there were few exceptions when a new hand registered domain name was sold for a high price but let’s be practical; what are the odds? domain investing should not be treated as a “get rich quick scheme.”
To be good at hand registration, you should have years of experience behind you; otherwise, you might end up losing your money.
Best Way To Sell Domains, Inbound and Outbound
Inbound: This means when a buyer comes to you and knocks on your door to buy your domain. If you want an inbound offer, your domain name should be listed on popular domain marketplaces such as Afternic, Dan, Sedo, Epik, and many others.
I’m sure what you are thinking right now, “oh, it’s easy. I can register a name and list that name into all these marketplaces with my asking price of $100k or $1+Million something, and I’m going to be rich.”
I wish it was that easy, but unfortunately, you are 100% wrong. It doesn’t work like that; let me tell you why
We all heard about the stories and read on the internet that someone sold a domain name for $100k or $1 Million. That’s true but what you don’t know is:
- How much did the seller pay to buy that name
- How long they held this name
- Why it got sold for that high price
- How long it took to close that deal and more
These stats matter a lot to figure out what goes behind the scenes in big $ sales, but not every domain sells for high 5-7 figures; thousands of domains sell for $100 – $1,000, $1,000-$10,000 range.
If you want to sell your domain for maximum profit, stick with inbound, but that does not mean you will get a sale every day, every week, or every month.
The average industry STR (sell-through rates) is around 2%
For example: if you have 1000 names on average, you would expect to sell about 20 domain names per year. But there is no guarantee; it all depends on quality.
Like in any other business, it all comes down to quality over quantity.
Multiple data points play an important role to find a quality name like
- Age
- SV (Search volume)
- CPC (Cost per click)
- .Com
- How many extensions taken + developed
Age: Old is gold, and some of the old domains registered back in the ’90s or early 2000 are precious.
SV (search volume): Search volume is the average number of times a specific search query is entered on a search engine per month. The more search volume name has, the better it is.
CPC (Cost per click): It means how much companies are paying to run ads on that particular keyword. The advertiser pays a cost to a publisher for every click on an ad.
DotCom: As we all know, .com is the most popular web extension, and over (figure) companies are using .com in their URL.
Dotcom is always in demand; there are other few extensions like .co, .io, which are getting traction and getting popularity, especially in the startup world. If you are new and planning to invest your money in domains, I would highly recommend sticking with .com initially.
How many extensions taken + developed: One of the easiest ways to check the value+ demand for a domain is to see how many web extensions have already taken + developed.
The tool I recommend for a quick check is dotdb.com. Simply enter the domain and click search to find out what extensions are registered.
How And Where to List Your Domain For Inbound offer
People buy and sell domains every day on different domain marketplaces,
here is the list of some of the popular domain marketplaces
Godaddy/Afternic
GoDaddy is one of the best domain name marketplaces, where you can buy or sell your domain name.
If you want to list your domain for sale in the Godaddy auction, you need to have a membership. the fee is around $5 a year; for more accurate info, please visit Godaddy
Godaddy Commission fees
Sale Price of the Domain Commission Fees
$0 – $5,000 20% ($15 minimum)
$5,001 – $25,000 $1,000 + 15% of amount over $5k
$25,001+ $4,000 + 10% of amount over $25k
For more details, you can click here.
Click here How to list a domain for sale at Godaddy?
Afternic
Afternic is part of Godaddy does not charge a fee to list your domains. Afternic receives a 20% commission ($15 minimum)
Afternic Commission structure:
- $0 to $5000 20% ($15 minimum)
- $5,001 to $25,000 $1,000 +15% of amount over $5k
- $25,000 and over $4,000 +10% of amount over $25k
For more details, you can click here.
Click here How to list the domain for sale at Afternic
Sedo
Sedo is a domain name marketplace and domain parking provider, and it is one of the world’s biggest marketplaces.
Sedo charges a fee of 15% of the gross selling price for the sale of a domain at a Buy Now or Make Offer price.
For more details, you can click here.
Click here How to list a domain for sale at Sedo
Dan.com
Dan is one of the leading domain marketplaces, and millions of domains are listed on dan.com, and they provide a free landing page to capture more eyes.
Dan Fee structure
They charge 9% on every sale conducted through their marketplace and 5% if you use the “add the lead” feature.
For more information, please visit Dan.com
SquadHelp
Squad help is a leading domain marketplace. If you have some marketing knowledge or have great branding ideas, Squadhelp is an excellent way to make some extra dollars. Besides contest naming, you can submit logo designs for various companies then win a cash prize if your idea is selected.
For more info, please visit SquadHelp.com
How To Value The Domain Name:
Getting the exact value of a domain name is not easy; you are always speculating.
Overpricing is also something most domainers do, especially those who don’t have the experience,
Here’s a look at some of the most tried and true techniques for calculating the value of domain names in your portfolio.
Comparable sales data: A domain name’s value can range from a few dollars to numbers in the six or even seven-figure range.
The best way to find a domain name’s value is to check the recent/past sales data.
Namebio.com is one of the best sites where you can find these sale report. You can enter your domain name and look for similar domain sales data; the more you see, the better it is,
Appraisal Tools:
Multiple websites help you find information about your domain, helping you estimate its value and compare it to similar names.
Estibot.com
As the name says, it’s an estimating tool but primarily focuses on factors like cost-per-click, keyword optimization, and the domain’s previous sale price.
To try it for yourself, you can start by entering the domain you want to check in the field on the homepage and clicking Appraise.
While this appraisal tool is free, to perform multiple searches in a day, you are required to have a paid plan with the site.
Godaddy Appraisal
This appraisal tool is free, and you don’t need to sign up. Enter your name and hit go value, It’s not going to be 100% accurate, but you can at least get a decent idea of your domain’s value, especially on lower-end domains.
Nameworth
Another appraisal tool where you can find out the value of your domain but in different tiers. They offer up to 5 free lookups per day, with a maximum of 20 free lookups per month.
Whether you want to sell a domain or simply find out what it’s worth, performing domain valuation will help you find the answer.
Ultimately, a domain is worth whatever a buyer is willing to pay for it, There’s no single method of arriving at the perfect asking price, and it takes a lot of trial and error to get good at it.
Now Let’s Talk About Outbound (a personal favorite)
Outbound marketing is opposite to inbound, in outbound rather than buyers approaching you, you are going to have to knock on their door and sell your domain.
You can sell domains via outbound by choosing a different marketing model either by cold calling or by cold emails.
Suppose you have prior experience in telemarketing or selling over the phone. In that case, you can use that to your advantage and start making phone calls, or if you don’t have any experience in sales, I think email marketing should be your first option to start doing outbound.
Every one of us is having email, and we all know how to send emails; it’s super easy and free if you are not using professional email or any other tools.
Selling domains via outbound marketing can help you bring cash flow, but in my opinion, you are always a few steps behind when you approach someone first with selling intentions.
Outbound can increase your cash flow, but you end up selling names for a low price sometimes.
But don’t we all cash flow? I do. Cash flow is the backbone of every business.
To be successful in outbound, one requires to spend a constant amount of time doing prospecting, and I firmly believe if you spend more time selling rather than buying, you will do well.
What Type Of Domains Can You Sell Via Outbound?
Well, you can sell all sorts of different domains but avoid selling brandable names. Brandables are made-up names, and they don’t exist in the dictionary, hard to pronounce, so it’s going to be super challenging to sell those types of names via outbound.
If you want to know more about brandable names, I highly recommend listening to this podcast Brandable insider with Keith Deboer.
To sell domains via outbound, you can lay your hands on these types of names.
- GEO
- Exact match domains
- Keywords name
Geo: The term geodomain refers to domain names that are exact matches in spelling to geographic locations, such as cities and countries.
for example, India.com, Mumbai.com, Newyork.com
GEO domains are valued most with the .com extension.
You can expand your GEO domain outreach by adding any service industry keyword example, GEO + Service.
Examples of a service industry.
- Finance
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Professional service: lawyer and accountant
For example, Newyork+accountant.com, Losangeles+Lawyer.com.
GEO domains are probably the first preference for outbound
Exact Match Domains (EMDs): Web developers buy EMDs to gain a quick advantage when it comes to ranking on search engines.
Examples of EMDs include:
- Lifeinsurance.com
- Financial.com
- Casino.com
From the early days of the internet, EMDs names are hot favorites to secure page one position, adding a bit of content and getting links from directories, which was enough to get organic traffic, but Google updated its algorithm, making it tough to rank higher.
But that doesn’t mean the value of exact match domains is down; in fact, they have become more valuable, especially one-word exact match domain name.
Here’s is the link where you can see the popular one-word domain sales report.
Most of us can’t afford to buy these single dictionary words, but there are still opportunities to find these exact match domains.
If you can do some research and study the data by targeting a specific niche in which you have the experience, I’m sure you can still find these two-three words exact match domains.
Examples:
- bookkeepingsoftware.com
- playgamesonline.com
- finalexpenseagency.com
Keyword domain: A keyword domain is a domain name with keywords in it (example, BuyLiquor.com). A domain name that contains keywords about business, products, services, etc
More examples: CheapTvRepair.com, Buyfurniture.com
Now Let’s Discuss Where You Can Find Low-Cost Domains.
Every day over 100k domains expire; this happens when a domain name owner doesn’t renew or forget to renew. That means that they are available for re-registration.
Here is the most popular website where you can find the list of expired domains. ExpiredDomains.net, now for a domainer like me, this is not just a website; it’s a gold mine.
Let me explain to you why
On this website, you can not only find expired or pending delete domains, but you can also go through domain marketplace like Godaddy, Flippa, Namejet, Dropcatch.
All these popular aftermarkets have auctions going on, so rather than visiting them one by one over here at expireddomains.net, you can find domains in auctions, which helps save time.
As I mentioned earlier, every day, over 100k domains get expired, and expireddomains.net upload the list every single day.
You can either use the filters to look for the names you think are good or download the list in a CSV file and do your research.
Use this link to know more about how you can use expireddomains.net.
Now Let’s Talk About How To do Outbound And Sell Them.
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote or sell your product and services; small-large companies are marketing their products/services via emails.
To sell domains via outbound marketing, all you need:
- Laptop/Computer
- Internet
- and an email address
Once you find a domain name, you can start doing outreach to potential buyers.
How to find potential buyers:
There are many different ways you can find leads to sell your domain.
- Dotdb.com
How to find emails?
Finding an email is easy thanks to all these tools. my personal favorite is Snov.io, they provide some free email credit, but I recommend choosing a paid plan.
You can visit Snov.io to get more information.
Once you find your potential prospects, it’s time to send emails, I’ve sold around 85 domains so far via cold emails, and as per my data, it’s better to have your email short and simple:
Hi (Name), We have this domain listed for sale, and we are looking for potential buyers.
After researching, we find out that your company (name) might be a potential buyer for this name.
I will love to know if you like to receive more information or have any questions?
Regards
Your Name
Just keep it short and straightforward and always personalize your email by adding your prospect’s name and the company’s name in your email body.
Here’s are a few subject lines you can use:
- Domain Name
- Domain Name For Sale
- Domain name is available
Always do follow-ups because real money is in follow-ups.
If you don’t get any response from prospects, I recommend doing 2-3 follow-ups and use email trackers to check if your recipients are opening your email or not.
If you want to learn about outbound, you can buy my ebook Domain Outbound Marketing. It is one of the best-selling domain ebook appreciated and recognized by industry experts.
Where To Sell Your Domains? Marketplaces.
There are many different marketplaces where you can quickly sell your domains and get paid like: Godaddy, Dan.com, Epik, or Escrow.com.
But I recommend using Dan.com if you are a beginner because they only charge 9% if someone buys directly from dan, but if you use the feature “add a lead,” you only pay 5% on every successful transaction.
You can visit Dan.com for more information.
That’s it for now; below are some beneficial domain industry blogs, podcasts, etc., which can help you learn a lot and get better at domain investing.
I highly recommend joining DNAcademy.com. It is the world’s best domain investing course. Michael Cyger is the founder of DNAcademy.
For more information, please visit DNAcademy.com.
Top domain industry podcast
Domain Industry top blogs
Check out DomainSmoke.com free daily domain newsletter. This is best domain newsletter you can find.
Wrapping up: The domain industry is a small + very welcoming industry; when I joined this industry, I knew nobody, but the kind of response I have received so far from my fellow domainers is heartwarming. I have made many friends, and we all learn + support each other success.
So what are you waiting for? Come and join this domain industry.
Namaste 🙏
