Whether you are a new domain investor or seasoned for many years (Even decades), there comes a time when you may have to restructure your domain game. This is common when things in the world or even your personal life shift into a different direction.
It’s important to embrace change; adapt, improvise, and overcome it.
New and veteran domain investors/resellers sometimes find themselves holding the proverbial bag of domains in their portfolio that just won’t resell no matter how many different marketing and pitch techniques they try.
With renewal costs stacking every year and dipping into your savings, putting you at a loss, it can get frustrating, stressful, and cause anxiety. Such feelings can lead to bad decisions out of desperation, resulting in a spiral out of control.
If the above sounds like you, take a moment to review a few things that might help get things back on track or steer you back in the right direction.
If you are already doing good and don’t need any advice, congrats! Keep doing what you’re doing. Rinse and repeat.
If not and you’re curious if anything in this article might help, Let’s dive right in!
Back to the drawing board
There’s no shame in getting back to the basics when we veer off-course. It’s actually a good thing to re-visit the key elements that motivated you in the beginning in order to re-ignite your inspirational fire.
Evaluating your existing portfolio
First, you have to figure out what went wrong. The following are generally red flag reasons as to why your current domain portfolio is not performing for you:
Way too diverse – While not putting all your eggs in one basket is normally a good thing, if you diversify too much, it makes it harder to focus. You don’t want to scatter yourself out too thin. Being able to dedicate your time-management effectively on a smaller batch of diversity of even a single niche will generally render better results.
Impulse Investments – Sure, sometimes there is a limited window of opportunity and if you don’t act fast, it’s gone, but that’s generally not the case in most instances. You always want to research before you pull the trigger or you’ll end up with a bag of domains you’ll never be able to resell. Take your time and cherry pick (Quality over quantity).
Super Long-Tails – In some situations a long-tail domain (3 or more words) could work, but not often and even more rare for a super long-tails. How many serious companies and developments brand with super long-tails that you can think of? Not many, right? So, don’t make it harder on yourself by collecting them.
Too Generic – I get it, Apple, Zipper, Echo, Quest, Spark, Hive, Quench, etc. have done well with their single-word generic branding approach, but that doesn’t mean all single dictionary-words are worth the same consideration. A general rule of thumb is that the sorter the word, the better it is for branding.
Negativity – Most (not all) serious companies looking to reach the consumer and cover will avoid negative context in their branding. How well do you think a company with a brand like “Bad Supplies LLC”, “Get Sick Co.”, “Car Cancer Dealer”, or “Hypocrite Sales LTD.” would do? Probably not too good and they wouldn’t have much of a budget using them as novelty hobbyist projects. It’s best to avoid negative branding.
I’ll stop there, the list can go on and on, but that should give you the general idea of how you may be shooting yourself in the foot and a direction to research further.
Focus on niches you know
I’ve mentioned this time and time again, but it should be reiterated. it’s much easier to resell a domain asset in a niche you are already fluent and knowledgeable in versus an impulse investment simply because someone else said they did good with it.
What works for one, may not work for another and results may vary.
When going back to the drawing board, you’ll want to focus on niches you are already immersed in or have vast knowledge with. A few categories that can accomplish that might be:
Current or Past Career – If you worked in an industry for 5+ years and know it like the back of your hand, that might be a good niche to look more into.
Current or Past Hobby – If you became so good at one of your hobbies, that others started asking for your advice, that may be a good niche to look more into.
Current or Past Collectables – If you researched and collected something for 5+ years, there’s a chance you know enough about it to help you communicate with likeminded collectors. That makes it another niche option to look into.
There’s more, but that should get you headed in the right direction. The common sense behind it, is that, for instance, if you worked as a barista in a coffee shop for a decade, chances are, you know a lot about the business and coffee products. That makes it easier to talk with potential buyers of coffee related products and services, as well as start-ups looking to brand in that niche. Remember, work smarter, not harder. Know your niche(s).
Helpful Data Sources When Evaluating a Domain
Everyone does things differently and there are a ton of different tools out there to help you try and figure out which niche or domain name has better potential than another. The same tools can also help you become more knowledgeable in the niche(s) you already know.
Here’s just a few tools to help get you started
SEO Stats + Spam Checker
BackLink Checker 1
Backlink Checker 2
Website Checker 1
Website Checker 2
Taken Domain Extension Checker
Whois Checker
Social Account Checker
Global Corporate Brand Checker
Development History Checker
Domain sales History Checker 1
Domain sales History Checker 2
Niche Keyword Competition Checker
Upcoming Niche Trends Checker
U.S. States Consumer Spending Checker
Global Economy Checker
I’ll stop there for now. That should give you a general idea. Notice how I did not reference any free appraisal tools for data? That’s because they are not reliable when it comes to the accuracy of a domains value.
Starting over or adding new research tools/strategies can get overwhelming if you try to tackle it all at once. Take a breath, slow down, set some goals, and take one thing at a time.
As you mark off each new goal, you’ll probably find that you feel a little more motivated and that’s a GREAT thing!
Remember, at the end of the day, a domain name is truly only worth what a buyer and seller agree on.
Good luck and happy domaining!
